Made yeast rolls....

Yes, I finally made yeast rolls. This is not a significant accomplishment.... but it's something I've never attempted before. However, it is something I've always wanted to try (nothing exciting like climbing to the top of Mount Everest - which, btw, I have no desire to do). 

Anyway, the yeast rolls did come out fine... perfectly edible, but not as great as some I've tasted. If anyone out there has a really 'easy' but good recipe for yeast rolls, I'd love to have it. 

Thinking about other things I've wanted to do, I have always wanted to sky-dive. Almost did it once when my daughter and her friends arranged to do it on one of her birthdays a few years ago. I watched from the ground in San Antonio and could almost feel the exhilaration as they soared downward towards us. Still think about it. And I was told that at my age, I would need a doctor's OK. 

As for further adventures, I don't have a bucket list. There are some things that I would possibly like to do, but probably won't.... see the Galapagos Islands, visit the beaches of Oregon, visit possible family ancestors in England, Scotland, or Ireland.  

I would definitely like to go back to Oahu and spend more time there with my son and his wife.  The secluded lava beaches are amazing. It would be great to spend mornings watching the sun rise and evenings watching it set over the water... the sound of the waves, the fresh air - all unbelievable. 

Then - if and when this awful pandemic is ever over and if and when we ever feel comfortable traveling again, I want to go to the Hill Country and spend time with my daughter and her family.... as well as to New Orleans, Houston, and Baton Rouge to spend time with other family and friends. These are simple pleasures that are now missed.... even having dinner out with our youngest son, wife, and grand daughter here is a pleasure I miss and look forward to doing again more than ever.

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If we take it one day at a time... it's do-able.

Thanks for reading my ramblings, stay home and stay safe!
Some places may be re-opening, but please don't let your guard down... not yet. 

Hugs,
Rian

Had to add a picture of our mint here out front. It's doing so well... if it continues to spread, we may end up with a mint lawn. Smells wonderful!

Staying calm and enjoying nature...

Our backyard March 2020

Our backyard is a bit overgrown. We used to use it a lot when the kids were here... but now we basically have given it over to wildlife... which is actually very entertaining.

And our Bay leaf tree in the back is doing beautifully. I need to pick and dry some bay leaves soon.

Bay leaf tree

And the Spearmint in the front looks wonderful too. I love the smell of mint... and DH uses it in his sweet tea.

Mint

We don't have flowers, but we do have a lot of greenery... so I thought I'd share some with you. I had to make the pictures very large to actually see the leaves well... hope that works OK on your computers. Let me know if it doesn't.

Today is Saturday and day 12 on our 'shelter at home'. I haven't gone anywhere outside the house except to walk around the neighborhood. DH goes off to his radiation every morning and grandson went out on a grocery run for us yesterday. He was gloved and masked. Still can't find Lysol or Clorox disinfecting wipes, but otherwise, we're fine. 

I tried my best to handle the groceries carefully, either wiping them down, spraying, or washing in the sink.  One can only do so much.

Made another chicken (that's 9 new additions - the flock is growing!). I also started on a crochet project and am thinking about making a few little clay foxes... (maybe). 

Oh, and  I saw or heard that if you're making face masks, that vacuum cleaner bags were good. I checked my bags and the ones I have are 'odor fighting hypo-allergenic charcoal filter bags' for sensitivities to odors and dust. Would these make good face masks? Would it be safe to breathe through charcoal filter bags? I only have a few, but thought I'd give it a try if this was a safe alternative. Anyone know?

Closing this with this poster I found on Pinterest. Isn't this the most calming space? 

Love this!

Hugs,
Rian

Thursday in Texas...

This is our Celeste Fig tree (on left). It is actually behind the gate, but falls over into the front drive.

The picture on the right show how many figs it seems to be making. We're not sure if they will all ripen as there are way too many.

We enjoy eating these figs fresh...
if the birds (mostly bluejays) and squirrels leave us some.  We do have a Turkey fig tree in the backyard - these we leave for the birds and squirrels.





We also have a ton of mint growing out front. It is taking over our front yard. But we love it and it smells wonderful.  Also tastes great in DH's sweet tea!

even growing out of cracks in walkway!

Weather has gotten warm... supposed to be up to 98 this afternoon. We're also in for more severe weather this evening if the weathermen can be believed. This spring has been a bit much with the tornado watches and severe thunderstorms. Our sirens went off yesterday afternoon and we were like... "WTF?" (sorry) The sun was out in our area and it looked fine - but sure enough, it got black and started pouring in about 30 mins and they kept the tornado watch on until about 8 pm. But luckily our area was fine. Some were not so lucky. But unless I'm mistaken, no one was hurt.

This next pic is oldest grand daughter at a horse event last Saturday. She has been working a lot lately and this is the first event in a while that she could attend. Both she and her horse did well. My daughter sent us the pic.

June 2019

I'm still working on my seals. This last one, "seal and pup" I just finished.  Well, not finished,  as it will have to dry and then be underglazed and fired. But it's a little larger than I usually do... maybe 6 inches. Most of my sculptures are between 2 and 4.

seal and pup

tiny fat cat

OK... that's all I've got.  Going to go read for a while and maybe take a short nap. Thanks for visiting! Wish I could serve you some tea or coffee.  We have a really good Lemon Ice-box pie in the freezer. It was a new recipe that is definitely a keeper. 

Hugs,
Rian