Whitewater Preserve

Hubby and I had talked about driving out to the Whitewater Preserve and when I saw someone post a photo of the hills there on Facebook, off we went on Tuesday!  No more sitting around the house!  NO SIRREE!

Once I saw the photo of the hills alive with brittlebrush, I knew we would be in for a treat.  Hubby has been going up there since he was in high school, at Palm Springs High, in 1968.  He says he has NEVER seen the hills so yellow!

There were flowers EVERYWHERE!  Here are some examples.  Car after car after car drove up the road, so I knew the preserve would be packed, and it was.  I was only able to find a spot because someone pulled out right in front of me and we got a parking spot in the shade!

I'll let you explore now and I'll be quiet...

 That's the north face of Mt. San Jacinto

 I liked this gate...

 Even the cacti are blooming now!

 This is the runoff from the Whitewater River.  YES, there is an actual river there.

 Truck and car crossing the river ahead of us.  Don't be fooled...that water is MOVING!!!  I saw rocks behind carried down it.  On rainy days, the preserve is closed because this part is impassable.

 Lizards were out all over the place!  This guy was doing pushups.

 My newest friend...

Pretty view of Mt. San Jacinto from the road to the Whitewater Preserve

The hills are ALIVE with flowers!

We've lived here in the desert now for 42 years.  Hubby grew up here from age 14.  That means he's lived here 53 years.  He says he doesn't remember seeing so many flowers as what we have this spring.  Of course, some years he wasn't really paying attention...

Anyway, last Sunday, when I went up Highway 74 to go visit my horses in Anza, I was amazed by the beauty of the brittlebrush (yellow flowers) and the smaller desert marguerites.  The hills were ALIVE!

I wasn't the only car who pulled over to take photos either!  Almost EVERY turnout had a car in it both going up the mountain and back down!  In fact, the larger ones had 2 or 3 cars!

Here are some samples of what I saw on Sunday:

I took this photo to show what the road looked like.  I've NEVER seen so much color!

Today we made it to the Whitewater Preserve and then hubby suggested we drive to Oak Glen for lunch.  I'll be posting those photos later.

Ripley update and horse update

Well, Ripley is back to normal.  Phew!  That sure scared me.  Even hubby was scared.  We weren't sure she would survive the day.  It was THAT BAD!

I knew she was okay yesterday morning when she bounded out of the bedroom, ran to the fridge, and sat, waiting for her breakfast.  Instead, I gave her cottage cheese, yogurt, 2 cooked eggs, a drip of honey, and some rice.  She gets a little yogurt and apples every morning too. She didn't eat everything all at once, but it was completely gone an hour later.  And, her energy level returned.

So, I felt okay about leaving her with hubby while I made a quick trip up to the horses.  The shoer was there and I needed to pay him.  He sings and talks softly to the horses and they all just relax for him, even my skittish gelding, Sunni.  I also needed to brush, brush, brush the horses, so while the owner's horses were getting their feet trimmed, I was able to brush 3 of mine.  And, OH MY!  The hair!  It's a good thing I'm not allergic to horse hair!  It was swirling and whirling all around me!  It was blowing all over their corrals, too, and by the end of my time there, a raven was busy in Quad's corral picking up all his hair and stuffing it into his mouth!  I guess some new ravens are on the way!

The only horse I didn't brush was Sunni because the shoer was right across from him and I didn't want Sunni to spook and then scare the horse he was working on.  Scout stood quietly and "allowed" me to brush her!  GOOD GIRL!  I had to chase Gigondas around her pen.  She doesn't stand still quietly.  AND, she doesn't tolerate human touch for very long either.  And forgetabout touching her head!

Finally, the family next door to the ranch now has 5 dogs!  They have an Australian ridgeback, a German shepherd, and now 2 Pyrenees.  They also have another dog, some kind of hound.  ALL RESCUES!  Quite a noisy bunch!

Well, hubby and I may drive out to the Whitewater Preserve today to see if there are any wildflowers there....(hopefully)...

Ripley

Hubby had a stomach virus, I had one, and yesterday Ripley had one.  She had a rough 24 hours. I don't want to go into all the details, but I'm going to have to rent a carpet shampooer from WalMart.

