Outside Playing

My winter garden is beginning to wake up.

Daffodils are thinking about opening.

Our current temperatures in the 70s this week may be just what's needed to coax them along.

The bulbs I planted most recently (last fall) are just starting to poke out of the ground.  I'm hoping that means the daffodil show will be extended this year.

Since it is still early and there isn't much blooming, I brought my Valentine's bouquet outside to play with.

A recent phone update means a camera update too.

Today seemed like a good day to get to know the camera better.

A week later and the flowers are still looking good in their close up.

There are a few pansies in bloom.

I zoomed in a bit on this one.

The color and clarity are nice.

The zoom capabilities on this phone are much better than the previous one.

Hoping to test out that function on a bird photo or two, I sat and waited for one to land at the feeder.

I waited and waited and then noticed two hawks swooping overhead.

That would explain why the songbirds were in hiding.

I tried for a quick photo of the hawks and ended up with this.

Ah well, it looks like more practice is in order.

When choosing a phone cover, a garden theme was the winner.

I hope to spend lots of time getting familiar with the camera feature in the coming months.  Naturally much of that time will be in the garden.

While Waiting For Gardening Season To Begin

I couldn't resist popping a couple of these hyacinth bulbs into my cart at Aldi the other day.  

While waiting for the outdoor gardening season to begin, it will be so nice to watch them reveal their beauty.  Something to look forward to each day.

I brought this anthurium back into the house last fall after it's summer vacation on the patio.  Apparently it liked it's vacation because it responded by putting out many red heart shaped blooms.    The blooms have remained in place all this time bringing additional cheer to the indoor garden.

Recently, I attached a window bird feeder to the window here.

It looks out into a small courtyard that is protected from animals visiting.

Previously I had the feeder on my office window until a racoon kept knocking it down.

It's added new interest to my morning coffee ritual.

Each day I take up a spot amongst the house plants hoping they will make me less obvious to the birds if they happen to find my feeder.

By the way, the amaryllis plant to the left of my coffee cup has been growing leaves for weeks.  Big tall leaves with not a sign of a bud or bloom to be found.  Have you ever had an amaryllis do this?

I'm going to let it keep growing with hopes that sooner or later I will be rewarded with a bloom, although I am beginning to wonder.

For a week or more there was no action at the feeder.

I continued on with my morning ritual until, at last, I heard some chirping and soon found two visitors enjoying their breakfast.

This bird known as the tufted titmouse looked my way with a sunflower seed in it's beak.  Perhaps his way of thanking me for the breakfast buffet.  I hope he will soon learn that as long as he/she comes to visit, the buffet will be open for business.

☕☕☕

Getting Away From It All Without Going Far

Happy Monday, dear readers.

Did you have a good weekend?

Yesterday the sun shone and the mid-50 temperatures felt like early spring.

A hike seemed like a good idea.

Peeking through this split tree you may see a glimpse of what awaited us.

Mountain Island Lake.

Most of our hike followed along the shoreline.

So pretty especially when the sun touched the water.

Canoes could be rented.

Perhaps we'll come back in the summer.

I'm so glad that there are places like this just a short drive from home.

Open to all and free of charge.

A place to get away from it all, breathe in the fresh air and feel the sun on your face.

A place where littering is discouraged in a most creative way.

"Make today better without litter"

Also a place where lovers still carve their initials into tree trunks.

💘💘💘

Cozying Up The Gloomy Days

Another dismal day.  So far this month seems to be one after another with sunshine in short supply.  My tree will most likely remain in place for the rest of the month.  The lights stay on all day and help immensely in combatting the gloom.

Since the tree is totally decorated in snowflakes, icicles and snowmen, it looks suitable for this season of winter.

I am secretly hoping to see a bit of real snow before I tuck it away, but it's not looking too promising.

This post isn't meant to be about the Christmas tree as I'm sure most of you have moved on from that subject and into the fresh new year.

Instead, I wanted to share the built ins we added to each side of the fireplace in our family room.

I did put the rest of my Christmas decor away which necessitated shopping the house for items to accessorize with.  Books in blue and white, pine cones and snowmen came in handy as I wait for the snow to fall outside ;).

Before I put the Christmas decor away it looked like this.

A wonderful new place to spotlight my Christmas memories.

Everything from vintage Gurley Santa candles to photos of my boys and grandson on Santa's lap.

This project was done in November when the bookcases were added to the living room.  There was one little problem at the time.

The cupboard manufacture inadvertently sent two left cupboards for the other side of the fireplace.  So, I decked the one side with a few more old memories and the area to the right was a big blank hole.

Christmas photos were taken with that side left out.

I'm happy to say that last week the missing cupboard was put into place giving me one more spot to add some winter touches.

