A Good Weekend For Reading

Frosted Pansies

Well, our highly anticipated snow event resulted in a bit of snow followed by a bit of sleet leaving a frosty coating on everything in it's path.

Tiny icicles hung from the gutters.

Not enough to build a snowman with, but pretty nonetheless.

It was a good weekend for reading.

I finished this and thoroughly enjoyed it.

After remarking to Brett recently that I needed a book that I just couldn't put down, this one crossed my path. (note the words above the title).

Having never read this author, I decided to take a chance.

I didn't realize until I got home that the book was written in 1978.

Apparently it was hard for me to put down as I finished it in a day.

It definitely took some unexpected twists.

This one, set in Australia, was next up.

It is starting off on a mysterious note.

Sometimes when I finish a book I like to wait a few days to process the one I just read.  I planned to do that last night, but before I knew it I started this one.

Last year I signed up for a reading challenge on GoodReads.

I fell short of my goal by ten books.

I set the same goal for this year and now feel I am off to a good start.

"Reading One Book Is Like Eating One Potato Chip"

~Diane Duane

At The Start Of A New Year

As the new year has unfolded, I have been taking my time putting the Christmas decorations away and restoring order to each room in the house.  It's nice to have the time to do this at a leisurely pace.

The charcuterie board above was a gift from my brother and sister-in-law.  On New Year's Eve I made a pot of vegetable soup to go along with the delicious cheeses, nuts, dried fruits and salami.

Yesterday I was texting back and forth with my brother as they live in Los Angeles very close to the wildfires.  He said they haven't been told to evacuate, but have a go bag in the car in case that becomes necessary.  It is horrifying to see the videos coming out of that area of California.  I can't even imagine how that must be for the people living through it and my heart goes out to them.

We have snow in our weekend weather forecast.

It's been years since we've seen any so I'm secretly hoping to see a pretty snowfall.

I'll keep you posted on that.

❄❅❆⛄❆❅❄

My Happy Holiday Home Tour

Hello and Welcome to my happy home

all dressed up for the holidays.

Last night when I was taking these pictures, a gentle rain was falling.

Our holiday lights combined with those of our neighbors made the gloomy evening much brighter and cheerier.

Welcome in.

Feel free to hang your coat.

I've got my hat & scarf parked here with high hopes that we will see at least one snowfall this winter.  Fingers crossed.

Could I interest you in a cup of hot chocolate?

The foyer table is dressed up for the holiday season.

It will come as no surprise that shades of blue feature prominently throughout my home.

Across from the foyer table is the living room.

The tree in here features my parents collection of ornaments.

This is where I start my day with the tree lights on, a warm cup of coffee and often a cozy Christmas book to peruse.

Just past the living room is the large island that is kind of a central point in the house.  In the fall I purchased this large wooden tray and enjoyed decorating it with pumpkins and gourds.

Here it is all spiffed up for Christmas.

In the background you can see the kitchen.

You've seen it before, but I'll take you in to see a few little vignettes.

This wooden tray was found at the thrift shop.

I added a bit of vintage whimsy and tucked it into the corner where it brings back memories of childhood Christmases.

While doing the dishes, this is the view.

Christmas cards seem to dwindle more each year.

I do appreciate those that I still receive and enjoy seeing them and being reminded of the special people who sent them.

Just past the kitchen is the dining table and hutch.

Everything on the table was thrifted, including the table runner which looked brand new and couldn't be more perfect for the color scheme I was working with.

Finally we make it to the family room.

Christmas music is playing and the fire is lit.

The presents are wrapped and soon it will be time to gather together and make new memories.

Thank you for visiting today.

As you leave through the garage door, my whimsical snow couple and I would like to wish you

A Very Merry Christmas

and

All Good Things in The New Year!

Happy To Be Home

A beautiful day in sunny Florida.

Judging by this picture one might get the idea that we enjoyed a tropical vacation.

The main reason for our trip was to move my mother-in-law into assisted living from the apartment she has been in since 2014.

We drove down on Thanksgiving day.

Not knowing what would be open, and in an effort to save time, we packed lunch and ate at a rest stop.

Turkey Jerky, sweet potato chips, homemade pumpkin muffin and clementines were my attempt at making this somewhat unusual Thanksgiving still seem festive.

The traffic was light as we had hoped.

We arrived at our first destination in time to celebrate with our son and his family.  Thankfully we were able to visit with them for a few more days.

Jaxson loved going on walks with his grandparents and showing us the best views in his neighborhood.  Grandma wanted a picture by the pretty poinsettias.

