My June 2015 Month in Numbers

Feels so nice to get back to Julie Kirk's awesome Month in Numbers!  It's been almost a year since I last posted numbers for the month of July 2014 (posted on 1 August) and not only has a lot of stuff happened (tempus fugit and all that!) but routines and even scenery has changed!

Anyway, this post may seem a bit photo heavy but personally, I like pictures to tell a story (which Julie does so very well!).

June began with carryover activities from May; that is, my eldest sister, who lives in New Zealand, arrived in Utah on the 17th to take in a week-long genealogy research trip at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City sponsored by Michael John Neill. She stayed in the city for that week but returned to stay with us in Tooele on the 27th. I only mention this as part of the numbers for June because she was here until the 7th when I took her to the Amtrak train station in Salt Lake City at 11:30 p.m. to catch the train to Colfax, California to stay with our dad for the couple weeks before her return to New Zealand. Incidentally, that train trip takes 12 hours, to cover 600 miles. While she was with us, she went into the Family History Library the first four (4) days of the month, leaving Tooele each morning at 7:30 a.m. on the 453 UTA bus and returning at 6:30 p.m. on the 451 UTA bus from the city. 

Charlotte getting on the bus June 1st

On the morning of the 2nd, after dropping my sister off at the bus stop, I spotted four deer in the field on Vine Street where pumpkins are planted each year. Two of them were young bucks (judging from the smallish antlers they were sporting) and two were doe(s?). 

Four mule deer browsing in the pumpkin patch on Vine

The water level of the Settlement Canyon Irrigation Reservoir is of interest and significant to us during the summertime because we irrigate our pasture and yard around the house. So, Clare and I made three trips to the reservoir in June to check those levels:

Upper left photo taken on 7 June: Water level 43 feet at 9:38 a.m. (This was up from 37 feet recorded on 22 May, 7:00 p.m.). Lower left photo taken 12 June: Water level 44.25 feet at 7:45 p.m. This rise was most likely the result of a wet month of May and the first week in June receiving afternoon rainstorms. Photo on the right was taken 27 June at 8:00 p.m. and the water level was down to 43 feet. Of course, by the end of the month with high temperatures, very little rain, and farmers irrigating every day, the level was bound to drop. There is a concrete marker (Clare is walking down it in two of the photos) that goes to the part of the dam where it would go over the spillway (about 65 feet). Driving up Settlement Canyon to check the dam (that looks funny to me - check the dam!) is a very pleasant pastime and it is quite lovely scenery-wise, don't you agree?

On the 12th of June I received three (3) books that my sister had ordered for me from Amazon, one of which is Snail Mail reviewed by Julie here and I must say that it is (and I quote Julie), "...an exceptionally creatively designed papery joy." 

The three books from my sweet sister.

I've read the other two books and found them both very entertaining but like Julie suggests in her review of Snail Mail, this one will be out on my night table for now-and-again perusing.

Lots of numbers were accumulated on the 21st of June when Clare and I took a road trip to Rock Springs, Wyoming, some 236 miles and three hours driving time from our home. We went, not because we had a burning passion to see Rock Springs (!) but rather to scope out the venue for the upcoming National High School Rodeo which two of our grandsons qualified for in the steer wrestling event. Anyhoo, here is a collage of what we found the Sweetwater Events Center to be like:

As you can see, we annotated how many campsites are available (677 total - that may just be enough for close to 500 over 1,000 participants from the United States and Canada and their families, etc.); and, how many stables are available (200 covered, and not noted on the collage, about 100 open stalls). The Nationals are coming up this next week, beginning the 12th of  July. Here is a photo of our two champion grandsons!

Ty and Tee Allred, cowboy cousins

Needless to say, we are very proud indeed of these two young men! P.S. Ty celebrated his 17th birthday on the 16th of June.

