I love me a rainy day

I ran a lot of  errands yesterday and it was 75 when I got home mid day.  Dry though, and windy as usual.  Today dawned nicely... around 40...right now it is 53, east wind 3mph and 93% humidity.  So much better than earlier when we had those high winds and danger of fire because of the low humidity.  I feel energized when it rains for some reason.  Plus I get to stay in and putter around today. I've been cleaning and organizing a bit so I can do some papercrafting this week-end. 

                                            Oak to the left

Oak to the right

 

 Asparagus fern new growth and Purple Heart Wandering Jew. Purple Heart I love this plant and it grows quite well here, I have it in both the front yard and in a couple of the beds in the back yard.  It spreads and can get out of control if you let it.

Tiny succulent coming back in the pot where the birds or squirrels ate the jade plant that was in this pot.  Don't know what this little guy is, but I hope it spreads quickly.

The trees are beginning to sprout and things are turning green around the neighborhood.  I keep forgetting to mention, we finally got rid of the plumbers.  They finished about a week ago, and the crew came back and filled in the trenches.  The entire side yard is just dirt and is going to remain so until we get the foundation work done.  We are trying to ignore that little problem for awhile if we can.  Hubby is going to spray for any weeds that come up.  I'm working on a design that incorporates ground cover and a stone pathway from the drive to the gate.  No grass there as it is under that big oak tree to the left (top photo), and grass does not grow well there. Neighbor and I have discussed a collaboration of some sort.  The property line meets at the tree trunk.

looking forward to a relaxing week-end.

Our Day at The Races

Getting to the racetrack on Saturday was pretty easy. Our tickets came with a parking pass and we were able to go in a back way instead of the main entrance. It took us about 20 minutes from the house to the Lot F parking. We got there at 8 a.m. Then the fun began...walking through a field of rough terrain, mostly uphill, against winds of approximately 20-25 mph. We had checked the weather forecast and knew it would be cold and windy, so we had layered our clothing appropriately, or so we thought. It took about 20 minutes to get to the entrance. I was already pretty cold by that time and jokingly remarked to Hubby, I'm ready to go back home. The sun was warm but the wind was brutal and it was only about 45 degrees by then. We learned later that with wind chill, it was 35 most of the day.

 

Walking into the wind with the sun behind us.

 

I was trying to be mellow about the fact that Hub thought we should get there so darned early. We went directly to the grandstand to locate our seat numbers,there were only a handful of people there that early. There were practices running on the track, the first race did not start till 10. We went walking around the area and located the two coffee vendors. LOTS of people in line there! The staff people that we spoke to were all freezing, and trying to stay in the sun as much as possible. Throughout the day I found the best place to be was leaning against the side of a couple of the buildings in the sun. That was the only way to be protected from the wind.

There were three races that day, they kind of all ran together in my mind and I couldn't keep the different classes of vehicles straight in my mind when they were running in the same race. We both took a lot of photos, and I tried to pick out a collection to represent the day. The main race started at 3:00 p.m. and we got to see the start and the first few laps from the skybox area of the main grandstand. Even with earplugs the sound was deafening, but exciting all the same. Then we made our way back to Turn 15 where we watched the rest of the race.

 

 

All of the car photos except one are of the main race, the Grand-Am. The red 51 car is from the first race.  The driver is Reba McEntire's son.  I picked that one to watch before I knew who was driving.  He was in first place for several laps, then kept falling back, then moving back up a few slots, then fell out completely.

 

In the photo of me up at the top, that is what my hair did most of the time. From one side to the other, then straight back!  I remarked that it looked like Donald Trump hair!

 

 

 The little orange Corvette was my favorite car in the main race.  Later in the race, it came into the pits and hit one of the mechanics.  He wasn't badly hurt, just knocked down. The car driver received a penalty though.

It never warmed up the entire day and when the sun started going down it got even worse in the Grandstands.  People started leaving because they were so uncomfortable.  We stayed until ALMOST the end. I was willing to stay until the bitter end no matter what!  Hub kept asking me if I was ready to leave, and I kept saying no.  When it finally dawned on me that he wanted a different answer, I said okay and we got out of there.  Came home and watched the rest on t.v.  Right after we left, there was a spin-out in Turn 15, right where our seats were located.

It never seemed really crowded to me, except for the last race.  I read in the paper Sunday that attendance was right at 27,000.  So it was pretty light, considering the F-1 race had close to 120,000.  It was a fun day, but I was tired on Sunday and spent most of the day relaxing.

