SIMPLE PLEASURES OF SUMMER...............

Gosh...here we are to August already in the grand year of 2009! My goodness! I must be getting myself in gear here!! HA!! Life is just flying by!! 41 years ago today I was giving birth to my first son.....and I was NOT 12 years old!! Happy Birthday, Gary!!

And 20 years ago this month, our dear cat Precious was born into the cat loving family of daughter Amy's friend Kristi. Yes, the little bounding kittens were sooooo precious, and I finally relented. I let Amy chose one, who came home with us in early October.....and Precious the Cat has been with us since. When Amy left to attend USC, Precious became MY cat. When Amy graduated.....Precious still remained my cat, and was replaced in Amy's own home sometime later by Simba the Cat. Precious is quite a lady!! She has not been in the best of health recently, though. I pray that she will pull through, and continue on with us for awhile longer.

This morning I took these shots of the sunflowers that line the walkway to the front door. No, I did not plant them there.....but my little bird friends did!! I love them!! Enjoy the pictures, and happy August!! Summer will be gone, and Autumn will be upon us here in the foothills to the Grand Rocky Mountains before we know it!!

THE FIRST PRINCESS!!

I could hardly leave out the oldest granddaughter, as I post pictures of the grandchildren!! Sadie will be 6 years old in September.....gooooodness!! Hard to believe!! And our dear cat, Precious, will be 20 years old in just a week or so!! That's even harder to believe!!

THE PRECIOUS PRINCESSES!!!

The precious little princesses are growing up, too!! Although I have not been down to Austin to visit in a few months, these pictures were sent by their mommy!! Hard to believe that little Mackenzie is already more than 8 months old!! Big sister Madison is nearly 3 1/2, too!! Time flies!!

THE GRANDBABY BOY AT 6 MONTHS!!!

Already six months old...and two teeth!! Dimitri is such a cheerful little guy, too...and curious about everything. Hmmmm.......won't be long and he will be moving around on his own...and then there will be real trouble, huh??!!!!!

ESTES PARK WOOL MARKET 2009

As many of you know.....one of my obsessions is wool....all kinds of wool!! I just LOVE wool!! I love working with wool and processing wool for use as hair and beards on lots and lots of primitive creations!! And......I sell lots and lots of wool to other folk artists to use on their prim creations, too!! Check out my ever-changing assortment of wool on Ebay....seller ID....palmpanda4ever.......or just email me and I can direct you to my Ebay store!! Earlier in the summer I ventured up to Estes Park, CO...one of my favorite parts of the Great State of Colorado....for the annual wool market. What an event!! Here are some of the wooly critters I visited!! Enjoy the pics!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

My sincere apologies for not posting in honor of America's birthday. Sometimes life becomes so pleasurable that one neglects some areas, while enjoying others. Actually, I was not home during the days surrounding July 4th, but instead was in New Mexico, being roady and companion to Mike and the band members of the Danny Santos Band while they played several gigs. I'll post more about that in another entry. I hope that those of us that live in America will think about what our country offers us in terms of freedom, and that we all will remember every day all troops, both here and abroad. God Bless America!!! And God Bless.......cowgirls, clouds, crows, and Corvettes, too!!! Enjoy the pics!!! Blessings to all, Trudy

FLAG DAY 2009

June 14th commemorates the day that our country adopted this wonderful flag....a symbol of our nation, our freedoms, our people.

Fly it proudly!!

PAYING TRIBUTE.......

Pausing to remember the men and women that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom. Perhaps this is a great day to plant a red carnation in your garden, or take some flowers to a nearby cemetery to place on the grave of a fallen soldier. God Bless America and all members of our military!

I LOVE COWS!!! ......AND GO NUGGETS!!!!

Thought this morning I would share some cow pictures that were taken several weeks ago, during the time of one of the Spring snows. I love cows!! Actually, I love all farm animals....well, all animals, I suppose!! Country drives, and talking to the cows, are way up there on my priority list for happiness!! Now about those Nuggets.....just waiting to see if it is the Lakers or the Rockets that the Denver Nuggets will face off with in the finals of the Western Conference. Go Rockets!! Beat those Lakers!!! Enjoy the cow pics!!

