Post Holiday

The week has been so busy with festivities and company. All of the activity is so much fun, however, it certainly can fill the time that I would normally spend with the computer. Hmmm. I do realize that I am not alone in this dilemma as I read of so many fellow bloggers taking breaks from blogging at this time of the year.



Our July 4th holiday was absolutely perfect. We always have a big family get together for games, great food and evening fireworks for the little ones. The firework show is very low key with sparklers, worms and fountains but the kids love it. This year we had around one hundred family members who attended and many laughs were shared. One would think that we never see each other and yet we all live close by and see each other often. We are blessed with a family that gets along well with one another and cousins who have best friends who are other cousins.



The afternoon starts off with a sand volleyball game. That gets the competition rolling. We had perfect weather and fun was had by all. This year my husband cooked tri tips and brats on the big Santa Maria BBQ while we set up all of the side dishes that my DILs brought. Everything was delicious.

Waiting in line for your turn at sparklers is always the highlight.

A few of the red, white and blue flowers from the yard for the centerpiece.

By the end of the evening everyone was exhausted and ready to head off. Several of the group went on to watch the public fireworks display, but we were ready for bed.

Sometimes you need a good place to rest and grab a few chips to snack on.

Even our old dog needs a little TLC while resting.

This is our rescued tortoise, Cooper. As you can see, he apparently was munched on by some animal as he is missing a part of his shell covering his hind foot. He loves a party and will instantly come out when people are around to see him. The kids love the big tortoises. They are well fed when the little ones arrive.




Our son and DIL were down for a few days with the youngest grandchild. It is always fun to have them here and catch up on their busy lives. The baby has started to eat solids and it is always such fun to watch the faces when they eat. You would think they were eating some horrid food with the espressions they make. They do, however, keep opening their mouth for more.

This is the highchair that his daddy, aunt and uncles all used.

With the house quiet again, I have had a chance to get into my sewing room and work on a few projects. There was lots of mending to do but also a little fun stuff. I finished my small quilt for the Four Season's Summer Quilt Swap and will get that in the mail later this week.





I received my class brochure for the Road to California Quilt show next January. There are so many wonderful classes to take and I find that I want to take them all. I will have to limit which ones I take because the days overlap. It is a fabulous show with incredible quilts.


And now....the continuing saga of my whirlpool tub. As I wrote before, the Aq*uatic company decided to replace my defective tub after months of fighting with them. The new tub was delivered last Wednesday when they picked up the old one. The plumbers arrived on Thursday, uncrated it, water tested it outdoors and installed it. It works perfectly EXCEPT the company sent the wrong color. It is white instead of biscuit like the toilet and sinks. Of course everyone whom I need to speak with is out of town this week. What would I expect???? Do you think they could finally get it right? This is definitely a company that I would NEVER do business with again. On a positive note, we do have a tub that is working until something is done about getting the correct one installed.


My tortoise eggs are coming along nicely. I candled them over the weekend and it appears that I will have seven hatchlings from seven eggs. They should be out sometime around the beginning of August.


The fires in California sound numerous. We have been lucky enough to have most of them north of us which frees us from the smoke and ash. I know how awful it is to breathe that air and I really feel sorry for the folks with fires in their area. I have to hand it to the brave firefighters who do an incredible job fighting them. To imagine over 1400 fires all burning at one time is almost too much to fathom.


I hope that everyone will have a great week.