Poor thing.  I gave her a beef bone 2 days ago and noticed she was eating a LOT of grass.  Then the gas started.  OY!  She went downhill from there.  I've tried to get her outside every 2 hours, but she did have some accidents in the house.

She slept from midnight until 6 am this morning and woke up to her usual bright & cheery self!  All smiles!  I fixed her some rice, apples, yogurt, and a couple of eggs.  She ate all the eggs and picked around the apples.  Didn't touch the yogurt.  She wants her raw chicken bones, but I'm withholding them for a day to allow her stomach to rest.  She IS hungry.  She just isn't eating much.  That's okay. She needs to rest.

Phew!

That really scared me.  She's 9 1/2 years old (she'll be 10 in September), but she's still active for her age.  I hope she gets over this today.  Seems like we've ALL had a 24 hour bug!

Please send a little prayer for her recovery.

We had a LONG chat with the 2 year old last night!

We have 4 grandchildren and...SIT DOWN!!!... another one on the way!

Here are the ages involved:  8, 27 months, 3 (almost 4), and 11 months.

The 27 month old is our son's daughter, Bailey. She always seems to have a scowl!

Anyway, our son didn't begin to talk until a couple months after he was 2.  Then he talked NONSTOP!  Bailey is the same way.  She understood everything...she just didn't talk...until recently!  Now, she talks NONSTOP!

Our son called us last night and she wanted to talk to us.  PawPaw talked to her first.  Now, remember, PawPaw is the one who scolds her when she has screaming temper tantrums.  Oh, well...she wanted to talk.  Then I talked to her.  Then PawPaw talked to her 2x more!  MY GOODNESS!  We were worn out!  No, she doesn't have her binky anymore either.  She's a BIG GIRL!

Picking strawberries this month.  That was FUN!

A few wildflowers here too

I drove up to my horses Friday to check on them and buy 5 bags of pellets.  They get these every day for their noon meal and I provide (buy) them so my board doesn't increase!  Remember, I'm on a fixed income now!

We had driven that same road Sunday, but honestly, I drove so fast I didn't have time to admire the wildflowers.  Friday, however, I had the time.  I made quite a few stops along the way!  There were a few cars pulled over, too, at the turnouts and folks were out taking photos.  We just are NOT going to make it to Anza-Borrego.  First, my car needs new back brakes ($300).  Hubby's car needs new front brakes. And, I need to take the weeder to the back yard because the grasses are growing and now they are 12" high!  If I don't do that soon, they will be impossible to get through!  We apparently have some rain coming through Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday next week, so I better get on those weeds today!

Here are a few of the photos I took Friday of the wildflowers.  Some hillsides were just COVERED by the little purple ones!  I honestly do NOT remember a year when we have had so many wildflowers on the hills south of Palm Desert!!!

Photos update

There are 2 basic methods to using your photos.

First, there is the "photo glued directly to canvas".  That's the method I used.  You buy Mod Podge Matte, which is a glue and sealer.  You use a brush to coat the ENTIRE canvas.  Then you put Mod Podge on the back of your photo and glue it FACE UP onto the canvas, so you can see it.  Finally, when it is dry, you put Mod Podge over the... ENTIRE THING!  Don't be afraid.  The Mod Podge, while it goes on looking like glue, dries CLEAR and it seals your photo and canvas.  If you paint your canvas, do that first before you Mod Podge anything and let that dry.

Second, there is the "photo transfer" method.  I tried this on one photo and I hated it. I used a wood sample for this one.  You put Mod Podge onto the wood, and put a PHOTOCOPY (laser) of your photo face down onto the wood, so you only see the white back of your paper. KINDA SCARY!!! You also have to use a roller, ruler, or even a credit card to go over the entire copy to get out the air bubbles.  ***THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP*** Don't forget to do this! The photo will then be transferred (i.e. BURNED) into the wood.  However, you have to let it dry 12-24 hours (I let mine dry overnight)...NO PEEKING!  Finally, you have to "scrape" the white paper backing off the photo.  It took me 3 sessions of scraping to get ALL the white paper off.  You basically wet your fingers and rub the white paper off.  You'll start to see your photo underneath.  Keep at it.  ALL the white has to be removed. And, I didn't like the outcome.  It would be great if you want that "distressed" photo look, but I'm a purist and I didn't like it.  I believe you can also do this on canvas, but, after my experimental one, I didn't like the colors.  I like the vivid colors of an actual photograph.

