Jackpot

What an awesome adventure we had last Sunday!

We drove out to the Borrego desert in northern San Diego County for a hike.

We set out to hike to a Calcite mine.  We parked in a turn out area on the side of the road

 and hiked down into a wash and up, up, up into the hills.

This mine has an interesting history.  It was active during World War II.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the government mined calcite for bomb sights and anti-warcraft weaponry.  The calcite mined here was high quality.  When someone would view through it, there would be a series of colored rings.  When the center ring was held on a target, the person's head could move from side to side but the center ring would remain on the target.  Interesting!

There were areas that were covered in leftover bits of calcite crystals.

Most were cloudy but some of them were clear like glass.

Here's a vein of it in a wall of rock...

It wasn't a typical type of mine with a hole in the ground leading deep into the earth.

This mine is slits in the rock.  They look like someone used a giant knife to carve out slices of earth. The slits we saw were usually about four feet wide and 20 feet long.

The terrain was fascinating and ever changing.  There were huge sandstone rocks with holes and interesting patterns.  This one is probably three stories tall or maybe even bigger...

This was on top of a big hill that we climbed.  It was much harder than most of the rock and ground we'd walked on that day.  What an interesting texture.  I'm curious as to how it was formed.

There were some interesting plants on the top.  

They had silvery, white stems and were just starting to sprout leaves for spring.

The view from the top was amazing.  We could see a lot of the Borrego area.  

And, to the east and southeast, we could see the great Salton Sea.

It's amazing to see so much water in the desert.  But, what we see now is only a small amount compared to the past.  The whole area used to be under the ocean.  And, just decades ago, this lake was huge.

Another interesting thing we saw that day were these odd formations in the sandstone...

Here's one that was loose from the sandstone walls.  They were sitting all around

 in one area we walked through.  They were hard like cement and very heavy.

We were lucky to see this colorful lizard along the way.  He was over a foot long.

The mines and views were interesting and fun to see.  But, the best part of our day was about to come.

As we headed back down the mountain, we took a turn toward a slot canyon we'd

read about in our hiking guide book.  This is how it looked as we started to hike in...

It got narrower...

When we came upon this part it was so exciting...

It was very narrow and so smooth from all the water that has rushed through to form it.

And, the walls became very tall.  There were obstacles to climb up...

Some of the obstacles took some creative thinking to figure out how to get up and over.

And, sometimes down...

This is by far the most awesome slot canyon we've found in this area.

Spectacular!

Sometimes the bottom was too narrow to walk.

So, sometimes, one foot on each side wall of the canyon was the best way to go through.

The grippy sandstone was very helpful!

This one took the most thought and multiple tries to find a way down.

We first tried straddling it by sitting on one side, feet on the other, and alternating weight to move over and down.  The canyon floor just beyond where I was sitting was six to eight feet feet down.

We eventually figured out a way down.

Sometimes, one shoe barely fit in the bottom...

Going back down was different but just as tricky...

Wow!  That was SO much fun!

After the slot canyon, we still had a lot of hiking to do to get back to the car.

And, there were still amazing things to see.  Like this giant piece of sandstone that had fallen from the wall.  It may look small but it's larger than a car...

Here's another area with fallen sandstone.  It may look like a small jumble but

the larger pieces are probably close to the size of our living room...probably much larger.

This huge tour vehicle passed us on the way back. 

I can't help but think of all the wonderful things they miss by touring the area in a vehicle.

I know they saw some wonderful things but I think they missed the very best parts.

Not to mention, a great workout!

We hiked four hours and our GPS said we hiked over six miles.

That included a LOT of hills.  We were very tired when we were done.

And, we were quite sore the next day.  But, it was SO worth it.  What a blast!

We love being out in nature.  And, we love hiking.  Great finds and adventures like this

are such a bonus.  I joked with hubby about how slot canyons are the kind of slots I like to play

and that we hit the jackpot that day!  Woo hoo!

Be sure to click on one of the pictures to view them large
 and get a better idea of the scale and fun we had.  

Sweet

The fun continues with Vicki's "Grow Your Own Blog Party".

I received another prize this week that I won from one of the many give-aways.

This one is from Carol at "Art and Sand".  Thank you, Carol!

The timing for this prize to arrive this week is perfect!

It's fits right in with Valentine's Day.  

It's a sweet, handmade gift...

 When I opened up the package, there was a tin inside.

