Beginnings And Endings

 I did a post a few years ago about hellos and goodbyes.  Today I'm calling it beginnings and endings.  I always enjoy the hellos more than the goodbyes.  Sometimes I've enjoyed the endings more than the beginnings.  Beginnings can be scary.  A new job, a new school year, a new baby, a new relationship, a  new marriage.  Endings can be a new beginning too.  Ending a job, ending college or high school. Ending a marriage, and on and on. I'm sure we all get it.  Today is a beginning of sorts for me.  I'm beginning the last year of my 60's.  I remember when I turned 60 and how that felt but for some reason today the sound of 69 sounds sort of old.  I've never been a person prone to depression.  Yes I've been sad at times but it passed and my optimism of life always came and brought me along. For the past 2 months I've struggled with what I'm assuming depression feels like.  Not every day or every moment, just snippets of feeling lost as to what I want my life to be like.  Then I started thinking about my Dad who passed away when he was only 56 and never saw 60 and beyond.  He loved life and would have embraced every year.  Jack's parents passed away in their 60's.  His Mom was 66 and Dad was 67.  I know they had plans for things they wanted to do in that part of their life.  God had plans too I guess.  So I don't want to fritter away my life with sadness at my endings.  I need to embrace those beginnings that others were denied and I've been granted so far.  I made some plans for this final year of the 60's.  They involve family, travel, downsizing and giving up some "things" and welcoming other "things".  Better health, better organization, better use of my time and talents. Maybe finding out what talents I actually have!  So hello 69.  Take my hand and my heart and open them to new beginnings and even a few endings.  Happy beginnings to me.

One of my beginnings involves growing my hair out...we'll see how this ends up!

Ice, Baby, Ice

 Ice in a glass of Diet Pepsi is good.  Ice in a blender when making a smoothie is good.  I don't drink alcohol but I hear that certain drinks like ice.  I don't drink coffee either but I guess ice coffee is good.  I don't do ice tea either but the name says it all.  Ice, baby, ice....ice on the deck is not good. Ice on the steps is not good. Ice in the grass when the dog needs to pee is super not good.

An ice storm came through last night and today the trees are shimmering ice sculptures.

Each branch covered completely.

A beauty all it's own.

It's a cold day in bird land.

These little icesicles remind me of something...

Tears..they remind me of tears that are shed when a person is really and truly over the cold harshness of a long winter....speaking for a friend!  Ice, baby, ice.

Having A Melt Down

 This time of year can bring the brutal cold, tons of snow, and then some unseasonal warm-ups.  It's all the ups and downs of Ohio winter that I've blogged about for years. Maybe it's repetitive but it's my life so on the blog it goes.   We had some 50de temps in the past week that melted a lot of the snow we had and that had problems all it's own.  Flooding with some roads closed. We didn't have any problems thankfully but the yard is a soggy mess.

Hello raised beds! We'll be digging in you in a couple of months. It was just nice to see them again.

This side of the yard always melts off first. Walking the property is messy business.

Speaking of business..Annabelle is finding more spots to do her business! She's limping around today so I'm not sure if she hurt her back paw while exploring or maybe got something in her paw pad. I've soaked her feet and applied antibiotic ointment on the sore one. We'll see how it goes before I call the Vet. She really does enjoy the yard!

Just when we were enjoying the melt down, it snowed and iced again. You can't really tell from this pic but that's a Robin.  It was all alone and for a minute I thought it's feet were stuck to the ice! Nope, just looking for some water to enjoy.  Today was almost 50de and again we had a melt down.  I should have gotten a pic of all the Robins in the soggy area of the yard taking baths in the cold water! Must have felt good to them!  I believe we're in for another snow event on Thursday but today was sunny, warmish and tomorrow and Tuesday will be almost 60! Yippee!  Yesterday was pretty chilly though and Jack made his wonderful spicey tortellini soup. Yum! We hadn't had it in a while and it really hit the spot on a chilly evening.

Pair it up with my homemade bread and it's a winner, winner, yummy dinner!

It's been a quiet weekend and not a whole lot to blog about.  We did receive these in the mail:

The freebies from the government. We got 2 and hopefully will never need them. Did you all get some? We still wear masks at stores and church but we're only among a few who are wearing them.  With numbers going down again I hope it will be a good spring and summer for gathering . Speaking of gathering...the owls have been heard morning and night and when I was closing the shutters in the dining room the other day I saw 2 of  them fly into the trees. I grabbed my camera and clicked a quick pic before they took off:

This one turned just as I was taking the shot. Hello cutie!

This one wasn't as cooperative...how rude! Well, maybe it was me that was rude since I didn't ask permission to shoot them! So that's my weekend.  Monday tomorrow and since retirement I always say that my Mondays don't ruin my Sundays anymore!

The sun was setting as I took this shot today. The best part was it was after 6pm and still light out! Woohoo! Night all.  I hope melt downs are in our our futures soon!

