December 9, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

We had snow Tuesday night that continued on into Wednesday.  Even had those annoying phone alerts for a snow squall.  Haven't usually had those go off.  

The partridge covey stayed nearby and were here several times...

...along with a flock of small birds.

There wasn't a lot more snow, but there was wicked wind!  

At times you could barely see.  The snow was coming down horizontally.

Plastered against my patio door glass.  The sun finally came out for a little while later in the day, but the wind barely died down.

I had an apartment inspection Friday morning and then later that afternoon Dagan brought me over to pick up my new glasses.  Just a quick unprepared snap.  They have quite a bit larger lenses...better for my trifocals--lol!  

Still wire rims, though.  Have preferred wire rims ever since the 60s.  Every time I had plastic frames, they made me feel like I was looking through a tunnel--ROFL!  I actually had rose-tinted wire rim glasses that I had made from my dad's old wire rims he had worn in the navy.  They hooked around your ears!  No lie!  For many years I wore those.  Much preferred to my pale blue cat glasses I wore in high school--lol!

I don't know where the week went to be honest.  Has just been a long, quiet, mellow week.  Puttering about...doing laundry...cooking...letters...feeding the birds...kind of feeling like Allie does most of the time--lol!

Got caught up in a British documentary where five people lived for an entire year on a farm like they would have in the 1600s.  Absolutely fascinates me when they do those kinds of living in the past experiments.  Have you ever watched any of them?  

Wasn't feeling all that active as my left hip has been in a touchy, cranky mood for a couple of weeks--lol!  Such is life.  

Anyways, I have some pics from Leah.  On Saturday Ian, Liam and the neighbor boy, Nash, went to Home Depot.

They always love going there!  Looks like Nash did, too.  He's gone with them before, I believe.    

That night they went, along with their cousins, to see the Holiday Lights parade.

They had a bag with them for candy and goodies that get tossed to the crowd.

Odd to see a rainbow in the winter, eh?  This is looking out their living room window.

I sent my new bathroom rugs home with Leah.  They fit!!  I am soooo happy.  If they had been rectangular, they would have overlapped.  But they fit just as perfectly as I had hoped they would.  :)

And the other two rugs that match the living room rug are just about uncurled now, so you can see them right-side-up!  

Love how colorful they are.

Been picking out a new shower caddy hook, kitchen towel holder, and some other hooks.  Leah ordered the new shower caddy and coffee shelves (on sale after Thanksgiving).  I'm going to try a magnetic strip in the kitchen to hold all my sharp knives since I have less storage or counter space.  Have any of you tried those?  Do you like them?  It seems like a good idea for small spaces...but also kind of weird to have sharp knives hanging out there like that.  I'll find out, eh?

Well, this week Keanna comes tomorrow to clean.  The boys' Christmas presents should be delivered so there will be wrapping to do.  I am just enjoying having no plans at all really.  Snuggling with Allie and watching the partridges and flock of small birds every day again.  It warmed up into the 30s and low 40s over the weekend so a lot of the snow has melted.  :(  I really, really hope we get some more snow before Christmas for sure.  Brown Christmases are so depressing to me.  Or icy ones!  Bleh!  Please, please, please snow!

Are you ready for Christmas?  Do you travel to see family?  Does family come to see you?  Or do you spend Christmas with your cat, like me?  I always do see McFamily before or after Christmas, though.  Usually after.  My tradition is that I always watch It's a Wonderful Life (get teary-eyed every time) and A Christmas Story (get nostalgic every time) sometime around or over Christmas.  Never have after, though, come to think of it.  Always before or during.  Do you have favorite Christmas movies you watch every year?

Christmas always fills my soul with such good stuff.  May you be filled up, too...and overflow!  Till next week. :) 

December 2, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

I felt better this past week, so I did get the Christmas cards finished! 

Brought them down to the mail for today.

Besides laundry and cooking, that was the bigger project I finished.  Early for me to get cards out, too.  Whoohoo!

There's a flock of little birds who come every day now...

...and I've seen the one lone partridge here and there.

But one day I noticed these dark lumps in the snow.

Yes!  Partridges!

Since there's not enough snow for them to dig a cave for the whole flock, they were each separately digging down to be more than half buried in the snow we do have to stay warm.

This is why I hate brown winters.  It is hard on the critters and the plants.  At least when it got so cold so suddenly and has stayed there...we had a bit of snow for their protection this year.  So far. 

Yes, a covey of seven has discovered I put food out for them.

I also noticed someone else must be feeding them, too--down a couple apartments--because I see them gathered over there at times, too.  So glad.  I won't feel as badly if I do leave before spring.

The lone partridge still comes, too.  I've never seen one totally alone all the time before.

I am so happy to be feeding the partridges again this winter.  As long as I am here, right?  And I had leftover seed from last winter in the garage available, too.  (Whatever is left will go to Leah's sister.)  I think I would have loved to have chickens to feed.  That clucking sound they make while they eat just makes me smile.  Always has.  I know these partridges sound similar to chickens as they fill their bellies out there. :)

Anyways, some photos from Leah.  A few are older.  The boys at a playground before it snowed.

Leah forgot to send me the pictures (and videos) from Ian's school program.

How many times have those of you with kids and grandkids watched programs like this in school gyms?  :)

Ian is center front with blue shirt.

This program was for Veterans Day.

After the program--Liam and Ian.

Meanwhile--apartment progress.  Leah installed some shelves in the back of the maintenance room.  Nice!

The new round mirror in the bathroom!!  I love it!!

