Day Thirty Three 2013

Ever Lovin’ Saturday!

Grandson Elijah’s Vision Basketball team played hard today. This tall fellow here on the orange team gave the blue team a lot of grief. They all played well. I don’t know what the score ended up being, but I think Elijah’s team lost. He got his team’s hustle award after the game. His sister Shelby snapped this photo and shared it with me so I can share it with you. I told her she should be a sports photographer.

Lunch at Momma Rosa’s after the game. The pizza was delicious.

More snowfall this afternoon.

It was a beautiful little blizzard for a few minutes and then it disappeared.

Grandson Knox enjoyed watching the snow and the birds and blowing on the window pane.

Yummy stew for supper

The napkin basket makes a great hat.
My favorite kind of Saturday has always been getting to spend it with my peeps!

Day Thirty Two 2013

TGIF  Randomness

Snow came late last night.

We got an inch, maybe less, but it was nice to finally see some accumulation here.

It was a gorgeous sunny blue sky day. The temperature never reached thirty so that sun sure felt good.

Snow face.

These little finches are always all over our feeders, no matter what the weather.

I love it when I manage to capture them in flight.

Today was a snow day for the school kids (a real snow day!). Grandpeeps Elijah and Shelby came to hang out with us, and grandson Knox and his mommy Kelly are here for a visit, too.

We enjoyed a yummy lunch at Ocha deli, our fave Thai food place.

Carrots. And…broccoli? Knox loves carrots. Today he bravely tried the dreaded broccoli and seemed to like it.

My sweet niece Sarah stopped by the house to leave a book for Shelby as she was finishing up her student driving today and then stopped by again looking for her lost cell phone. She indulged her aunt Kay and let me take her picture with the Student Driver car (her instructor is in there somewhere). She’s an excellent driver (already has her license). And she did eventually find her cell phone.

Icicle curving around the gutter

Daughter Kelly brought Krispy Kremes!!

The icicles were beautiful today. The sun was creating starbursts (sunbursts?) off the ice.

One of my fave things after a snow—can’t get enough of icicles.

Impromptu peeps gathering at Poet’s On The Square coffeehouse late this afternoon. From left: sister Jane, daughter Kelly, grandson Elijah, hubby Neil, brother in law Don, granddaughter Shelby and grandson Knox. We enjoyed some tasty drinks, hot and frozen, and lots of laughs. Niece Sarah joined us later. And, hey, niece Julia, we missed you!

I made spaghetti sauce this morning (my dad’s awesome recipe) and we enjoyed a spaghetti supper~~ winter’s night comfort food. Knox says, Happy TGIF, everyone! Hope yours was spectacular, also.

Day Thirty One 2013

If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God. 
~Gilbert K. Chesterton
Here is my rosy sunset to share with you just in case you didn’t have one today.
Goodbye, January! 

Day Thirty 2013

This was the extent of damage at my house from the storms that raced through Middle Tennessee early this morning. They say the tornado sirens went off, but I never heard them. This limb landed right under the kitchen window. Glad it didn’t fly through the window.

Sunset. I think the sun is under all that gray somewhere. Winter returning. Maybe some snow? Maybe?

I took this snapshot yesterday of beautiful buttercups blooming in the backyard. All of our buttercups have buds. Hope they can survive the freeze that’s coming. Makes me sad when they bloom too soon.

He’s thinking, Will it ever snow?

Day Twenty Nine 2013

Daffodils blooming in January in my backyard, It is 67 degrees at lunch time. Storms heading our way tonight and tomorrow. I can't complain about the warmth, however I wouldn't mind at least one good snowfall before winter is done. It is winter, isn't it?

 





Day Twenty Eight 2013

I haven’t made meatloaf in, like, forever. So I made meatloaf for supper tonight (here in the South, we call it supper, not dinner). I know. It kind of looks like dog food because apparently I didn’t give it enough time to ‘set’ in the pan before greedily and hungrily shoveling it onto our plates, but it was pretty tasty, the second helping was more loaf-like, and the carrots and baked potatoes (microwaved, actually) weren’t too shabby, either. Plus, I get a kick out of using our square Fiesta plates. It’s about as festive as a Monday is going to get around here.

Here’s a fun fact for you (not about meatloaf): A ranch owner in Fort Keogh, Montana, discovered the largest reported snowflake on this day in 1887. It measured 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.

Day Twenty Seven 2013

Our weekend with grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah came to a close this afternoon, but not before we indulged ourselves in a tasty frozen  treat at Cream City Ice Cream and Coffee House (I really enjoyed my frozen hot chocolate), and of course we climbed around on the trains at the depot just across the street from Cream City. Good times with the kiddos. It was a fun weekend.
Happy 12th Anniversary to my daughter Holly and son in law Jerry!
We love you!!

Day Twenty Six 2013

Grandpa’s Saturday morning homemade blueberry waffles with the grandpeeps, Shelby and Elijah.

In my waffle world, there’s no such thing as too many blueberries, but Elijah begs to differ. He picked out a lot of his.

His Vision Basketball team, the Blue Panthers, won their game this afternoon 30 ~ 18. Elijah is on the far right, waiting to see if his shot drops. It did. He got the Team Work award after the game. Both teams played really well.