Yes, if you do this, please DO SHARE your results.  You can just go to YouTube and type in photo to canvas or photo transfer and come up with some videos.  I also googled "photo on canvas" and got lots of results.  Don't be afraid to experiment!  On the Convict Lake photo, I actually glued a mesh with some sparkles on the top of the canvas.  It looks neat!  I'm going to experiment with other multi media next.

HAVE FUN!
Please email me if you have any questions.  ****VERY IMPORTANT**** If you do the photo transfer, you MUST use a laser copy of your photo.  Apparently an ink jet copy will run the colors.  Also, you have to press down on your photos to get out any air bubbles.  ESPECIALLY for the photo transfer.  I actually bought a roller at Michaels and I ran it over the photo transfer one.

IF you see streaks on your photos, don't worry.  Most of mine do have streaks from the brush.  I would suggest you use a foam brush instead of a hair brush.  You could also take a towel and lightly go over your entire photo and canvas and that would give it a "canvassy" look.  I did that on several of mine.

These are the 12 I've done so far...My kitchen table is entirely COVERED!  HA!

GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN!  Just shoot me an email if you have any questions!
I order my photos at COSTCO, but WalMart and Walgreens also could print yours. COSTCO is very reasonable and turn around is 1 day.

I've been BUSY at home!!!

Our neighbors across the street have 5 citrus trees and the aroma waifs over to our yard every morning and evening.  It is absolutely DELIGHTFUL!!!  My lemon tree has... 0 blossoms for the 2nd year in a row!  ARGH!  

Anyway, I haven't been sitting at home doing nothing.  I've discovered the way to glue photos to canvas and I'm having SO MUCH FUN doing this!  Michaels is now my new BFF.  They are only a block away from our home and if you go in there, save your receipt, go home and take their survey, you get a code for 25% off.  Right now they are giving 40% off one item coupons, too!

I've watched countless YOUTUBE videos on this process and I've visited a LOT of websites, so I decided to jump right in.  I bought paint, brushes, a sponge, various sizes of canvas (I use 5 x 7 and some 8 x10 ones).  I have white ones and black ones.  I bought Mod Podge and learned how to use it.  I even put some lacy stuff on one photo and canvas!  I have a page of piano music that I had to buy a 12 x 19 inch canvas and I'm still trying to decide what to do with it.

Anyway, here are some of the results...

 My flowers and one cactus...

 These two are from the Aguanga metal sculpture garden.

 Deep Canyon, a dead pinyon, and Convict Lake, Sierra Nevada

I have 12 done so far.  I just sent over an order to COSTCO for more prints, because I'm basically out of them!  I do each canvas individually.  Sometimes I paint the white ones black or brown (as you can see), but on the small ones, I just glued and sealed the photos to a black canvas.  It depends on the colors in the photos.  Don't they look so much more interesting than just plain photos?  I have some blue, purple, and dark green I want to try out, but I'll have to wait for the next batch of photos.

They are listed here on my ETSY shop, so PLEASE DO VISIT!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertsandBeyond?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Please let me know what you think.  I did the brush strokes and left some of the canvas to give them a more rustic look.  Believe me, I spend HOURS walking around Hobby Lobby.  The store manager now knows me and always comes over to see what project(s) I'm working on!   Yes, we have a Hobby Lobby in Rancho Mirage...hubby doesn't know I go there, so please don't tell him!!!***It's our "little secret"!  They DO have a lot of stuff there and they do carry some items that Michaels doesn't carry...(that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Comments/ideas/suggestions are WELCOME!  The thing I like about the canvas is that you can easily attach it to a wall.  I'm thinking about painting one wall in the living room BLACK and putting these up there.  I haven't had any sales YET on ETSY, so I might just do that.  

I'm going to be a grandma again!

Yesterday we drove to our son's house in Temecula so that his wife could go to a doctor's appointment.  Yes, THAT kind of appointment.  She's 3 months along...

This will be #3 for them.  This will be #5 grandchild for us...

