Ahh Paris

I fell in love with the cover up this building in Paris had while construction is going on! 

It's just fun and made me smile!

Cologne Cathedral Sidewalk Art

I have see the chalk art that is done in front of the Cologne Cathedral 

but I have never see the progression of the work. Amazing talent! 

Enjoy!

Cuddle Duds Sheets

Now you might think it's a little strange I am gushing about flannel sheets

 but let me tell you something

They are the best!

So thick..so soft..so warm.

Unless you a spend your life being cold you might not understand 

but take my word for it they are beyond wonderful and soft.

I was searching for new flannel sheets and I saw the brand. 

Now I really like Cuddle Duds products 

and knew that I would love this one as well.

And I do! 

They are incredibly soft.

Thank you Cuddle Duds for keeping me so comfortable while I sleep...

I did mention how soft they were right??

~And so so very pretty~

Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2017 is behind me...and I'm grateful.
I'm grateful that all 20 of my family showed up, in staggered arrivals
I'm grateful that I had so much help. All the grown ups were standing ready to help out getting the tables set up and dishes put out. Everyone one of us wanted to sit together and visit. What a treat that was.
Thank you to dear husband that the yard was all spruced up and the wine was ready to share.
Thanking God that the food I made was delicious and eaten with enough left overs so I don't have to cook today!
Thanking the girls that they all pitched in and brought dishes of food to share and helped with the clean up after dinner.
Thankful that my fourth son and family were with us since they leave for an Army assignment in Seoul Korea within the next 2 weeks....for 2 years.
They will be missed every single day.
Thank you to the 3 dogs, resident and visiting ones, for behaving themselves.
Thank you to the grandchildren for the entertainment they provided!
Now I'm off to the final cleanup of the house that I just couldn't tackle last night. I have enjoyed sitting on the couch with my coffee, bagel and Wesley watching all the cars go by coming and going on this Black Friday.
I'm thankful I don't have that "shopping gene" and  that I have absolutely no need to be in a line at 5 am waiting for the stores to open.

Tis the Season

I had enough chocolate croissants in Europe to get me thru 2018 but............

 Spunky Dunkers donut from Gina

Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins from John

Homemade Apple Pie from Jen

All offered and accepted before 9am

Tis the Season

Europe 2017 Is Over

My trip is over and it was wonderful. I have no doubt it will never grow old seeing such amazing sights whether it's for the first time or the 10th. 

My heart is full of gratitude that I had the opportunity to see Europe again.

We walked @ 65 miles / 184,323 steps all in all.

Not bad for a bunch of seniors!

                                        

Trees....and what I see

 We can all see the same thing but see it differently too.

These trees are so interesting but I kept thinking

What a perfect place for a Gnome to take up residence!

Right?

Maybe I should think about being a realtor?

 This one is near where I work. 

It would be a close commute for them.

This could be their summer home on a lake 

Already nicely landscaped

The ultimate vacation home in Greece with a 

Water-view

Broken Toe

I broke my toe today. 

Now I think most people break their toe by stubbing it 

Or dropping something on their toe. 

Or maybe tripping 

But I broke my toe on a Great Dane named Sadie.

Since it seems like I always have something to do I tend to move quickly and rarely wear shoes when it's nice out. 

So this is how it happened. If you aren't aware but when a Dane is standing somewhere they don't move. At least Sadie doesn't. I was moving quickly and walked out of a room right in to a wall named Sadie and my foot hit her paw/leg. I'm not sure because I was cringing because it hurt so much!!

She never moved and looked at me like.....What did you do??

But never moved!

September is Fading Fast

After work, since I feel like there is some life and time after work, I took myself outside to my favorite comfortable chair in the backyard to read a bit and have some wine. It's so hot today but despite the heat it's peaceful to sit & listen to well.....to nothing except the breeze in the trees, the cicadas humming away and of course an occasional bark from Eleanor. Like me, the girls are enjoying their time, slowly meandering around the yard discovering what critters passed thru during the day. 

I'm thinking how the days of doing this are fading fast. 

The leaves are already turning colors and falling. 

The flowers are still lovely but passed their peak. 

I'm determined to take full advantage of all these days of autumn. 

