§ Hot Days of Summer?

Facebook & Google...They're now facing lawsuits with Europe's new privacy/consent issues beginning May 25th of this year.

https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2018/5/28/17402270/gpr-privacy-notices-privacy-policies

In your best interest, read this (direct link above).  It's very long.  But, a must read.  It will inform you just what is happening.  After reading the entire article, I'm wondering...should I transfer my two blogs to another format?  Perhaps export them to Wordpress?  It's a huge concern.  I hate to think of losing my 12 years of blogging ...that is a lot of work.  Will Google (at least blogger/blogspot) go the way of MySpace from years ago?

Another issue is Gmail.  I haven't received notifications on my smartphone in nearly a couple weeks ...notifications of new comments left on my blogs.  I've done all I can (including re-establishing & re-syncing)...still, nothing.  I read somewhere that Google is aware.  {{{shrug}}}

Any comments or suggestions on fixing it all would be welcomed.

- - -

For days now it's been close to breaking 100 degrees here. When I get up from my nighttime sleep, the temps are still in the 80s. So, needless to say I haven't been taking day trips at all. And I feel more exhausted than if I'd be walking regularly. To think, December like temps are still months away. This is gonna be a long hot summer I think.

What I've been doing is re-upholstering our dining room chair cushions. When our cats were with us, their toenails tore the seats and lots of claw marks. I took it upon myself and went and purchased some upholstery. I have two chairs done, but I'm not sure just when the other two will get torn apart and measured, etc. etc. etc.

In the quiet times of the mornings I started to use my oil pastels again. A 2nd humming bird. This time on gray pastel paper.  I do know that the hummingbird's head is too large...it looks bloated!

... last, to beat the heat, I've been making a daily smoothie...

Fresh frozen unsweetened fruit
single serving of vanilla greek yogurt
ice water

this time it's frozen strawberries!

§ - Rise and Shine -

...it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood!!

[photo of lonely, quiet beach after sunrirse- in another month, it's Spring Break for College Kids...you know what that means, right?  Bumper to Bumper Bikini-clad butts!!

linking to Skywatch Friday

_* _ * _

1]    I can hardly contain myself from revealing the two birds I photographed while in Brooks County this past week!! But, thing is, I had composed and pre-scheduled a post already for this weekend at "I'd Rather B Birdin'" with the InLinkz Tool set for Saturday, the 22nd at noon. I know I could've prepared the new post and copied and pasted the coding I have on my pre-scheduled post...this weekend's photo shoot is of a darling little   bird, so I'll go with that one as planned and construct a new post for next   weekend. I am so excited about showing the two off!! One, such a small bird that is 'lost' in Texas and can't find its way back to Old Mexico....the other is one I've mentioned to Bud I'd like to see here in this state,  and haven't until our nearly 100 mile drive. And such a sweet, funny, comical pose when I first spotted it!!! I hope I've piqued your interest. Stay tuned. A link will be posted here [on or after March 1st], so you won't miss it.

2]   Did I just type March? Golly, one more week and March will be here. That means for me and my sister; another Sister's Day Celebration! We've done this a little over a couple of decades now, on March 18th. I must start thinking seriously 'bout what to send her for her 'surprise', and then our synchronized champagne toast in matching fluted glasses to sisterhood at 8PM. Where does time go?

3]   As with everything in nature, when it comes to passion and love, everything tends to change color during this period in life of the living---as with Tri Colored Herons!! Now, this bird changes to its breeding colors dramatically!! They're beautiful year 'round, but during breeding season, the changes are phenomenal. Here is a photo I took on Christmas Day 2013 of the Tri Colored in its normal daily dress. Notice their legs and feet are pale green. Their beaks/bills are mostly drab yellow with the yellow getting darker the closer to the eye...

...and I have a photo of the Tri Colored Heron in its breeding cloak, but it's on one of my several bird photo disks, and to be honest, I'm too lazy to go searching for my own photo, so I searched Google to have a link to show you the dramatic changes that overcome the male heron during breeding season. Their beak/bill turns blue and their legs and feet change from green to pink/purple...

here's the link

And the reason I'm showing all this is to show off my newest watercolor work that I've been dabbling in for the past couple weeks; finishing it yesterday--

I think I'll title this painting either Times of Passion or That's Amoré! Which title do you like best?

4]    Boy howdy, did I ever find the most luscious tasting yogurt the other day!! The brand is Noosa Yoghurt!! I've tasted and sampled many kinds and brands of yogurt and even the Greek style. This by far is soooooo delicious. While at the store to pick up produce for our dinner salad, I went to the dairy section for milk. As I walked by I happened to spy a new packaged yogurt that has not been on the shelves before. And they were an introductory price: 3 for 5$. Walking over to have a closer look, the top label stated "Aussie made, Colorado fresh". Well, being from Colorado I had to take home just one...raspberry...and try it. I'm heading back to the store to get more!!!! Here is their site. I lived in Colorado for over 45 years, and never heard of this brand...the dairy, originating in 1894...I HAVE heard of. Grave's Dairy, in Northern Colorado. Trust me, if you find this brand in your dairy aisle, try it!!! It's delicious!!! By the way, Noosa is a town in Queensland Australia. The yogurt [yoghurt] is made from "Happy Cows"...or so the label goes.

5]   Dillon, my youngest grandson, has been accepted to enter College after graduating high school in May!!! Way to go Dillon!!

linking to:  Random 5 Friday, Camera Critters, Saturday Critters

§ Digest this!

