She's on the plane....

For the giveaway, Krista had a choice of two of the little guys ....and she wanted a "smooth" one as I call them.  The others are "fluffy" in my books.

And, so.... little Fleur as she was known to me... has gone to live in the Yukon Territories of Canada.... hope she loves it there as much as Krista does.  Check out her blog sometime to see the amazing scenery Krista photographs.
Krista may change her name,  I don't know;  but the little gal said she was open to any nice name ..... and looking forward to new adventures too.... she's got a bit of spunk that little one.  At first she was a tiny bit apprehensive about leaving her CC buddies (curio cabinet bears)...but, after a while....she decided it might be fun to go out on her own...to have a big adventure.  She decided she could always send a postcard to her friends.
So.... she climbed into her travelling pouch.... felt her nice purple-y and pink sheets and declared them comfy..... and before I knew it...she was sound asleep and I decided she was ready to go.

that crazy bunny says it's time....

.....time to get on with making the draw for the winner of the little giveaway.... before he has to dash away or he'll be late for another very important date....

remember the interesting and wonderfully coloured "thing" at the bottom of the last post? .... Well, it was indeed a pot with the imprint of macaroni on the bottom.  It wasn't as if I had burned it on either..... it happens ever time I cook some pasta now.  I did burn spuds in that pot big time ....once.. and then, tried to scour it and clean it and even used vinegar on the bottom to soak things off.  I wonder if the vinegar caused some reaction even back then?  Who knows... but, whenever I do cook some pasta now...this is what I see after washing the pot as well as I can.  Hmmm... I don't know... perhaps I should toss the pot, but it is one of my good ones with a lovely copper core in the bottom, and it heats so readily and holds heat easily...that I hate to toss it.

Scratty Eddy made the draw for me... from several of the correct answers...tossed into his favourite cup.  I suspect he really likes that little cup because it is all his favourite colours....

Congratulations Krista!  You knew exactly what it was...hahha..... been there done that eh?  yeh, yeh....I know.... you weren't actually admitting to it...but, I think maybe............ you know....it happened .... once?

Anyway....  let's talk about what you won.  Or...maybe who.....



The thing about my little bears and creatures, is....they love to travel.  I even have a tiny hippo as far away as Malaysia.   Either of these little guys say they would love to come to live in the Yukon with you and Jimmy and Oreo... although, I would hide it from either of those two, as lots of cats and dogs just love to play with these little creatures... probably because they are made from wool...... sooooo....... let me know if you want a fuzzy one or a smooth one....

Thanks everybody for playing along..... and on another front.......

Mr. BV's office golf tournament yesterday... and our foursome did well enough to tie for first...but, in a count back of holes...we lost out by one stroke!  AAACCCKKK .... that close!  What a coup that would have been .... the guy who won was pretty confident that his team would win by a good margin because the other guy who usually wins was not there.... I don't think anybody thought we would be giving them a reeeellly good run for the money.  And... we had some lousy chip shots ...which if we had been just that bit more "on" our game....man....we could have won by several strokes!  hahah...that would have been something.... maybe next year.......

Gwendolyn, girl of many hats....

Gwendolyn took all the suggestions to heart.... well, she must have, mustn't she?  She's managed to find other hats, and, therefore...other duties.  It's not only golfing notes she holds now..... look at this...today she is holding a recipe...Energy Bars if you please.  And, ....the other day it was just hats......who knows how she found them.  The bears must have helped.  They are always up to no good it seems.

so...I got right on it...and made the bars.

YUM!!  Very tasty!  But.... they are still not the perfect recipe I am searching for... ooorr.. 'for which I am searching' if you must see it correctly.  I am looking for a truly tasty bar, but one which stays totally intact upon being sliced.  This one still crumbles a bit at the edges.... and still seems a bit softer than I want.  If you have a great recipe.... please let me know.....

I will post this one on my food blog eventually...and place a link to it so you can try it as well.

AND.....now...for a fun thing.

What is this?  Send along your guess in the comments....and if there is more than one who gets it correct...I will have one of the boys make a random drawing from a pot of names.... for a little prize.  Let me see..... perhaps I will give it til Friday so that a few more of my now long lost "regulars" might have a chance to drop by ......

Poor Gwendolyn..

she's been relegated.  To propping up notes.  Notes about golfing.  Golf lessons... golf swings....golf course holes and how to manage things...... I think she is doing a great job.

She is not impressed.

Two days in a row...

