Most of last week was being lost in Sudoku. Two, three, and, sometimes, four hours at a time, I was distracted only by making meals, eating, doing minimal errands and chores, being just a bit creative, and combing gnats and fruit flies out of Molly's fur. No excuses for my slacker activity, not even the few days of high temperatures. It wasn't until recently that I learned to play Sudoku. So far I've been able to solve a puzzle every eight games or so. I'm indiscriminate: I play easy, medium, hard, and very darn hard games, whatever happens to by lying around in a newspaper, magazine, or Sudoku book. Whatever its level, the puzzle I'm playing is difficult. I like the process so it doesn't bum me too much when my solution doesn't work.  Solving Sudoku reminds me of doing algebra problems once-upon-a-time in high school. I loved solving for x's, y's, and z's, regardless of whether I got the correct answers. The chase! ( Cue wicked grin. )

Despite the current state of our world and the fruit flies in the backyard, I am enjoying the summer with the Husband, Molly the Cat, and Friends.  Yes, that is a bureau in front of the house. It was Mama's, one of the first pieces of furniture Daddy bought her in the late 1940s. I brought it outside earlier this year but only got around to painting it in June. I like to think Mama's Spirit is okay with that. On Saturday, my high school graduating class held its annual Class of 1971 Scholarship fundraiser. For the past 10 years or so we have awarded a $2,000 scholarship to a graduating senior. We're the first, and still only, class to have established a scholarship at our high school. Pretty good for us, slackers. Yes, we were when compared to the achievers in the class on either side of us. That's okay, look at us now. Go '71 HayBalers! For the fundraiser's silent auction, I donated this one-of-a-kind, perfectly imperfectly handcrafted coffee cup cozy. 

A whispering of leaves. . . Plop! Sometimes, after the sound of trembling leaves, goes a ping! against a ladder, a bench, a table, or the shed, followed by a thud. Rustle . . . ping! . . . plop! I wonder how many times Molly the Cat has had a near miss with a fallen lemon or apple or avocado or apricot or Asian pear. The Husband says that Missy Girl knows precisely where to lay herself down in the backyard. He's right, Missus Lady.  Purrrrrrrrrrrr.  This has been a good year for Mama's fruit trees because of the winter and spring rains.  All the trees have been continually aborting themselves of immature seeds and fruits so that the fittest may live to full development. Plop! The lemon tree is a different story. We can't reach the top branches, thus when the fruit ripens, plop! The two apricot trees had branches heavily laden with fruit that they snapped. Giving baskets and box lids full of apricots to several friends didn't make a dent to the t

"Talky. talky. talky. talky. talk. . ." That's the first line to "Happy Talk" from South Pacific . So the Husband and I thought. This afternoon we learned the first line goes like this: "Happy talk, keep talking happy talk. . ." Yup. We have sung "Taw-kee, taw-kee, taw-kee talky talk" for over 50 years individually, and 24 together. Not to say we listened to the song yesterday. Twice. The Husband says he's shattered that the lyrics aren't "talky, talk." Go ahead: giggle, snort, snicker, chuckle, belly laugh. We have. "Talky, talky . . ."   REDWOODS, WATERFALLS, and HISTORIC KILNS One of our day trips during the Husband's birthday week in June was an adventure with good friends Missus and Mister H to Limekiln State Park in Big Sur, along the California coast, about 50 or so miles south of Carmel. (Pshew, that was a long sentence.) The park was a first visit for us all. We picnicked and hiked

I like to keep a bunch of rocks nearby when I paint so that I can use up any leftover paint on them. Wouldn't it be funny if the rocks in the yard seek hidey holes because they dread the thought of being splashed with clothing? Now that would make for an interesting story. Be my guest. This afternoon I happened to notice the various faces of a green painted rock. A different story on every face. These are only four of its faces out of eight, possibly 10 or more. What stories do you see? On Mondays, when I can, I like to participate in Angie's Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf . Come check out the other bloggers with me. By the way, here's what happened at last week's City Council meeting that I was in a hurry to check out live on TV: The Council voted 3-1 to disregard the mayor's appeal to stop the construction of a project to build condos on top of retail stores and another building to house nonprofit organizations on a downtown lot that h

In about 15 minutes, a public community TV station will broadcast live our city council meeting. I don't want to miss the broadcast because a lot of feathers ought to be flying at some point of the meeting. One of major issues is back on the table to discuss: An appeal to stop the construction of  a building for condos and retail stores, as well as a building for the local community foundation on  a block in downtown Hollister that has been vacant since the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. That's all I'll say so I can get my tortilla chips and lemonade before the meeting starts. I''ve created two photo collages for Mosaic Monday , a meme hosted by Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf . The light switch covers I painted in May are the subject of the top photo collage while the faces in rocks off the side of highway make up this second collage. For the latter's inspiration check out the highway wall photo (last one) in yesterday's post . Click here t

