A day of love

Happy Valentine’s Day to all you faithful readers who come to my blog and view the pictures and read about my life. So often when people blog they don’t know who reads their blog or how often they come to visit. so I’m asking anyone who is reading this right now to comment below, just to let me know someone is out there. I know Joan, Linda, Charlotte and Diane are readers so you three don’t have to comment unless you want to but I’d like to know if anyone else sees this at all. I love to blog and hope that you enjoy reading about my life.

Making a list, checking it twice

No, it’s not Santa’s list, I am getting ready to go on a vacation to Florida next week and am deciding what to pack. The temperatures will be a lot warmer than here so it’s hard to decide what type of clothes that I want to bring. I’ve been south before when it’s been snow and cold here and all I can say is that it’s hard to come back to it after you have been in the sun.

The Blahs

    
“I guess that’s why they call them the blues”..sometimes the forces of nature combine and a blue day comes along. That would be today. Do you get the blues once in awhile? I haven’t had a day like this for awhile. But there is no sunshine, it’s February (my normal down in the dump time) and I just don’t have any ambition to anything today. I’m going to cover up and read a book and get through the day. Meanwhile I posted these pictures of the addition to realize how far we came when we added on a room to the back of our house. We enjoy being in the sunroom and having a place at the table for all our family and friends. Dreams can come true and this room is a dream realized. That’s enough to make me happy.

More Tennessee pictures

When you’re happy

Do you know the song, “When you’re hot you’re hot”? Well, I have a new version: “When you’re happy, you’re happy.” It must have been that constant sunshine all day today because wherever I went I found happiness. After I left coffee my first stop before doing errands in Olean was to have tea with my friend Kay. She put the teapot on while I stopped by Tim Horton’s for a multigrained bagel and low fat cream cheese. We enjoyed chatting and she told me of a great gift shop that she had visited in Ridgeway which may make a great Red Hat trip this summer.
     Then I drove over the hill to Olean to take care of some business. My first stop was Cutco Knives. One time when I was teaching Explore (the gifted class) I had a student whose father worked there and we took a field trip. Her father generously gave me a set of knives. I have loved them for their ever sharp blades and use them almost every day. Unfortunately I put my large bread knife in the dishwasher where it fell down into the heating element melting the handle. Since I couldn’t do without that knife I wanted to return it to see if they would replace the handle. No, the rep said. We’ll just give you a new knife.  Give me???? Yes. Wow! That never happens. That made me happy!
   I was able to stop for hot tub chemicals and even got a dozen Bavarian cream doughnuts for Don before proceeding to the mall to get my diamond ring sized. Still happy, I went to Aldi’s and even let someone go ahead of me in line and gave my empty cart to someone in the parking lot. (who didn’t even say thank you or offer to give me my quarter back, by the way).  Then I picked up a few things at Walmart. Now you know I’ve gone over the edge because something in the frozen food section made me deliriously happy. Frozen zucchini and yellow squash. Yes..I said squash made me happy. I love the combination and during the summer I often saute some together with herbs for lunch. Not only did they have that, but I found a lot of other frozen fruits and veggies that just made me happy.

It must have been the sunshine.

THINGS I LOVE PART TWO

Isn’t it fun when you discover something that turns out to be one of your highlights of the week? That’s how I felt when I surfed into Susan’s blog “Between Naps on the Porch” one day. Not only is it a delightful blog full of decorating ideas and tips with gorgeous photography but she tapped into a special group of people who are just like me…they love dishes. Every Thursday she hosts a party where bloggers can join her in showing off pretty tablescapes. I can’t wait till I get on my computer on Thursday so I can visit all my blogging friends and see what creative ways they are combining their china and centerpieces. I learn where they go to get a good bargain and see the ways they fold their napkins. So a big “thank you” to Susan for being our host and for giving me a Thursday to love.
    Today my contribution is my Valentine’s day table with white silverware from Cutco, reuse of my  red and white Christmas plates, toile placemats, and my new hurricanes.
    

WATER AEROBICS

Splash, splash, brrr…..today the water in the pool at the YMCA was a little on the cold side. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like to be cold. Even when the pool is very warm, I wear a tee shirt over my bathing suit so that my shoulders which are out of the water stay warm. But today when I stepped in the water wasn’t as warm as it usually is. The instructor insisted that once I got going my body would warm up..nope, she doesn’t know me. I don’t produce heat. Even in the summer, I don’t sweat. So I forged through the exercises feeling a little chilly but knowing that I had to endure that for an hour because exercise is good for my body.  Do I get a gold star for that?

SADIE’S VACATION

Sadie finally met her match. Ryan’s new dog, Sox, made a ambitious playmate for Sadie. They played and played all the time, running and chasing. They begged to go outside in Ryan’s large fenced-in back yard where they zoomed all over from one end to the other with friendly nips. Of course, Sadie told me that she wanted toys in her tub too from now on. Notice in the last picture that Ryan is not only wearing shorts, but he’s in his bare feet too. No wonder he loves the south.




