Almond Blossoms

Dave and I went out to take some pictures of the almond blossoms today. Most of the orchards are almost at peak and we're having rain! That means the bees can't get out to pollinate the blossoms; pray for some sun for us. What is really cool is when you can look out over acres of white flowers with the Sierra snowcaps in the background. It's hard to get it with a camera though. In the next week the two varieties of peaches will be in total bloom. They have two different colors of pink so we'll try to get them for you to see.



Our apricot tree in the backyard is almost fully bloomed. We had three 5-gallon buckets full of them last year. This year we'll probably thin them out some so the fruit will be bigger. Mike and Mary Ellen Wright came for dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was great to catch up with them. Anyway, Mike thought I was remiss in not making some pies and didn't comprehend that there wasn't time to make them. Guess that is a challenge for me this year! He said I could become his favorite aunt if I made one for him...?

Remember, this was taken the last day of February. My azaleas are in bright color too.

The G-Mom is not doing well. Most of the time she is trying to leave to "go home" and finds it difficult to comprehend that this is her home now. One day a couple of weeks ago Dave felt that the Lord directed him to go the long way home. Coming into Riverbank, he saw her walking alongside the highway about half a mile from home. Since then, we have had to keep the doors and gates locked. If he hadn't come home that way, we would not have known where to look for her! Add to that the busy (2 lane) highway she was following and no ID...you see what I mean!

On yeah, I got a job! When Hershey left Oakdale, the Sconza Candy Company bought their building. I worked with the buyers for several months while they were doing their due diligence and got to know them pretty well. Now I'm working for them! Not only that, I'm sitting at the very same desk I worked at for Hershey. It is very strange...but definitely a God-thing. I had been sending resumes and applications for 2 months when I had the urge to send an e-mail to them to ask about a position. I knew they had a Job Fair back in August and had over 2,600 people fill out applications for about 80 jobs. Well, it turns out that the HR Director is the former Hershey HR Director and she knew me (having worked some for her also). Long to short--I applied for the Operations Assistant (to the VP, Operations) position. It was not available before because the incumbent got pregnant and didn't want to drive to Oakdale. (If she does come back, it will be in a different position.) I was almost a "shoe-in"! Really a God-directed-thing. Thanks for any prayers you said for me. It helped me hold on with less stress this time than the 2 former times I was unemployed in 2008. God is faithful!!

Well, thought we would send a touch of California your way. Miss our friends from the Midwest but love the weather here! Y'all come see us out here. We have lots for you to see--besides just us.