To Town & Back....

 Monday was sunny and pretty. Later in the afternoon the clouds thickened . So I decided to get some photos of the sky as we drove into town and back home again.

 At the edge of town , on Jefferson street. We stopped and picked up a Tipton tribune newspaper. About 4 pages of news. LOL.

  You can see our courthouse in the horizon. Not much traffic....well there's not much traffic in our town compared to others. Maybe during lunch hour and before dinner hour.

On the road home. I loved the sunset.  Took these with my phone. When we got back home , I went out with my camera and got some more shots. Forgot to turn the camera off...so now I am charging the battery. :):)
  Today was gloomy and cold. Very windy. In the next two days it will be cold ,  possibly some more sun. :)  I wrote letters today to family members. Sending a card to my big brother to cheer him as he recovers from his heart surgery.
   Hope everyone is doing well.  Stay warm. XO

It's Winter, Again.....

  Well it is very cold this morning, wind chills are single digit. But oh look at that sunshine and blue skies. Love it.

 My daughter Karen gave me a wonderful box of chocolates for my birthday.   Do you see some missing? :):)

 This is how I have been enjoying them. In the afternoon along with a cup of coffee.  Such a tasty treat.  This is one of the bad things of winter...not getting outside...so we are tempted .

When it's cold out, I will light candles on the kitchen window sill.  I still have a few birthday flowers .  So I love them along with the candle.
  This past weekend was gray and dreary.  Two of my daughters complained about feeling sad. I think it's the long stretch till nice days and lack of sunshine. They both said they want to see the sun. LOL. I guess they are a lot like me.  (Plus we need to stop watching so much news)  I want the sunshine too. So today is going to be lovely to me.
   Wishing all of you a beautiful new week. XO

Decor'.....

  I wanted to show a few more photos from Horton's. I also want all of you who Facebook to know you can find Horton's there. I always love to see nests with eggs in them...even these fake ones.  Aren't the purple flowers pretty?

  This nest is in a potted tree , at the check out counter.  I am thinking of making lots of faux nests to mix with real ones I have found. I will use them on the mantle for spring decorating.

 This is one of the big display at Horton's. I like the mixture of tin items with mercury glass and silver pieces. It all goes well with any colors you would like in your decorating theme.

 This mantle is an awesome piece , made of oak. The lovely scroll work is wood also. Mrs. Horton said they saved this from a house in town that was being torn down. So happy it is saved to be loved again. Beautiful.

 This little fake fireplace , adorable. This is a metal surround. The log inside has orange papers resembling a glowing fire.  Sweet.

 Tin buckets, crates, and stars....love them.  A couple of bunny molds. So many wonderful things to see and buy in this store.
  Winter winds howled all evening here...although it is blowing snow once in a while it's not unbearably cold yet.  The ground is still warm and melts the snow. :)
   I will have laundry to do today. That can keep me busy. It's an exercise workout also...up and down the stairs to the laundry in the basement. I miss the days of my utility room being near to the kitchen. :(
   Wishing all of you a safe day with some joy. XO

Oh You Know Where I Went....

  I am pretty sure you all know this is Horton's. This is one of the window displays. They are getting ready for Valentine's day and spring. Red, white and pink tulips.

  This is the little Spring Open House reminder. It says, Consider yourself booked.....save this date. Horton's of Tipton Spring Open House , Marsh 18 ....9 to 5..

  I loved this pretty stack of white dishes, with red tulips and the red with white dots Love sign. 

  A big basket of tulips. Or you could have lots of small baskets.

  This old kitchen stove, apartment sized, is very pretty piled with tulips, mixing bowls and a rag heart shaped wreath.

 

 This is another window. Creamy whites and reds mixed. I like the big XO . They have changed many things in the store. Mixing up the clothing fashions with the house decorating items.  It is going to be so nice.  I will go back when it gets closer to being finished.
   Today was cloudy and gray but good temps and low winds. Hope all of you had a good day. XO

I Had A Workout....

  This is the last of the wonderful sunshine we had this weekend. It was so much like spring, both days.

 My twins celebrated their birthday for about a week. LOL.  Liz's children came over and brought the babies to her house. They made a wonderful late lunch for all of us. Here's Layla with her grandmother AKA Gigi.

Max had to get some Gigi loving too.  He smiles so big, he makes you think you are the most special person ever. :):)

 I had to get in on the hugs and baby sweetness too.  Max kept chewing his fingers. Getting more teeth.
  Ever notice it only takes about five minutes for two little guys to make it look like a whirling dervish hit your house , full force. Gee walking thru Liz's living room was like an obstacle course. Max kept bring me a huge book to read. I ask Liz, "what ever happened to Little Golden books, does Max need to carry "War and Peace " around. :)
  Good news about good old Sam the dog...he was romping around the yard . I almost wanted to cry, he was like a little kid, happy for company and attention.  One thing a bit strange to me, he never chased the chickens like he used too. Maybe too many watching him. LOL
  After playing with the babies and the dog, I was wore out when we got home. I thought why do I feel so tired....well I raked on Saturday and did baby lifting on Sunday...this old gray mare ain't what she used to be...for sure.
   This week is going to take us back into winter. Today is to be in the 40's. But that's good to me.  Wishing all of you well. Praying for those that had the terrible weather this weekend.  Bless all. XO

A Spring Like Day.....

