Notices by Norcal Gma 2 (norcalgma2@sfba.social), page 2

Summer is working hard at keeping her pal's feet warm. Even though it is warm outside and in the house, neuropathy and other health issues guarantee that his hands and feet are always cold.
Summer, as always, is the best medicine.
Good morning, Mastodon.

#SilentSunday

Somehow, I think I got myself in trouble with my son in law. He sent me a text.
I bake goodies a lot.
It relaxes me.
It's kind of like meditating.
Someone has to take care of the end results of my baking therapy. The grandkids happily drag home cookies, muffins, pies, and all manner of bread type concoctions all the time.
He should be used to it by now.

This is my favorite photo from today's walk.
#Garden #Humboldt

Tonight is leftovers for dinner. A mini buffet of everything we need to eat or not. Once in a while, it happens that there is a little of this and that in the refrigerator but not enough of one dish for both of us. So I don't have to cook.
The upside of this situation is that Summer and I had lots of time for our sunset watching vigil. As luck would have it, we picked the right night to settle into our comfy chair to cuddle and cheer each other while we ooohed and awwed over the brilliant color show.
Summer just wants to be loved and to love us back. We want the same thing.
It works out.
#Sunset

#SilentSunday

A few more garden photos.

I have been anxious to try out my new walking shoes. My sneakers are slippery on gravel and downhill grass trails, and my hiking boots are overkill, so I bought a pair of walking shoes with some serious tread.
I totally love them.
I walked to the tip top of Humboldt Botanical Gardens on this beautiful day.
#Humboldt #Gardens

Summer and I are loving the sun with a little bit of a cool breeze this afternoon.
We agree that September in Humboldt County is pretty darn special.
Yesterday was a pink day, and today feels kind of orangy gold.
For me, it is break time in between laundry and other chores. So we skipped outside to throw the Frisbee and take a few flower pictures for our Mastodon friends.
It feels good to be home today.
#Roses #Dahlias #BloomScrolling

Pie is out of the oven and ready to go home with our grandson.
I love that pumpkin pie makes the house smell so good.
#Baking

Pumpkin pie is in the oven.
I told Summer we have fifteen minutes to play, so we better hurry outside.
She loves, loves to play.
After we take the pie out we can go for another round.
She is so good about waiting for her turn.
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon

This is the favorite perch when these two want to supervise meal preparation. They snuggle while I cook.
I guess I will wait for the after breakfast snuggle time slot.
Summer has a very full schedule, keeping everybody happy.
Somehow, she manages.
Good morning, Mastodon.
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon

Our house might be the muffin capital of Humboldt County.
Foraging in the garden for berries is an exciting way for Summer and her pal to start the day. They managed to find strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Of course, they were rewarded with freshly baked mixed berry muffins. It is a good thing the grandkids love these muffins, too, because the freezers are full.
Hot chocolate and muffins are the best way to start our day.
Good morning, Mastodon.
#Baking #Muffins

One of the grandkids stopped by today.
He thinks he was in the right place at the right time because he scored a bunch of mixed berry muffins to take home.
He helped me figure out how to watch Detroit Lions games this season.
I think things were much easier when the television had three channels, and you had to get up to turn it on and off. He knows about these things, though, so I think I am all set now.
We went out to the garden to ooh and awe over the flowers and gazillion bees. He is a joy to hang out with and is one of Summer's favorite humans.
Here are a few pictures of today's dahlia display
#Dahlias #BloomScrolling

I told Summer we are probably tooting too many pictures of her. We might have been having so much fun that we broke something.
Summer was worried.
We don't know very much about what makes sfba.social work except we do know the admins came to our rescue, our photos are visible again, and they are awesome for fixing whatever went sideways.
When it wasn't working, it made us realize how much we would miss our Mastodon friends if the people who know how to do these things didn't do them.
Thank you to everyone who makes Mastodon work for those of us who need this community to feel less alone.
You are the best!
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon

More Summer beach adventure.
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon

We hemmed and hawed and finally decided to abandon our chores and go to the beach for an hour. It was foggy, but no matter.
This time, we took a garbage bag and grabber to pick up the trash we saw when we were there last week.
We definitely left the beach cleaner than we found it.
Summer was the bestest girl and was patient when she had to be on leash.
Fun was had.
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon

@CuriousMagpie
I'm not sure anyone has an easy life. My husband's started out more privileged,
but he and his siblings have had their fair share of challenges.
I am mostly happy with my life choices thus far. It's not over yet, so we will see how this final stretch goes.

Watching the DNC this week made me think about what it was like to be 14 and pregnant at the end of 1972. Roe vs. Wade would alter all the rules a month later, but changes to my rural community would be slow.
I became an emancipated minor and did my best to adult.
I wasn't allowed to go go back to public school but was sent to a "school for young mothers." There, six girls, from 12 to 16 years old, learned to cook and clean in a small house made into classrooms.
Luckily for me, it was within walking distance of my house.
We took turns cooking and copied our recipes to give to classmates. I still have my box of recipes.
For over fifty years, I have been meaning to make these caramel sweet rolls. Today is the day.
I wonder what happened to all the other girls.
I also wonder how we could even consider going back.

It is a beautiful morning with the sun shining after a hard rain. We all went outside to see how our flowers held up.
A few were down like one beautiful pink dahlia, but for the most part, the flowers survived.
Our world is very small now, but I do believe we get just as much enjoyment from the flowers we grow ourselves as we would seeing them anywhere else in the universe.
We all found comfort in the fact that most of our flowers weathered the storm.
Now, off to surprise my husband. Every day, he requests bacon and eggs for breakfast and gets something approved on his diet instead, but today, he gets the real deal.
He will be so excited.
#Dahlias #BloomScrolling