Hiking and Around the House

 Another of our favorite things to do is hike!  And wow, are there neat places to go around here....

This is Bishop Peak with San Louis Obispo in the background.

Matthew saw this on a rock at the top and had to take a picture!  So perfect for up on top of the hill like that.  Calvin and Hobbes, for those who might not be as familiar...

 We climbed around, over and under the huge rocks.  Pretty crazy to crawl underneath boulders the size of a fishing boat.  They say it was a volcano.  This is what is left after erosion.  There is a lot of farming that goes on down in the valley, and cattle and sheep.

We found a 'comfy' rock to sit on to watch the sunset.

The haze and shadows made the other mountains and hills stand out more.  Then we walked down in the dark... and there is a mountain lion that lives around there somewhere!  A little creepy, but there were lots of other people around.

One Sunday afternoon we cleaned out the garage in preparation for my stuff getting here.  Matthew calls it the car basement in honor, and in fun, of me!  Since it is under the main part of the house and we hardly ever open the garage door, and because I'm used to having a basement, I keep calling 'the basement'.  So he came up with 'car basement'!

 The first two weeks we were home, we took a walk
just about every afternoon when Matthew got off work.
We went on a few roads that he hasn't been on and 
found some beautiful sights!

So you might be wondering at the URL for this blog....  "Life at the Loft" was taken, so Matthew came up with what it is.  This IS my neighbor.  Her name is Annabelle and she is about as old as we are!  Our landlady is very attached to her.  Soon after we moved in she was afraid Annabelle was going to have to be put to sleep.  She has to have her hooves trimmed every 8 weeks or so, or else she can't walk.  The man that normally does it was bitten by a spider and was in the hospital.  Mrs. Neilson couldn't find anybody else willing to do it, donkeys hooves are apparently harder than horses.  Finally she got someone to come and the donkey lives happily ever after!  (And us too, since I've gotten used to her braying!  It is actually quite a homey sound now.)

 Jeff and Lori arrived safely and brought me my stuff, after dropping off the things they brought for Becky (Alaina's piano made it safe and sound!)  So excited to have my stuff and start unpacking it!

 I had been teasing Matthew about having PILES of t-shirts, but, well, I ate my words when I began going through my clothes!  It was difficult to know what to keep out (limited space) and what to pack away.  The nights, mornings, and evenings are chilly, but at noon can get up to 70 or more.  Sundays have got to be the hardest.  In the morning and sitting through meeting I'm glad I wore winter clothes, but then we go outside and I'm smothering hot because it is 72 degrees!  Anyway, not complaining, just have to get used to it and learn how to dress!

 This is another Saturday, in the morning this time.  We hiked Reservoir Canyon.

 Round trip it is almost 5 miles.  But the thing is, it goes along the canyon for aways, then goes up a STEEP hill/mountain.

The trees grow funny down there!

There was actually a trickle of water down in the canyon!

This is going up the hill.

At the top!  The two peaks in the background are Bishop Peak(right) and "Madonna Mountain" (left).

Coming back down the sun was filtering through these trees making them BRIGHT green!

Interesting plants here...

A few days after we got home from our honeymoon, the squirrels gave me a slight flight when they landed on the back deck and climbed the poles to the roof.  Or jump off the tree onto the roof! (THUDD)  When we came home from hiking this one was in the tree, he gave us quite the talking to and told us all about his life.  His name is now Alberto, his wife is Juanita, and her intruding parents are Maria and Juan.

 This is our living room area with decoration stuff out.  Matthew was at a meeting with the men, so I got a bunch of stuff out and put up!

 A vanity Momma bought years ago that has been sitting in the attic all this time.  So excited to finally have it where I can see it and use it!

 Idea for photo collage over the loveseat!  Need a few more pictures!

Well, Matthew is home so I'd better scat!  Thinking of you all and hope you enjoy these posts.  If you want to be taken off getting them, please let me know at goofynewfy91@gmail.com.  Please let me know if there is anyone else you know of that would like to be invited to view this blog, or if there are things I could change to make it better!