Maybe I'll have a little more wine 

and enjoy one more chapter of The Shell Seekers before I head in with the girls. 

This was about a week ago

Today

Double Rainbow

Look what I saw on my way home yesterday. I was at a very busy intersection

I just kept thinking .....

Don't go away! Don't go away until I can stop and take a picture or 3 or 6!

Finally I was able to pull into a lot and get out of the car. 

There were 3 other cars there for the same reason. 

The colors looked like someone pulled out a box of 

Crayola Crayons and pressed really, really hard to get the vibrant colors! 

It took my breath away and by far is the most beautiful one I've ever seen.

AND it was the full arc! 

Shhh! I took this one out the window of my car at the intersection 

August 31

I found myself celebrating because it was the 31st of  August

I felt like "This is it folks". 

Once September is here so many people shift into Fall mode. 

I know I do 

Heat on in the car on the way to work. 

That feeling of wanting desperately to stay warm in bed for a little longer

I look forward to my warm comfy clothes 

And wanting to cook and bake again 

So cheers to the summer months

Possibilities

    

I woke up today and despite it taking me a bit to function 

I found I was excited about it being Thursday.

Only one more day of the alarm going off at 4:20 am. 

Woo Hoo!

I have such high hopes that I can finish cleaning off my desk and getting on to the next project.

Like power washing the house and patio.

Cleaning out the refrigerator.

I wonder if I could take a huge area rug out to the driveway and power wash it?  

Repot some plants since I bought the largest bag of potting soil 

I could find 

and then I couldn't even lift it.

And just maybe get a little more done on my quilt top

Whew! I think I need to stop and  remember 

I only have 2 days to accomplish this!

Perhaps too much coffee might have had something to do with all this enthusiasm.

                                                            So what should I do first?

It's a Zinnia Thing

Bear with me on this one. 

I know last year I posted pictures of my zinnias but I love them.

They are sturdy

They are great for cutting

And they amaze me every year how pretty they are.

How awesome is this!

Great Dane

We inherited a pony..oh I mean a Great Dane. 

Sorry Sadie. 

She is a gentle sweet dog we love having her.

Once we get used to her size all will be wonderful!

Miss Sadie sunbathing

Miss Sadie and Eleanor trying to keep cool

Gnome House

New Construction

Now Available 

Suitable for a small family

Gnomes, Fairies and Elves Welcome

July 4th 2017

Happy July 4th 2017

Dear husband, dear grandson and me

Toad in a Pot

I have been seeing A Toad hopping around my patio alot this year mainly at night so I have been keeping Sweet Eleanor on a leash for her last outing. We simply can have her stalking the poor thing.
Flashback to last year when I went to repot a plant that seemed to have outgrown the pot and couldn't get the plant to come out. Come to find out that when the frog jumped out at me, and I was screaming like a little girl, I realized that it was a place he was living.

Fast forward to this year....needless to say I have been VERY cautious about putting shovels in my plants just in case. Glancing over today this is what I saw.

Then after watering.

Now I can see why the plant that was in the middle of the pot isn't anymore. 

I wonder if frogs can be relocated

Far--Far Away

Peony Vase

Someone brought me peonies!

And of course I used my mom's (piano) vase.

Hint--dear DIL daughter-in law and my neighbor

It's a thing of beauty

Summer Vacation by Eleanor

Over the weekend my mom said “It’s officially summer”. 

I thought it was summer vacation because 

she was home for 3 whole days 

 I was shocked Tuesday morning when she told me that it was back to work for her.

These last 3 days were so much fun. We were all outside all day long and she only left once to do some errands. I got to run around the back yard and check out every new thing they planted. I even got into the part of the yard that is fenced off. They said something about grass seed  then mom and I sat down and had a chat about not doing that again,

They fixed the fence and now I can’t get in at all.

I know I’m not supposed to love running, being a basset hound and all, but it’s just the best thing ever and I heard them say they never saw a basset run like I do. 

Sometimes I like to lay down in the yard and just look around. I love my backyard but geez 

they put a lot of fencing up.

 I wonder if it’s because of me. 

Taking a break and checking out what everyone is doing

Waiting for Dad to come back home