A Trip to The Track

Yesterday I went with Hubby out to our new Circuit of the Americas race track to take a tour. He went to the opening F-1 race in November, and ever since he's been "on a list" of people they are trying to get to buy season tickets for the upcoming events at the track.  I do like watching racing sometimes, but I am not as big a fan of it as Hubby is.  It was quite impressive though, to be there in the stands and see the incredible views.  We were shown several different vantage points, from the starting line where the pits are, and several of the turns, where the grandstands and boxes are.  It was a gorgeous day, even though it was incredibly windy.  The previous day we had 55 to 60mph winds here that snapped a few trees off and did some damage around the entire area.

Blue skies over the race track.

The view from Turn 15 was our favorite. Row 23 or 24.  Mid-price in the range.

The tower and ampitheatre.  There will be concerts held here. They have had a few already but we haven't gone yet. I haven't kept up with who all has played there so far, but I know Aerosmith was there, plus a country band that I don't recall,  and The Lumineers are coming in April.

It was a nice drive out in the country and it remains to be seen if we will become season ticket holders.  I know Hubby is interested, but for me, I doubt that I am going to want to go to that many races.  Still, it is easier to sell two tickets if we need or want to, than one, so that may be the route to go.  

Herding Turtles

  On Thursday night, I was able to take my friend Pat out to dinner for her birthday.  Afterwards we went to one of our favorite Targets, looking for Nate Berkus clearance.  We didn't find much, but bought a few other things there.  On the drive home, we were discussing other Target locations that we might be able to stop at before they closed. The two we knew of were both too far away, since it was already after nine p.m.  I said let's just go home, but she was determined to hit another one.  So we arrived at the one closest to my house.  Now mind you, I had already seen all the Nate Berkus clearance there a couple of days earlier, and there were no tortoise shells.  So, at 9:45, we walked into the store as all the other people were leaving.  We ran to the household goods...and there they sat, 4 of the tortoise shells.   We quickly grabbed them all.  They were 50% off, and we saw a couple other things we liked, however they were only 30% off.  As they announced the "five minutes before closing, please bring your purchases to the checkstand"...we were still shopping.  When we got to the front we were the last people in line.  We were laughing hysterically and I think the check out lady thought we were two crazy old chicks.  We were, but we rescued those turtle shells and got the heck out of there!! We laughed all the way home at our good fortune.

This is the photo from Design Sponge, I got the yellow shell and the gold sea urchin.  She got the white shell and the white sea urchin.   Hubby had found me a yellow shell earlier in the week, at regular price, and the darn thing hung crookedly on the wall.  So anyhow, today I took it back.  

Today between Pat and I, we visited 6 different Targets.  At all but one we found the tortoise shells, but still at regular price.  The one that had them on clearance, had them for only 30% off.  One must really hit a lot of Targets to find the clearance price they want to pay, because they are all different.   We did each get a lamp, that we had liked when it first came out, but not for $50.00.  We got them today at 70% off.  We spent a lot of time texting and talking on the phone while shopping.   I got one Nate towel at one store, and Pat found me two more at another store. It was a lot of fun, but part of it is just the thrill of the hunt. We don't really need any of it, we just like Nate Berkus designs.  I do think we are done Targeting for awhile though.  I feel like I worked hard today, and all I did was shop.

 

This is some of the new Nate Berkus collection that just came in. It is being released tomorrow, but two of the stores already had it set today. Notice in the first photo, the tortoise shells on the bottom shelf that are still part of the first collection. Thankfully, I did not see anything in the new collection that I feel that I really just have to have.

I feel Grey today

 

  For a variety of reasons, February can be a tough month for me. Almost half my family has birthdays in this month, and I don't get to see them as often as I would like.  Both Mom and Dad, and Mom was born on her father's birthday.  Tomorrow is Brother Bob's birthday, and he was born on our Grandmother's birthday.  It is also the birthday month of several people I have loved and lost.  Today has been a very grey day weather wise.  Hubby is out of town and is very busy, so we haven't been able to talk as much as we usually do. When I am blue, he can always make me laugh.   As busy as I have been today, I have felt the creeping in of the melancholy that I struggle with.   I've tried the usual remedies of music, candles, drinking tea, but I finally just gave in and went with it for awhile, then I moved on.

 

I ate an early dinner of Ramen noodles with green peas and green onions.  Not so healthy, but tasty, and I sometimes treat myself to them when Hubby is out of town.  I know I will suffer from all that salt intake, but I don't have them very often. 

 

I've been attempting to make a little something each day since I got all that Valentine stuff out.  Today I mailed this card to an Aunt whose birthday is on the 25th.  I sorted a few more boxes of ephemera, and cut images out of a few magazines. I discovered a file folder filled with butterfly images so will continue to make a few more cards and tags.  The Monarch postage stamps are nice to use on the envelopes, even though they are 64 cent ones. I like to match my postage to what's inside at least by theme or color.