Inside the tin was a sweet little red heart sitting on top of a drawstring cotton bag.

When I opened up the bag, this was inside...

It's a little spool, tied up with a cord and pretty little hearts.

On the spool are words of wisdom about the heart.

It's all handcrafted by Carol.  Isn't it cute?!

There are hand drawn hearts on the other side.

I like the red gingham strip that attaches the paper to the spool too.

It warms my heart to receive this handmade gift.

Thank you, again, Carol.  I love it!  

If you get a chance, be sure to pop over to Carol's blog, "Art and Sand", for a visit.

She has a beautiful blog.  I can't help but smile and stay a while whenever I visit.

It's so colorful and happy.  She shares pictures of her lovely home and garden,
wonderful things she makes, and paintings done by her husband who is a talented artist.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Fantastic Gaptastic

With baby gifts completed and another project finished up this weekend (just waiting to be blocked),

I was able to guiltlessly start a new project.  And, that's just what I did!...

My daughter knitted the GAP-tastic Cowl recently and I loved it.  She's such a sweetheart...

she gave me some of the same yarn but in a different color for Christmas to make one of my own.

I've been so excited to get started.  I cast on Saturday evening.

It's working up so fast that by Sunday evening I had knitted the first skein and it was half done.

I have a feeling I'll be wearing it this week!

Another Day, Another Plate

I found another transferware plate this week...

I love them all but the red ones are some of my favorites.  I have quite a few and this one just joined my collection.  It's botanical...the kind I like most.  And, I couldn't possibly pass it up...it was only $3!

I don't think it's old but that's ok because I like it.  :-)

Lucky Me!

The "Grow Your Own Blog Party" has been so much fun!

We're all making new friends, following new and wonderful blogs and prizes are

being delivered to lucky recipients.  I sent a prize yesterday to the lucky winner of my blog give-away.

And, I received the prize that I won on the "Knitalatte" blog.

The hat was cute on her blog but when I opened the packaged I gasped at how beautiful it is.

Just look at the pretty colors in this soft, squooshy yarn...

I tried to take a picture of myself wearing it but just couldn't get a good one.  

It's hard to hold the camera just right and hold my head at the right angle to get a good shot.

So, here's a picture of the hat laying on my buffet...

An added plus is that it's a little slouchy.  I've been wanting to make a slouchy hat.

Thank you so much, Karen!  I love it!  

I'm planning to wear it to knit night tonight.  :-)

Hop on over to her blog for a visit.  It's a beautiful blog with lots of wonderful hand knit projects.

You'll love it!  Be sure to say, "hi" when you're there.  

Dream House

I wish we could have chickens where we live right now.

They could have a house like this... 

It's so cute!  I love the added touch of the white picket fence.

The "yard" is much too small but the idea is great.
I saw this at a feed store in Escondido, California.

I'll just keep dreaming...someday...I hope...we'll have land again. 

Irresistable

I popped into a little antique shop this week and just couldn't resist this...

I don't think it's antique.  But, I don't care.  It's gorgeous!

I have a hard time resisting transferware and have a little collection going.

I've never seen this one and I love the picture, the border and the black and white of it.

So pretty!

Penelope Post

Time for a new post about our little Penelope.  We've had her for over two weeks now.

A lot has happened and she has learned so much.

She started sneezing a lot during her first week here.

That meant she got to take her first trip to the vet.  She was a brave girl...

It turned out to be a feline cold...very common for cats that come from shelters.

No problem though.  Her lungs were clear and she didn't seem to have developed any infections.

We took her home with a tube of L-Lysine gel to put on her food to help her immune system.

The vet trip was only the beginning of her travels that day.  Later that afternoon, she got to go on her first camping trip!  Other than screaming at ear-piercing levels on the way there and back home (sure hope that improves over time!), she did great.  She really liked being in the close quarters of the RV where she could see us and know where we were just about all the time.   She enjoyed the sun streaming through the windows.  She took lots of naps and did a lot of snuggling.

She tried to stay up late but just couldn't keep her eyes open.

She fell asleep one evening as she sat on hubby's lap...

She even snuck in a few naps on Salsa's bed!

The close quarters helped Penelope and Salsa get to know one another and start to become friends.

We figured that, because it's Salsa's bed, it was only fair to share.

So, we told Salsa it was okay to lay on the bed too.

They didn't lay there very long after that but it shows how far they've come in a short time.