Our road trip afforded at least three photo opportunities for Rinda's 2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt (which I am participating in again this year - and hoping to complete!) as seen here and here - a flag pole with at least three flags, a cellular tower, and a panoramic view while standing someplace high. And, just for fun, here is a photo of a quintessential treat when traveling on Interstate 80 between Salt Lake City and wherever:

Famous 75 cent cone from Little America, Wyoming (yeah, that's the place!)

The last couple weeks in June saw temperatures creeping to the triple digits (Farenheit that is!) as seen in this pair of shots of the thermometer on our back patio taken the 24th and 27th:

About 92 degrees on the 24th and pretty darn 100 degrees on the 27th!

On the 25th I'd just about had enough of unruly hair, so I decided to channel Jamie Lee Curtis (Lady Haden-Guest) and have about one inch of grey cut off. Here you go:

Jamie Lee on the left (she's 58 yrs old!) and yours truly on the right (65 yrs old!)

I know, scary, huh?! Haha! I am loving it though although I may regret it come chillier weather! That's what hats are for, right?!

On the 28th Clare took a photo of me standing by the renegade sunflower in the rock garden out back. I am (shrinking with age) 5'11" and the sunflower is easily eight feet tall (and climbing as of this date). My granddaughter grabbed my IPhone from her grampa and took four "selfies" or "me and you-ies" I suppose you could call them - her and grampa and her and poor old Chester, the cat.

Gotta love this girl's enthusiasm!

Me with the monster sunflower 

Like I said at the beginning of this post, photo-heavy. When reviewing the month, it never ceases to amaze me how many things involve numbers! Thanks again, Julie, for providing an interesting way to KEEP TRACK of my life!

So, that 'bout wraps it up for June!

Bye for now!

Month of July in Numbers

I'm joining in with Julie Kirk again this month (last official MinN was April's! Argh!) for Month in Numbers. This month was looong (31 days!) and HOT and full of plenty of activities and happenings.

# of IPhone photos taken and added to Collect calendar = 59. Some of the days there were as many as five to record and only two days with zero.

We celebrated Independence Day, the 4th, quietly with a picnicky sort of meal and watching the fireworks at the high school football field (four blocks east of us here on Vine) from our backyard. Didn't go to the parade in the morning - this would've been a great opportunity to fulfill #14 on the 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt - because it was already 95 degrees at 9:00 a.m. when it started and we were just plain too lazy!

This is not a terribly good picture of the fireworks but you kind of get the idea . . .

# of books read in July = 3 plus reading Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother. This is on my IPad Kindle and so I pick it up only occasionally. An aside here - I really don't like reading from the screen but when I can't find a book I really want to read at the city library, I resort to Kindle books. About this book: I don't like Louisa's father, Bronson Alcott, very much but that dislike surely comes from a 21st century prejudice.

# of photos found for the 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt = 14 of 21. (Today, the 1st of August, I added another!) See posts here, here, and here. 

# of postcards sent for Sian's Pile of Postcards Swap = 6 - 4 to the UK, one to Canada, and one to New York State. 

# of postcards received for said Swap = 8; 5 from the UK (Helena sent a return card - thank you so much!), one from France, and 2 from Tennessee (an extra one from Barbara!). Absolutely loved doing this and now have new (and very talented!) friends from all over.

This is the postcard I received from Alexa just yesterday, the 31st.

Doing this swap reminds me of when I was young and had "penpals" that I found through comic books, particularly Katy Keene. . . and that's a story for another day :).

# of family birthdays celebrated = 5. Granddaughter-in-law DaviJo's 27th on the 13th; Daughter-in-law Crystal's 42nd on the 18th; Great-granddaughter Aubrey's 8th on the 21st; Granddaughter Jessica's 21st on the 22nd; and, my sister Delta's 61st on the 24th! Girls ruled this month! I called my sister in Silverado, California on her birthday and we had a lovely 45+ minute chat. Just don't get to gab like that often enough!

