The storm is coming 022714

Hi pals,

After having some nice sunny and warm day, it looks like we are finally in for a big storm.  Yup, we are expecting rain, wind and snow.  In fact, we have had some sprinkles and a little bit of hail this afternoon but it soon stopped when the sun came peeking out from the clouds.  Now it's night time and we can see things are going to change fast.

                                               The sun is setting and clouds are moving in...

We are hoping to get a good water amount from the storm but don't want so much that things flood due to the inability of the dry lands to soak up all the water at once.  Of course maybe it will help fill our empty lake back up.

                        Momma took Puffy and I outside to do our business before the storm comes.

We sniffed and sniffed...

  

Tried to find a nice spot...

 

But you know it's hard to perform under pressure.

But finally, Puffy found a spot...

 

and I found one right afterwards.  Aren't you proud of us?

 

Hugs and kisses,

 

Coco Rose and Puff Darby

Walking in our community 02/27/14

Puffy and I had a good day today.  we saw fresh elk tracks - but no elks:

Elk tracks leading onto someone's property

 

This is where the elk tracks were going...

 

 

                                      The elk tracks were located up in that line of trees above.

                                      The only thing we saw was one lone Bluebird....

Hugs and kisses,
Coco Rose and Puff Darby

Catnapping the dogs page 02/25/14

It has come to my attention that the dogs have a BLOG and I was so rudely left out.  The mere title of the Blog indicates that Coco Rose and Puffy are the sole bloggers:  Well I'm here to tell you that I, Simba Blue, will take over the dog's blog page as I see fit.

I'm the handsome fellow on the right hand side.  There were cat treats in the fishes mouth and I wanted them.

I'm a Ragdoll cat and was born on May 15, 2000 so that makes me almost 14 years old.  I have been living with the humans since I was an 8 week old kitten and I think that give me more say on how things are done around here. 

I am not afraid of those two yapping dogs and I have been known to box them as I deem necessary in order to get the respect I deserve.  I only had to box Coco once as she was a fast learner and has decided I am the KING!  However, apparently that silly white dog must be missing some of his marbles because I've had to box him several times but he just doesn't seem to learn.

Most of the time we all get along just fine but every once in a while, there is a fall out between myself and Puffy.  Puffy will bark and growl at me then chase me until momma or daddy makes us stop.  I find the whole thing to be funny because that crazy pup can't jump up on the furniture so I always manage to get away.

I had a kitty sibling named Bay-Ling, but she passed away last year of cancer. 

                                           This is a photo of Bay-Ling.  I sure do miss her!

Momma has tried and tried to talk daddy into adopting another kitty so that I can have a friend, but daddy says momma and he are getting to old so getting a kitten isn't very feasible.  Momma countered that it would be a wonderful opportunity to give an older kitty a home, because older animals are often put to sleep, but still daddy refuses.

So now I find myself as an only cat in the family.  However, the night before last, there was a kitty in our yard.  Yup, a full grown cat was lurking around the bird feeders hoping to score a snack.

The gray kitty looked to be well fed, but the only neighbor who we know has some cats is an elderly couple in their 90's.  They (the humans) are experiencing health problems and the woman is currently in and out of the hospital.  Daddy thinks the gray kitty is one of theirs but isn't sure.  Momma wants to put some cat food outside for the kitty, just in case it comes back, but that food will also attract wild animals, so that really isn't such a good idea.  So for now, momma is on the look-out for the kitty and if she finds it, she says she will give it a home with us.

These two pictures were taken today - go ahead - admit how handsome I am - I will fully agree with you.

Simba Blue

The road to our house 02/24/14

Hi pals, Coco Rose and Puffy here.

Today, the humans decided to go for another walk around our community and momma was all set to get out the PUPMOBILE (our stroller) but daddy wanted to walk on the road in front of our house and that has lots of gravel on it, thus making stroller rides very bumpy, so we didn't get to go.

Anyhow, here are some pictures momma took:

Our house is on the right hand side just before the turn in the road.  You can't see it from this angle but it's there.

                                                     Trees, tress and more trees.....

                                                           A whole valley of trees.

                                             Look at those pretty clouds, oh yeah, and trees

Here is a tree that needs to be chopped down on our property - it died.