 

 

One of my best friends birthday is tomorrow, same day as my brother's.  I won't be able to take her out for breakfast till the week-end.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!

 

Our weather forecast is for more rain and cold tonight, probably just in the 40s.  I think it will be early bedtime for me, with the window open and lots of blankets.

Chasing Wild Geese

That's what we call it when we go on a search for something we shoulda bought when we first saw it, then decided later we just had to have it, and it no longer is easy to find.  Everyone knows I am a die hard Target shopper.  Well, back in October, when they introduced the Nate Berkus home collection, I was one of those first in line to check it out.  Now, here's my M.O.  I go look, and first, determine which items I can't live without.  If there are a few I buy them right off.  If there are some I like but think they might not be popular with other folks, I figure I can wait till they go Clearance.  I seem to have a habit of liking the odd stuff that I see some folks rejecting.  Sometimes NOT. Well, it seemed that the Giant Tortoise shell was going to be one of those things that stayed around forever, since each store had plenty of them.  In not so great colors.  Deep green, white, and a Yellow, which I only saw online...that on my screen looks really yellow. So when I saw IRL the yellow one and it turned out to be that "acid green chartreusey" color that I love, then I wanted it.  I was so excited last week when my friend who works at Target e-m me to tell me the Nate Berkus was on clearance.   So I went running over there and guess what...NO tortoise shells! They had only had the green one anyhow.  Later the Hubster called me and told me he was right by a big fancy Super Target and he would check the Nate Berkus.  He called a bit later all excited...He found the tortoise shell.  The sign on the end cap said 50% off.  Even better, as at my Target it was only 30%. Hub finds a couple of other things he thinks I might like, plus the shell.  Gets up to the check stand, and you guessed it!  The rug and the trinket box were 50%, but the shell was NOT on clearance, even though it had been on the same display end cap, all along, ever since they put the stuff out.  Now there is a slight to huge discrepancy as to the timelines that different Targets clearance things.  Soooo.. the hunt begins to find the one who has the shell on clearance.  At this point, the rarity of this thing makes me realize that even if it is only 30% I will get it.  After hitting 2 stores that only have the dark green one left(Regular price of course) Hub remarks that if we find the yellow one we are getting it REGARDLESS.  Regular price is $40.00 but that was too much for me.  But now it becomes a challenge to find one!  Where I was lukewarm about it before,  now all of a sudden, I want it in the worst way.  Before I didn't really think I had a place for it, now my every thought is of several places I could put it. I had not even taken a photo of it.  Here's what it looks like. Nate Berkus tortoise shell

My friend and I had looked at the white one a couple of weeks ago, and remarked that if we could get them at 70% off, a real score, we could cover them with rusty tissue paper  or decoupage something over them, and it would look ever so cool.  But I am thinking that the tortoise shell may just be one of those things that got away.  Time to move on.  Although...Hub is in San Antonio today and he drives by at least 2 Targets on his way home.  He is always thoughtful, but lately with my distress about all this house stuff, he's doing extra things to try to cheer me up. I probably won't even have to ask him to stop and check.

Oh I almost forgot.  He did find this item that was the right color, even though I'm not sure where I'll use it.  Right now, here's where it is living. I added the tag for the photo so you could see it is a Nate Berkus "decorative object".  Ha! Actually it is two chains.  We always say if one is good, two's better!   They looked kind of lonely on the plate by themselves, so I added the metal sphere that was sitting in the plant tray.  Hmmmm..it dawned on me just as I uploaded the photo.  Ball and chain.  Oh, I crack myself up sometimes.

Valentopia

This sign at Target made me laugh. 

I've been trying to make a few Valentines.  Of course I haven't created anything in such a long time. At least way before Christmas when all the plumbing issues started with the house.  I had to pack away so many of my art supplies to get things moved for the foundation people as well.  Did I label things...Nooooo.  So trying to make a few Valentine has become more of an exercise in frustration, than any kind of fun. I am serious, things are such a mess around here, I could barely find a thing to work with.  I had to unpack at least a dozen boxes, and still could not find what I wanted/needed.  With much gnashing of teeth and a few tears and woe is me's, I did get a few done.  Mailed several yesterday, and Hub just left with the last few to drop in the mail today.  They will be late, but peeps will be so surprised that I even did them, they won't mind.  Now to clean the mess and get to work on making one for Hub, at least I don't have to mail it.

 

For the last two, I used the wonderfully drawn birds from a free download from Zoranaland. zoranaland blogspot com

 

One photo is too dark, the other too light. Sorry, my brain is stressed, I think I need a nap.