Update

I'm still around...barely...

Ripley's death hit me really hard.   I don't know if it is because I'm older now, or what, but I sunk into a really DARK PLACE for weeks.  I seem to be coming out of it now, after the 3 day weekend we spent with our kids and grandkids up in Big Bear.  It was ... quite exciting (and exhausting) to share 1 cabin with 5 grandchildren!  Two of them were early risers and Nana got to feed them their breakfast, since I was the only one awake!  We put peanuts out on the patio for the squirrel, blue jays, and woodpeckers, and even got visited by some smaller birds.   The jays and woodpecker ate leftover grapes and blueberries from breakfast. 

We stopped by a local brewery in Redlands on our way up to Big Bear and saw a lady with... 2 CHOCOLATE LABS!   We got to talking to her and she mentioned a breeder in Ontario, so hubby called yesterday.   However, they are $1,000 to $1,100 EACH.   Yeah, we just don't have that kind of disposable money for a dog.  I've put in an application to a rescue organization down in San Diego, but everything is on hold until after June 15.   We're taking a short trip to the eastern Sierra and Papa also wants to stop at the humane societies along the way home and take a look.  So, we'll see...They do seem to have some nice looking dogs up there. 

I did manage to sell 2 journals, but my heart, at least right now, isn't into making any more.   I need to heal.  I just can't concentrate or focus right now.

So, I take one day at a time.  I spent most of my day reading library books and running errands.  Life goes on...barely...

~~Cheryl Ann~~

I'm still here...barely...

I'm slowly recovering from the loss of Ripley.   This has hit me extremely hard.  Maybe it is because I'm older now?  Maybe because, after 5 male dogs, I FINALLY had a female and we bonded?  I don't know.   I've really been in a dark world.   I am trying to carry on my normal routine:  feed the birds, water the plants, make a couple journals.  My heart wasn't into making happy butterfly ones, so I made a grimoire and an interactive one.  I'm BORED making stupid happy ones with flowers and butterflies.  I want something dark...brown or black.  I've been spraying coffee on paper and I like the way it looks.  I'm taking a week off...I just can't seem to be creative right now.

We took a weekend and spent the night with our son and his family in Temecula.  It was good to get away and to see their 3 kids, ages 9, 3, and 8 months.  Then, we came back home...sigh...

We eventually would like another dog.   The house is so empty without one.  Any suggestions for a couple in their mid 60's?   We both don't want another German shepherd...too many health issues.   Ripley, being a mutt, lived the longest and she was never sick until the end of her life. 

Any shelters we should visit?

Thanks, in advance.

~~Cheryl Ann~

A sad post ~Ripley

You may not wish to read this.  It is sad...

Ripley is dying.   Ripley is our nearly 11 year old black lab mix.   I think she had a stroke last week and today a vet is coming to our house to put her to sleep.  She isn't eating, she's sleeping 23 hours a day, and the light in her eyes has gone out.   She went and said goodbye to my husband last night.   Me?   I can't bear to part with her, but I also know she shouldn't be suffering like this.   She is miserable and it isn't fair to her to keep her alive.

So I will hold her, talk to her, and comfort her.

I've always had a dog.  One of my earliest memories is me sitting on the floor with my parents' cocker spaniel and sharing dog biscuits!  I've had a lot of mutts and 4 purebred German Shepherds.   Frankly, Ripley was the smartest dog I've ever had.   And, she had a great nose, which is why she would get into our trash if we mere humans forgot to take it outside when we left the house!

She loved to follow me outside every morning to feed the birds.  She would just and grin.   I haven't seen that lately.

It is time to let her go.

Ripley 2007 - May 5, 2018.   RIP my sweet one.
Here she is last month, out in the flowers.   She loved it out there.   I miss you, "Baby Doll".

May 6, 2018...It is difficult to even go out in the back yard this morning.   So many memories.  So many cat food cans scattered all over the yard to pick up.   She LOVED to get them and lick them clean!  So many toys...