Tonight we pigged out at Panda Garden for supper. Snapped their picture looking through this cardboard cutout frame the restaurant has set up for Valentine’s pictures.
It was a good day Saturday. Hope yours was, too.

Day Twenty Five 2013

Grandpeeps Elijah and Shelby are hanging out with us this weekend while their mom and dad are away celebrating their anniversary. The kids had an unexpected ‘snow day’ today, minus the ever elusive snow. We hit KFC for some Colonel Chicken for supper tonight before the streets started to freeze over.   

And then we hit Ralph’s Donut Shop before heading home. (I couldn’t even think about a donut after stuffing myself with chicken.)

That’s what makes you beautiful. Shelby’s got moves like Jagger, or maybe One Direction, playing Just Dance 4, right after pigging on KFC. Only a very young person could pull that off without losing her dinner. This should be a busy weekend.
Happy TGIF, everyone!

Day Twenty Four 2013

I envy people who can just look at a sunset. I wonder how you can shoot it.  
~Dustin Hoffman 

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.
~Mahatma Gandhi

Day Twenty Three 2013

Grand daughter Shelby noticed this bird sitting in my back yard this afternoon. It caught her attention because it was so large. She thought it looked like a hawk or falcon. We both did some research, and she was right. From what I can tell comparing my picture with pictures of falcons, it looks like a Peregrine Falcon and would have migrated here. This one was surrounded by a cloud of feathers on the ground, and he was tearing at and eating a fresh kill. By the looks of the feathers, we figured the meal was a dove. It feeds primarily on birds which it takes in midair after a steep, swift dive from above them. Which means that poor dove didn’t stand a chance. He eventually flew off with what was left of his dinner. We have lots of doves in the yard, so he may turn up again sometime. Here’s some fun facts about this bird.

• The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird on record when in diving posture, called a stoop, at 175 mph or more.
• The Latin name “peregrinus” means “coming from foreign parts” which is fitting because they have one of the longest migrations of any North American bird.
• These falcons were given Endangered Species status after decimation of the population from exposure to DDT in insecticides. A successful recovery effort resulted in removal from the U.S. list in 1999.
• A group of falcons has many collective nouns, including a "bazaar", "eyrie", "ringing", "stooping up", and a "tower" of falcons

Don’t say I never taught ya nothin’

Day Twenty Two 2013

Squirrel finds comfort food on a cold day in January.

Comfort food for hubby Neil and me on a cold January night. Thanks to my sister Jane for the veggie beef stew recipe. It was totally delicious! And much better than peanut butter.

Day Twenty One 2013

Duct tape is a man’s best friend. And only a man would do something like this. Hubby Neil had the day off and planned on doing a little crawling around under the house, cleaning out our nasty basement. His equally nasty jeans have huge holes in the knees, and it was cold out, so he covered up the holes with duct tape. Nice insulation, but I’m sure it made for some sticky knees.

Such a gorgeous day! Not a cloud.

We decided it was a good day for a walk. The sun was out. The sky was blue. We didn’t realize how cold it actually was when we set out around four. Sun was going down by then. Long shadows. Short walk.

Chilly night = chili night! Oh yummy!  Happy Monday, everyone!

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” 
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Day Twenty 2013

  A snowman is the perfect man. He's well rounded and comes with a broom. 
~anonymous snowman saying

Day Nineteen 2013

Grandson Elijah bounced back from feeling down and out puny yesterday and was able to play with his Vision Basketball team in their double header today. Thanks to his sister Shelby for taking this picture of him just after he made his shot and got another two points for his team. They ended up losing both hard-fought games. Well-played, Elijah! And thank you, Shelby, for letting me use your photo!

Day Eighteen 2013

Grandson Elijah is not feeling well today. Coughing, sneezing, congestion, runny nose. He left school and came to stay with me this morning and seemed to magically get better. We ate lunch at Ocha with his grandpa and mom, and Officer Mike stopped by our table to say hello and give him a police badge to wear, which he happily wore all day. But when we got back home, he quickly slid downhill into fever and chills and aches, along with the congestion, runny nose, coughing and sneezing. When this kid doesn’t feel like playing video games, something is not right. He was pretty pitiful. His mom took him to the doc. They say it isn’t the flu, but it may be too soon to tell. He may have the beginnings of bronchitis. He’s fighting some sort of infection and got meds for that. Not a great way to spend a long weekend (school is out Monday for MLK day). And he probably won’t get to play in his Vision Basketball double header tomorrow morning. Hope and pray you feel back to your old self ASAP, Elijah! I hate it when my kiddos are sick!
Wishing everyone a healthy TGIF!

Day Seventeen 2013

Those white streaks are tiny balls of ice that fell for a few minutes today around lunchtime. Not sleet and certainly not snow. Almost like hail. So much for 1-4 inches of snow. I’m pretty sure all the school kids and teachers enjoyed their ‘snow’ day.

And then the sun appeared late this afternoon. I could almost hear the heavenly angels in chorus, singing Praise the Lord! It was a glorious sight indeed. Looks like a nice weekend ahead, sunshine-wise.