more F.I.R.E. fotos

Some have been asking IF I had any more photos of the fire a few days ago - so, here they are! The fire is now 100% contained (rahrah, firefighters!) but not until it consumed 109,000 acres and covered 170 square miles! More photos here.

(click photos for a much bigger view! BE SURE AND click the LAST photo for a hidden surprise! ! ! !)

team up thursday - "WHITE"

Well, let's just LOOK at these photos and call it 'good'!!!! J/K! Corey picked our theme this week and that would be "WHITE"! Now, if we would have picked that theme in the winter time, I would have tons of subjects to choose from. This week was a huge challenge for me as I was sitting in our recliner almost 24/7 with a really bad back! I thought, "How on earth am I going to get this assignment done in time!?" Now that I think about it, I could have just opened up my prescription bottles and dumped pills (white) all over the table and called it good - I had some mighty-fine meds this go-around! I do have to confess something, I hate feeling doped-up so I have a lot of meds left! They took me to my 'happy place' just like these photos do when I look at them.

White water by Corey is my idea of delicious! Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE waterfalls and water in any form. Corey's take on this theme was 'out of the box' and I LOVE that! Petunias are in abundance in our yard this year as Bob brought them home for Mother's Day - and I LOVE that so, considering my condition at the time, this was a good find for me.

Drop by Megan's place for some more "Diptych" fun! You can play along too - just find a partner, choose a theme and go on a fun adventure!

F.I.R.E. ! ! ! ! ! ! !

(click on individual photos for a much closer look! These photos had very little retouching - this is the way it felt.)

On our way home from visiting my mom in the hospital, we noticed a fire west of town with huge smoke clouds but as we got closer and closer to home the clouds got HUGE! It was a very weird feeling - something like when an eclipse occurs - weird! It got very, very dark as the clouds covered the sun completely and it was dark in the middle of the day! This is OUR town - it looks like it's on fire, but it isn't - it's very, very close! Today the wind blew an average of 45 mph and a fire started 30 miles away in the desert. It has so far consumed 30,000 acres! They have closed roads leading into our town from the west as that is where the fire is currently - threatening homes, farms and animals!

updated photo of car wreck

***CLICK COLLAGE TO VIEW CLOSER***

update - july 3rd

Photos of the parade coming tonight!

Here is part of our July 4th celebration at Heather and Brian's - SO much FUN!!!
***CLICK any collage for a CLOSER look***

car crash - kaina-boy leaves us

There was a car crash today - Kaina left us - but our family is safe!

Got a call from Whit around 5 p.m. saying she had some bad news! Whenever I hear that my heart sinks. She was surprisingly in control considering what she had to tell me - I promptly lost it! She proceeded to say there had been an accident and the dogs were dead but, quickly interjects that Bodin and Schuyler were okay! Apparently, Schuy was driving north on I-15 when he fell asleep (he's been on cold medication and been up late studying), woke up, over corrected and flipped the car (5) times. The car was totaled - every window broken out. The police said they couldn't believe that anyone walked away from the mess. I could tell that Whitney was so thankful her family was alive and unhurt.

Kaina (pictured above sitting on Tao) was killed instantly as the car rolled over him and Tao stayed in the car! When Schuy went around to check on Bodin (safely strapped in his car seat), Tao ran from the car. It was initially thought Tao ran from the car and died from her injuries. But something much happier happened! Tao ran into a nearby neighbor's yard, they called animal control, they picked her up and took her to a nearby vet where later Whit and Schuy were reunited with her. Tao stayed the night and her bones were set and an injured paw was treated. The doc said she should be fine with time.

Bob and Grandma left promptly and traveled an hour to see how they could be of help - I stayed behind still crippled from my back pain! They were able to go shopping and replace Bodin's car seat (police recommended to throw it away), round up some food for dinner and make arrangements for treatment for Tao AND just give moral support. Just having them there helped in so many ways.

Kaina-boy had an amazing home with Schuyler and Whitney! They truly loved this 'guy' as their own kid. He was hilarious, as you can see from the photo above - he loved his family - so devoted and so loving. He loved popping bubbles just like a little kid, long walks, chewing bones and branches and will truly be missed. I had a chance to bond with him as they lived with us for 4 months.

We were blessed this day - our family was protected. There must be some reason for Schuy and Bodin to be spared from disaster - some purpose that must be fulfilled. With time we'll find out why but for now, I say, "Thank you, Father!"

DESSERT - team up thursday

How was your holiday celebration? Ours was soooo great that I ended up in the recliner Sunday night with a bad back and I've been there ever since!!! Holy-ouch! I've been watching a lot of TV lately - especially the FOOD network and lots and lots of desserts (among other mouth-watering things)! I settled in, got my notebook and thought I would glean a lot of recipes from my chair-bound experience. Well! I've slept through them all as the doc prescribed some muscle-relaxers (I've never had before) and little did I know they put you to sleep!!!

Leave it up to 'me' to pick DESSERT as our theme - but, you have to admit, they are a delicious sight.



Visit Corey's fun site!

Drop by and visit Megan and HipMama's site for fun, fun, fun!

HELP ME HERE:
After three days of being laid up, I do have to admit it feels like more than up-tight muscles in my back - could it be disc problems? Has anyone been through this and can give me some insight into how long it takes to get over and how you treated it? All our beautiful weather is just beyond my reach but I have nice clean windows to look out! Darn!