Just a few photos of my hollyhocks

I'm really enjoying my hollyhocks this Spring.   I planted the seeds a year ago last fall and I had 3 of them come up and they survived last year's BRUTAL summer.   This year I planted more and they have just thrived.  I go out every morning and water them.   I love their colors, I love how the buds open up, and I love seeing the hummingbirds visit them.  We've had some terrible winds here this season, so yesterday I went out and tied up 3 of them.

Here are some photos of my lovelies:

Sometimes after I've sprayed them with water, I run out with my camera.   I have about 30 new photos, but I haven't uploaded them yet...maybe tomorrow.

By the way, it will be 100 degrees here today, then down to the low 90's, then the mid-80's here next week.  Mid-80's are PERFECT here, as long as there isn't any humidity.

I sold a journal yesterday, so I need to go to the post office and mail it out to its new home today.

Take care.
~Cheryl Ann~

The Franklin expedition 1847 and recent discoveries

So, hubby and I are watching "The Terror" on AMC, which is a fictional account of the Franklin expedition of 1847 to try to find the Northwest Passage.   It ended up with the deaths of 129 men and the loss of the two expedition ships, the Erebus and the Terror.

Naturally, I HAD to read the book by Dan Simmons.   Here's the link to it on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316486094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524234299&sr=8-1&keywords=the+terror+dan+simmons

But, OF COURSE, being a history major, I was intrigued and wanted to know the true details, so I also read Ice Ghosts by Paul Watson.  It seemed to be the most current book on the subject and he is a Pulitzer Prize winning author.   Link:     https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Ghosts-Epic-Franklin-Expedition/dp/0393249387/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524234370&sr=1-2&keywords=Ice+Ships

I read that book in 2 days.  I literally couldn't put it down.

Anyway, both the Erebus and Terror remained hidden for... 168 years!!!!!   Erebus was found in 2014 and The Terror in 2016.   There actually IS a Terror Bay, up by one of the islands, but it wasn't named after the ship.  It was actually named BEFORE the ship was discovered!   Sometimes history is more interesting that fiction!

And, the Inuit, through their oral history, had known about the 2 ships.  They found human remains of some of the crew and they actually saw others (and Commander Franklin's Newfoundland dog) ON the ship several times. 

It is not known how the two ships ended up 80 miles apart.  That is another mystery to be solved, along with the final resting place of Commander Franklin, Captain Crozier, and other officers.

If you want a good read, I would recommend the Watson book.  If was an Inuit/Irish researcher, Louis  Kamookak, who painstakingly interviewed surviving Inuit elders, plotted their stories, and eventually shared his information with the scientists and whose knowledge led to the discovery of the Terror.   He just died last month, March 22, 2018.   His own grandmother had told him the stories about her father going out to find driftwood and instead finding relics from 19th century British sailors...musketballs and silverware...That got him hooked and he devoted his life to helping solve at least part of the mystery of the Erebus and the Terror.   The elders told him that their ancestors spoke of masts rising out of the sea, of white men dragging boats across the ice, and of one ship sinking quickly, while the other lasted for 2 more years after being abandoned.   Amazing, eh?   ORAL HISTORY!   However, most researchers and searchers IGNORED the Inuit stories.   Louis Kamookak did not.  He tried to match place names with locations that he knew himself, since he lived on King William Island, which was near where the 2 ships were eventually found.   He also knew that the Inuit had different concepts of direction:   north was actually northwest, and south was actually southeast, since those are the directions the winds blow.  Additionally, the winters around 1850 were BRUTAL, almost like a mini-Ice Age, reportedly.  No wonder the crews didn't survive.   Their British naval clothing, consisting of wool and leather boots, were no match for the Inuit clothing of seal and animal furs, which DO protect them from the brutal winds and cold.   Apparently people didn't ask the Inuit about what they knew about this expedition until...SIT DOWN...2006!!!!   Amazing, the arrogance of some people!

If you are interested, I would DEFINITELY recommend you read Watson's book.

