Final post of 2014

Wow this year has gone by quickly.  Seems anymore you blink and another year has past by.   2014 had it's (ups and downs) but for the most part it was a good year.  Many people choose "word" that they want to focus on through the year and this year I chose (Love).  I think for the most part I did love more this year.  One very important thing that I loved about 2014 was being a part of the awesome blogging community and meeting and making friends with so many great bloggers/photographers.  So thank you to all who helped to make this a wonderful year.

We had snow flurries here on Monday.  It started out softly with a few flakes falling.  I went outside and took a few pictures.  A leaf in the grass with tiny snowflakes caught my eye.

Ghost was on my mom's front porch eating and had a few snowflakes on his fur.  I just had to snap a photo.

Soon the flakes were coming down larger and faster and I snapped this shot of the Hawthorne tree across the way from our house.

It was fun to watch and pretty but thankfully didn't last long and didn't stick to the ground.  That's my favorite way to enjoy snow.

Just an update on the telephone service. - A man came out on Monday to look at the lines.  He fiddled around for about 20 minutes and came inside to check our phones.  Said he thought the problem was in the "main line" and would have to go back to his office and have other repair people come back on Tuesday to correct the problem.  Good Grief,  we already knew the problem was in the "main line" back on Friday of last week when we called.

Oh well....I ended up calling back on Tuesday after bowling and telling the lady who waited on me that someone had better be out to fix the line or I would call back the next day and would be "less happy" then I was when I called.  About an hour later they showed up and fixed the problem.

I did get photos of the first guy on Monday working on the line (he really didn't do anything to fix them though.)  I just like the pictures.

 

Through the window of our front door.

 

I opened the door for this shot.  As you can see the sky was clear after that morning snow storm passed by.

 I went for a quick walk around the block this morning and snapped a few shots to share.

Out back before I left on the walk this little fellow was a chattering away.  

 

 

He decided to come down the tree a little closer....

 



Good thing I left peanuts out for him.

Saw this lovely red holly bush with the sun shining on it.  It looked cheerful.  If you look carefully you'll see bits of frost on the leaves.

Spotted a large woodpecker in a tree and tried to get a photo.  The darn thing spooked easily so this is the best shot I got before it flew off to another tree.


 It's been (bone chilling) cold here though the last couple of days.

As I was walking I spotted some Ivy with frost on it.  Doesn't this look chilly!

How about the creek nearby....

Notice the ice on the side of the bank. - Yep, it's been that cold.

Inside however it's nice and warm and our "ginger" cats, Harley and Captain Cuddles enjoyed a nice little snooze on the couch.

All is well in their world. -  Again I want to wish everyone who visits a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and thank you all again for being a special part of my life with your wonderful blogs and friendship.

Off to buy goodies for tonight....see you all next year!

Winding Down

Well Christmas 2014 has come and gone and the year is winding down.  Just a few days left in this year and then we begin another New Year.

I'm spending today catching up on blogs and doing laundry while waiting for the phone company to fix our phones.  We've been without phone service since Christmas Eve.  Don't even get me started on this subject as I am so NOT happy with Century Link right now.  My mom has also been without her phone as our lines come in from the same pole.  Needless to say she hasn't been real happy about it either.

Anyway here's a sweet photo of Spooky-boo relaxing this morning.

Merry Christmas

To all my friends, family & dear readers.  I want to wish you all a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS! - No matter your faith, Christmas is a special time to celebrate family, love, and friendship.  I thank you all for being a very special part of my life.  It has been a blessing blogging with all of you this past year.

Peace and Goodwill to all.

Willy Nilly Friday Five

Welcome! -  I've been absent from the blog most of the week. - I miss you all when that happens.  This year I am so behind with all my Christmas preparations that it's not even funny.  I still have shopping to do!


Today I thought I'd take a few moments and share in the fun of Willy-Nilly Friday Five.

1. Coleen had her Winter Piano Recital last night.  -  I took this photo of her in front of our Christmas tree just before we left for the recital.  She played quite well last night. - Something you might not know about me is that when I was her age I took Piano lessons for about a year but then my teacher moved away and my parents couldn't afford a different instructor.  I also took Viola lessons in Junior High (now called Middle School) for about a year as well. 