Hey!! ...this could get to be a habit!  You know what they say...do something for 21 days running and there you have it... a new habit is totally ingrained.  I'll be back into this by end of October.

Today.... more pelting rain.   Temperature has gone down to only +8C.... it is totally soggy now as well as darn cold.  Well, of course, that is comparatively.  As in compared to two days ago when it was a blistering +30C.  But, not nearly as cold as it will be in, ooooh, say... maybe December or January...when it could be a freezing -35C.... acckk! NOT even thinking on that just now...nope....absolutely not!

It is a perfect day for baking.  Turning on the oven instead of the furnace....making things smell nice and homey.  Bread...first on the list....then, muffins.... and then.... well, if I still feel perky.... who knows what else.  Maybe some biscotti.   The day is half gone though... and not much accomplished.... so maybe not more than that.

But.... it will be a good day if I get that accomplished along with some laundry and other odds and sods...

photos later.....
oh, alright...one for now... hen and chicks are changing colour.... and also being eaten by the bunny.... for the moisture I guess.  No rain for the past few weeks... we do need it today.

just stopping in to say hullo..

Been trying to get out there and hit some balls as often as possible... maybe overdid it a bit...my elbow is killing me the past few days.

Almost played Ladies Day today... but, after a whopping +30C yesterday...... today?....the temperature has plummeted to only +10C and the rain has begun.... driving rain as the winds are now gusting up to almost 30kph......sigh...... I feel like Goldilocks trying to choose a good day to be out there.  Too darn hot...too cold, rainy and miserable.  Boy...there are not many perfect golfing days around this area. Now I'm all discombobulated and don't feel like doing anything but having a nap...so...that's next.

I got supper ready earlier in anticipation of perhaps still getting out there.... it's so dark in the house I have to put on the lights and I can hear the rain on the roof...perfect napping weather.

Oh, just a minute....the dishwasher is finished...I could unload that...and...the washer and dryer need loads of laundry emptying too.... I guess there is always folding and ironing too...... yeh...... okay...I could manage that I guess.

 But, I don't wanna....... I just wanna be out there whacking balls.  There are only about 3 full weeks of golf left at my course.... and then....day by day at the city courses...... then, it will be months til we are able to get out again.... almost May usually..... and sometimes later, depending on the weather...not nearly a long enough golfing season.

What can I leave you with for a photo? ... can't just leave it with only words on here...that will  never do.... uhm...let's see.....

here's about how I feel.  My whiskers are just a teensy bit shorter than this...

hiya bloggy buddies.....

Contrary to popular belief...I am still alive and well.  I've just been totally lax in the blogging department and certainly haven't been crafting or making anything of interest....unless you count the great muffins and scones that come steaming hot out of the oven...on a hot and steamy day!  This morning it is cooler, cloudy and a bit drizzly.  A perfect bread baking day!

After being down and out for so long with the rib injury.... I have been overdoing it since they got better enough to swing my golf club.  Now... this week...my ankle is a bit of a nuisance.  I'm just not as strong and healthy as I think I am I guess.  What else is new?

My garden suffered while the ribs were bad...and I am trying to dig out some anemones that have totally taken over in every corner of every garden area.  I think that is part of how the ankle got bad in the first place.... well, that and stomping around the golf course.  I used to think that golf was supposed to be relaxing...but, it seems to me that we always have to hurry and it makes me irritated.  Especially my ankle.  They never tell the men in front of us to hurry up.... it is only if women are in a group that any of the marshals ride over to give you the hurry up sign..... hmmmm.... still the old boy's club ain't it?

We've also been chopping down the hedge between us and the neighbours,   It has been plagued with aphids and some other blight for the past few years...time for a fence and just some nice limestone rock along it.  It will widen the yard by a few feet and look much tidier.  So...that also means bundling and tying up all the cuttings... trying to get them to about 4 feet lengths..so the garbage guys will take them.  And..putting out only 4 bundles per garbage day...which is running into a month now.... maybe I'll try 6 bundles next time...but, eh....maybe not..he has been taking them... and that's a good thing.  The minimum charge at the city dump has become a lot more since I used to take things.... plus the charge for the weight of the load..... it gets silly....... so I'll resort to even sillier and follow their ever more stringent rules for garbage pickup.  If our black bins are not full...they don't take anything else sitting out there now.  So...we have to fill it up with bags of grass or other stuff... so they take any of the bundles of hedge sticks.... sigh...... they even left a chunk of carpet behind one day because my black bin was not full enough.  good grief.