# of days triple digit temperatures = 5 according to the weather service but it sure seems like more! 

# of miles driven to Panguitch (Utah) for the Panguitch Invitational Rodeo at the Triple C Arena = 228 in 4 hours.

This is a picture of our truck and three-horse trailer driven by our two grandsons (one driving, one entertaining no doubt!) on the road south to Panguitch. My husband and I and our dog are behind them in the motor home. . . well, until we got to the turnoff after losing sight of them on Interstate 15! Grampa got a tad irritated and had me text them that "even though the speed limit was 80 mph on the freeway, doesn't mean you go that fast . . . you are hauling horses, not hauling ass!" Oh dear! 

We arrived safely Tuesday, the 15th, and spent the next three full days rodeoing. Actually, me and Grampa [is that right? or should it be "Grampa and I?"] provided food and bed and the grandboys did the rodeoing!

# of performances/slack attended at said rodeo = 5. Grandson Ty did 3 events (tie-down, steer wrestling, and team roping) and Grandson Tee did 2 events (steer wrestling and team roping). They are team roping partners - Ty heads and Tee heels. In order to qualify for Friday's "short go" or top 10 in each event, each had to catch/get a time in two of the previous two days rodeos. I won't bore you with the details but will cut to the chase and tell you that Tee placed 2nd in the short go steer wrestling and earned a nice, shiny buckle and Ty ended up 3rd in the short go tie down and All-Around Cowboy for the whole rodeo! Woohoo! Here he is with his 3rd place buckle and very large All-Around buckle:

And here are my favorite three cowboys after all was said and done:

On that note, I just wanted to add # of times I've weeded the flower beds = INFINITE! With recent summer rainstorms I've got more of a Garden of Weed'n than flower garden! Wish I could let the 11 steers loose and instruct them in what to eat and what not to eat. But of course, there's the problem of . . . well, you know! And, they might wander down the street and get into traffic . . . 

'Nuf said.

Pile of Postcards and a New Crafty Pursuit

Hi Hi!
Just want to post an update of how my pile is growing for Sian's Pile of Postcards Swap. It's been fun indeed going out to the postbox and pulling out a card from a new friend! Four postcards so far (two from Tennessee :) - thanks Barbara!) and I feel like three new "penpals!" I rather regret not putting my blog and/or email address on the six cards I sent out like these gals did for me but, oh well! I've communicated with these three and bookmarked their blogs as favorites just because I can . . . haha!

[Postman left yet another postcard in the box - hurray! Thanks to Julia for adding to the pile!]

 

Two from the UK and as mentioned above, two from Tennessee. Ooh! I think I want to go to the Loveless Cafe just to gaze at the walls! Of course, the food has appeal too - hehe! Of course, I've always wanted to visit the UK; closest I've been was a layover at Shannon Airport, Ireland on the return flight from a Mediterranean cruise back in 2008. Anyhow, thanks to Sian for organizing this swap! 

Last Wednesday, the 23rd, my friend and I went into a Stampin'Up! Blendabilities class put on by our demonstrator extraordinaire, Wendy Knowles. Ah, yes, another crafty pursuit to add to the long list! These new pens by SU are right up my alley since they are all matched up in sets of three. I tried Copics but found them a bit too labor intensive for my particular abilities and artistic ambitions. Here's a peek at what I've played with so far. Wendy stamped out the blooms and butterfly for us and then we played with the markers. 

I'm looking forward to doing some more playing with other images. Has anyone else tried these? And what do you like/dislike about them?

Getting ready to compile my month in numbers; July was a full one and I'm pretty certain that there are a few number stories to tell.

Bye, bye!

Summer Coming and Going . . .

