Drought? Really?

Delightful Orchid

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/delightful-orchid-by-m-donna/

You have all heard that the Pacific Northwest is always wet and rainy! Well, not this year! May and June had lower than average rain and July is going that way also. I can't say we have had a lot of hot weather BUT it hasn't rained much. Now we are getting the warm weather. which I love. But I know the forest and brush fires will probably be bad. I can remember one summer when our kids were around five or six when my husband was away fighting forest fires most of the summer and into early fall. I would hardly get his dirty, smelly, smoky clothes clean before he would get called out again. We weren't making tons of money with the USFS but when he fought fire he got hazard pay and overtime so it always helped us out financially! But it was hard on me and the kids. We didn't have a chance that summer to cut wood so we had to have a load delivered and they dumped it in the carport. I couldn't get my car out of the garage until the wood was gone so the kids and I had to get it stacked in the woodshed. That was during the same period of summer when I was doing most of the canning. But I was young and had tons of energy and the kids, even though they were small were a big help. They were good kids. After we moved up here the kids all picked berries when they were younger and then the boys hayed and ran peapicker machines. Our daughter babysat and took a bus to work at a restaurant when she was old enough. I guess we were not good parents because they worked but they sure turned out to be hard working, responsible adults that we are very proud of.

We didn't do anything special on the 4th of July this year. I didn't think my knee was up to having the kids over so we sat around outside and read. Then went to DQ for some ice cream and fries! Not very exciting but we are old so it was fine....

I am not enjoying this summer as much as usual because my right knee is so bad. I abused it for so many years running every day, etc. Then crashing during a motocross really did it in and I had to have surgery and wore a cast for a month or more. Then several years later they had to do another surgery but it has never been the same and has really gotten bad this summer for some reason. I am hoping that wearing my brace and trying to take care of it, it will get better by itself. It always has before...

Well, our "president" is overseas embarrassing us again. I hope the world doesn't judge us by him. Most of us don't believe or "think" like him. Enough said. 

It doesn't seem like as many themes are bring submitted this summer. I imagine all the younger people are having a life and not working on them. But this old lady is still working away. Have even learned a few new things on my Photoshop program. There is so much to do but at my age, it is not an easy program to learn. And it infuriates me when I do something and then can't remember exactly what brush I used or exactly how I did it. I try to write it down but sometimes I forget to do that!

Apparently there is going to be some big changes for Themes. I don't know how that is going to affect me and my themes. One thing I do know is they are apparently going to do away with the preview of how it will look on your screen. So stay tuned and watch out for changes. I hope it doesn't change the themes themselves but it may. I will just have to wait and see.

The orchid one of our neighbors gave me at Christmas is doing so well. I love flowers but do not have a green thumb so I am amazed my orchid is doing so well. I Googled how to water it and I watched 2 You Tube videos that an expert orchid grower had put on and have followed his instructions and apparently he knew what he was talking about because mine is doing well! So it is time for me to go take care of mine!

Have a wonderful week end and hopefully I will be back.