Anyway, we got to babysit the 27 month old.  Let's just say she's a challenge.  We sat and did some art work on a big piece of cardstock I brought and I put stickers on it, but then she wanted her momma and burst into tears.  REAL TEARS!  And screams!  OY!  My ears hurt!

So, I decided it was time for a walk.  However, SHE decided she didn't wanna go.  She was kicking and screaming as I attempted to install her in her car thingie walker.  Okay.  Plan B...I tried to reason with her.  That did seem to work.

An hour later, I was nearly suffering from heat stroke.  It was 90 degrees there and I walked all the way down to the far park and stuck her in a swing.  BIG MISTAKE.  She didn't want to get out.  I told her 3x that Grandma was MELTING and I needed to get out of the sun!  (I've had skin cancer twice now...)  No effect.  She didn't care.  SHE wanted to swing!

I finally just grabbed her out of the swing and stuck her in her car thing.  And, off we went.  I was seeing spots about halfway back to their house and I drank 2 huge glasses of water once we got there.  AND, that afternoon I took a 2 hour nap.

We had dinner and left and got home at 7:30 or so.  I always have conflicting thoughts about driving over the mountain at night.  On one hand, seeing all the lights in the desert is a beautiful sight.  On the other hand, I'm always scared a deer or a bighorn sheep will venture out onto the road.

But, we made it home okay and I woke up at 5:30 this morning ready to go to the farmers' market.

~Cheers~
Cheryl Ann

THE NEWS

My husband is a news junkie.  He was a journalism minor in college and was the first PAID intern at the Press Enterprise in Riverside.  His college advisor became the major of Riverside.  His uncle was a member of the Pennsylvania legislature and from the time he was 4, he listened to his uncle and his uncle's friends discuss politics.  He remembers them offering him a swig of brandy at a very young age!  In fact, we drove to Pennsylvania right after we were married back in 1972 because hubby had a summer job with the legislature there.  Turns out, I was so miserable and we couldn't find any decent housing, so we came home.

ANYWAY...

He watches TV 16 hours... A DAY!  From about 8 a.m. until midnight (or later).  He watches MSNBC or CNN all day, then turns on MSNBC for the evening shows...Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, and then the 11th Hour with Brian Williams.  Sometimes I even catch him watching them THE SECOND TIME AROUND!

OY!

Sometimes I pull out my hair and just go outside and feed the birds.  Other times I get in my car and go for a drive.  He is ESPECIALLY tuned in now that his back hurts (week 2).  I just drove him back to the chiropractor on Friday for another tweek and twist and pull.  He told me his back cracked and something popped down at the base of his spine.  He IS getting better, but at his age (67), it takes time.

In the meantime, we haven't driven anywhere except Temecula for over a month now.  The wildflowers are at their peak and we are sitting at home....sigh...Waterfalls are running in the Indian Canyons and we are sitting at home.  Between his chiropractic appointsments and babysitting the grandkids on Wednesdays, we only have a couple of times each week to actually go anywhere and lately he's been too tired to go ANYWHERE.

Ugh.

I guess I'll clean up my office today.  Actually, I need to get up to the horses this weekend and brush them all.

May TIMESHARE!!!!!

One of my colleagues at school who retired last June has a timeshare for the entire month of May and she has invited me to come down and enjoy it.

I CERTAINLY WILL!

It's down in the Lawrence Welk resort, off Gopher Canyon Road.  Now, that brings back memories.  My parents' horse ranch was off Gopher Canyon Road, but on the west side of the freeway.  They owned it for about 12 years and we would go down there on weekends.  I remember taking my sleeping bag and sleeping on the floor in the 2nd bedroom.  I always LOVED that ranch!  (We never had horses there, of course)!  To this day, I always remember that kitchen with its country themed cupboard doors!

There was a water reservoir at the top of the hill there and ...shudder...I remember my dad going up there with his .22 and bringing back 6' long rattlesnakes and warning me to be careful as I ran around all 10 acres of the ranch.  I never saw one.  However, while riding horses a couple of times (the neighbors' horses), I did see one.  Go figure.

Anyway, I digress...

So, I'll be able to go down there (WITHOUT HUBBY!!!!  :-)) and visit my friend and do some day trips.  I'm planning on going down maybe twice and mid week.  That way her daughter and son-in-law can come down on the weekends.  AND, then I can stay in Temecula for a night and visit our son and his family!  A double bonus!  Hubby can stay home with the dog.