 

THINGS I LOVE

February is the month of love. Have you ever thought about the little things in life that you are in love with? How about a cold crisp winter morning when the sun shining on the snow makes it looks like diamonds all over your yard? I’ll bet the sunworshipers in Florida never saw that before. And how about when you think that spring will never get here you see  that little patch of crocuses popping their heads out of the ground, seeking the sun? After a long winter that is a sight that renews the spirit. You can even forgive the overnight snow when the landscape looks like a Currier and Ives print. And don’t you love an excuse just to stay home and read? And the warmth of a beef stew cooking in the stove? There is a lot to love about this time of year if you shut down your complaints and seek the beauty of the season. Don’t you love the little things? Snuggling under a warm comforter when daylight first comes. A mug of something hot toasting your fingers. Grab your cup, pull an afghan up over your toes, and settle in…there’s a little more winter left…enjoy it.  

THE FIRST OFFICIAL HAIRCUT

 
While I was in Tennessee I went with Jenny to get Sean’s first official haircut. His hair is very fine (like his grandma’s) and had grown just a little long. In the picture below you can see the long rooster tail.

He was excellent in the chair and sat very, very still until the hairdresser started squirting his head with water.

Papa and Sean

We are back from Tennessee by way of Virginia and Boiling Springs, PA. It was a lot of miles but so enjoyable. There is nothing better than visiting with your family. This week I’ll be putting up some pictures that I took while we were away. We had the most fun with Sean. I was able to babysit him for two days while Jenny and Ryan worked. He is the best child I have ever seen. He has a great temperament and is so easy going. He plays so well alone or with you and hardly ever cries except when he’s tired. I love these two pictures of Sean and Don. He is perfectly able to feed himself, but it was fun for us helping him out. We probably set him back a little because we doted of him so much.

Visiting in Tennessee

Hello from East Tennessee! Today I've had a chance to get on the computer and catch up on my blog. We arrived here Thursday evening about quarter to eight after a really long, long, drive. It's very tiring to drive over 12 hours but well worth it when we were met on the porch by Jenny and Sean. Ryan had a meeting so he came later. Ryan and Jenny had just gotten a dog from the Humane Society and Sox was in her crate barking up a storm when she spied Sadie. We let them get introduced and soon they became best friends. Sox and Sadie have had a great time playing together. We have to give them time out to keep them away from playing too much. It's so nice that Ryan's backyard is large, flat, and fenced in. Sadie can go out the doggie door and run the full length of the yard. Of course, being as smart as she is, she first ran all the way around the perimeter of the fence just to make sure there wasn't an opening where she could escape.
Yesterday we took Sean for a haircut. I will post the pictures later, but I have to say that he was the best behaved kid I've ever seen. He sat so still and patiently waited until she was all done. His hair wasn't real long, just a little out of shape and looked like a big boy haircut when it was done.
Friday evening was our 44th anniversary and Ryan and Jenny took us to the Gondolier, an Italian restaurant nearby. Great food and good cheesecake too.
Today Don and Ryan are working on putting in a new free standing shower for them which involved a couple trips to Lowe's.
I am having the best time playing with Sean. Tomorrow after Jenny gets finished teaching she has a dr's appointment in Knoxville and we will do some shopping at my favorite stores.
Even though it's raining here today it's not really too cold and I'm liking that. On Friday eve when we went out we barely needed a coat. a far cry from the freezing weather at home.
Hello to all at home and I will see you soon.

Birthday celebration

Today we celebrated Yrsa’s birthday by taking her to lunch at Beefeaters. It’s always nice when Kay, Linda, Yrsa, and I get together and we had a great lunch with a trip to Walmart afterwards.
   Today it is only 27 degrees with cloudy and cold skies. I am starting to pack for our trip to Tennessee. I’m hoping that the weather will be considerable warmer there. It is so refreshing to get out of this weather and down where the sun shines. It improves the mood considerably. And I’m going to see my son, daughter in law and grandson which is so great. It will be a really fun week.

I can dream, can’t I?

No, the lion fountain isn’t running but I’m dreaming of a time last summer when it was. We had such an enjoyable time on our back courtyard last summer. It wasn’t a great summer…..too cold and rainy….but when we did get a warm night I loved to sit out back and enjoy the water flowing from the fountain. It was perfect in the backyard with the lights, fountains, and pond. We’d light a fire and make s’mores. We loved it when family and friends joined us.




   Today it is cold around 35, and a few grassy patches show us that spring will not be too long off. I went to water aerobics this morning at the YMCA. I love being in the water and I think I’ve found an exercise that I enjoy. I need structure and I like it that the instructor keeps us moving the whole hour that I’m there. The only thing missing is the music. It was advertised to be aerobics to music but so far there hasn’t been any. I think I’d like it even more if there were music involved. today I will begin packing for our trip to Tennessee.

IT’s not too early for birds, is it?

Don’t you love Pottery Barn? Last Tuesday I went shopping in Buffalo at the Galleria Mall. One of my favorite stores to visit is Pottery Barn. It’s Christmas table was an inspiration for my decorating this year. Now they are putting out their spring things and there was a bird print pillow that I loved but would be too big for my couch. When I walked to the back of the store where they have their table decorations there was a table set with placemats made out of the same bird print. I fell in love all over again and had to bring them home for my table.

Some things are too pretty to be put away after Christmas. I love this Amaryllis. It’s bold red color is just what my room needs this time of year.

Here is the view looking out my sunroom window. We still have a lot of snow.