Garden Evolution and Tipping the Toe into Final Fantasy

Solar mushrooms were purchased at a big box retailer. Still working around the pathway filling in with big pond pebbles. 

The tree stump has become the frog house. All of the colored stones were purchased in bags at thrift. 

Frog on motorcycle is on his way to frog's house. 

Solar mushrooms rest amidst neutral colored stones and marbles. 

During my grandbaby sitting down time (when she is sleeping), I will be entering the world of Final Fantasy. Like any new task, I like to watch a YouTube tutorial first. 

The garden continues to evolve. Wanting to use materials already on the property, I found pet exercise fencing. That and pieces of chicken wire cover fabric planter no. 2. It looks so much nicer than the ladder/deer netting beginnings. 

There are deer running rampant, and squirrels that leap from branch to branch on the ornamental plum tree. I've also seen numerous cats strolling through the backyard. I want to discourage the use of the planter as a litter box. 

This setup should work for a few months as I continue to clear the weeds. I still haven't decided which fencing material will be used. The area is approx. 40 feet long. I need 4 terminal or support poles for every 10 feet. I am tempted to measure them out and start the pole holes while the ground is relatively soft. We are fast heading toward warmer weather and the ground drying up.

Finally, I am starting to dream of tap dance steps. With upping my training from 1 day a week to 3 days a week, I have tap dancing on the brain. The same thing would happen when I would take math classes in college. I had to concentrate so hard on the subject, I would dream of math equations.  

I'm A Little Teapot

It has been a long time since I rescued a stitchery from thrift. This one highlighting teapots is simply exquisite, priced at $5. Framed and matted by a studio in Idaho. I just LOVE the gray framing. It joined the most favored collection in my room. Kudos to the quality cross-stitch work of this artist.💗 State of Grace floribunda rose photobombs in the background. 

As predicted, I found the drapery rod (still in the box!) with its hardware at hospice thrift. The lined-drapes cost more to clean ($60) that the total cost of purchase $15.98 for 2 drapery panels and $12.00 for the rod, less than $30. I have a large picture window to cover, we will see if I have the same success in finding drapes and curtain rods. I have been shopping in the upscale areas of El Dorado County and Folsom, California. 

I always check the art area of the secondhand shops. I will make room for original art. I have moved more to collector rather than creator. 

My thrift shop hunt now includes baby books and toys. Mila, the baby, was intrigued with the Tigger piano. Added to my Grandma Tami musical repetoire are: baby castanet, maraca, and tambourine. 

Baby toy wish list includes a wooden bench like Big Merla utilizes. 

Hog Wire It Is and the Lined Drapes

Leading off with ladies in pink - just because. The theme in my vegetable garden will be highlights of yellow. There is a yellow fish kite hanging from an old fishing pole in in the vegetable/peppers fabric planter. The yellow flag sign Welcome Sunshine with sunflowers was placed in front of a tree stump. 

Progress as of May 1, 2026 in clearing the land for a garden. Weeds are covered so it will weaken them. I am not using any weed killer just digging up and pulling the weeds by hand. I don't want any poisons near food plants. 

The ladders covered in deer netting are temporary. I have come to the conclusion that I will have to circle the garden plantings in hog wire. So far the deer have left the tomatos alone. I may have to use the netting around the wire because SQUIRRELS.

The BEFORE image February 2026. The debris pile is still there and hope to be included in a dump run this month. 

Having obtained a burn permit, I was able to have 3 burn sessions before the cutoff at the end of April. 

On the dance fitness front, there is no fear I won't be busy. I have THREE tap dance classes M/TU/WED, then beginning Country Western line dancing every other Thursday. I just had to adjust my schedule for evening classes. Nighttime is the only time they are offered. 

The Monday tap dance class is to bring me up to speed on routines with the Wednesday class. The Wednesday group of ladies have many years of experience. There might be some tap performances in public in our future.👯

Ending the post with a thrift shop find of lined drapes. Sometimes one might find one panel of drapery at thrift. When you find 2 lined panels for $7.99 each in great shape, it is a good day. The drapes that now hang in my room were a thrift shop find about 10 years ago. Putting in the new find for dry cleaning and shopping for the drapery rod. I will check for that at thrift too and all I will need is the hardware to install the rod. 