2.  This is a German Christmas Star ornament.  My Grandma made a bunch of these and my parents let each of us have some for our trees.  This one is my favorite.  I love the colors and it's a great way to remember my Grandma.  She was born in Russia but was actually German and came over to the US when she was just a year old.    I tried to learn how to make these but got stuck on the instructions and have never been able to figure them out.  There are different types of these stars.  Here is the website where I bought my instructions from if you'd like to give them a try.

3.  Tanya had asked in her Willy-Nilly Friday 5 if we would be having a "White Christmas."  -  Pretty much the odds of that happening here are "slim to none" - Which is okay by me.  In fact it's most likely going to be a,
(Wet Christmas) here this year.  It's raining today and rain is in the forecast for the next several days.  So that means I get wet while shopping today.
Anyway I found this neat website that shows what you can do in snow if you have lots of time and talent.

4. We bought my mom a new Nativity display for her yard.  This is the 3rd one she's had.  We started out with one that was really small and hung in the window.  Next we moved to a little larger one but this year I wanted something that matched the scale of her other decorations so we went with this one.  Although I had found one that was even cooler then this one but they wanted $6,000 for it!

5.  I took this shot of Eric the cat last week getting a drink in our driveway.  When it rains a lot the driveway fills up with water and forms what I jokingly refer to as the "Krause Lake".  - Speaking of cats....we put the tree up and most of the cats have been really good with it but yesterday
Spooky-boo discovered it's fun to pull ornaments off the tree. They spend a lot of time before Christmas now locked in the bedroom when no one is around to keep an eye on them.

Well that's it for me.  If you don't see me on the blog between now & Christmas I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday.  Thank you so much for your wonderful friendships.

 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - December 14, 2014

Hello! - If you are dropping in for "Good Fences" just click on the link to be taken to that post.

I am so "behind" on commenting that it isn't even funny.  Just know I am enjoying your posts and will try to comment as time allows.

Joining in with Ashley (Ramblings and Photos) for
SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.

This weeks prompts were:  Shiny, Underneath, Decorations, Fresh, and Colorful.

 SHINY:   This wreath had a very "shiny" bow on it.  I love looking at the different wreaths they have for sale at the Christmas Tree lot we visit every year.  We don't buy them though as they are usually way to expensive.


UNDERNEATH:

We just put our tree up yesterday and haven't yet decorated it.  So this morning I stuck some of the stuffed animals Coleen has one in those (claw machines) underneath the tree.  I think they look cute there and they may just stay underneath the tree now.

DECORATIONS:

Part of our yard "decorations."   Notice all the leaves around them.  We had super high winds this past week (Gusts up to 64 mph) and it blew leaves into the yard and whipped the decorations around.  I fastened down several of them more then once that day.

FRESH:

Coleen loves to visit Santa every year and have her picture taken with him.  Just look at the "fresh" happy smiles on their faces.  Such joy.

COLORFUL:

These 2 new Gingerbread ornaments are quite cute and "colorful."  They'll be heading onto the tree very soon.

SHS will be taking a bit of a break until after the New Year so be sure to stop in an let Ashley know how much you enjoy this meme.

Good Fences - December 11, 2014

Howdy! - I've been absent from blogging this week due to trying to get ready for Christmas and may not be around much until after the holidays.  Anyway I did want to join Theresa (The Run-a-round Ranch Report) for GOOD FENCES today.


Sharing today another of my fence finds that I thought was unusual and different.

I had never seen a fence with a pattern like this one before.  Of course I just had to include some of the gorgeous fall color from a tree that was in the parking strip. (Note these photos were all taken in early November.)

A closer look at the fence which was starting to age.  I love the moss/lichen that is beginning to grow on it.

Another long view looking down the fence line.

The different patterns here fascinated me.  You have rectangles and triangles and the different textures of the wood grain. 

Finally a shot of the Gate going into the yard.

Note here the pattern changed from a rectangle to a square.

Be sure to check out the other great fences by visiting Theresa's blog and have a great weekend.  - It's another SUPER BLUSTERY day here.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - December 7, 2014

Seems like I'm always a bit "late" getting my post up but my motto is,  "Better late, then never."

So let's join Ashley (Ramblings and Photos) for
SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.



This weeks prompts were:  Joy, White, Stripes, Tree and Shape.

 

 

JOY:  It brought me great "joy" this week when the sun came out and the ice finally melted.  Also the return of,  Mr. and Mrs. Quakers  who dropped in for a bite to eat was also occasion for joy.  They are so cute.

