Brilliant red skies just before complete sunrise.  Looking towards Diamond Bar Road. The Skywalk is about a  20 + mile drive via Diamond Bar.

The Grand Wash Cliffs peek through the Joshua trees in the distance.

It`s almost Fall. Nice and cool. In the yard today were a few dozen cottontails, jackrabbits and fuzzy new quail hatches. Beautiful way to start my day.

Thank you for visiting. Our deserts have lots to offer. Solitude, fresh air, peace and beauty. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Cathy

This wide bush is Mormon Tea or Ephedra. The small bush to the left is Sticky Buckwheat .

Last but not least. I `ve had 20 star blocks sitting in my room for two years. My favorite is the butterfly block below. All the blocks are sewn with different scrap fabrics.  Hopefully this is a quilt I will finish this summer!

 A few more blocks.

Thank you for visiting!  Sam the dog, Mr Cat (the cat of course) and I are happy. I wake up everyday to fresh air,  a sleepy cat on my pillow, beautiful views and the sounds of cactus wrens and quail.  

Cathy

Desert farming dust on the way home. There is much concern about our water tables. These are out of state commercial operations. The dust travels miles. 

More of the same. 

 Lake Mead AZ, South Cove Launch Area.  Beautiful calm water. Fishing is great!

Launch area again.  There`s a seagull, tiny white dot, at the edge of the concrete. Like I said, I can`t see so I point and shoot and hope for the best!

I can`t wait to sew again and I`ve wanted to crochet as well. It`s been very windy so I haven`t walked the past few days. I have allergic asthma. One more picture.

This is what happens when I sit on the ground to take flower pictures. Meet Sam, my buddy,  my Lab/Dane. This is a great breed. Calm, gentle, smart, playful.

. I was raised with Great Danes. He was bouncing around so I was lucky to get a picture.

Thank you for visiting. I sure do appreciate it!

Cathy

I have published this picture many times. It is a sunset, my favorite and touches my heart.

Cathy

 It`s nice to be back.  Jack has been gone two years now. My life is more organized, not so much turmoil. Still sad, but I`ve made positive steps. Not an easy path, but once on that path we have to go on. And I know my husband would want that for me.

Since my post in December I`ve been  working outside,  sorting stuff and filling dumpsters. The weather has been beautiful.  Outbuildings are in stages of repair and painting. I`ve had little time to sew. I love being outdoors.  

A Joshua bud. They should start being fragrant about now.

This is a great place to live. Sam the dog and I are outside just before sunrise. No noise other than birds.  Mr. Cat sits at a window watching quail and rabbits. It is time to be watchful of snakes. They like cool mornings. It`s been dusty lately. Thank goodness for Swiffer Dusters!  Shopping is 45 minutes to an hour drive each way.  We do have a gas station/grocery store, library,dollar store, four cozy restaurants and great views in every direction.

Have a great day my friends.
Cathy

The  Grandwash Cliffs dusted in snow and the Joshua trees a little greener. Beautiful backyard view.

 My best and favorite Christmas Apron. It`s about 50 years old!

 Did you have a Flexible Flyer? My sister and I steered into snow drifts and sometimes tossed from our sleds. There were a few times when that snow drift was ice. Ouch!

 One of the most beautiful places on earth, the Uncompahgre Plateau in Colorado. My first hunting trip was there and it was a  balmy -13F. 

 Last years snow Christmas week.

Iron Mountain towering over the Joshua Tree National  Natural Landmark. A half mile up the road from me.

  Natures beauty is a joy. I am blessed to be surrounded by these gifts from God. I will be posting again between sessions of gift making. Thank you for stopping by. I will post the gifts I made after the recipients open them. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Cathy in Arizona

Hello! It`s my turn to share my Halloween Haunts project. Please visit the other folks taking part as well. Their links are below this post.  I wanted a reversible table mat perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The pumpkin and floral fabrics were in my stash. I purchased the scarecrow fabric on Etsy.  I`ve been wanting to use the floral print for Christmas a long time. The reds, greens and metallic threads are perfect.  The pumpkin / scarecrow  side is sixteen, 6 inch blocks. The back is one piece. I`ve had that fabric a long time. So glad I was able to use it. The finished size is 22 inches square. 

Thank you Marian, our hostess and creator of this Hop. It`s been fun!

Below is today`s list of participants with more projects to share. Some are sharing tutorials and many are having Giveaways. Thanks for visiting!


Tweety Loves Quilting
Sandy
How Art You
Cate's Place
Feather Your Nest
Why Knot Kwilt

Wednesday October 28
Bumbleberry Stitches
Meadow Brook
Sew Many Yarns
In Stitches & Seams
Seams To Be Sew

This stone building was the Lost Basin Post Office 1884-1894. Lost Basin is where the mining claims are. This building is disappearing stone by stone. I know there was an application to get it on the  Historic Register to protect it. I don`t know how that turned out. People have camped inside off and on since it closed.

I had more pictures but since the upgrade I can`t upload pics into the computer. It needs a bug fix. I always intend to post more often but I have discovered, as have others,that second year widowhood has it`s own issues.. I have sewing projects heaped on my kitchen table. I sort of shuffle them around. good intention etc.  I`m moving along. It`s taking a little longer than I thought. Thanks for visiting. I appreciate it. Prayers for all the firefighters on all the fires and their families!

