Yesterday I was sitting in my girly room, minding my own business, knitting a hat.  Suddenly David pushed the camera into my face with this picture.

Okay, I thought.  A little blurry and I said take another one and he took this…

Much better.  You like my blue fingernails?   Then David started to show me more pictures.

Okay, what’s going on?  ” I used the zoom lens,” David said.  “Here, look.”  I looked at my camera and saw the zoom was fixed.  You see, last summer on a small trip we took, I dropped the camera in my car and broke the zoom thingamajig on it.  I have still continued to use my camera, but couldn’t zoom in.  Then, David, bless his heart, bought me a new camera for Christmas.  Unfortunately, me and that camera did not get along well.  It was heavy, took too long(for me) to focus and I had to change lenses if I wanted to zoom.  It’s really a nice camera, just too much for me.  I told him he could have it and take pictures for me while I would continue to use my little, broken camera.   It’s worked out pretty well.  David takes good pictures.

Then today he starts using my little camera again. “Did you fix it?”  I said.  “How did you fix it?  Oh, I am so glad to have my camera working again.”  Then he began to laugh and I looked at the camera closer.  It was a new camera.  Just like my little broken one, only better.  And I could zoom again.

David had ordered a new pump for our water fountain and I had brought him the box from the mail thinking nothing about it.  The camera was in the box with the pump.  He sure surprised me.  Soooo, today I went around taking pictures just checking it out.  Here they are in no particular order.

Getting ripe.

You know those bulbs I bought at a big box store and didn’t think they would grow?  Well, they are growing and blooming.  I have several different gladiola right now and each one is so pretty.

This one was almost hidden behind the Shasta Daisies.  It’s amazingly beautiful in person.

Gorgeous.

Magic or August Lilies.  In the Spring these flowers grow their foliage, but no flowers.   Then as the Summer progresses, the foliage completely dies and disappears and then these spikes of flowers appear.  Then they turn into this.

 

What I am wondering is, how do they know it’s August?

 

I have a lot of these around the garden.  Whoever lived here before us planted them and they have come up every year since we’ve been here for thirty-seven years almost.

Last Summer a friend and I went to a shop hop and I won this quilting book.  I haven’t made anything from it yet, but I keep looking at it and planning.

I think this is a darling pillow.  I would make it with wools and I think I will make this pretty soon.

Isn’t this bee skep pin cushion cute.  It’s kind of labor intensive, but I won’t take it off my list to make yet.

I love this purse although the giant bee on it kind of turns me off, but I could put something else there where the bee is.

Right now I am making a quilt from this book.

Yes, I am making a sheep quilt.  I am not going to make it exactly like in the book, but I think it will be cute when I am finished.  I’ll try to remember to show you when it’s done.  I won’t guarantee it.  But I will try.

For those of you too young to remember these are insulators that use to be on the top of electric line poles.  When the poles started to be taken down, the workmen would often just leave these laying around.  My dad collected a few and I have found some at auctions.  They are just a part of history and I like history.

My trusty Riccar sewing machine.  One of four I have plus I have a few other sewing machines.  A friend asked me one time why I had so many sewing machines.  I told her it was because I never wanted to be without a sewing machine when I am working on a project should the one I am using break.  Plus, we sold these years ago and I brought the leftovers home with me when we closed our store.

I collect old chairs.

I come from creative parents.  My dad used to build and paint these little houses and sell them.  I was blessed to receive some from him.

He made this little church.

It even has a bell in the belfrey.

This was the last thing my dad gave me before he died.  The cow’s eyes are a little wonky which makes me love it even more.  Dad had had gall bladder surgery that year and his health never got back to normal.  I use to just put these houses out at Christmas, but I keep them out all year now to remind me of my father.  I can’t wait to see him again and I know I will.

Shhh, this is my favorite chicken, but the others don’t know it.  Penninah always greets me when I come into the chicken yard.  Honestly, sometimes I think I can understand what she is clucking.  Here she is engrossed in my pants.

Ada and Abby are now in with the big chooks.  David said they went into the coop all by themselves last night.  He had been putting them in after it got dark.  Seems things have settled down and the big chooks have accepted them more or less although there is an occasional peck when the younguns’ get around their food.

The best fertilizer.  I’m just sayin’.

Bonnie.  I love this dog.  She is getting old. Ten years.  We are looking to get another puppy maybe this Fall.  When we got Bonnie, we had an older dog who got a new lease on life when Bonnie arrived.  They played together and ran and had so much fun.  That dog, Subaka, lived to be eighteen years old.  I hope Bonnie lives that long.  Seems that it would be nice if your dog could live as long as you do, but it’s not the way.  I have many dogs waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge.  Dogs are the best and the nearest thing to how we people should treat each other.  They love us unconditionally, forgive everything and only live to be with you.  Sounds like God, doesn’t it?

Belle, the silly girl.  She always manages to strike a very silly pose every time I try to get her picture.

Here’s to new cameras and the wonderful husband who surprised me with one.  Bye.