 

Juniper leaves - kind of a unique picture.

 

Little brown squirrel didn't even know it was getting it's picture taken - BOL

 

That's all for now - more to come later.

 

Hugs and kisses,

 

Coco Rose and Puff Darby







Our kitchen 02/23/14

Hi pals, Puff Darby here.

One of my favorite rooms in the house is our kitchen.  It is here where we usually get fed dinner, get various snacks through out the day and just lounge around practicing our "starved" looks. 

Last Sunday daddy spent some time applying the grout to the granite tiles on the big kitchen island (it's 8 foot by 4 foot).  He used a non-stain grout so momma wouldn't have to scrub gunk out from the cracks.  Momma really wanted a solid surface but since we live in a rural area she had to settle for granite tiles because most vendors refuse to travel out to where we live.

Anyhow, after the grout was applied, it had to cure for 7 days before the counter could be used.  Momma insisted that the counter top granite be sealed so today the humans spent some doing that.

I don't really understand what all the fuss is about with the island as it isn't my favorite part of the kitchen. 

                                         This is my favorite part of the kitchen - BOL, BOL

Puff Darby

Oh Deer! 02/22/14

Hi pals, Coco Rose here.

The sun was beginning to set in the sky and we had just finished eating dinner when momma asked daddy if we were going to go to the mail box (the cluster mail box is about 2 miles from home).  Daddy asked if momma was expecting something and she is, as she ordered some sewing stuff from one of the catalog companies so Puffy and I got to go along for the ride and guess what we saw?  Right up the road from our house there were four huge elk!  All were bucks but they proved to be camera shy and the humans weren't able to get pictures of them.  Right down the road from where the elks were we saw a herd of deer.

                                                 Here is the first herd of deer seen. 

                                     These are the same deer as above only on a closer view.

                        The one deer was just as interested in us as we were in it - BOL, BOL

                                                    Here is yet another herd of deer.

Here is the third herd of deer spotted.  This photo is a little blurry but you can still see there are deer in the photo.

Maybe tomorrow the humans will go sit down by where the elk were spotted and wait for them to come back - it's worth a try because momma wants to get a photo of them.

Hugs and kisses,

Coco Rose

Lake? What lake? 2/22/14

Hi pals!  Coco Rose here.

Yesterday the humans after the humans went to the grand opening of the Family Dollar store, momma asked daddy if he would swing by the lake in our community so she could take some pictures.  Puffy and I were in the truck in the passenger seating area so we were hoping he said "YES" as we like to go for car ride, although sometimes big baby Puffy will start to whine after a while.  So, after picking up a few thing at the store, we went back to our community (remember the new store is about 9 miles from our house), and daddy drove to the lake. 

Our lake should have been here - HEY! WHO STOLE OUR LAKE???  No water in sight, just dirt.

                 I guess this means we won't be going to the lake to do any fishing this summer.

                                                      Not a drop of water to be seen.

There were only dried shrubs and candy striped rocks.  We didn't even see any deer, probably because there isn't any water to drink.

One of the things momma was excited about when we moved to New Mexico was having a lake where she could fish and kayak in close by our house.  All I can say is it isn't going to happen this summer. 

For those of you who have had excessive snow fall this winter, feel free to over night express your excess to us and we will put it in our lake - Thank you!

Hugs and kisses,

Coco Rose

Muddy feet - what muddy feet? 02/20/14

Hi pals - Puffy here:

The high winds from yesterday have gone away and it is a nice sunny day in New Mexico.  Freeloading birds are out at the bird feeders along with one chipmunk.  We did have five chipmunks coming around right before winter began but for the last couple of days there has only been one - I wonder what happened to the rest.  Of course we do live in a rural area where there are wild animals that wonder about so maybe they became someone's dinner.

And speaking of dinner, Coco, momma and I went walking down our driveway and came across some poop that had lots of fun in it.  Coco and I sniffed and sniffed it to see exactly what it was.  Coco offered to pick it up and take it back into the house but momma told her "NO - you're not putting that crap in your mouth"!  Do I need to tell you that Coco loves to raid the kitty potty box for kitty crunchies so finding some new poop to chew on would have made her day?  Any ways, she didn't get to sample any of it - BOL,

With the sun shining, we have various areas where the small dusting of snow have begun to melt and that means mud puddles.  I haven't figured out why Coco hardly ever gets her feetsies muddy even though she sometimes walks in the same areas where I do.  It's not like she weighs less than me - "HEY! KNOCK IT OFF - NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT" yells Coco.