Cathy

 Scraps are like old friends. I open a bin or drawer and I think" oh, I remember you". This is a tiny bit of the scraps that live in my closets, drawers, cupboards and plastc bins. I pulled this small lot this morning with no particular project in mind.  Not very tidy. The table is covered but you get the idea.  I need to sort them and if I`m lucky an idea will come forth. Over the last month I completed placemats and hot pads for my kitchen table. I have lots of WIP`s I`ll share in my next post. Mostly Halloween and Christmas projects

This was last nights sunset.  Awesome colors and I love the starkness of the Joshua trees.  I`m honored to live in this beautiful area.This is looking towards the Lost Basin mining claims area.  There was lots of  mining in the 1930`s and earlier. We used to metal detect the old dumps and camps. I don`t know how they coped with the heat 100 years ago. Clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.

This is my favorire sunset picture of all time.  Same view, same Joshua`s. My husband snapped this picture after a late afternnon thunderstorm in 2008.  He walked outside at the right time. Many of you have seen this picture before.

 I took an unexpected break from blogging this month. January 3rd was the first anniversary of my 

husbands death. It set me back for a while. I didn`t realize the start of year two would have as great an impact as it did.  As usual my friends were great, keeping me busy and on the right track. I`m almost back to where I was before the 3rd.

I`m  sewing again and looking forward to  Madam Sam`s March Blog Hop, Have A Latte. This Hop celebrates everything coffee. Wait till you see the Have a Latte fabrics!

My water delivery will be here shortly so I must break away. I truly appreciate your visit. I am finishing WIP`s and will share them as I complete them.

I bought a "to die for" six foot by four foot solid oak farmhouse kitchen table. It`s my work table now, sitting in my kitchen. I will share a picture when I get re-aquainted with my camera. It came with  2, two foot by four foot leaves too heavy for me to lift. I love it!

That`s all for today.

Thank you,
Cathy

Beautiful day. That`s Iron Mountain in the background. You`ll pass it if you visit the Grand Canyon Skywalk.  I love the clouds. There`s a few homes up there and I hear it`s about ten degrees cooler in the summer. A sweet view from my front yard.

The fence was not the place to hang my little quilt top but there was a wind problem. I wanted a cloth to cover my  kitchen  table to catch flour and other dry ingredients when I am making bread. I usually have flour everywhere and I may drop a little sugar or salt. I am a prolific baker! Now when the bread, cake or pie is in the oven I just shake out the cloth. It will be backed with flannel scraps.  So much easier than trying to dig the dust out my old table. I`ve had the nine patch blocks for years.

My New Life
I`m making time for friends again. The longer one separates from people, the harder it is to make that move back into your friendships.  The "friends" who knocked on my door three days after my husband died, asking me what of his things I was selling (or giving away) are no longer friends. Shame on you.  I am moving along, doing better every day. It was hard to accept help from friends. I`m getting better at that. God didn`t give me beautiful days just to throw them away. I resisted calling my future my "new" life. I didn`t want new. But it is my new life and I`m making the most of it.

Thank you for visiting. I appreciate it.

Madam Samm, Thanks.

Cathy

Cathy

Another beautiful spring day. Put my clothes on the line this morning to dry in fresh air and sunshine! I sewed the sides of two Nancy Drew Bags. The last of my Charm Packs.  One bag for my niece and one for my sweet daughter in law. Pictures when they are finished. DIL works full time and still managed to get herself on the Dean`s List this spring.

A vintage tablecloth I might decide to repair. It`s got several  holes. It sure does brighten the kitchen.

I bought my Nancy Drew Charm Squares at Quilt Taffy. Again, good customer service and a quality product. I purchased Nancy Drew yardage at Crazyquiltgirl Fabric Shop. Nice product, great shipping and fabulous customer service. I have nothing to gain by showcasing these wonderful shops. I just wanted to let everyone know about them.


Just for the heck of it. The white rocks in the wheel barrow tell hubby (the headless creature) how many buckets of dirt he runs. Sort of a prospectors abacus. This day he brought the dirt home to run it through the recirculating equipment. The buckets are dumped at the end he is standing, Water is pumped through the sluice box washing the lighter dirt down into a tub, leaving the heavy gold in the sluice box. There is lots of clay in the water which is very hard on the hands and it stains clothes. I don`t do the wet stuff anymore. I metal detect till the snakes make an appearance. Then I`m gone till winter. That`s what sewing rooms are for haha!

Time to start supper. Thank you for visiting.
Cathy

Welcome all blog visitors! Thank you Marlene for hosting these weekly "meet your neighbor" blog visits. Marlene is a  great person and here is her wonderful  Blog.  You will enjoy your visit. 

If you haven`t visited here before, I am Cathy. I live in Northwestern Arizona with a husband who has been around 43 years.  My son and DIL live in Yuma. We`ve lived in this area over 20 years. Built our house ourselves. I garden, embroider, quilt, collect vintage Pyrex,vintage lace, especially fond of Carrickmacross and I love Blog Hops. A great way to meet new people and tune up my skills. Here are a few pictures of the area where we dwell.

Thank you for visiting. It`s been fun. Thank you Marlene!