Then...MAYBE (I'm keeping my fingers crossed) hubby and I can plan a trip to the Sierra in June.  With all the snow this year, we don't want to go any earlier.  Of course, we would take the dog with us!

Ripley...she has to go with us.  We can't leave her home alone.  She has separation anxiety and she's old (she'll be 10 in October).  She just sleeps all day in the car anyway...

Why I am DONE shopping at Whole Foods

I'm DONE shopping at Whole Foods.

Our store opened in September of 2015.  I spent the next year and a half shopping almost exclusively there.  It was fun.  It was new.  It was shiny.  I bought nearly every bag they ever had.  In fact, we have ALL of their little lunch totes.  EVERY.SINGLE.COLOR.  We have all of their large totes.  EVERY SINGLE COLOR.  I think there are only a couple bags that I don't have.

I bought chicken kabobs for dinner there.  I bought produce there. ($$$$$$) Hubby even bought a couple of bottles of wine there.  We bought cheese and visited the olive bar.  I bought foods from their deli, their hot deli, and their salad bar.

Funny thing, though....EVERY SINGLE TIME I ate at their fresh salad bar, I got sick.  (I'm talking diarrhea here...) EVERY TIME.  I finally quit buying their salad bar junk.  Then, their hot deli bar.  It became so tedious and BORING that I finally just quit.  Then, they raised their chicken salad from $12.99 A POUND to $13.99 A POUND.  And, when I was working, I would scoot in there EVERY SINGLE MORNING and buy a small container of chicken salad and broccoli salad or their cabbage salad.  The problem with their cabbage salad was that it was very inconsistent.  Some days it had dressing, but other days it was nearly dry and TASTELESS.  Ugh.  Really  $9.99 a pound for...cardboard?  So, I quit buying anything from their deli.  So, there went the (1) salad bar; (2) hot buffet; and (3) deli.

Produce?  For a market that advertises it's organic products, their produce is MAINLY CONVENTIONAL.  Yes.  You read that right.  "CONVENTIONALLY GROWN".  I don't know how many times I went in there looking for organic lemons only to find "conventionally grown" ones.  Now, I didn't WANT conventional ones.  Those I could buy anywhere.  I wanted ORGANIC lemons.  When I could find them (or when I chased down the produce guy and begged him to check the back room for organic lemons), they were small and $6.99 a bag.  REALLY? $6.99 for 6 lemons?  I grew frustrated with that nonsense.

Once a year they have some kind of soap from Africa on sale for $1.00 a bar.  The first year I bought 10 bars.  It was... HORRIBLE...It was oily, it really didn't smell good, and frankly, I didn't like it.  The next year I bought zero.  This past year I didn't even bother to go into the store for that.

So, what do I do instead?  I've discovered that COSTCO now carries dehydrated apples in a larger bag than the t I would buy WEEKLY at Whole Foods.  They also carry organic apricots!  Whoo, whoo!  I'm noticing that COSTCO is now carrying more and more organic items.  I bought 2 bags of Mexico ORGANIC coffee there, too.  The price of each bag is HALF of what coffee at Whole Foods was.  One time I bought coffee there and it was so OLD and tasteless I returned it (with the receipt) and loudly announced I would NEVER, EVER buy coffee there again!!!!  It was NASTY STUFF!  The Mexico organic coffee at COSTCO is wonderful and we are enjoying it.

Albertsons now has a wonderful selection of...gasp!  ORGANIC PRODUCE!  I can buy romaine lettuce, green onions, POTATOES (NEVER buy non-organic potatoes!), celery, cucumbers...almost anything I need for a salad.  And, they carry organic berries too.  Scratch WHOLE PAYCHECK OFF for that now.

So, really, I have NO NEED to shop Whole Foods.  COSTCO even carries organic butter and frankly, I like the taste better than what I was buying at Whole Foods.  AND, we are only a block away from Trader Joe's.  I buy bread, butter, yogurt, dog biscuits, and chicken (organic, free range) there and save $$$$$ over WHOLE PAYCHECK!

I haven't been in WF now for over a month and I don't intend to return any time in the future.  I read that they are starting to close stores.  GOOD!