                 Anyhow, I often times manage to come back to the house with muddy feetsies.

Yup, I walked right in the mud puddle and now I have to have my feetsies washed (that's my momma holding me).  I was trying to convince momma that my feetsies weren't muddy but that they were "just wet" but she wouldn't listen and I did end up having my feetsies wash, again.  Momma sure is getting a lot of use of that laundry sink - BOL, BOL

Puff Darby

High winds and fire warnings 02/19/14

Hi pals - Puffy here.

We are on high alert due to extremely high winds (65 mph)  and lots of dry brush so fires are springing up around our State.  So far there have not been any casualties or loss of homes because the wonderful fire crews have managed to knock them down quickly, but with the arrival of the high winds that might change instantly.  Our snow fall for this season has been disappointing so we are also facing more drought conditions.  Many local lakes have been dry for several seasons and it doesn't look like they are going to be replenished any time soon.  The lake in our community once panned out into what is now cattle grazing pastures but each year the lake it gets smaller and smaller.  We could really use some moisture to help resolve these conditions.

           This is the cattle pasture in our community - the whole basin used to be filled with water.

                                                   Here is tomorrows dinner - I wish....

                           Do you see the pretty candy striped cliffs?  Want to see some more?

 

 

Our property isn't right by these cliffs because you have to pay more for those plots of land.  Besides that's usually where the bobcats and mountain lions roam.    Instead, our property is right in the thick of trees and boarders a National forest so we need to be cautious when fire conditions arise. 

 

 



See all the trees?  They're pretty but once the snows melt, as it is now, those trees become fire kindle and since we are in a valley with lots of trees everything can burn within minutes.

Puff Darby

I'm bored 02/18/14

Hi pals,

Nothing much is going on down our way.  Momma got out the latter and is once again working on fixing some of the cracks that are appearing in the drywall.  Today she had to climb almost all the way to the top of the latter to patch a huge crack in the living room ceiling.  The whole time she was saying nasty things about the "handyman" who did the drywall.  Momma hates climbing on the latter but was tired of seeing the cracks so it had to be done.  I made sure to stay out of her way because I knew she wasn't going to be happy. 

Our little community is so small that the downtown area only has a post office, a tiny restaurant (that isn't that good), a middle and high school combination and a little elementary school. 

                              This is our Downtown - if you blink, you will miss it - BOL, BOL
The grocery store/gas station closed and now has a FOR SALE sign attached to it.  This afternoon the humans, Puffy and I went to the new Family Dollar store that just opened last week.  They did a little shopping but didn't buy us anything!!! 

We did not have much snow fall this season so now we must worry about the dry vegetation as it becomes a real fire hazard. 

Momma told daddy that she is tired of having dogs come to bed with muddy paws and something needs to be done with our courtyard.  Daddy wants to plant grass but momma says that won't eliminate muddy paws during the monsoon season or when the grass is gone during the snowy season.  She wants to do bricks or pavers so we will have something solid to walk on instead of dirt/mud. 

So that's it from us today.  Hugs and kisses,

Coco Rose and Puff Darby

What's been going on 02/14/14

Hi pals,

Puffy here - Coco, Simba Blue (our Kitty furbrother) and I got hauled off to the vet yesterday.

                                                 This is Simba Blue - Our kitty furbrother.

I had to go get my thyroid re-checked and a couple of shots and heartworm testing.  Coco needed the heartworm testing also.  Simba has been sick off and on a couple of time so the humans wanted the vet to give him a check-up to see if there was something wrong with him.

So early in the morning Simba was put into a crate and we were all put into the cab area of the truck.  Momma had stayed up late working on the Valentines day party for our Dogster page and let me tell you she was CRANKY because we are out of internet time so she had to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to work on it when internet doesn't cost anything.

Simba apparently didn't like going for a ride and MEOWED the whole way there (over one hours worth of listening to ole Simba was enough to give me a headache).