When it's 81° just before sunrise, and the sky seems to be on fire!!!.....
not much activity gets done 'round here. Growing up in Colorado, I just didn't realize what the "lazy, hazy, days of Summer" really meant 'til we moved South to the sub-tropics. A person really doesn't want to move around much, no less get too far from an air conditioner. The heat index with humidity factored in this past week has been in the triple digits! Nosiree-bob, I have been staying indoors a lot! Altho, early one morning, Bud and I got out before the sun started baring down on us and got the two lawns, back and front yards, mowed and edged. With rains...you get green grass that needs a hay mower eventually!

I've been drawing at my leisure, coming up with all kinds of concoctions to snack on, and even began a project that may or may not get done. A quilt coverlet. Right from the get go I had to ask Kathy [the quilting guru I call her] a question. LOL This may turn out a bit comical trying my hand a quilting, and then again it may be a total disaster. I have to be honest, I'm going in blind on this. But, there is always my famous filing under #13 if it doesn't turn out...that is, ummmm, a trash bin!!

Okay, I mentioned I drew another sketch. I'm pretty darned sure y'all are getting very tired of me posting what I've been drawing - it's just that I'm not doing too much of anything else right now...so bear with me. Just the other day, I posted photographs of this charmer. The Golden Fronted Woodpecker. I have really started liking the jovial, noisy persona of these birds. The beginning of the sketch...


...and I whipped this one out in less than a couple hours. Not much to sketching this since the body pattern is nothing but splotches of black and white.





Then, I mentioned concocting snacks:


Recently I read on someone's blog a recipe that I just had to try out. I love everything yogurt....frozen, right off the grocers' shelf, for dessert, snack, or bedtime treat: Fruit on the bottom, granola on top, anything. This recipe was for an 'oatmeal cookie smoothie'. Sorry, I can't remember just where I read it or who shared it, but it was definitely a 'must try'. Her recipe [as I recollect] called for Greek Yogurt, a single serving bag of instant oatmeal, ice, cinnamon, etc. etc. But, with me, I improvised and added some of my favorites...

I used:

1 cup of Greek Yogurt - Vanilla flavored [and I used a dry measuring cup - 1 cup]

1 TBS of ground cinnamon

4 large cubes of ice

1 bag of apple and cinnamon oatmeal [no sugar added product ---hard to find, but they are out there]

8 pecan halves

Blend....

I loved it!

The Greek Yogurt is more tart than the name brands like Yoplait. Purchasing the vanilla flavored adds a natural sweetness with no need for any added processed sugars. And the difference in Greek yogurt is that it is strained of whey THREE times instead of the usual two times...making it much thicker. Also note: pay attention to the fat content...it's best to get fat free since Greek yogurt is higher in fat than the regular kind.  But a consolation here is that Greek vs. Regular, there is a lot more protein content.  And the extra straining removes a lot of the carbs that diabetics need to watch---select vanilla or honey-infused Greek yogurts, which are usually lower in carbohydrates than those with fruit.   Here in America, if you buy an American made Greek Yogurt the companies use cow's milk...in Greece, I understand it's goat's milk?!! Anyway, no matter, GREEK yogurt is by far the thicker creamier one to buy.

I also love pecans. Any nut will do for health reasons being that fat from nuts are the GOOD fats. Just be sure to use in moderation 'cause they will put on the pounds. My adding the pecans gave this smoothie an extra boost of a nutty goodness that's hard to describe.

...then on another day this week. Actually for my dessert one night this week, I just poured me a glass of ice cold milk and grabbed a Pecan Crunch Bar and watched part of the mini series on DVD [Pillars of the Earth]. While I was munching away and really enjoying the cold milk, I was thinking a thought...a revelation!! "Anni? Next time you grab one of these pecan crunchie thingies, make it like a S'Mores!" So, I did the very next night. We always have dark chocolate bars in the 'fridge. And I had some left over marshmallows from making ambrosia salad for a side dish previously. I grabbed a microwavable plate and placed the crunchy bars...topping them with mini-marshmallows and some Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. Nuked them for 20 seconds and voilà ---a granola S'Mores. Yes, I do realize that there are Granola bars with chocolate bits and marshmallow bits already packaged, but the only brand of snack bars we buy are Nature Valley. As far as I know, the stores don't have them on the shelves. The Pecan Crunch and the Almond are my favorites anyway...I only buy those. [Bud's is the Cashew Salty and Chewy]. In my personal opinion these are WAY BETTER than using Graham Crackers. Way better. Guaranteed I'll be making s'more!!!


...having to go to the grocery store several times a week since the Texas H*E*B franchise is so close to our home, I go all too often. But the bright side of this is, the food I serve for our meals is always much fresher!! Well, anyway, on the way back, I pulled into Walmart in hopes of finding something for the backyard bird count I am going to begin this Fall. I have been wanting to buy the 'Peanut' Feeder, but I can't see spending $30 on ONE feeder. I saw one at Tuesday Morning...they're nothing but farm fencing wire and a bottom and top of pot metal!! Gimme a break. Luckily I found something I can use this coming Autumn!---I guess it's a new product. And with it, they also have the peanut/suet balls to fill the feeder with for those that like this mixture!! All for about $10. I always like 'bargains'. LOL I'll let you know if it's a popular thing later in the upcoming season.