Cool Weather

 We had a really nice cool day with a few sprinkles. Unbelievable.

We all enjoyed the day.

Even this tired pup!

I hope you are having a nice week so far.

Happy Sunday

Hope you had a great weekend so far. It has been very smokey from the fires so I have been staying inside. 

I baked some pizza rolls and yeast rolls yesterday.

Someone ate a couple before I could get a picture. 

And...

My pink hibiscus bloomed.

It is so pretty.

Enjoy your day!

Hump Day

 Sitting in the fountain garden is one of my favorite places to be.

Baylee has his huge, fenced in play yard, we call the dog park right next to this area. 

I can sit here and relax while he is tearing up his area. 

He has dug several large holes. I guess he is looking for something special. 😁

I really don't care what he does in his own yard. I just don't want him digging up mine.😂 

My husband has to keep reminding me he is a puppy. 😆

You can see my orange watering teakettle in the picture. I use it to water the plants in Carmens head.

The week is flying by again. Soon another weekend will be here.

I hope you are having a great week!

The Giant Pumpkin

 The pumpkin is growing really well. Maybe it will be a giant pumpkin. We have tried several years to grow one over 100 pounds. My Dad grew one that weighed about 175 pounds 40 years ago. Since then no one has been able to grow one that big.

This may be the year.

Stay tuned.

The Princess sitting on the future giant pumpkin.👍

Fun and Games

Today we made cupcakes.

The Princess frosted and decorated them.

We all ate them and enjoyed them.

We made more icecream in the can.

It was as yummy as last time.

Although, I think we may be done making icecream for a while. LOL

We had a fun day with water fun included.

I am worn out.

Baylee is worn out.

Glad we can rest.

 

Just Peachy

 I needed to use up the peaches I had picked earlier in the week.

I decided to make a cobbler. 

I also made some homemade icecream to go with it.

It was really yummy. Another year is done with the peaches.

It is always something to look forward to.

Tomorrow the Princess is coming over.

I am making cupcakes and we are going to make more icecream in the can.

She thought that was fun.

I also have to bake my sourdough bread.

The weather has been really nice this week.

Tomorrow should be nice as well.

Yes, Baylee had a little taste of the homemade icecream. 

He may have licked the plate too.

Do you give your dog icecream?

When we first got Jack we went out to get icecream one evening.  

We took Jack with us.

When we got to the drive through the person taking our order asked if our dog could have a free small cone. We thought that was nice and said o.k. Well that was the start of his love of icecream.

We could never have icecream without sharing a little with him.

He really loved it.

Baylee loves it too.

What dog wouldn't?

FriYay

 It is that day again!

Here is what is going on in the garden today.

Cooler temperatures bring more blooms!

Disco Belle Hibiscus

Fisher the head planter

Beach decor

This rose I got at safeway last fall.

It has bloomed all summer on the patio.

I love the orange color.

The sink fountain

The surboard

The hippo pond also has a solar pump. It works for several hours after the sun no longer hits the solar panel too.

A glimpse inside the boat.

I haven't been inside the boat to dust for cobwebs for a while, but it is in pretty good shape.

I did notice one cobweb and the battery died in the clock. Guess I will have to venture inside to fix those things soon.

The boat lights up at night with solar lights.

They stay on almost all night in the summer. It is fun to take Baylee outside at night and see all the lights lit up.

And of course last, but not least the toilet fountain.

Toilet and fountain should probably never be used in the same sentence.

Believe me, many critters get a nice cool sip from the toilet.

We have wild turkeys, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, birds and bees. I have also seen a garter snake in there a few times. They have all been guilty of grabbing a quick drink.  They leave it in disarray as you might imagine. It is not hard to clean, but like any toilet, it's  probably the least enjoyable thing to clean out.

Although, I will say it has been a good addition to the garden. 

And, I really like the color. So that is always a good thing!

The little solar pump does the job and keeps the water circulating.

I won't mention how many times I have cut that little wire with my pruning shears.

So lucky my husband can repair the wire. It has happend several times and the last time he suggested I run the wire through a pipe and bury it. So that is what I did. Hopefully I don't cut it again.😁

I think that is the only thing I don't like about the solar pumps. Electric pumps have a cord but it is visable. The solar pump cord is small and when cutting the ivy nearby with the hedge trimmer I just zip right through the cord.  The cord you see on the toilet never gets cut. It is the cord that goes through the ivy to where it is set up to get the sun.

I have several solar lights too and they seem to work great. I have to be careful to not cut those cords, but so far I haven't. 👍

Baylee Update

 

We took Baylee back to the Haven Humane for his vaccines and the doctor was out that day. I decided to call our Vet and make an appointment. I didn't want to wait another week. 

So today it was. He did great, although he cried when he got his shots.  He is such a sweet guy. 

The Vet thought that he was 5-6 months old because he has almost all his adult teeth. 

So, yay for that news. I am actually happy about that. He has been doing so great for us. Potty training is going so well.  