I must say that the days are rolling along at a rapid pace around here. Summer solstice came and went and now it's close to the BIG summer holiday for us in the US of A! The weather is appropriately HOT, the best time to do stuff outside being early morning (like before 8 when the sun peeks over the Oquirrh Mtns to the east) and evening (after 8 when the sky starts changing to oranges and pinks as the sun sets over the Great Salt Lake to the west)! Last night I went out about 8:30 to do the chores, since my poor overworked husband was still out working. As I drove the four wheeler across the pasture after turning on the rainbirds I had to stop and watch the sky change - so amazing - and within five minutes it was just a memory (and the water was overflowing in the steer's trough . . .). Wished at the time, that I had had my camera, or my IPhone with me to capture it!
Speaking of capturing - mid-June I bought the Collect app for IPhone and am having fun with it, snapping ordinary sort of stuff during the day. Here is a screenshot of June:

You can see that up until the 14th, there is nada and a few days in between. Some of the days there are up to three pictures (the app allows for adding multiple snaps per day). For instance, on the 26th, Sally texted a couple photos she took; here's how they look in Collect:

I love that she caught these and forwarded them on for our viewing pleasure! So typical of everyday life in Tooele. . . who said it couldn't be a "ride up" window?!

So, I've joined in with Sian Fair and her Pile of Postcards Exchange. What a great idea . . . it seems as though our new world has very much gotten away from sending postcards, much less letters and I totally agree with Sian that getting something besides junk mail in the post box is a real joy! Because we aren't traveling very far from home this month, I went downtown to buy up some Tooele-unique postcards for the six folks that I'll be sending to. Interestingly enough (or maybe not!), the only place I could find postcards was at the Best Western Inn Tooele which I guess makes sense but the local Walgreen's didn't have any! Back in the day, pretty much every little store had a twirly rack of postcards near the check-out but obviously, times have a-changed! Here's what I have, along with global and domestic stamps, ready to post:

I actually bought 12 and so may post the extras to friends and family who don't hear from me very often (yes, I'm as guilty as the next guy for not even emailing!). Funny that the postage came to more than the cards! No worries, though as the thought of getting something in the mail is so worth every penny (or dollar, as the case may be in global postage)!

I should be doing a wrap-up of my month in numbers for Julie at Notes on Paper; however, my note taking was not good for May or June and (as seen by the Collect calendar) neither was my picture taking! I am going to comment on her June MinN because it makes me smile and laugh and she needs to know that I love to catch up. I also like to peek in on the other MinN participants and add my comments occasionally.

Back in April and the first of May my friend and I did the Utah Paper Crafting Shop Hop 2014 (see this post). We had purchased 12-slot shadow boxes at Hobby Lobby with the intention of filling it with the photos we took on the Hop; well, on Wednesday, June 27th, we had a play date and did just that!

We used papers from the Simple Stories DIY Boutique 6X6 paper pad (which we picked up at one of the shops on the hop) and then embellished with wood veneer, punches, enamel dots, etc. Fun, fun! I still need to journal on the last card about the miles we drove, the $$ we spent, etc., etc. The cool thing is that each little card has a magnetic strip on the back so they can be changed out if we are so inclined to make other little cards!

While I'm on the subject of crafting little doodads, the Pink Daisy, one of our local scrapbook stores (in Holladay actually) has designed these fun little interchangeable shadow box kits/classes (this is the September one). I had purchased the Bright Birthday one for myself and the July one for my friend Heather (whose birthday is July 4!) and was so inspired while doing it that I took the Simple Stories Cat Insta Squares and Pieces Snap pack, backed it with a 12X12 black and white polkadot paper and made up this for Heather and her black cat, Coal:

I really love how it turned out! Love playing with paper and stuff and am not sure why I don't do more . . .

One last note before I wrap it up here for today and get some ironing done (see, that's a reason I don't do more crafting! haha!). Yesterday afternoon I let Chester, the cat, out after his nap and when I was stirring up some banana bread, I looked out the window and saw this:

At least eight little birds (probably more down below) in the Colorado blue spruce tree chirping their little hearts out at this:

Chester, right below the branches casually surveying all he owns (and occasionally gazing up, how cats do, to ensure that the birds were in their rightful places). Cracked me up! He's looking a bit skinny these days as he's shed great globs of hair for the summer. He'll puff out again in a couple months!

Laters!