Grounded for now to pay off my Anaheim adventure and to undergo an outpatient medical procedure. Ruling out arts and craft projects involving detailed handwork. Pivoting to grandbaby sitting on Tami Tuesdays. I thought I would miss selling on eBay, but I don't. I only miss the $$$$ that came my way, not the work that went with it. 

Getting a passport is next on my To-Do list. Hoping to have a short trip scheduled in late June. 

May Day

May Day and I have been making progress on the front border garden. State of Grace rose is in full bloom and wire-protected from munching deer. The other border plants include pansies, alyssum, marigolds, and geraniums.  

Not a day for protests but a day to celebrate flowers! 

Frog on motorcycle joined the fairy garden. He is solar so the headlamp on his bike lights up at night. 

With the vegetable garden still in progress, both fabric planters have been filled with pre-mixed soil. The hog wire circling the tomatoes looks a little funky. I had to straighten it out from a tight roll. Deer netting is wrapped around the ladders placed around the planter. It will suffice for now until I decide how I want to fence in the area. 

We have been having stellar weather here in Northern California. Next steps on the garden is to continue clearing the weeds and to till up where I want to plant in-ground. The soil is clay, clay, and more clay. Wish me luck!💙

Done with Disneyland and Point Me to Where the Fun is At

The only way to DO Disneyland is to shell out bucketloads of money. It is not the Disneyland of my youth. I purchased the 3-day California resident pass. There was no dedicated shuttle from my hotel to the main gate so I walked the 20 minute walk one way into the park. 

I arrived inside the main park at 11:00 a.m. THAT is precisely when they open the main park up to those who had been at the Adventure park. Elbow to elbow I made my way over to New Orleans square so I could have a Monte Cristo sandwich for lunch. 

I did not buy any extra passes or Magic Keys. The Haunted Mansion had a relatively short wait of 40 minutes. That ride broke down twice while I was on it. You could feel it grinding around. 

That was the extent of my Disneyland day. One would think with the higher ticket prices there would be a limit to attendees. Nope. People just keep pouring in and not just a few people, a lot of people! 

My return from Anaheim meant a continued focus on my vegetable garden. Because of some recent rains, I was able to pull a few more stubborn weeds in the garden area. 

On the cosplay Final Fantasy front, I had a partial costume prepared but misplaced pieces of it in my move. Seems I will have a few years to perfect that cosplay if I get to attend the festival again. 

I am on the hunt for other fun conventions and get togethers. Planning a trip for this fall - destination unknown. 

Final Fantasy Festival Day 2

As a non-game playing attendee of the Final Fantasy Festival, I had a great time! It was a calvacade of cosplay and music from the DJ at the food trucks, at the dancing green with the party animal, and the concert of the Primals.💜💕💞The Primals were the Official Final Fantasy XIV rock band. 

The following images were taken around the center court at the Anaheim Conference Center.

In the image below, a photographer was instructing a cosplayer on poses. 

My favorite activity prior to the concert was dancing with the party animal in the Dancing Green. There staff kept the crowd hyped with clapping and dancing to the disco-inspired electronica tunes. 

There were spotlight dances for each group that went through. I was able to dance with one of the last groups allowed prior to the Primals concert. I haven't had that much fun in a long, long time. 

I totally enjoyed the concert. Being a fan of AC/DC, Alice Cooper, and the like, the hard edge to the music was energizing. Even more delightful was the audience-held glow sticks that kept time to the music and changed color with certain lyrics. 

There were 15,000 fans in attendance. My son and his friends were in the mosh pit up front for the concert. I was in the adjacent room watching/hearing the concert on the screen. 

As an aside, at the developer Q&A in the convention, two things Final Fantasy fans had been requesting was that their online characters have bigger butts "butt sliders" and longer hair. Seems both could be unintentionally sliced off during battle. We will see if big butts and long hair are in the character's future. 

