kidskastleplans

 
 My Dad is 83 and he designed a darling "kids kastle" for my grandson, Blake. Blakes' Great Grandpa, Popo, and Daddy
built the kids kastle and Blake just loves to play in his own special  playhouse with all of his friends even his Nona. Dad  just created four  new special playhouse plans for other families to build and enjoy.

 If you ever dreamed of building a  "kids kastle"  this is the way to go!

http://www.kidskastleplans.com/

Hawk Sighting

While walking today, I heard a raucous squawking and gazed up a dense Redwood tree. Two small birds were the cause of all the noise and I searched for a bird nest. The noise continued and I stopped and looked over by a small water feature. Sure enough there was a magificent Hawk. He or she was eyeing the noisy birds and upon seeing me gracefully swooped off for greener pastures. What a rare treat to see this bird so closeup! Magical moments like these are one of life's blessings.

Birthday Blessings

My birthday falls in June along with my husband, two daughters, grandson, sister and Tankene, my new kitty. It is a crazy month. The first part of the month began like this: my dear friends suprised me with gifts on my desk at work, a yummy lunch, more gifts, and my family had a surprise party Friday evening. Here's a note I wrote my friend explaining some of the details:
Good afternoon Sunshine, It sure was great to share some laughs and food last Friday! Many thanks for the dazzling blue pottery and the pink forget-me-nots, so -exquisite- I planted my reluctant-to-bloom, Christmas Cactus in my new pot with lots of rich soil. Did anyone hear my 911 message I sent out over the windwaves on Sat.? "Help Sunshine- I am working too hard in my garden." I over worked my hands and back and ended on a heating pad Sunday evening-ahh--as for the "surprise " party on Friday evening, Trace cleaned the house and made delicious chicken, my girls decorated the house, complete with balloons, butterflies, and sparkles. Blake blew up balloons and put sparkles in some mystery balloons- I had to "guess" which balloons had the sparkles inside, stomp on the balloon and collect the sparkles. Blake ended up throwing sparkles into my garden-- so one morning I may see a little flash of light and "Voila" a tiny sparkle will light my way! My winner's prize was a corn plant! What a blessing to have such loving friends and family! I really had a Happy Birthday.

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The Grogood Pledge

Sadly there are many hungry people in our abundant land. How about helping out in a small way to alleviate this problem. Go to www.groGood.com and pledge that you will plant an extra row or so of edibles this gardening season. Donate the edibles grown with love to your local food bank and help stamp out starvation.Think of the joy you will feel helping others.What a blessing to try in a small way to fufill Jesus's promise to love one another!

Just what every home needs: a white mouse!

Blake came to spend the night with his Nona and Popo. Every visit was special and seemed to end up with some wonderful adventure. Blake loved lizards and Popo told him a lizard was hiding under a planter box. Blake and Nona lifted up the box and the lizard scampered off. Blake continued to search, telling Nona "Come on Nona, let's find that lizard!" The lizard hid in some brown leaves but Blake caught him barehanded. Nona had never seen the beautiful Blue-Belly lizard. the lizard was fairly small and had a gorgeous set of blue stripes on his belly.
Oh boy that was all Blake talked about for the rest of the day. Nona, Popo and Blake put the lizard in an empty 50 gallon aquarium.The sun was warm and all three sat on the patio and "watched" the lizard. Blake rubbed the lizard's tummy. " Nona I rubbed his tummy because it helped the lizard sleep." Around 5:00 the weather turned cool, everyone went inside the house but Blake checked on the lizard until nightfall.First thing Sunday morning, Blake ran upstairs to see the lizard. It was still in the aquarium. He really wanted to take it home but his Mom and Dad said "no". Sunday,after Blake went home, Nona and Popo drove to the pet store to buy the lizard some food. Popo returned with crickets and a paper bag. Nona said " What is in the bag?" Something was something trying to get out of the bag. It was a white mouse.Popo said the mouse was oblivous to the fact he was food for a Python. All his other mouse friends were huddled together frightened but this little mouse was happily playing away. Once they got home, Popo set the lizard free and put the white mouse outdoors in the aquarium. Trouble was the temperature dropped to 40 degrees overnight and Nona was afraid the mouse would die from the cold. So Nona and Popo bought a fancy cage with a wheel and a condo that looks like a spaceship for the mouse, food, bedding and spent $62.00 for a $2.00 white mouse with pink eyes. Tuesday morning, the indoor cats could not believe their eyes...... There was a tiny mouse playing on his mouse wheel in a colorful cage on top of the microwave.The Norwegian Forest cat,Tankene, jumped up and opened the microwave door trying to get to the mouse. Sinatra and Mr. Chubs proweled the kitchen. Since Popo was still asleep, Nona put the the cage in the bar and shut the door. What will happen next?

Feb. Dream Gardens

My dear gardening friend, Sunshine, and I picked our dream plants today over coffee. They are Forsythia, Lilacs in pink, purple, and white, the Snowball Bush, and lots of Wysteria draping through the lath house. These are all plants that remind us of our youth and other gardens in long ago time. Aye we were a wee bit wistful for those days of yore and the special people who tended our dream gardens so lovingly. Jesus thanks for all the flowers you let us enjoy. I forgot to add cherry trees to the dream garden.The cherry buds are almost ready to burst into bloom - so enjoy this picture of last year's glory and the blessings of the flowers of Spring.

Advent Wreath and our special blessing- Tankene the Norwegian Forest kitten

Advent wreaths are easy to make and a great way to celebrate this spiritual season. Gather some evergreens or other native plants common in your area and shape them in a circle. Place the candles around the wreath, evenly distributed. There should be three purple and one rose. The first Sunday of Lent, light one of the purple candles.This is to symbolize prayer and penance and remind us to prepare for the coming of Christ. On the second Sunday, light another purple candle and reflect on the hope Christians find in Jesus. The third Sunday, light the rose candle and rejoice that our savoir's birth is near. I think of this as the candle symbolizing the joy we find in Christ. Another purple candle is lit on the last Sunday of Advent reminding us that Jesus is King. On Christmas Eve, a white candle is set in the center of the wreath to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world! Merry Christmas.
Our home is again filled with a special light with the new addition of Tankene Ice Mist- our new Norwegian Forest kitten. Mr.Chub already is his best friend and the Princess Sinatra is hissing less and less. More about him next post.

Oct. 4th

Oct. 4th is the Feast of St. Francis ....... all over the country pets are blessed in various kinds of churches on his Feast day.. Our kitten, Sly, was blessed yesterday by our priest during Mass .A moment of silence was observed to pray for Sly. Today Sly went to the Oncologist because we think he has cancer. So say a little blessing for Sly and all the other pets we love.