Day Fifty Two

Sunday Randomness

Sarah's love affair with mustaches continues. She tried this one on for size tonight after church before she dashed off to the youth group devo. I like it.

Today was just crazy beautiful--the temps in the sixties and the sun so brilliant it was blinding--so Neil and I went for a walk around the block. Along the way, I picked up this pretty blue piece of glass and a piece of salt left over from the snow days and put them in my shirt pocket. When we got back to the house, I took my found objects out of my pocket and found another object I didn't know was there--a fortune from a fortune cookie no less. Since my shiny found objects made me happy I figured I'd share my found happiness with you and full fill my fortune for today.

My sister Jane and family gave me these pretty wind chimes for my birthday a few weeks ago. I finally got to hang them on the front porch today beside the swing. They make a peaceful sound when the wind blows and of course the sunny sun catcher is yummy eye candy. Thanks, Foys!

Took this picture with my cell phone camera of a neighbor's tree on our walk around the block. I like the colors in that heavenly sunlight. Totally enjoyed this rare warm and sunny February day today. Hope you did, too.

Day Fifty One

He'd Rather Be Flying

Hubby Neil says I took this picture to prove he actually got something done today around the house. He put a second coat of stain on the outside door frame. And, yes, he did do other things, too, before heading off this afternoon to the fly field where he almost cut his finger off on a propeller blade. He could have used some stitches, I think, but of course why do that when you can Crazy Glue your wounds together? At least he had fun flying his plane.

Day Fifty

Random Snapshots From T.G.I.F.

Grand daughter Shelby walking in sun rays to Granny's house after school today--the first day back to school in a week.

I took this picture with my cell phone camera while I was waiting for Shelby after school this afternoon. I thought the colors were pretty in the sun light.

Take me to your leader. My alien shadow. Weird.

The sunset was pretty reflecting off the last of the snow this afternoon.

The sunshine and the warmth were so welcome today!

Grand son Elijah let me take this one picture of him this morning when I said I wondered what his nose would look like close up. He was feeling much better today.

This has been hiding under all that snow--the beginnings of the Daffodils, Jonquils, Buttercups. Whatever you call them, it means Spring is closer than you think.

Would be nice if this was the last of the icy fingers of Winter.

I like the heart shape of Eddie's head. Pretty neat. He was following me around the yard this afternoon while I took some pictures.

This little snail shell was cozied up next to a Hyacinth that has also been hiding under the snow. I didn't realize so many Spring flowers were popping up around the yard. It's a nice little reminder that the cold eventually goes away and the world will be green again soon.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Day Forty Nine

The lunch bunch at our mom's place today--around the table from left: brother Ken, niece Sarah, MOM, sister Ann, niece Julia, and sister Jane. It's not that often that we all get to hang out together at the same time. But this day (snow day!) we got to pig on Krystal's and subs and peanut M&M's, and generally misbehave and make a lot of noise which turns out to be mostly laughter. Good for the psyche and the soul and maybe even the circulatory system, who knows. Hope we all get to do it again soon.
And a shout out to my son-in-law Jerry who turns 32 years old today. Happy Birthday, Jerry! Hope you get to go bass fishing soon. We love you!

Day Forty Eight

Snow Day With Elijah Man And The Shelbinator

Elijah had a fever and his voice was hoarse on Sunday. A visit to the doctor on Monday revealed some fluid in his lungs, so he's been taking breathing treatments to help clear that up. Holly calls it "smoking the penguin" because the little machine that pumps the mist is...well, a penguin.

And here is The Penguin. Pretty cool.

While they watched cartoons this afternoon, Shelby painted a card for her dad's birthday, which is tomorrow. She's very artistic and always makes the best cards for every occasion. We also had fun after lunch watching the movie 'Up', which these two can quote line for line. I loved the movie--it's sweet and touching and funny and so sad. (I hear it's 'up' for the best picture Oscar.) Looks like another snow day again tomorrow. Hope everyone has some fun.

Day Forty Seven

When Pigs Fly

A whole herd of Starlings discovered the peanut butter feeder yesterday and returned this morning for a breakfast feast.

They don't care who they land on as long as they get a place at the table.

Talk about Kung Fu fighting! This Starling wasn't about to give up his peanut butter. He went into Ninja mode.

And he won. The other Starling was clearly intimidated and decided that maybe he should wait his turn for a bite. Talk about when pigs fly! This was the biggest bunch of selfish winged pigs I've ever seen. They finished off every last morsel of peanut butter. I'm sure they'll be back for more. The restaurant is always open, and we don't discriminate. Starlings gotta eat, too.

Day Forty Six

The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.
~~ ee cummings

Another beautiful snow day in my back yard.

Day Forty Five

Hearts Aflame

Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. Love is not proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Love never fails. Faith, hope, love. The greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

Day Forty Four

Wow, I sure do feel like a total "Boob"! Didn't even pick up my camera today. So I'll share a picture of one of my favorite characters from The Beatles animated movie 'Yellow Submarine', Mr. Jeremy Hillery Boob, PhD. He's a real nowhere man, making all his nowhere plans. I'll plan on taking some actual pictures tomorrow.