The next conferece is scheduled for Berlin. It might be a few years before they circle back to the United States. I would highly recommend a Final Fantasy Festival.💫😍💖 

Final Fantasy Festival Day 1

Admittedly, I know next to nothing about the Final Fantasy game and its 30+ million audience. I do know I had fun at Day 1 of the Final Fantasy XIV convention in Anaheim, California. Leading off with one of my favorite images, a group most likely on a video call. 

My interest was in the cosplay or costuming for the event. There was a cosplay parade which, from our seats, was viewed only through the monitors. 

There were many more in costume that didn't participate in the parade. These two gave me my first stickers. Cute cutouts of FF and personalized characters.  I especially like the pink and black outfit. 

I brought my Golden Girl Grandfluencer best for cosplay. Since I am a sewist, I could whip up some pretty neat stuff for these types of events. I really didn't know what to expect so I kind of winged it. 

A few more images of others dressed in costume.  

Amazingly, I slept sitting up through the Japanese translated demonstration of all of the game upgrades. There was lots of ooooos and aaahhhhhs over new game evolutions. After a 20 minute walk back to the hotel from Disneyland earlier, I was exhausted. 

Ending this post with some long perspective shots of the convention area. 

Going to Disneyland

Found a couple of cute things at thrift. This hat being one of them. Tucker, the Corgi in my life, models the newest Bio-Domes Headgear knit hat now destined for the trip. He is not too sure about his new modeling career. I am going to pull out all of the cosplay stops allowed for a Golden Girl. 

Rain has hit Northern California and has forced me inside. I have been making headway clearing the land of thistle and blackberry vines. It is not without punishment from those plants, they inflict lots of scratches and tiny wounds. 

It doesn't hurt to put my feet up and stream a few movies while I am watching the grandbaby. I tend to push myself hard and suffer the injuries later. I can say there is a BIG difference between caring for infant when you are 67 and when you are 27. Mila now weighs 12 pounds. Building up my body building arms by lifting her out of the baby swing, up from the floor, and out of the baby seat. I will have 2 days recovery during the week of arm days with Mila. Entering the new phase of the grandbaby workout. 

Heading to Anaheim! I am beyond excited. I have wanted to take a trip where there is lots of activity and lots of people. There are concerts on Friday and Saturday night of the Final Fantasy convention. I've booked the breakfasts for each day and sit-down lunches on Friday and Saturday. After watching a few YouTube videos on navigating Disneyland 70, I learned ordering food from an app saves huge chunks of time. 

I discovered a trick for wearing uncomfortable lever-back earrings. I loved these diamond pave hoops but the lever-back annoyed me. I placed a cheapo earring back between the back of my ear and the lever and now I can wear them!  

Beginnings of a fairy garden with frog figurines and solar mushroom stakes. Decorative rock, preferably in blue/purple, are on my thrift shop wish list. I am working around two large tree stumps. All of the rose bushes have been wrapped in wire. There was an initial deer munching that caught us by surprise. 

In the foreground are glass watering globes, green blown glass and glass mushroom stakes. Looking to add anything frog, fairy, mushroom, or magical to the garden. 

Keep Your Quilts and Clearing the Land

I was surprised when hospice thrift turned away a quilt for donation. Granted it was one of my first and was really ugly. I don't think that was even the determining factor. Quilts fell out of favor a long time ago. 

Since our Northern California weather has been super fantastic, I have been spending most of my time outside. With the front yard nearly whipped into shape, I have turned my attention to the backyard.  

Looks like this bears breech is trying to recover. Safe now after it was blocked off from my son's random mowing. 

To the left is the debris pile from the land cleared along the fence. The cherry tree got a tad deer munched before I could get it planted and fenced.  

And here are garden pick up sticks. A new and fun game for those tackling blackberry vines. Hoping for another burn day to get rid of that yard debris. 

There are two goals for this garden area (1) fence off the vegetable garden with either chain link or hog wire, and (2) clear the land to replace the missing portion of fencing. The leaning one shown above is one of the few sections standing. 

I lost visiting privileges to the puppy Belle, the German wirehaired pointer, when I moved. Hoping to get the yard fenced as she may enter my life again or another dog of my choosing. 🐶