SNOW ON MOTHER'S DAY....GO, NUGGETS, ONE MORE TIME!!!!!

Well, Mother's Day 2009 has come and gone, and game 3 in the NBA playoffs between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks has come and gone....and now there's game 4 tonight!! We'll see if the Nuggets can finish off the series, or if they will chose to finalize things here at home in game 5. I have a feeling they would just as soon finish this series off tonight....... I hope that everyone, moms and not moms, had a great day yesterday on Mother's Day! It was a less than perfect weather day here in the foothills of the Rockies......and as we drove up on I-70, the snow began, and the temps in the upper 40's dropped to as low as 34!! I had requested to eat breakfast at one of my favorite spots ~~ The Happy Cooker in Georgetown, CO. From there we headed on up toward the Divide, with the weather worsening as we climbed in elevation. I wanted to go to Leadville, and stop at The Ugly Cookie Company for cookies and coffee! Well, wouldn't you know......no ugly cookies on Mother's Day!! Closed for repairs. So I had to settle for pie and coffee at Jan's in Buena Vista!! Before reaching Buena Vista, the temps rose to 68, the sun was out fully, with only a minimal amount of clouds in the sky. It was gorgeous!! But......once again we entered the clouds, literally driving in the clouds, before returning home. I hope you will enjoy the snow pics!!

GO, NUGGETS!!! GET THE MAVS AGAIN!!!!

Go nuggets..beat the mavs..defense...defense..go nuggets..........and the beat goes on!! Game three is this afternoon, and I can't wait!!! The first two games were enough to send anyone into a frenzy, and I can't imagine now that the location has moved to Dallas that things will be any different. Birdman was a good match for Dirk Nowitzki here in the altitude...and we can only hope that the "groove" will continue down in the flatlands!! Being a former Texas resident, and big fan of the Spurs and the Mavericks....this is a difficult one for me....well, no....GO NUGGETS!!! BEAT THE MAVS!!! MAKE IT A FOUR GAME SERIES!!!! YES!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!! (Thanks to ESPN for the photo.) There are some great videos on U Tube, if you care to watch Birdman "fly to the nest"!!!

SPRING RETURNS TO THE FRONT RANGE!!

Spring has once again returned to the area! We have experienced a couple days in the low 80's here at 6,000 feet, although Denver has not officially hit 80. Then......changes.....as always!! Yesterday was only in the 60's, and this morning was 38 when I arose, and currently barely 50. But....after having to remove my bird feeders from my FRONT yard by order of the HOA....the finches have found my backyard feeders!! YES!!! They are back!! I've pledged to making improvements in our back yard this season, planting a veggie garden, and several roses and other bushes...to provide food for the bunnies (hhhhaaaaaa!!!) and bushes and flowers for the birds and the butterflies! Hope Spring has arrived for all of you!! (It snowed up above us last night.....) Enjoy the bird pic!!

WAY TO GO NUGGETS!!! ON TO ROUND 2!!!!!!!!

For the first time since 1994, the Denver Nuggets are on their way to ROUND TWO of the NBA Playoffs!!!! Whooooooooo!!! Whooooooooo!!!! WAY TO GO, NUGGETS!!! Way to go Coach Karl!!!!! Won't it be cool when they win Round Two???!!!!! You can do it!! Yes you can!!! GOOOO NUGGETS!!!!!!! Game One will be Sunday afternoon.....get ready for the Dallas Mavericks!! Although the Nuggets have four straight wins over the Mavs this season....this is not the same of seasonal play....this is THE SECOND ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT, NUGGETS!!!! CONGRATULATIONS on the Round One win!!! (Thanks to the AP for the file photo.)

SPRING SURPRISES!!!

I have been so wrapped up in the NBA playoffs, that I guess I didn't know this was coming our way!! It rained yesterday for the greater part of the day....but this is what we woke up to this morning!!!! ANOTHER SNOWFALL!!!! The falling snow has now ended, it seems, and it won't be long and the fallen snow will be gone, too. The sky is getting brighter, and the weather reporter says it will be in the 50's in Denver today...so goodbye snow, once again!! Enjoy the pics!!