Mountain Monday Lamentations

Spring, Oh Spring, where hast thou gone? You came so beautifully into my existence, breathing hope of new life into my days. Then you were gone, felled by this cold white crap!

Ah yes, it has snowed and snowed these last few days, and I just heard, it is going to do it again, TWICE more this week.

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Sorry for the whining, I just can't help myself. With those lovely days holding so much promise just a week ago, I am finding it difficult to rediscover my winter mojo.
At least it was purty for you bloggity peeps out there today!















Ms. Tenacious herself, hanging on still. I think I shall be sad the Monday I return and she has chosen to let go.



And yet, in spite of the cold temperatures, Spring cannot be completely banished. Her harbingers continue to flourish even in the grip of a lingering winter. Green leaves are growing on the bushes!



A bluebird, (oh please, if it is the bluebird of happiness, let it be bringing spring back!) looking for good nesting materials with her mate.



I had all three granddaughter this weekend. Of course I had to have Baby record some of their cuteness for you.

Squid


June Bug


The Pea


Little Man, who was strangely cooperative for some pictures. He has his good moments and he is such a handsome little devil!

For Your Amusement (and mine)

Doggie torture!

Jack the dog dressed as Jack Sparrow. The parrot wouldn't cooperate so we had to make do. Jack was not amused, while we, on the other hand, were rolling on the ground laughing! Enjoy! (For those who asked, "that" is Little Man's pet dumbo rat, Ben) Normally Jack, being a terrier would be trying to chase the rat, but when Jack is dressed, he kind of freezes in place, so he really didn't care that that rat crawled on his head.

As Promised

Here are the rest of the pictures from Mountain Monday I was too tired to post. These pictures were taken on the first day of Spring, wherein Utah pretended that Spring had actually arrived. She lied. It is snowing, again.

The Pea got her first pair of skates. She told me she has elbow pads and knee pads, but when I asked her if she had a bum pad, she informed me sadly that they don't make them. I told her I could get her one and she thought it was the best. Actually, so did I!


We are signing the Boy up for soccer! There is a league for children with disabilities in the area and he starts after Easter break. We thought we would help him out by getting him a ball ahead of time and getting him acquainted with the whole concept. Great fun was had by all.


Check out the Pea! Neither of her feet are on the ground. What a kid.


Look at his smile!















Pop Pop came home while we were playing outside. The Pea was ecstatic, as was Pop Pop.







Check out the bubble! If you look close, you can see me with my camera in it.



We had fun, and now I want spring to arrive completely so we can have more fun!

Mountain Monday

I know it is dark, AND at this hour, almost not even Monday anymore! But, it is still Monday, at least here in Utah. Crazy day, crazy weekend. We had unexpected company in the form of one of older cousins and his wife. Good visit, good stories. Little Man did NOT have school today, and he is on one of his, "I've decided to live without sleep" again phases. It is just a shame I can't join him in that one!
I did get out and get you some pictures.
Winter arrived again last night and this morning, everything was coated in snow. I am rather done with winter, but it isn't done with us. I offer you proof of my credibility in whining. It is spring Mother Nature, not winter! Blah on you!



I love it when the clouds lay so low across the mountains.









Check her out! Our friend, Ms. Tenacious, the oak leaf, still hanging on against tradition and prevailing winds of opinion. What can I say? I always root for the underdog, or underleaf in this case.






Here is Spring, declaring herself that she will stay in Utah, regardless of what the weather forecast is.






I do have a whole bunch of other pics from the past week, but Little Man has been on his "sleeping is against my personal beliefs" kicks and dang, I am tired. The pics will have to wait til Weds or so. YAWN! See ya on the flip side!

A Pig And A Poke

Yes, yes, yes, I am aware the expression is a "pig in a poke" but it is cuter this way.
For those of you who asked for more information about needle felting and the creation of piggys, this post is for you!
I even made a video so you can watch the process. Um, please ignore my munchkin voice and the fact I sound like an idiot.

