Dizzying Amount to Share

So I'll give you another snippet. :-)

Patrick and Debra, Erik's brother and sister-in-law, are in the process of selling and buying a house! Erik is selling too--it's their mom's house--but Debra and Patrick are the ones in the fray as they are living in the house right now. Prayers for smooth sailing from here on out are much appreciated--escrow is scheduled to be done at the end of the month!

Last Tuesday

Gas to Santa Maria: More than I care to think about . . .

Erik getting most of his sleep for the day in the car: Long night at work

The bump on my head from hitting the car as I got in: Painful!

Afternoon with sister-in-law after signing papers: PRICELESS :-)

In other (random) news, I have a zit on my chin rivaled in size and subtlety only by the city of Las Vegas . . . and it apparently has the longevity of Wayne Newton. Don't worry, I'm not going to show you. But seriously--it's been WEEKS! Is it rooted in my jaw?! *sigh*

We have been adopted. His week-long picketing of our front stoop finally paid off.

This is Jonah.
He spent a diligent week hanging out on the porch, trying to get into the house every time someone used the front door, rubbing against my leg as I went by . . . and flopping down on his back for a belly rub when I sat on the step. Purring. There was no hope for us.
We finally caved and took him to the vet. Our guess is that he was abandoned along with one of the houses in our neighborhood. He had a rough transition in some respects--apparently the pets he met through the screen so peaceably appeared Totally Different when he actually came into the house. But he has warmed up a lot and seems to be fitting in just fine.
Spring came early this year! It was mid-February when we started seeing blossoms on trees and barring a cold snap at the end of last month, it has only continued! Here's an almond orchard we passed the other day.
We've been trying to get out and enjoy the lovely weather as much as possible. It was fun to see some birds on a walk we took down near the riverbed. I was thinking about Grandpa as I cropped these--I would have liked to send them to him. :-)

Kestral
I don't know what this little guy is--and I'm too lazy to look tonight--but he was a darling!
A Meadowlark who sang his heart out!
You can see his open, singing beak in this rather dramatic shot--kind of fun!
One weekend when we went to one of our favorite hiking spots, we saw a whole herd of sheep--complete with shepherd and dogs. I meant to do a whole post about it, but we'll see if I ever get that caught up. I love this shot of the rather commanding sheep in front here, with the torn ear.
This is a new hike at an old spot that we recently discovered. A gate that wasn't open before has been open the past two weekends, and we've been enjoying it! You can barely see our car waaaay down where the main road, running right to left, intersects with the path (and pull-off) which heads down into the picture.
This past Saturday we were there again with some friends and having more time got even further up. And we saw ELK! I, being a dolt, didn't have my other lens along so couldn't get a closer shot, but you can see them on the horizon there. Barely, I know. I'm sorry! There were about 15 of them and it was such fun to see them!
Randomly switching topics here . . . just FYI.

This reminded me of Grandpa too! We got a bag of pecans from someone and I took them outside and banged them open to dig out the yummy parts. :-)
What else has been going on the kitchen? Waldorf Astoria cake . . . with a twist. I borrowed a friends checkerboard cake pans and made two cake batters--one with the requisite red food coloring and one with water instead. Fun! I haven't made this recipe in a long time--Erik had never had it--and it was well-received. :-)
Erik and I have been on a soup kick lately. This is the Chicken Tortilla Soup we made last week; this week we've been enjoying some Spicy Minestrone. What to make next?! ;-)
Look at what a handy guy I married!!
Erik after he changed the shocks on the pickup
Today we spent outside in the back yard. We made a dent in our weeding, and--even more exciting--we (finally) worked on the raised bed we've been talking about for a YEAR.
It's not finished, but it's close! Tomorrow we'll get the rest of the dirt in and then can start planning what to plant in it. :-D
And no, I did not just take pictures while Erik worked. I have the sore muscles and sunburned shoulders to prove it!! In fact, I'm taking my aching self off to read and then go to bed! Love you all. :-)