I do love the garden beauty on my 2023 calendar reminding me that although things are looking a bit bleak outdoors, the garden is tucked away resting up before the growing season gets underway once again.

I do hope that your new year is off to a pleasant start.

❄⛄❅

Memories Now

In the midst of the Christmas festivities, I could totally relate to granddog, Lacey's feelings on the matter.  LOL.

Once the hustle and bustle of the season has come and gone, it's good to reflect back on all that took place.

That Christmas dinner that was carefully planned and prepared is now but a memory.  Happy to say that it was enjoyed by all.

The gifts that were thoughtfully chosen and now given will be enjoyed for years to come.

Taking time out for a photo was tolerated...

But, became much more tolerable when silliness was allowed.

Now that all is said and done, it occurs to me that some of my favorite moments were not captured in photos.  Perhaps one of the highlights for me was watching grandpa teach Jaxson how to play Monopoly as I cleaned up the dinner dishes.  The game went on for hours (or at least it seemed to) with Jaxson being the winner.  Naturally that was very exciting for him and he was looking for Monopoly players first thing the next morning.

The planning, prepping, shopping, baking, cleaning and decorating are behind us now leaving behind many memories.  I do hope that yours are good ones.

As I sit here typing up this post, it is dark and pouring rain.

It's supposed to go on all day.  Inside, the coffee is hot and the Christmas tree lights are lending the last warm glow for the season.  A most welcome sight on this dreary day.

Christmas Preparations and A Giant Shoe

In this week leading up to Christmas day, it feels good to know that the Christmas cards are on their way to friends and neighbors across the country.  Yes, I am one who still enjoys sending and receiving them.  I found this season's elf themed postage stamps to be particularly cute.

The gifts are wrapped and waiting.

Food gifts for the neighbors awaiting delivery.

I do believe that my preparations are complete.

Of course there will be some last minute cleaning and cooking, but for now it is nice to have time to enjoy the moments as they come.

Now, about that giant shoe ...

Friday night we attended a Holiday Tour of Historic Homes in a local town.  The home pictured above was built in 1798.  As you can imagine a lot of interesting history took place there.  I was fascinated by that, but what had the biggest impact was the furniture.  At first it just looked like very ornate antique furniture.  When the docent began pointing out the detail on each piece, I was thoroughly amazed.  Over sixty pieces of furniture all carved by hand by Tilden Stone, a relative of the homeowner.  Unfortunately there were no photos allowed in the homes.  If you are interested in seeing just a glimpse of his work I would direct you here.  Although it would be hard to appreciate the amazing detail in his work, you will get an idea what I am talking about.

Since I feel bad about talking about this furniture and not being able to show you exactly what I saw, I will tell you about another of his creations that I was able to photograph.

The giant shoe!!

On the grounds of this home, right outside the bedroom window of a little girl named Susan.  Well, at least she was a little girl when the shoe was constructed in 1945.  It was constructed by her great uncle Tilden Stone and her father. Apparently Susan loved dolls and owned many.  One day Tilden stated that she was just like the old woman in the shoe with all of her dolls.  He then created this shoe for her to play in.

It is constructed of concrete.

The "S" above the little door is for Susan.

While touring her bedroom which was filled with a beautiful hand carved canopy bed and furniture pieces made by great uncle Tilden, we were told that the shoe was placed where little Susan could see it from her bedroom window.  Susan is no longer living, but the shoe is apparently quite a landmark in this small town.  I did ask the docent if I could take a peek inside and she said "sure".

All decorated for Christmas.

🎄

Susan's younger brother and his wife are currently living in the house (not the shoe:).  I would guess him to be in his late 70s or early 80s.

At the end of the tour he showed us his collection of musical instruments collected from countries around the world.  He picked up and played several.  To conclude he told us that his Dad was very musical and best known for playing the saw blade.  He then proceeded to pick up a saw and play White Christmas on it.  Before this evening I would have never believed I could be moved to tears over hearing White Christmas on a saw.  But I could and I was.

Wishing you a joy-filled week,

Table For Two

It didn't take long to clean and chop up some fresh fruit.

I used what was on hand and elevated it a bit by serving it on a glass Christmas tree platter.

I assembled a cranberry chicken salad and served it on croissants.

Also made a loaf of spiced pumpkin bread which smelled so nice as it baked.

Pulled out the Christmas china and set a table for two.

On Friday I invited my sister-in-law to come for lunch.

It was a dark and gloomy day so I lit a candle and the Christmas tree lights.

Instant Warmth.

It seems every year when I'm done with the big job of decorating the house for Christmas I think I should invite people over.  Before I know it the month is almost over and I've only done the traditional family dinner.  Now I'm thinking small impromptu gatherings are a nice way to go.  I think I'll work on doing more of them.

🎄🎄🎄