While I golfed on ladies night...Mr. BumbleVee cut down more of the hedge..til he got stung by a wasp from a nest down in the dirt under it..... but, before that...he found a tiny nest with this little egg still in it and saved it because he knew I would want to photo it.  Don't know what type of bird it is... and hope the little hole in the egg is one made by the little bird himself and he made it to safety.... I don't want to know if it  isn't large enough for him to have gotten out of...... I'm pretending it is.

I've been to the fat farm...

...... and I gained 4 pounds.  Oh, just a minute...I guess I better elaborate.  I jokingly began to refer to my sister's little acreage as the fat farm because I figured I would lose some weight when I went there..... doing chores..picking weeds...scooping poo...turning compost piles..digging in the garden...more poo....feeding horses..more weeds and dragging 100 foot hoses around...  and chasing around after cats...and visiting and going for our evening walks after all day busy....whew...see what I  mean?..... But....  I always come away heavier than when I went there.  I have no idea how it is possible... it's just reeellly weird....because we are never still a minute... and are very busy.  However, I do bake and we do eat very well and ....oh, alright I see what happened.

So...  now I'm home and better get busy and lose that 4 pounds....  a few days of walking 9's and 18's on the golf course, and doing a lot of practice swinging ought to do it.

There is still snow on some mountains...and it was misty and raining at the higher altitudes all along the way....

Stopped at Finn's Creek for our lunch....

... and fairly flew along for several more hours.... lots of traffic and lots of stops for construction holdups....... summertime travel in this area...... arrrgghhhh...not a lot of fun.

Shadow....once a feral.  Still only seen by a very small "inner circle", which doesn't include any kids.  I feel quite honoured that he let me touch him and pick him up right from square one.  I think he thinks I am an extension of my sister somehow....  we look and sound alike...and somehow...he knows I am "safe".  He can be quite lovey with us.

...still keeping a wary eye on us....

Cleo.....keeping a wary eye on us too because she knows we will shoo her off the soft stuff.  She loves our clothes...the laundry...the comforters...the pillows if we are not careful.... and..of course... anybody who will give her a "crunchie"... but, she only likes to be petted and brushed...not picked up....

Hey.....  enough with the camera already!

Mister Thompson like to lounge on the bed...which is really high...and he is ah ...uhm... how to put it delicately...he is sensitive.... don't want to hurt his feelings...  somewhat overweight.... but, somehow still manages to get up there.  Vikki has dieted him a bit...and he has become more mobile and healthier over the years she has had him...his coat is now glossy and soft..it used to be awful ...stiff and dull.... but, still he maintains his husky stature.  He can't seem to shake it.

When I looked up and saw this on the way home I was all of a sudden transported right back to Portugal....    look!..... a castle!!

Oh, alright....it's a mountain.  Had me going for a tick of a second there.....

This little guy was the centre of attention at the rest stop on the way back.  He has his own little box behind the older dude riding the 'bike.  He wears his safety  harness and is clipped to a large steel ring on a very short strap..in case he should somehow get dislodged.... he loved his ride.  The guy was all the way from Montana so they had put on some miles... this was in the Rockies just outside of Golden B. C.

very dark, rainy and windy...

.... so, no golfing today.  Hahahha.... whew, finally a day off to do some housecleaning, laundry and stuff around here.  As you know, I lost two whole months to those damn injured ribs and now...  well, around these parts, there are only two months left of golfing season.  Arrrgghhhhh!!!  What a royal ripoff this year... missed most of it.  Next year I must. be. more. careful.  I want a whole season out there to see if I can improve my game and get more confident.  At the moment (for you golfers) ...my driver is working pretty good... but, my short game has let me down a bit.  Usually I am a pretty darn great putter and my chipping is good too..but, the long rough near the greens has taken its toll with chipping...and for some reason...I am having trouble reading the speed of the greens.  Oh, well...we know the answer.....practice, practice, practice.......

No time to bother with much blogging... it'll hafta wait til October at this rate.  Then, I'll have months to do that and other things that have been neglected.  Golf season is so short.. ... and must be utilized if at all possible.