When we took Penelope to the vet, she still only weighed 2 3/4 pounds.  She hadn't gained anything in the first week.  She wasn't eating much...probably because she wasn't feeling well.

But, a week of rest did her good.  She's eating like crazy now and feeling great.

So, I thought it was time to weigh her again.

She's checking the scale to make sure the setting is right...

And, checking it again while she was on it to see what she weighs.

Wow!  She has gained about half a pound.

She knows where her litter pan is and has been a very good girl with using it. 

As far as we know, she hasn't had any accidents.  She gets to roam the entire house, even at night. She's still learning about sleeping through the night though.  She wakes up every night around two or three a.m. and starts walking on us, purring loudly, and licking our faces.  After a while, we usually get her settled back down and she sleeps until six or seven. 

She learned a VERY SCARY lesson... We have a loft above our living room with a half wall.  

We tried to keep her downstairs as long as we could but she eventually snuck around the barriers.

I was sitting on the sofa in the living room below when I heard her bell jingling in the loft.  Next thing I knew...I saw her little body come flying over the wall with her legs flailing.  She tried to jump up and onto the wall but jumped a little too high and far.  Hubby raced over to stand below and try to catch her.  Luckily, I have a quilt draped over the wall and it saved her life as she was able to grab onto it with her claws.  As she hung on the side, I tried to calmly and quickly get to the loft to rescue her.  But, as I reached the top of the stairs she had already gotten back onto the top of the wall and walked over to meet me.  WHEW!  Since then, she still goes up there.  She even seems to think it's funny to race toward it and leap onto it when I'm looking...like she knows how it gets me.  Crazy girl!  And, she thinks it's a nice place to hang out.  I'm just glad she knows about it now and should, hopefully, be okay with it.  She is a lot more sure footed now than when we brought her home.  And, cats are usually pretty skilled at things like this.  Fingers crossed!

More Snuggles

Snuggle sacks are so great that I think every baby should have one.

I knitted one a few weeks ago for a baby boy.  Last week,

I knitted up another one for a baby girl who's expected to be born in about a month.  

What's a snuggle sack gift without some cute little onesies to match?!

It was hard to find baby clothes with the right green.

Just about everything I found with green had a neon, yellowy green.

I was about to give up when I finally found this adorable little set.

There's a little pink one that has tiny green leaves that tie into the snuggle sack...

There's a little gray one with tiny green leaves...

And, there are two with polka dots.

I ran out of time to make a matching hat.  But, I think the baby will will be warm and cozy

with long sleeves and the soft snuggle sack.

I got it done just in time for the shower on Saturday.

I'm not sure if the mommy-to-be had ever seen a snuggle sack

but she loved it and was thrilled to receive something hand made.

The only other thing she received that was handmade was a lacy,
crochet blanket my mom made for the baby.  It was gorgeous!
It was round, lacy, delicate, and a soft lavender/purple.

I wish I'd been able to get photos of it.
Mom-to-be loves purple and green.
Hopefully, the colors we chose were exactly what she'd hoped for.

Congratulations to the Winner!

The "Grow Your Own Blog Party" hosted by Vicki at "2 Bags Full" has been amazing!

I have about four times more followers on my blog than when it started.

I've had so many wonderful comments that it's been hard to keep up with writing back to each one.

I've visited and started following lots of fun and inspiring blogs from the party. 

And, best of all, I'm making new and wonderful friends from around the world.

Thank you to each and every person who visited, started following my blog, and left comments.

I appreciate every visit, every follower and every sweet comment.

This has been so much fun!

Part of the fun is a give-away!  Each comment on my January blog posts and each and every follower received an entry into the contest.  I used a random number generator to pick the lucky winner.

And, the winner is...

Sandra from "Curlerchick 2.0"

Congratulations, Sandra!  You won from your comment on my "Blog Party Prize" post.

You can choose a prize from my that post.  Your prize will be made especially for you.

I'll contact you through email to see what you select and find out what colors you like.

The party isn't over just yet!  Vicki said she'll keep the party up all year long.  So, you still have plenty of time to visit the many wonderful blogs participating.  She has a link to each and every one of the almost 400 blogs that signed up.  And, I'm still planning another give-away for February!  So, starting today, February first, through the end of the month, each and every comment will go into the drawing.  I will announce a winner on March first.  Good luck!  I look forward to all your visits and comments.

Have a wonderful weekend!