When grandpa was ready for a rest, Jaxson found a palm frond and used it as a fan.

😄

Soon it was time to head further south and begin our work.

We spent 6 days going through my mother-in-law's belongings.

She is in a much smaller place now so everything had to be dealt with in short order.  Like so many from her generation. she was a saver.  I was amazed to come across her high school scrap book filled with crumbling corsages. Boxes and boxes and boxes of photos made me glad that we now store them on our devices for the most part.  We brought back what we could fit in the car to be distributed to various family members.  We lost count of trips to the donation center.

Once the jobs were done, we enjoyed a celebratory dinner and visited her in her new home.

In her room with her daughter and yours truly.

Our last day we visited during "happy hour".

Mother & son enjoyed the Christmas carols being played on the piano and a nice conversation.

Somewhat teary goodbyes are always hard.

At 95 years old she is in remarkable health.

Prior to her move she had a few falls and it became clear that she couldn't live alone anymore.  Convincing her of that was interesting (to say the least).  After an adjustment period she is now doing very well in her new home.

We are now back home and Christmas seems to be coming way too fast.  The smartest thing I've done in a while is ...

putting up my trees and all Christmas decorations prior to leaving.

After a very busy few weeks and a long drive home it was so nice to walk into our home all lit up for the holidays.

Merry Christmas to me :).

This afternoon is my eye injection appointment and then I'm off the computer for a few days.  Can't wait to have a minute to sit and catch up on blog reading.

In November

Is it really November 21st?

I feel like I just posted about Halloween and next week it will be Thanksgiving.

Today we had blue skies and sunshine until about 3:00 when a noticeable darkness descended in the house.  Odd as we aren't expecting rain.

I took a look out my office window and appreciated the sunlight illuminating the trees with that dramatic dark sky in the background.

I love when that happens.  November seems to be the month for those lighting conditions.

I feel like if we're paying attention, Mother Nature is putting the spotlight on the beautiful autumn colored trees and, in this case, birdies suggesting we take note of their unique beauty .

Around here we are still awaiting our first significant frost.

We had a light frost this morning, but not enough to cause any damage.

The leaves have begun to flutter off the trees.  Although there is still a lot of color to appreciate.

My pansies are happy.

The camellias are blooming beautifully.

Inside the Thanksgiving cactus are just about to bloom.

Since we will be traveling for Thanksgiving, I am hoping that we will be able to see them in full bloom.

How has your November been?

Is it flying at a rapid pace for you too?

🦃🦃🦃

Halloween Greetings

The morning started on a foggy note.

I went trick or treating for my morning cup of coffee.

The trees are well into their autumn color change.

Once the fog cleared, the patio made a nice spot to begin Halloween morning.

Living in a 55+ community means there will be no kids trick or treating at our door tonight.  

Yesterday I was feeling a bit nostalgic so I dug out photos of my boys in their trick or treating days.

Once again I am reminded of how quickly the years fly by.

Instead of passing out candy tonight, I will be meeting some friends to play Mexican Train.  Before I go I'll light up the jack o' lanterns to send their cheerful Halloween greetings into the night.

Whatever your day holds, I wish you a 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Gourdgeous Fall Days

Luckily that frost I was concerned about in my last post didn't happen.  So, my houseplants are back on the patio enjoying these  gourdgeous  gorgeous fall days we are now having.

I had some jobs I wanted to tackle indoors today.

Although it was hard to be inside on such a lovely day, I opened the doors and windows and got busy.

First on the agenda was cleaning under the kitchen sink.

I find the best way to do this properly is to empty everything out,

wipe the cabinets, edit what is lurking under there and then put things back in an organized fashion.

All done.

A few things got tossed and the remainder is now better organized.

The hardest part of this task was getting up and down from the floor.

:D

I discovered a container of stainless steel wipes under there and decided to shine up the fridge, dishwasher, microwave and oven.

Thought briefly about cleaning out the inside of the fridge and freezer and decided that job could be for another day.

Before the sun set on this day I wanted to get outside and see what was happening in the garden.  Couldn't resist snipping these late hydrangeas as the variation of color is so beautiful.

Prior to getting started on my cleaning tasks I brought out a couple of kitchen helpers.  A new to me soup recipe is simmering away in the slow cooker while a loaf of potato bread is baking in the bread machine.  

It's such a nice feeling to know that when dinnertime rolls around, all we have to do is serve ourselves.

All in all it was a most satisfying day in the kitchen.