In between golfing and yard work...I've managed to find a buyer for my motorcycle.... through a burly Harley guy that helped me unload the bike from the van when I had to take it to the dealership to have a throttle cable replace.  Sold our bike ramp too... to the guy that helped unload the bike.  He admired it and we said...it's for sale.  Sold!  ....and now ...we have helmets and other gear to sell and we will have finished with that chapter in our lives.  It was a fun ride....and Greg had fun racing....  til his accident.... but, moving on now that I know I have full blown osteoporosis and could break everything if I get hit or fall off......  my sister is happy that I will be safer on the golf course, I know..... although, with balls flying over trees from some of the long hitters...not always.....as a matter of fact..I might save my helmet and wear it while I'm out whacking balls.

Found this one morning while out watering before I left for a game....

Glistening like so many diamonds in the early morning sun......

I also found this......

..... I don't know exactly what happened here.  I knew the mommy robin was building a great nest...but, really I thought it was too close to the outside edge of the lilac bush.  Then, I didn't see her around for a few days and put my camera up at arms length to take picture inside the nest.  Only one lonely egg..... and now...nothing.  She hasn't come back.  I don't know if they just abandoned it after a particularly bad windstorm...or what.... nature is pretty cruel......

Buttercup arrived..

... and, it took almost no time at all.  She is Canadian.... didn't have too far to come... and Shelly sent her Express... wow!.... it's always such fun to see things so soon after admiring them on a site.  Check out Gingermelon ....for a bunch of cute little bears, dolls and elephants too.

I used to have an elephant when I was just a tiny kid..... but, haven't had one since.... it's time.
And I promise I won't carry her around in such an unladylike position!

Here is my new little bear buddy, Buttercup.
She is softest pale yellow with yellow and pink tiny flowered fabric ears and body.  She has a little pink felty rose in her "hair" ..

Her little feet are velvety soft and one sports a miniature heart of the same fabric as her ears.  Around her neck... a silver charm... a heart in an envelope.  Every part of her is carefully thought out and I love her.

The TBs (table bears) engaged her in conversation the moment they saw her.  Scooter rode past regularly waving and trying to get her attention....

Oh, hai.....I'm over here...yooohoooo... on the scooter?.... maybe I should try my no feet manoeuvre  to get some attention.. but, then again...maybe not....

She's got a few inches on this bunch at 5 inches seated ...but, they said they will introduce her to the CBs (that would be the 'curio bears') tomorrow..... just for the heck of it....

Thanks so much for little Buttercup Shelly!

Born to be wild....

.... and to ride.....

no, not me... this guy...

He's been months in the making. Just bits and pieces lying about.

For me? ....ooooh.... thanks Maggi......

Hope I can figure it out.

Oh, this is easier than I thought.

Wheeeee ..... ...

Hey..... look Mom ....no hands....!!  .. steering with my feet! ...

Stop it...you'll hurt yourself!

Ow............

Beverly in the morning light..

I love how the different light conditions affect colours.............. click to biggify and see her close up.......

                                                                            






A few other plants and flowers have appeared now as well.... even though I seem to have almost ignored the garden during all the wet days...and weeks.....

love the drooping bleeding hearts.....

lilacs are 16 feet tall and tower above the patio wall ... beautiful against the blue morning sky....

The diva ...

Finally, ... she makes her appearance.  All the others have bloomed and gone... she's been waiting them out I'm sure.  I thought the buds looked a bit strange and almost thought they were going to rot on the stem... so much rain here and not enough sun.  Nothing was happening ...and the outer covering just seemed to be getting brown... but, out they burst today... well, only one so far, ...  there are 3 other buds .... and, ohhhh...man...  was she worth the wait!

Please meet Beverly Sills... named for the famous coloratura soprano.  She really is an amazon next to any of the other iris in my garden.   She's beautiful, pink, and frilly......  I had seen and heard about this iris, but hadn't seen one in person.  It took me two years to find one.  It was late in the year...she had no flowers when I planted her... ... I was just going by the little picture on the identification tag and hoping for the best.  She is just as lovely as depicted and very near the colour even though I know one should never rely on an artist rendition...but, I was hoping... .... and it didn't disappoint.

....... on the golf course..

Finally!  I'm able to get a full swing and went out on Ladies Night to play 18 holes.  Here is the "island" hole.  It was beautiful, green and the water was so still..... but, the mosquitoes! YIKES !

This display is right beside the tee box on the 16th hole.... it's from last year.... didn't get to take a photo yesterday...

Me hurt today.  ow.... but,...a good hurt really, because it is just muscles being used.  Even my butt hurts from sprinting around dragging and pushing the cart full of "tools".  Those night time ladies like to have plenty of time to hang out in the clubhouse with a cold one and some grub.  That's a good thing.  Especially this time of year. OMG!!  the mosquitoes!  It was 'orrible!