WHITE:

Prior to the sun coming out and melting the ice/snow this was the scene earlier in the week.  You can see the sparkle of the white snow.  Pretty but oh am I happy it's gone.

STRIPES:

Not to original here but how about some Stripped Christmas socks.

TREE:

This one could have covered all the prompts.  These candies bring me great joy, they have white and stripes and a tree shape. 

SHAPE:

Gingerbread hoses and people are "shapes" - Part of our holiday lights.  These sit in my mom's yard next door.

So that's it for me.  Don't forget to check out the other participants.

Friday 5 and Other Stuff

Happy Friday! 

Let's join Tanya (Around Roanoke) for
WILLY-NILLY FRIDAY FIVE.

I thought today I would take a peek back at some sunnier, warmer days with my photos.

        Coleen enjoying her first summer trip through the sprinkler in June.

1.  Have you had enough of "winter" already even though it doesn't officially begin until Dec. 21st?  -  Perhaps you might enjoy traveling then to these destinations to escape the winter blues.  Bermuda or the Bahamas sounds good to me.

    Some pretty pink lupines I spotted in someone's garden this past summer.

2. How about some summer time music?

 

                           A summertime song bird in some reeds.

3. Well today we didn't have "icy" road conditions - Hip, Hip Hooray.  There is still ice in place so you have to be careful but it's warming up a little.  Should you be stuck inside due to bad weather and have kids I found this really neat sight with tons of activities to try.  I'm thinking Coleen might enjoy some of these during her Christmas break.  Check it out HERE

                    Some summer berries on a tree I thought were pretty.

4.  Something "artistic" and amazing with leaves.  My good friend sent me this link and I'm sharing it with you.  http://www.boredpanda.com/leaf-cutting-omid-asadi/   Can you imagine the patience it would take to create stuff like this.

 I spotted this fun little storage shed this summer when I was taking pictures of the Pelicans.  I think it's cheery.

5.  There was a little blurb in our paper the other day that caught my attention.  I'm a fan of the book/movie, Gone With The Wind and thought this was pretty cool.  Apparently it was worthy enough news to be shared in People Magazine.

Also joining Adrienne (My Memory Art) for Six Word Friday.

 
 

 This weeks theme: Season

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for some Feline Friday fun I'm sharing this photo of Eric stretching this summer.  I just love the curvy tail this cat has.

That's it for today.  I hope you've enjoyed your stay here.  Have a great weekend.

Good Fences - December 4, 2014

Hello & Welcome.  -  If you are visiting here and looking for the Fill The Cookie Jar post click on the link and you'll be taken right to the post.

This is my 2nd post today.  It's a good day to stay inside.  For the second day in a row here school has been delayed 2 hours due to icy road conditions.  It's so not fun being out in this weather.  I did manage to get Coleen to school yesterday and take my mom to her doctor's appointment as the roads had cleared up enough to drive on them safely.  But enough about the weather.

Let's join Theresa (The Run-a-round Ranch Report) for GOOD FENCES.

My fence today is one that I was actually photographing when the squirrel from last weeks fence caught my attention.  After I snapped the shots of the squirrel I went back and took these photos of this lovely concrete block fence.  It bordered  the property of an Apartment complex.

 



These photos were taken about a month ago (Nov. 6th) and the fall foliage was still evident as you can see by the lovely trees behind the concrete wall.  Don't you just love the pretty red roses that were outside the wall and still blooming. - (They aren't now).

 

 



 I liked the pretty lamps on top of some of the posts and the moss that was growing on the blocks in places.

 A peek through one of the patterns on the wall at a Hydrangea that was still blooming.  I like the pretty greenery paired with that blue flower.

Another view facing the other direction.  Again you can see the fall trees, the roses, the lamp posts and the pattern withing the blocks.

 

Finally while this isn't a fence I thought it worthy of sharing.

 

 



The sign outside the Apartment Complex had this wonderful leaf pattern painted on it.  I didn't take a photo of the entire sign since the address of the complex was also on the sign.  I just thought it was neat and hope you do as well.

Don't forget to join in on the fun and check out the other great fences.

Please excuse my lack of visiting blogs this week.  I was sick Monday and it's just been a very hectic week trying to keep up with everything.  I will do my best to check out your blogs and comment as time allows. 

Have a great day.