The cleaners came on Monday.  All the white dust is gone!  Dagan and Leah unfolded the bigger living room rug. 

It is a Monet style abstract with all kinds of colors!  Oh, and it will be turned to fit the length of the living room.

The red chair arrived, too, on Friday!

Looks more pinkish, but it's a pale burgundy.

Not too much snow in the living room window well.

Now that everything is clean, Leah put in the racks and cutting board that came with my kitchen sink.

Bottom rack and a drying rack that's half-size.  So exciting!  I love this sink!

Two other matching rugs to the living room rug are unrolled upside-down to flatten out in the studio.  The one on the left will go in front of the washer and dryer.  The one on the right will go in front of the kitchenette.

Even less snow in the studio window well that faces north.  They look so clean and shiny!

As I felt better during the week I got caught up on the necessities--laundry and food, mainly.  Not even caught up on letters!  But having the Christmas cards in the mail is fantastic!  Now I am free to use my spoons for some fun stuff in the studio...and letters.  And I have a covey of partridges here a few times a day.  I wonder if these have been here in past winters.  Possibly.  Because they know to hang around nearby because I feed them more than once a day when it is below freezing like it has been and I do put out extra seed.  If I have to be here another winter...they make it totally worthwhile. :) :)

Allie is waiting for me to get done at the table.  

Cats get so cuddly when it gets really cold out--lol!  She spends a lot more time with me whenever I'm in my chair.  When it's in the single digits there can't help but be a chilly waft of air across the floor.  I become her human hot water bottle--lol!

Well, December already.  Christmas is around the corner.  I really need some Christmas cheer this year.  Less news.  More cheer.  ;)  Or murder mysteries...where they always get the bad guys.  Yes!  I am almost done with five seasons of Nordic Murders.  Two more episodes to go.  Will be sad when it is done.  I'm sure I can find something else to watch in my probably thousands of shows I have saved on various streaming services--ROFL!  It's not like I don't have an overabundance to choose from.  And then every year I watch It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story.  Ahhh!  Love this time of year.  (Just need to stay away from much news--lol!)  

That's it for this week.  Blessings and joy to you.  :)

November 25, 2024 Monday--5am

Good morning!

A better week.  Much colder, but better--lol!  We went from rain to snow and freezing temperatures.  In fact, not supposed to be above freezing for the next couple of weeks at least.

I was quite sick beginning of the week.  Cough turned croupy.  Couldn't breathe.  Couldn't sleep.  In fact, was awake from Tuesday morning until Wednesday night--awk!  But have been getting better since then.  We got our first snowfall over a couple of days.  LOVE it!

Allie is glued to Cat TV for part of each day.

Odd to know there was some green grass under this snow.

Saw my first arctic hare in ages!!  It happened to stop under a tree across the way so I could get a picture.  It's not even white yet.  

We see all kinds of small birds--various sparrows and the juncos...  

...but there is evidence of partridges in the snow!  I think they come pre-dawn and at dusk.

Anyways, the cough had settled down and I was getting some sleep again so that I could make it to see my new eye doctor on Friday.  Dagan picked me up and we found Sterling Optical.  The eye doctor was really nice.  He was efficient and friendly.  Dilated my eyes, checked my cataracts, macular puckers, and my prescription in half an hour.  My eyes haven't changed--whoohoo!  And I ordered a new pair of glasses!  Still wire rims, but larger lenses so it is better for my tri-focals.  One to three weeks the girl said.

I don't need to mail Christmas cards till the beginning of December, so I focused this past weekend on my bullet journal.  Felt more human, so I got December all set up and then spent most of Saturday setting up my new 2025 bullet journal.  TaDa!  Done early this time!  

Otherwise, haven't done much else.  Still sick, but on the tail end now.  Since I am cuddled up under a blanket most of the time I decided, once my headache was gone, it might be a good time to tackle subtitles.  Started watching The Nordic Murders.  (You knew it would be a murder mystery series, didn't you?)  Also have been watching a lot of watercolor artists and card makers on YouTube--inspiration for when I feel well enough to get into the studio.  Been doing some online shopping for Christmas presents for the boys and picking out a new shower caddy and some wall shelves for my coffee jars...things like that.  Happy stuff.  

Dagan brought in a bag of sunflower heart chips from the garage when he was here on Friday...and also my humidifier I had in the donation stuff.  (Didn't think I'd be here another winter, so glad we've never had a donation pickup--lol!)  As long as I am still here I might as well feed the birds.  I still have some bags of seed in the garage, so what the heck.  They haven't said anything to me so far...or no one has told on me?  In the winter feeding the birds won't attract mice or voles or the like.  They're smart and are underground for the winter--lol!  Whatever.  I am feeding the birds.  Makes me happy.

At the beginning of last week, I didn't expect to feel this well already by today.  So that's a very good thing.  All is well up here in the North Country.  Keanna comes tomorrow.  I plan to be doing some creating this week.  Cards for pen pals or getting out the art journal...something fun!  You know, besides just catching up on all the usual stuff I didn't do while I was sick (or sicker, I should say--lol!).  Winter has arrived with determination.  Grateful I got my winter clothes switched.  (I am slow, but it was a long fall--lol!)  

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US.  The holidays are upon us.  Cue the Christmas music and the blinking lights.  Ah!!  My favorite time of year...from fall till New Years.  Just a time for gratitude, kindness, love, and joy.  We may not get all of that, but there's no excuse not to already have gratitude...or not to give those others away, right?  ;) 

Till next week.  Sprinkling you with kindness, love, and joy.  :)