If you got off the fairway they were so bad it was a rush to get the ball out of the long grass...so usually my ball striking was not the best.  But..also..I haven't been able to hit a ball for 5 weeks...so that has a lot to do with it. I hardly got to practice before I did myself in and then...just been waiting it out for the ribs to heal.

I do feel them a bit more today....but, Ibuprofen and in about 20 minutes...I will be better.  I hope.

Today ..no whacking golf balls.  Two days in a row right now is enough.  I'll do some more tomorrow.

I have other chores to get through today... like ordering a new throttle cable for my motorcycle.  Somehow a split appeared during the winter.... how it got there I have no idea. This bike is in pristine condition..is stored inside all the time...and there is nothing that can touch it in that spot. Look...pristine. So it seems weird to me.

I love this bike..but, I need to get it on the market...I'm selling it.  It would be foolish to ride when I know I have full blown osteoporosis.  If I get knocked off ... well, it would be more than just a few ribs that would be broken, and ohhh...man....that would not be a good thing.  So... best sell it.  Before I jump on and ride it and change my mind.

I'll be safer on the golf course, or in the kitchen..or making bears or something....
...

or ....we could go back to Portugal and  do some fishing.....

See more amazing history and architecture ...

Eat more of that amazing food!  Look at the size of those skewers!  Swords.  That's more like it.... with waaaay more meat skewered than we could eat.... oohhhh but it was tasty....

..oh, boy......now......where was I?.....

Oh, yeh...... I remember.  I was right in the middle of holidaying in Portugal.  Well, not literally...we were home, but, I was reliving it through my photos..... for me and for you..... but real life got in the way.  I wrecked myself.  Injured my ribs leaning into a woodbox and that was it.  That will be 4 weeks ago on Saturday.  Lost a month of summer already and we only have 5 months of summer around here.  Haven't been able to do much .... and time just slid past.

Finally, yesterday, it didn't hurt anymore to sneeze and cough.... woohooo ...so.... things are looking up.  Meanwhile, no golf of course, and my summer is dwindling already, so I'm still a bit grumpy.  Hope poor Mister BV doesn't think I'm a "lot" grumpy... which I probably am.  Okay.  I am.

We drove to the Okanagan over the weekend...which was not all that comfortable in a small sporty car.  I was wishing I had a corset or at the very least a towel to wrap and tie around me. But... we got there and I enjoyed petting horses and cats...and spent time outside at least.  The weather was great....

My sister and I always joke about it being "Vikki's Fat Farm" ... We don't diet, but we usually work hard enough that we can lose a few pounds.  Not this time...she is still recuperating from a broken wrist...and my ribs are wrecked...so we didn't do as much physical stuff.... (well, she did... she always does and is pretty darn tough in spite of a poorly healing wrist.)

It was still busy enough with a lot of non farm related stuff... almost too busy.  But... I did manage to get in my fun times with the furry guys.

oh..hahha..... sorry...couldn't resist.  This definitely lets you know farm cats live around here.  Didn't see many with hats on this visit though....

Mr. Thompson says hi... howarya? c'mon in....my food dish is right over here.

Okay..if you're not gonna find those scrumblies for me ...then I'll just have a little lie down while I wait...

Aaaaa, yes... a chance to rest my weary toesies..... seeing as I am a pretty big dude...and they get tired and the pebbles hurt them when I walk on the driveway....

Oh, boy....says Cleo........ guys.  Come in and pet me instead...  I can wait for my grub til later....

I better stay out here says Kira.....I'm not allowed in the house because I do the same thing to the furniture..... scraaaaatch!  But... come back outside as soon as you drop your suitcase and visit me too.....

Aaaah.....sun and scratching and petting ...nothing better is there?  Nope...not for me.  Not even food.  I'll just eat something later.   Oh, and ...say, come over here and see my horses.

Remember Mickey?   looks as good as ever doesn't he?  'Specially for a guy diagnosed with emphysema some years back and given no chance.  Vikki washes his hay so he gets no dust in his food.  He is pretty coddled.... and doing fine as are all her pets.  And.... that Suzi..... the cheeky little 34 year old Arab....just look at her!

Some neighbours up the road had goats.... they charged right over to the fence to see us.....not the neighbours...their goats.  I bet they thought we had some goodies for them too.  That fencing probably was not the best for goats.  They stuck theirs heads straight through the spaces....

Nubians