Day Forty Three

Goodnight, Sun


All the wires and cables that crisscross over the intersection of South Jefferson Avenue and Interstate Drive sliced up a beautiful Winter sunset this evening. Couldn't resist taking a picture with my trusty cell phone camera. Nice to see the sun for a change even if it was on its way down.

Day Forty Two

Worth Waiting For At The Pretentious Coffee House


That's Kelly in the brown jacket waiting in line at the Dolce Cafe on the square in Cookeville this afternoon. It's a nice treat to go there for some coffee on a cold day. Lots of people had the same idea it seems. We ended up with hot chocolate. Burned my tongue, of course. Totally worth it. Kelly couldn't drink much of her creamy dark chocolate hot cocoa because it's insanely rich. I warned her. Next time we'll just share one.

Day Forty One

Picture Postcards From A Snow Day

Another snow day--cold and windy but pretty to watch the big flakes falling.

Daughter Kelly, grand son Elijah and grand daughter Shelby amused themselves buying, selling and feeding the virtual fish in Fishville on Facebook.

This pretty red headed woodpecker enjoyed peanut butter for breakfast.

Birds in flight around the feeder. Kelly took this picture.

More birds in flight--thanks for the great shots, Kelly!

Grand daughter Shelby, sister Jane, grand son Elijah, niece Julia, niece Sarah and daughter Kelly and I enjoyed some time together at Poet's On The Square--a fun place to hang out, play Apples To Apples, talk and giggle, and slurp down some tasty coffee or smoothies (or in Elijah's case: Fruit Loops and a cup of milk--he amused himself with the Trivial Pursuit pie wagon game pieces).

The tiny snowman on a table outside Poet's sported rocks for buttons and eyes and a Coke bottle cap and he was really cute, but Elijah could not resist picking him up. Alas, the snowman fell over and lost his head and cap and a few of his rocks. We put him back together again. But I don't think he'll ever be the same. Good times. Great snow day.

Day Forty

Cat Bird

Eddie Kitty wasted no time in parking himself by the bird feeder after I filled it up this afternoon. Fortunately, the birds are smarter than the cat.

Day Thirty Nine

The Next Wave Of Winter Weather

Looking out my back door at the bare limbs of the Cherry tree all lit up by the street light and all covered in big snowflakes. The rain turned briefly into snow earlier this evening then switched back to rain. Who knows what's next? Looks like a mixed bag of Winter weather the next couple of days. Stay tuned.

Day Thirty Eight

Afternoon Snack

This Mockingbird is loving him some peanut butter snacking this afternoon. Life is good.

Day Thirty Seven

What's For Supper, Grandpa?

Neil's homemade blueberry waffles. Yum yum!

Day Thirty Six

Banished

Here sits Major Nuisance, a.k.a. Eddie Kitty, watching us from the outside while we eat supper. He has been banished from the house during this time because he insists on checking out the food on the table by jumping on the table in hopes of sharing some of the meal. He is wrong, of course. But being a cat, he doesn't understand the word "no" so out he goes. I'm sure he wonders why.

Day Thirty Five

Random Restaurant Shots

Last week Neil and I ate lunch at McDonald's on South Jefferson and a man came in with this big German Shepherd. The dog had on a vest that said Service Dog. They must be regulars there because everyone behind the counter knew them. The man got his lunch and sat down in the booth right next to ours. When he went to get his coffee, I took a picture of his dog. You just don't see a German Shepherd in McDonald's every day.

The kids were out of school Monday for a snow day. I promised Elijah a vanilla milk shake at Arby's after lunch. He wanted to go inside to drink the shake so that's what we did. Shelby got a chocolate shake, and they were so thick, we had to eat them with the straws. Plus they were on the dollar menu. Not too shabby.

This afternoon before daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry headed back to Murfreesboro, we stopped at the Cafe Dolce on the square in our little town. I didn't want coffee so I ended up with hot cocoa (that's what it said on the menu which has such small print you can't read it), but it was this dark chocolate that was thick and creamy and totally delicious and so rich I couldn't drink it all. Kelly and Kerry wanted to sample it--that's what the tiny coffee cup was for. When the guy set the little cup on the counter, I thought it was my hot cocoa. Duh

While we drank our coffee/chai/hot cocoa, a man stopped outside and tied his two dogs to the pole and came inside for something to drink. The wind was really cold today and we felt kind of sorry for the dogs out there. The yellow dog was shivering, but they waited patiently while their master had his coffee inside the warm cafe. Maybe I should have shared my hot cocoa with them.

Day Thirty Four

You Say It's Your Birthday

This is my mom the day (maybe the day after) she gave birth to me on February 3, 1953, in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. She looks happy and she got roses. And she got me.
The picture came from this photo booklet the developers used to put them in back in the day. I love what she wrote on it. You think she knew there would be other daughters to follow? She was right. Thanks for having me, Mom! Thanks for giving me such wonderful brothers and sisters. I love you!

Day Thirty Three

Me And My Shadow

Does this mean six more weeks of Winter? Since I'm not Punxsutawney Phil, this probably doesn't count. Happy Groundhog Day, one and all!