Saturday, December 31, 2011

End of the Season

This Christmas was sunny and warm.  There was not a flake of snow to be found.    It snowed yesterday.  There is not quite enough to cover the grass yet but it now looks like winter has arrived.

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I made this wreath for my front door many years ago.   It will come down this week along with the rest of the decorations.     I do not know what will go up in its place.   The months between Christmas and Spring seem very long.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

If you’ve been nice this year, you may like to know when Santa will arrive at your house.   This is a great site:    http://www.noradsanta.org/en/

I am so happy not to have snow on the ground this Christmas.   Ironically, one of my best Christmas Eve’s was when my son, his girlfriend, and my daughter were all stranded at home for two days because of a Christmas blizzard.  That is the only time I have ever appreciated snow.    As my kids have grown up and moved on to their own lives the idea of spending Christmas somewhere tropical sounds extremely appealing.

My Christmas trees are beautiful.  The tree in my family room has family ornaments that I’ve collected over the years.  This sled was made out of popsicle sticks from me by my grandma.   I see that it has lost a runner; I will look for it in the ornament box.  

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I hope your Christmas Eve is filled with fun!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Sunrise…Sunset…Swiftly Fly the Days…

It is incredible to me that my last post was in June….  time has slipped away…

Life has been busy in the last six months…beginnings and endings…fresh starts and sad goodbyes…sunrises and sunsets…

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I think I’m back though.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Dog Toy

I love to find PD stuffed animal toys at garage sales.    I make sure they don’t have any loose parts and that they are stuffed with fiberfill rather than Styrofoam beads.   I don’t want to clean up that mess if he tears them up.

I went to a garage sale last Saturday and got him five stuffed animals -  cost me a dollar and ten cents,  total.   That’s a good deal.

When I got home,  I put all five in a pile and let him nose around to pick out his favorite. 

This little guy was the winner.

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And then I started thinking…..  He looks awfully familiar.

Look at those eyebrows.   Do you see it?

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I wonder if PD noticed the resemblance? 

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Smell of Spring

Lilacs

The best spring smell in the world.

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I felt like sticking my whole head into the middle of this lilac bush and just breathing it in.

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In fact,  I might have done just that.

I’m pretty sure that heaven smells exactly lilacs.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Shoes on or off in the house?

Shoes on or off in the house?

I understand this may be a regional thing.  Almost everyone I know takes their shoes off when they walk into someone’s house.    I always do, it’s how I was raised and it’s how my kids were raised.   It truly doesn’t bother me in the least if a visitor wears their shoes in my house though, I never ask,  people just take their shoes off around here.   It’s typical to see huge piles of shoes at the doorway when I have family over.

My sister is raising her kids the same way.   She has locker storage in her garage for each member of her family to take off their coats and shoes before they come into the house.  .

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I visited my sister a few days ago,  I used the back door because I walked into her house through the garage.   I noticed a small cardboard sign.    This sign was meant for her kids, not her guests, but it was so funny I have to share.

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I love the smiley face after the “Thanks.”   I thought this was such a creative reminder for her kids.  They’ve got a fun mom.

The sign didn’t scare me either.   I walked right up those stairs with my shoes on.      I took them off as soon as I got into the house though.      DSC_0152

I kind of like my eyebrows.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Post for Mom

 

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For months my mom has been hounding encouraging me to get back to blogging.   I’m not sure why I stopped,  I guess one day I just did.   I enjoy posting I just haven’t had any burning desire to tell any stories lately although my life has been interesting, busy, and very good.

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In honor of my mom on Mother’s Day,  I am posting my first new post in almost four months and I’m going to try to do better from here on out.    

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Happy Mother’s Day!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Bar Incident

And now the explanation on why there was fishing line in the lemon bars I made.

I decided that I needed something to brighten my office for Christmas last month.     I found some colorful unbreakable balls to hang on a branch.   I wanted the balls to look like they were floating from the branch so I made hangers for them from fishing line.  I wish I would have taken a picture,  it was cute.

I tied the hangers on the balls while I sat in front of the TV watching a football game.  I snipped off the ends of the fishing line ties into a bowl.

I brought the bowl upstairs and set it on the kitchen island.   Later when the dishwasher was emptied, the bowl with the fishing line pieces was put into the cupboard with the rest of the clean dishes.  When I made the lemon bars, I didn’t notice the many fishing line pieces in the bowl and mixed them into the bars. 

Bar incidents can be very embarrassing.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Problem with the Lemon Bars

Jay tells me it’s entertaining being married to me;  it very well may be.  I’m not so sure.   I just assume goofy conversations and the things that lead up to them happen in every relationship.  

Right?

A couple weeks ago Jay and I had the following conversation which he documented on Facebook:

Jay: Yay! Lemon bars!
Mary: Do you have fishing line in yours?
Jay: Am I SUPPOSED to have fishing line in my lemon bar?
Mary: Never mind.
Jay: No, seriously, why would you ask me that? Is there fishing line in YOUR lemon bar?
Mary: I don't want to talk about it...

There did end up being quite a few pieces of fishing line in the lemon bars.  I threw them out. 

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Snow Blowing Fashion

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So,  today before I went out to snow blowing through the 800 foot tall snowdrift at the end of my driveway,  I started thinking how I could write that I made a mistake in a previous blog post when I said that snow blowing is fun.
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Except I didn’t.    I’ve spent a many hours snow blowing in the last two days. Shockingly, I’m really enjoying it.      
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   What can I say, I was born with the gift of happiness.
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I loved seeing that giant mountain of snow dissolve into mist in the air.     DSC_0825
There is plenty of time to think when you are snow blowing; it takes a long time to demolish 800 feet tall drifts.  I started thinking that if I was going to have to do this more often I should get my own snow blowing clothes rather than borrow my husband’s ugly baby-poop colored, but oh-so-warm, Carhartt overalls.   I wondered if they came in black. (they do – I Googled)   Black would look much better on me, it’s slimming.    Black  Carhartts would also match the new hat and mittens I bought for snow blowing.
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I took a picture of them to show off  how cute they are close up.  The falling snow tends to obscure their brightness as it covers me.
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Then I started wondering if my oh-so-warm but monstrous and ugly Sorel boots come in another color.   I’d love for them to look more like my rubber boots. 
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I wore these boots with wool socks on Thursday night to help dig my daughter’s car when it was stuck in a drift.   She was wearing my Sorel boots.  I wasn’t out in the blizzard too long but my feet stayed warm  and dry.   Both neighbors complimented me on my boots;  I might be on to something.     Or they may just think I’m crazy.