We taught him to sit for treats. He does it everytime now. It only took one day! I told you he was a smart guy! He even sits before you ask if he sees you getting his treat bag out. I guess we can move on to another command. Maybe lay down would be a good one.

The Vet also said he is going to be a small dog. He only weighed 8 pounds today. So another yay. I was hoping he wasn't going to get huge.  

We love him so much it doesn't matter how little he is.  We still miss Jack, but Baylee is a joy to have and makes our days so much fun.  Baylee has another appointment for two weeks to get his last shot and then he will be good to go. 

I am so glad I was able to adopt him this summer and spend a lot of time with him. Going back to school will be hard, but at least my husband will be home with him. 😁  And I only work three hours so I will be back before he misses me right?

Speaking of school. I read that all schools in California will be requiring all kids and employees to wear masks. That should go over well. I am sure a lot of the employees and kids thought they would be mask free this year. 

My granddaughter will start second grade this year! She is going to love it. She has had a great summer, but I know she misses her friends.  This whole covid thing has been the pits. It doesn't seem like it is going away anytime soon.

I hope you are healthy and enjoying your week!

Cooler Days Ahead

 Yesterday was 117 degrees. Today only around 108. Seriously it feels sooo much cooler. It is really amazing.

Taking Baylee out to go potty every hour really takes a toll on you when it is 117 degrees. It feels like you are going to catch on fire.

Speaking of Baylee, he gets his next puppy shots on Wednesday. He is doing really well and I think he has grown some. We have had him for two weeks today. He no longer sleeps in the crate. He is sleeping in our bed. Of course I knew that was going to happen, but that is o.k. He does have two of his own doggy beds he can sleep in too. Ha! Ha!

Some pictures from today.

Keep in mind it has been over 100 degrees for three weeks. Some days over 110 degrees.

So the garden has sadly faded. The hibiscus are still going strong however, a lot of the plants are stressed due to the extreme temperatures. Hopefully as soon as the temperatures cool down some, things will perk up and put on a show for fall.

 

I moved the surfboard.

This picture looks faded out. No idea why. Sun was in wrong place I guess.

The surfboard is not faded. It is bright and cheery.

I really love it.

Well that is all for today.

Stay cool!

What To Do On A Smokin' Hot Day

 Well first thing in the morning I baked sourdough bread for my daughter.

I am trying to bake twice a week.

Making sourdough is a mystery to me. It is different every single time.

It tastes the same, but it never looks the same. Sometimes it is long and other times it is shorter and taller.

It could be the heat, but it is airconditioned in the house so not sure that would make a difference.

I keep making it hoping to find a way to make the loaves taller.  Maybe it is just going to be the way it is. It still makes great toast.

So the Princess came for her usual weekend visit and we decided to make ice cream in a can. Well I did, but she went along with my idea.

She had never made ice cream in a can before.

Years ago when my son was a Cub Scout and I was a Leader, we made the kick the can ice cream.

Of course the boys loved making it and they asked to make it all the time.

My daughter and son would beg me to make it again and again.

Finding a large and small coffee can was the hardest part.

Costco still sells coffee in cans.

It takes a large can and a small can.

I will keep the cans for the next time we want to make it. The Princess loved it.

We sat on the kitchen floor and rolled it between us instead of kicking.

Anyhow, I totally recommend this activity if you have grandkids.

Or maybe just a friend. Either way it is lots of fun.

1 Cup of Cream

1 Cup of Milk

1/2 cup of sugar.

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix well and add to small can.

Put lid on can and tape with duct tape.

Put small can into big can and add layer of ice, ice cream salt, ice, ice cream salt until the can is filled. Put lid on and tape it closed.

Roll can for 30 minuets and it is ready to eat.

It is so good. Yummmmmm

You will wish there was more.

You can always make more of course, but actually it is just enough to enjoy and not be to full.

I'm sure you could use Splenda or another non sugar sweetener if you wanted.  Also you can add flavors to it too. We like Vanilla so we just went with that. But, fresh strawberries sure would be yummy!

Blooms

 Well July is rolling along.

Smokin' hot.

Unbearable.

The flowers are continuing to bloom inspite of the heat.

Of course they love the heat so that is why they are blooming.

Open

Closed

Opennnnn

Closeddddddd

Opennnnnnn!!!

Oh it is hypnotizing to see this lotus in bloom....

 Pretty Marigolds blooming like crazy.

More hibiscus.

This is a Texas Star hibiscus.

Who doesn't love Texas?

Is it hot enough there yet?

Bet it is hotter here.

Water hibiscus

More in ground type hibiscus

The big reveal of the surfboard...

Probably should have made a post just for it, but the heat has my brain scrambled.

I am going to move it over to the nearby tree to lean against.

I should have done that before the picture. 

Cowabunga😎

Also some peaches.

This is a bad year for the fruit trees due to the drought.

So a few peaches is about all we will have.

Blooming cactus.

I feel like this cactus today.

Well that is all for now.

Back to cooling down in the airconditioning.