Momma made sure she held Coco and I securely and wouldn't put us on the floor because the last time we were at the vet, a big dog attacked me.  The vet was very nice and let momma and daddy leave us there while they went grocery shopping and had lunch in town.  I have been having lots of eye watering and the vet said it is because I have blocked tear ducts so I now have to have some ointment put in each eye.  Coco has an ear infection so she has to have some drops put into each ear.  Simba, the one who has been sick was found to be OKAY and didn't need anything (the vet thinks Simba probably had hairballs - go figure).

Anyhow, that's what has been going on in our lives.  Happy Valentines day to everyone.

Puff Darby

Quilts galore 02/08/14

Hi pals,

Momma was messing around with the computer and guess what happened?  She tried to downloads some apps from the app store and they wouldn't download.  Keep in mind this computer is NEW and came with Windows 8 installed.  There was a option to upgrade to Windows 8.1 which momma allowed and everything was fine until she tried to download some apps.  The Microsoft Mr. Fix it had three choices for troubleshooting the issue:  The first two were simple enough that momma could easily follow but they did not resolve the issue.  The third option was more complicated so momma opted to "restore" the computer to the original state.  The only problem with that was it wiped out Windows 8.1 and now we are back to Windows 8.  Phooey!   Momma searched and search for the FREE Windows 8.1 offer but couldn't find it.  And to make matters even worse, momma has already written the Dogster Memorial and it went off into cyber space.  Momma was in a panic...Where the heck is my memorial???  Luckily after nearly having a heart attack, momma found the document on the computer so she quickly had daddy re-set the printer information and then printed it out, just in case - BOL

In between messing with the computer, momma took some photos of some of the quilts she has made over the years.  Often times momma gives them away to family or people who have undergone major events.  One went to a family that lost everything in one of the roaring fires that Southern California experienced.  The quilts that go to family members are only "on loan" just in case they do not take care of them.  Grandpa took the three quilts that momma had made for him and Grandma and threw them in the bottom of a closet and the cat made them into a soft potty box.  Momma took them back after she found out, washed them and got all the stains out.  She then gave them away to people who would appreciate them. 

Anyhow, here are some photos:

This quilt won first place in the Del Mar Fair.  Momma doesn't use it too much since we still have dirt and mud and she doesn't want it ruined.  It is a TRIP AROUNF THE WORLD pattern



 

Here is a Log Cabin quilt that momma made.  Both the Trip around the world and this quilt are big enough for a king size bed.  Momma did the everything expect for the machine quilting as she sent both quilts out to have them done professionally.

This is a !/2 Log cabin pattern - It's a wall hanging but momma has to finish doing the binding on it.  Maybe tomorrow - BOL, BOL



Here is a small wall hanging but momma can't remember what the pattern is called (she's old you know).  It will be hung in the guest bedroom once that room gets finished.

This is one of momma's favorite quilts.  It's made for the daybed but it is extra long and wide - perfect for snuggling under.  It is a SCRAP quilt done is the CRAZY Quilt pattern. 

This is one of the harder quilts momma made.  It's a Bison that momma found the instructions for doing but she had to enlarge the quilt to be a twin size instead of a wall hanging, thus the red arrows that were added.  The pattern was composed of a million small pieces that had to be pieced together separately and took forever.  The quilt is old and is now falling apart but quilts should be used and enjoyed.

This is another wall hanging - patter called Autumn leaves. 

Finally, one more wall hanging of sail boats.  Momma has searched and searched for the instructions on how to make this quilt and can't find them anymore. 

Momma has lots of fabric so she has lots of scraps. 

Here is a snap shot of the messy sewing room.  All that stuff in the background is FABRIC!  Yup, momma is a fabricholic - BOL, BOL.

Momma is supposed to be working on the Birthday quilt for daddy but ran out of the yellow plaid fabric so it is sitting on chair undone.  Hopefully there will still be flannel fabric at Walmart when the humans go to town next week.  If not, momma is going to have to get creative on how to finish daddy's quilt.

For those of you who are interested in making quilts and have never done them before, momma suggests that you start with either the TRIP AROUND THE WORLD or most of the LOG CABIN patterns (Be careful of some of the really fancy LOG CABIN instructions for pictured quilts are they can be complicated).

Hugs and kisses,

Coco Rose and Puff Darby