Needle felting a piggy


Here is the finished ovaly type thing I need for his body.



I made the other pieces separately, and then using the same, poke, poke, poke technique, I attach the pieces. Here is his nose attached to his face.



Next I poke holes for his eye sockets, and then I add black wool to make his eyes.



I needle felt his ears separately, and then poke them onto his "head".



Here he is with his ears.



I do the same thing with his legs, I make them separately, and then needle felt them onto the body. The hardest part is trying to match them for length and circumference. I threw away two legs that didn't make the cut in the leg auditions.

I twist some wool, poke it a bit to make it stay twisted and then I poke it onto the pig's body for his curly tail. Here he is, finished, from the side. I am not entirely happy with the tail thing, so I am working on another way to make his tail curly. We shall see how it works.



And this is his finished self. Cute, huh? This is an original design by me.



Oink, oink. Piggy enjoyed the very nice first day of Spring we got in Utah. Good thing, it is supposed to snow again on Monday. Wahhhhh!

The Pea's Fishy

Mountain Monday Hooray! Repost!

Darn it! I was trying to get the Pea's video to post, but it wouldn't. And now my posts are all messed up. I think I will just do it separately. Her fishies name is Moby Dick, but we are all highly amused that she persists in calling him Moldy Dick! Ha ha! This is the real post for today, I promise!

I posted on Facebook today that Mondays are my favorite day of the week. I got quite a few comments asking why. Why? Because, generally speaking, the boy goes to school, the man goes to work and the day is my own. After literally two decades of almost no time to myself, my hours spent in my own company are treasured. The day unfolds before me. Shall I do housework? Maybe. A nap? Perhaps. What I do know is I will enjoy at least some time doing what I want to and I LOVE it.
Today was especially precious because I was felled by a stomach bug last week. I THREW UP! I never throw up, so that was pretty traumatic. And my sons? They came over, ran some errands for me, and went and got some Sprite for my tummy. Oldest son petted my head while I puked and JJ came back later that day to check on me. How very sweet was that? Today was the first day I have felt good in about 5 days, so Monday rocked especially hard today.

As to the photo being stolen. I have an invisible stat counter, but it is a good one, and there is a lot of information on it. I have also searched for that particular picture and found it, (in other languages I don't speak) not on anyone's blog, but not on mine either. Weird, very weird. Why there is so much activity over that picture is beyond me. It is one of the pictures I posted from Photobucket, so I went in and watermarked it as "property of tangled-me.blogspot.com" so hopefully there won't be any more problems with it. Strange, very strange.

I had so much fun today. I got to meet a very nice fellow phototog, although I am definitely not in her class, because she is professional and I am just goofing off. We found a great deal in common and spent hours just chatting today. Go check out her purty, purty pictures! Shannon sold me a new lens for Baby, my camera. I need a longer one to catch all the outdoor stuff I do. :::waving::: Thanks for everything today Shannon, I totally enjoyed it!

Then of course I had to go try out my new lens for Mountain Monday. I need a polarizer for it. But overall I am very happy with it. For your approval.






Here is a picture of a couple of American Avocets



Don't ask me why, but here in Utah, we feel we must whine and fuss over the fits and starts of Spring, every year. We are so excited to see the very first signs, and most of us think if there is going to be even a hint of Spring, well then, dang it, just stay! But it doesn't. It comes and goes. I did get a hint today that perhaps Spring might not be too far away though. Behold!





Did I mention that the Princess and her Pea moved out?? It has been sooooo nice and quiet here. I miss my Pea, and I have been taking a day every week to spend a few hours with her. This week we did a sleepover. One of the benefits of their moving out is that Little Man and the Pea are so happy to see each other and are getting along much better when they are together. Here they are enjoying some Dora.



As usual, I am profoundly grateful for the beautiful place I live. And looking at through eyes that are sharing makes my experience that much more profound. Thanks blogglings, you rock!