A Day Late/A Dollar Short

 Happy belated Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a fun, love filled day.  Maybe it included some flowers? Some gifts? Some chocolate? A dinner out? A dinner in?  However you shake it I guess it's nice to have a day to remember to send out love and I know that Hallmark appreciates it!  It was a  nice day here at the Pines even though Jack had to work and Annabelle had to go to the Vet for her checkup.  We've had her a month.  She is doing well with house training or maybe it's YaYa training! One of us is very good at going outside to get her business done.  One of her big deals was getting up and down stairs.  We only have 2 stairs that go off the deck but it took her a bit to figure out how to get up and just today we...I mean she..figured out how to get down them.  So you can guess that I'm a day late with Valentine greetings but I'm also a few hundred dollars short that I left with the Vet! I figured Annabelle was good to go since the shelter had done all the vaccines and such.  Ha! Silly me!  She needed a flu vaccine.  What? Yeppers, a flu vaccine.  And her heartworm shot.  And her flea and tick pill.  And the office call of course.  I think she was a bit sore from the shots and was up and down all night.  So not only am I...and Jack...a day late, a dollar short...we are also a bit sleep deprived!  However, Jack got me a beautiful bouquet of roses yesterday and our son, Jack, and my daughter-in-law, Evelyn and her cousin Mandy came for dinner last night.  No food pics to show but it was all delish.  It was fun to spend some time with them.  My kids were great as littles but they are even more fun as adults. 

Jackie, Evelyn, and Mandy.   It was a nice sunny day and fun evening.  They also brought a bouquet of flowers so I have fresh flowers in a few rooms and I love it! It reminds me that Spring is on  it's way. Tomorrow and Thursday we will have 50de temps! Yeah!  It will melt the snow, cause some flooding, make lots of mud, but I don't care because it's going to be sunny and warm..ish!  Love to all!

Snowmageddon

 It seems like I haven't blogged for a while but it's only been a week...just seems longer for some reason. Well, we did get hit by storm "Landon".   Or "snowmageddon" as it's being called around here. Jack measured the snowfall in the front of the house...10in...in the back of the house it measured 15!  All I know is it seemed like it was never going to stop. I know I shoveled a ton of snow to keep the paths open for Annabelle.  Word to the wise..wiser than me anyway...don't get a new dog who is being potty trained in the Winter. Just sayin.   When the snow finally did stop the sun came out and it seemed like the world was slowly waking up.  Of course everything was cancelled from Thursday to Saturday.  We came out good with no power outages here at the Pines and it was warm and comfy indoors.  Now it just has to melt and from the piles of snow out there it may be June before that happens!

Welcome to our front sidewalk...enter at your own risk!

Our kind neighbor did come and plow our driveway...thank goodness!  I made some special cookies for him to say thanks since he didn't let us pay him.  

Bird bathing is closed for the season.  Speaking of birds...I took a few pics of our feathered friends as they came and dined at the Pines.  These were taken from inside so pardon the bad focus.

I made sure the feeder was full.  It's first come first serve around here.

Some preferred a table for one under the gazebo!

A few preferred to snack on my herb plants under my kitchen window.

Does this outfit make me look fat?

Looks like he has on red earmuffs! As cold as it was that would be a good idea!

Go Jack, Go.

Annabelle is doing really good with her potty training.  She has a bit of anxiety and we hope it will get better as time goes on.  She just wants to be near us at all times! But she's been a sweetie and we love her.

Thanks for stopping by.  You're welcome to visit anytime. This snow shovel has your name on it!

I'll even share some of my fresh baked...this morning...cookies! Sending out the love and the hope that Winter will calm it's self down from here on out!

Entering February Holding Our Breath!

 I always say that February is the shortest month with the worst weather. After coming through a  very mild December and then a frigid, snowy January I was hoping to slide into February quietly and maybe a bit warmer.  I got my wish as Mother Nature handed us a balmy, sunny, almost 50de. day to enjoy.  Also to get ourselves prepared for a bit of a snowstorm named "Landon".  That Mother Nature is such a crabby appleton at times.  She's holding her cards close to her chest and letting us and Al Roker guess what's really going to hit the East coast and us here in Ohio.  So prepare we did. The wood stove is humming and wood is sitting waiting for it's turn to burn. Food is stocked and water too.  I bought a new book and magazine to read on Thursday if all is shut down.  I'm sure I'll be outside clearing the paths for Annabelle to do her business.  Jack cancelled his office also.  Annabelle is suppose to have her first Vet visit on Thursday but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.  So holding our breath and hoping the groundhog comes up tomorrow with a good report for Spring.  Somehow I imagine Spring will arrive as it always does with a few surprises of it's own.  Oh well, Happy February everyone. To celebrate the warm day today I did grill outside..

Mmmm...the steaks were really good! Throw in some fluffy baked potatoes and Jack's favorite veggie...Lima Beans (not my fav for sure!) and call it dinner!  I will bake some bread tomorrow and probably some cookies to get us threw these crazy days!  So for now we'll hold our breath and hope for the best! Night all!