perfectly pleasant Sunday afternoon in paradise

I thought about taking a nap in the hammock yesterday,

but decided instead to sit in the shade of the pear tree behind the house and stitch on T's quilt.

Even though I was tired (what else is new?) it was a good decision.

I spent a perfectly lovely (and quiet!) 2 hours out there

with some of my favorite things in the world 

(minus the people - but then, there wouldn't have been quiet...).

I probably would have accomplished more quilting if I'd stayed inside though,

'cause I kept stopping to enjoy my surroundings.

Sometimes, looking around, I almost got teary at the thought of living here.

I love this place. These critters.

(of course, I've gotten teary at lots of stuff lately, so maybe I'm just hormonal...)

Jack hasn't yet completely captured my heart, but he's working on it. 

chickens are so funny!

Lola & Jack liked watching the chickens, too

All that time I spent loving on baby chicks, and this girl is the only one who will let me hold her now.
I think maybe she's a little touched in the head. She don't seem real bright. But I love her anyways.

And this girl. She is the best dog ever.

This is Strawberry.
When I feed them,
she jumps up to steal from the container.
Every. single. time.

I have the awesome ability to look past the yuck - like the alien spacecraft LEM exterior, filthy windows,

and crap on the table - and see the things that make me smile, like my flowers, cool lamp, the postcard 

from a sweet internet friend, my rocks, one of my prints from an artist friend, and my red lunch box.

With the exception of the first and last picture, all pictures were taken from my chair.

So you can see how this was such a perfectly pleasant afternoon

in paradise.

(It's too bad I can't do it justice with the camera...)