We also have an ALDI market in town.  However, so far, I haven't been impressed with them.  We additionally have a Target and a Walmart neighborhood market, all within a half a mile of each other. So, there are LOTS of options.

Finally, every Wednesday we have a certified farmers' market.  Hubby and I usually stop in there every other Wednesday.  It will only last through May, however.  But, I can always find them down in Temecula on Saturdays!   :-)

Where do YOU shop?  Are you happy with your store(s)?

By the way, Trader Joe's is so inexpensive I can afford to buy a bouquet of flowers once a week!
~Cheers~
Cheryl Ann

Slowing down?

Hubby is now into week 2 of his back issue.  My weeks now consist of taking him to the chiropractor 2x a week and then picking up the grandkids at least once a week, usually Wednesday.
Things have definitely slowed down.

He sits in his chair ALL DAY.  He only gets up to (1) go to the bathroom, (2) get coffee, (3) fix a cheese sandwich for lunch.  That's IT.

He DID get in his car and drive to the store two days ago.  I was shocked.  I didn't think he could do it.  I guess when hunger is involved, he can drive!  I was too exhausted from our day trip to Temecula Sunday, which is 90 minutes each way. And, it is over curvy mountain roads.

So, I pretty much just stay home, tend to my garden, feed the birds (I went to COSTCO yesterday and bought 4 bags of seed), play with the dog, read a few blogs, maybe do some housework, or read a book.  That's it.

Do I regret retiring?  NOT ON YOUR LIFE!  I'm LOVING it!  Physically, there was NO WAY I could have completed this year.  I'm slowing down, too.

And, now for some photos from the archives!  Wildflowers from this time last year...

TOO MANY WEEDS!!!!

I gathered up the weeder and went to town yesterday morning.  First I did the back yard, then I moved out front.  After all the rain we've had, the weeds were OUT OF CONTROL and I needed to knock them down before they were too tall and too strong to kill with the weeder.

PHEW!

I did the back yard first, since I usually spend my time looking out there.  Then I went out front.  I do have a few sunflowers poking up through the dirt, so I had to be careful.  AND, I have a whole swath of wildflowers out front now and some blue ones are already blooming.

I have to keep the front looking good because CODE ENFORCEMENT comes by a couple days a week now.  He always parks in front of our house (giving me a heart attack), but he goes across the street to look into our neighbor's trailer (work trailer).  I don't know what he's looking for...

We HAVE been cited before for "weeds".  NO, those were WILDFLOWERS.  I was ready to explain to him that I have California poppies, lupines, and some things I can't identify coming up out front, but he never came to our door.  (thankfully)...

We picked up the grandkids yesterday and fixed dinneer for our daughter and her husband.  Pita pockets, a green salad with chicken thrown in, and 2 bottles of a sparkling wine.  It was DELICIOUS!

Take care and drive safely.
~Cheryl Ann~

Not much going on here...sigh...

There isn't much going on here.  Hubby pulled a muscle in his back last Thursday and he's been going to a chiropractor every 3 days.  He went yesterday and can FINALLY stand upright and walk (after 3 treatments).  So, that was good.  However, he tires easily, so we are pretty much staying put.

I was putting off signing up for Medicare because I still had my insurance from the school district, so I was negligent in getting that done and when I finally signed up, to my HORROR it wouldn't start until March 1st.  That left a 2 week gap between when my work insurance stopped and when Medicare started.  So, I pretty much hibernated those last two weeks.  However, I DID have to drive hubby to his chiropractor appointments, so I drove VERY CAREFULLY.  I am now completely covered by Medicare.  Phew!  And, we both managed to get one last 3 month supply of our medications under my old insurance and COSTCO.  Cost?  $0.00!   So, we are set for the next 3 months regarding our medications.    Another big "PHEW"!

I need to take the weeder out front and back this morning and get rid of the MONSTER WEEDS which have sprouted due to all our rain!  I've never seen so many and so many that are tall and healthy!  If I don't get them knocked down today or tomorrow, I won't be able to get them with the weeder!

My vegetables, however, are doing just fine.  I'll go out this morning and take photos and post them here.  They are HUGE!

Take care and drive safely.
~Cheryl Ann~