Rainbow Bridge .... Yet Again

 Not me and not my Cooper thankfully, but another rainbow bridge happened today.  I'll get to that in a minute.  It's raining nicely again.  I don't think California has gotten any rain this time of year in ages.  It's expected to continue on and off for the next four days.  I'm loving it because the sprinklers are turned off.  So much for walks outside though.  Here's my shadow waiting under the desk for me to finish up.

Just to show how much work goes into these quilts ... here's the steps.  Never mind the linty dirty "foot".  First you cut up the fabric and draw a line on 332 pieces, then sew down EACH SIDE of the line.

Cut them in half along the line .....

Iron them open, in the correct direction of course, on my fancy dancey new ironing board cover ...

Then square them up to two inch squares using that hard to see little plastic thingy .....

Then sew them together eight times until you have this unit, which must have the seams pressed in the correct direction each time you sew it .... which means lots of trips to the ironing board.  That's my exercise for the day.

And finally you have one of these little 5" squares done.  Oh there's more ... sewing the sashing in between the four pieces before you are done.  It being PRETTY makes it a little easier to go through the motions.

I spent probably four hours doing those four squares on the right, and another two sewing ahead to make it easier.  They don't normally take this long because I choose MUCH easier patterns.  On the other hand, it will be spectacular when it's done.

Craving something good for lunch, I scrounged in the cupboard to find this.  One day when I was walking the aisles in the grocery store, this lady accosted me, singing the praises of this cheap dinner.  She said her family loved it.  I actually used the cheddar broccoli soup mix, which is now lounging in the garbage can.

No kidding ... it was AWFUL!!!  It had a terrible metallic taste, in spite of me dumping in a little more cheddar.  I hate to be wasteful, but I just could not get it down my throat.  This one's life has been spared for the time being until I can buy a couple of potatoes to add in, hoping it will taste batter.  

I built a grilled cheese instead.  Have you ever had one of those days when nothing you prepare turns out edible?  This hunk of sourdough bread I picked up at Costco is so strong it completely overpowers everything.  That mixed with the metallic soup didn't set well at all.  I had a cookie to get the taste out of my mouth.

When Cooper and I went out in the yard for a few minutes, I noticed the gopher had been hard at work.  There were ten mounds in the grass, some as big as ten inches wide.  Someone has been a busy beaver.  As I walked over to see, my toes fell into a big hole.  

That's it ... the foxy group is not doing their job very well.  I grabbed the hose and went to town.  You know you're in the right hole when it runs full blast and you see no water at the surface.

I thought maybe that would push him to new ground next door.  While putting the hose away, what should I see but ANOTHER three holes on the other side.  My my, you HAVE been busy.  I grabbed the hose again and stuffed it down the hole.  

I thought I saw the hose move.  Sure enough, in a few seconds, there were little feet coming up.  In another minute, he came right out of the hole, soaking wet.  Holy mackerel!!!  He was a big as any big rat I've found in Arizona.  No WONDER my yard is so torn up!  

Rainbow Bridge .... yeah, I felt really bad cuz they are kind of cute in a way, but I grabbed a big rock and dispatched him quickly.  It was not a pretty picture, so no pictures.  I still feel bad, being a critter lover and all, but it will take months to repair the damage he did.  

So this morning, I'll be back up on the ladder in the back yard.  I see that two gutters on the garage are not draining, but running over the edge, which is probably why the window frame is rotten on the bottom corner.  I'll wait til the rain quits though.  No use looking like a drowned rat ... or gopher as the case may be.