Once upon a time there were people who collected other people's trash and resold the items. Some of these early recycling entrepreneurs were said to go down the street calling out something like "I'm here for any rags, bottles, and bones." Rags, bottles, and bones. For me, it would be books rather than bones. But, I'm not looking to purchase any rags, bottles, or books. Not at all. I mention the phrase because the past week, I've been repurposing fabric scraps, wine bottles, and old books. RAGS The elephant scene (above) is my first try at fabric art. I machine stitched everything but the the red flowery thing, which is the top of a tree, onto a purple napkin. The zipper is the second, if not the first, one I've ever sewn. I have several more purple napkins and a whole bunch of scraps so I might experiment with more fabric art. We shall see. BOTTLES Last year I decided to make a garden border with wine bottles that I collected mostly from our

The header illustrates, in my mind, what my world was like when I was a small kid. We lived several miles out of town, one of four houses behind a country store, nearly surrounded by fields and orchards which I explored. I've become aware that our front and back yards may be reflecting my long-ago playground. Here are two views of the lower half of what was the former lawn. It's been over two years since we pulled out the lawn. We don't miss it at all. The daisy bushes have exploded all over the yard. Pow! Pow! Pow! I like the volunteer wild grass that has grown in a pathway. In May, or April, I'll pull it out. Soon, poppies will start showing their orange selves. And, here's part of the backyard that looks like it belongs in a storybook. So I thought when I saw the photo. This spot gets nice shade in the afternoon. If we set a little round table there, we can sit and eat snacks or play at being an artist. Of maybe, instead, we can put a sofa there so we

Miao, hello. Missus Lady says some of you have been asking about me, where am I? how am I? and all that. I'm doing well, thank you for asking. Purrrrrrrrrr.  It's been too windy, too wet, or too cold to be outdoors, so I've been lazing on top of my carpeted perch.  Eating. Sleeping. Scratching. Licking myself clean. Repeat. Not always in that order. Miao. Last week, my humans came home with new kind of dried food for me. I heard them say it contains probiotics, whatever that means. It's mighty tasty, for now. The old dried food was making me vomit. The food didn't used to do that. Someone must've messed with the recipe. Anyway, I like this new dried food, along with the new raw food that Hero Man says "Roar" whenever he serves it up.  Miao. This morning while waiting for Missus Lady to stop playing on the sewing machine, I found her doodle of me and someone called Santa Lucia. I asked her to please do her magic so I can put it on my post. Just

I came across a fun meme today. It's called Sunday Stealing hosted by Bev Sykes of Funny the World. Every Sunday she posts a bunch of thoughtful questions that she has "stolen" from elsewhere for participants to answer. Who doesn't like to answer questions, especially about themselves? Intrigued? Check out Sunday Stealing here , after checking my answers, of course.    1. The strangest place you've ever been. The strangest place I've ever been is a thinker. Shall I consider a place itself as being strange or a place where I encountered something weird? Better yet, the unfamiliar concept of being in a certain place, and it still feels unfamiliar (thankfully) after I leave that location? My answer. . . Thummm tha tha tha Thaaaaaaaa! . . .the hospital last year. From the moment I entered that hospital near dawn to the moment I stepped out the door the following afternoon was surreal. My gosh! 2. Unusual food combinations you enjoy. Pancakes, syrup,

I wondered what I could do for Say Cheese! Tuesday , which is hosted Jeanna of The Ched Curtain. Why not this, said I. He's totally a cheesy character in my book.

"Joy, joy, joy." is one of the things that Cu'Pie, our once-upon-a-time dear yellow parakeet, liked to say. Frequently. A wonderful thing to say, I say. And, I wish much joy, joy, joy to you all! I first saw the above joyful sight of a hillside on Thanksgiving Day. It caught my breath in such a way that I made Eliza Does-alot do a wicked swerve onto the road to which I turned that nearly all of the fried lumpia fell from the back seat onto the floor. Fortunately, most fell onto folders and envelopes so none of Filipino eggrolls were tainted. Thank goodness. They were our contribution to a dinner. A couple of weeks later I took the above shot that I painted today with Photoshop art filters. That day I made a somewhat gentle right turn, but came to a halting stop, in the grey rental car, which the Husband and I named Sedgwick. No lumpia sat on the back seat, but Good Friends J & T were. They, the Husband, and I quickly unbuckled our seat belts and tumbled out of

Molly and I are joining forces today because of whatnot and this. Maybe it'll be a regular thing. We shall see.  Missy Girl wants you to know that today's post is also her Molly's Monday #15. Molly the Cat: Speaking of seeing, Missus Lady watched a hummingbird in the front yard yesterday. Szzzzz. Szzzzzz. I love watching hummingbirds, but I missed out because I was napping. "You snoozed, you lost," Missus Lady said when she wouldn't let me go out as she was coming in the front door. Speaking of snoozing, this is what I found when I got back to my desk yesterday evening. The Husband wondered why Missy Girl just didn't go under the table if the light was too much for her. Zzzzzzzzzzz. Did I Say You're a Troll? Molly the Cat: The other day I overheard Missus Lady telling Hero Man about a post she was following at a local Facebook group. There was one part that was miao, miao.  Human #1: Of course you won't believe me. You already think