Here's another link with good information:   (from The Economist):     https://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21740384-inuit-oral-historian-and-finder-sir-john-franklins-lost-ships-was-58-louie-kamookak-died

I'm going to keep track of what other discoveries come to light.  The bells from the two ships have been recovered, along with dinnerware, silverware, and other items.  The location of Commander Frankln's body has yet to be found...The Inuit oral history DID report some kind of ceremony with shots fired.   Could this have been the burial of Franklin?   That remains to be discovered...and so the mystery continues...

Had a good visit with the herd yesterday

I decided to get up to the ranch where I board my horses yesterday.  I needed to worm them and I needed to buy pellets and I have to babysit the 2 year old TERROR today!   (I really do love him, but he IS a handful!!!!)   So I donned my jeans (which for some reason I can BARELY fit into...they must have shrunk?), my working boots, my white shirt, and stopped at Whole Foods where I purchased a SPF 30 sunscreen stick.  I LOVE IT!   I've noticed that sunscreen is either (a) TOO GREASY or (b) TOO STICKY.   This one, was sticky, but not too sticky.  I may go back today and buy another one.  AND, it fits in my purse!

I digress...

ALL the horses needed a good brushing.  Of course, SILLY QUAD greeted me with a nicker to ask, "WHERE ARE THE PELLETS MOM?" so I did him first.   OH MY GOODNESS!   His hair literally came off as I was petting him.   Ugh....so he got brushed first.   He is such a good boy. 

Then Gigondas.  She doesn't really like human touch, but she DID let me brush her.  GOOD GIRL!

Then Sunni.  His right side is his "off" side and I never really did that side, but his left side is all shiny now.

Finally, Scout, who could have cared less.  She just wanted her pellets.

OF COURSE it was "breezy" up there and chilly.  I worked with my long sleeved shirt on and I was glad I threw it in the car!

So, I unloaded 6 bags of pellets (50 POUNDS EACH), wormed them, brushed them, fed them, and gave them all some oil.  I trimmed both Sunni's tail and Gigondas' since they were nearly dragging on the ground.  I need to return next week and clean out water bowls...always SOMETHING to do!   :-)

NO PHOTOS.  I'm so FILTHY when I'm up there I don't even want to touch my camera!

Well, I'm not as OLD as my husband!

I retired April 30, 2016, the day our 2nd grandson was born.  His family is only 11 miles away, in north Indio, and I now babysit him and his sister at least once or twice a week.  He is...to put it mildly, 'HELL ON WHEELS"!!!   Little snipey!   He gets into EVERYTHING!   He stands on the kitchen table, he pushes chairs next to the granite island and stands on it. he PICKS UP DOG POOP, he takes off his diaper, and he can outrun me!   But, I dearly LOVE HIM!   He reminds me of my maternal grandfather with his blue eyes and blonde hair and he has that mischievous grin!

Anyway, it wasn't me, but HUBBY popped a disc or something in his back and I'm having to drive him now twice a week to the chiropractor.  In the meantime, he ditched his rigid, old chair and bought a rocker/recliner which he now sleeps in at night.   (AL:  just like you!).  I went out this morning and I'm surprised the neighbors at the end of the street didn't hear HIS SNORING!   At least, in his chair, he can get a decent night's sleep!  He also ordered me one of the chairs and it has now been sitting on the front porch for... 3 days!   We'll get around to bringing it in probably this afternoon.

I'm going up to the horses today to buy pellets and give them a "spa day".  I'm sure they ALL need brushing and need to have their manes brushed.  I need to buy 6 bags of pellets, which I'll have to unload BY MYSELF!   Ugh. 

We've had HORRIBLE winds here the last 2 days.  In fact, they knocked over a couple of trucks out on Interstate 10 and power was out in a couple of cities due to power lines being blown down.

The grosbeaks are back here in the desert!   I saw 4 of them yesterday and poppa is out front right now at the water bowl getting a drink.  They stop here every Spring for a couple of weeks, then move on...

My garden out back is FULL of sunflowers, hollyhocks, sweet peas, beans, and 3 squash plants.  I found a package of corn from 2017 and I'm thinking about planting it back there, too, and then I can watch the corn grow!  HA!

Here are some pics from my yard out back.  I also have 3 lavender plants and 1 mint.

My "Monet" garden!