  This Saturday was just wonderful.  Sunshine and warm temperatures. It reached 64 this afternoon.

  Even the irises think it is spring. Our winter had some arctic cold days but apparently it's been mild too.

  I am hoping the lilacs are not  budding...they look bigger than normal for this time of year. Hope not.

  After Ted and I went to the stores and got things today, he worked in the shop and I did some yard work. I raked a ton of pine needles.  My granddaughter in law sent me snapchat video of snowplow removing snow near their apartment. That's in Utah.

  Lynzie took Max out for a walk in his birthday trike/stroller. Isn't this thing amazing? One day he can use the pedals and hold onto the handlebars.

 Mark walks ahead with Madison the dog, as Max and mommy follow. So nice they got out on a beautiful day as family. There was lots of outdoor activities today. Ted and I even drove to town to go thru the park, to see if the creek had flooded...there was standing water in many places.
   Hope all of you had a great day. Hope tomorrow is sunny too. XO

Birthday Babies...

    Where did my  baby girls go?? I miss holding them on my lap.

  They grew into individuals...Karen a tomboy, bike riding, ramp jumping, skateboarding, ball player type of young girl. Liz a butterfly chasing, bug catching, primping girl. They both loved swimming and reading as young kids.

   Liz is a nurse , running an Alzheimer's unit in a nursing home. Karen works on the docks receiving and some times unloading parts for a semi trailer manufacturing plant.

  I want to give them flowers for their up coming birthday. These are  summertime blooms. My girls are loving wives and mothers. Good citizens, with giving hearts.  I am very proud of all my daughters.

  They are my twins. Not identical.

  Hoping to be able to celebrate their birthday without being too late.

  We are back into dense fog now.  The twins will take time to spend together, going to lunch and a movie. They have been doing this for a few years. They live close by each other. Liz is the one who introduce Karen and her husband. For a few years they were even next door neighbors. I am so glad they are still very close.
   Like I said it's foggy here. We have had some ups, downs, rain ,fog, and if there was sun it was fleeting. What happened to winter here? I do not want big super snows or cold...but we need winter.
It's only 61 more days till spring...but we know winter has gone deep into spring before and could again. I remember just last year, all of us longing for spring.
  Be safe today, wishing you joy. XO

Looking Up.....

  Yesterday's sunrise....the start of a better day. We could at least get out for a drive.  It's been icy here for a few days...but nothing like in the heart land.

  I had a birthday this past week...older than dirt !!!  Got cards, flowers, gift cards, calls and texts. That was nice on all the gloomy days.

 Here's my big brother two days after his open heart surgery.  He has to keep the big heart pillow on his chest to cough. I have spoken with him on the phone. He will be going home in a couple days. Hooray for good doctors and modern medical technology.  We are all so very thankful. Thanks again to all for your wonderful wishes, thoughts and prayers.
    It's been a busy crazy sort of two weeks since this new year started. My daughters were wanting to come celebrate my birthday , but the bad weather did not allow it. Three of my daughters and I have winter birthdays . We talked about getting together in summer nearer to Kathy's birthday and all of us celebrating then. The girls have ran with this idea. They have booked a house in Michigan near the lake for a long weekend , so we can all be together..:) I love the idea of a nice vacation with my daughters. Some thing to anticipate. Yippee.
   Prayers for all in the landslide areas, the ice storm areas too. Please be safe. XO

Thursday Morning....

 It's a wet Thursday morning here.  You can see branches on the ground from the winds we have been having.

 After it was daylight, I got out and picked up branches and sticks.  I am wore out. I have four trees with piles like this around them. Once the ground refreezes we can load this debris in a trailer to haul away.

 Boy this drab day is not good for taking photos. I looked at Carol's  Art and Sand blog this morning. She is such an inspiring lady.  She had some greenery around her house and added birds to it.

 So me being a big copy cat, had to try my hand at doing the same .

 I do have a lot of little bird items in my home. Some fake greenery too.

 This is a large glass vase, that I use in decorating. I have my little wren nest that I found in our clematis last summer. Added a couple fake leaves and this feathery bird. Thank you Carol , for always showing us your beautiful home and all your cute decorating ideas.
   Thank you my dear blogging family. Your good wishes, thoughts and prayers have helped my brother George. He is now sitting up and talking. On the road to being a new man , I am so sure. You have to know once the blood is flowing right and carrying oxygen, you would have to feel so much better.  Bless all of you. XO

Some Calm....

   I took this photo a week ago or so. I wanted to post it to tell how my brother George is doing. His surgery went very well. his by pass was a 3 way. He had to stay on the ventilator over night. They removed it yesterday morning and he was not breathing as deeply on his own, as of  4:00...so they may put him back on it. I am praying for the best today. I know he needs to be up. They had our mother up on the 3rd day. I also realize everyone is different.

   This is my grandson Brock. He is still playing his guitar  He is tuning this one for his cousin Savannah.

  He bought his daughter Layla a little guitar for Christmas. Here they are playing together.

  Layla loves to dance and play. Such a sweet child.

 On a happy note, she is wearing her new panties.  I said , I wear mine  like that a times. :):) You know those days when you can't tell which end is up.
  I have been a little glum with this crazy weather. I love the temperatures , 47 yesterday...but rain all day and fierce winds last evening.  Today will be quiet till later.  54 today and 60 tomorrow, with rains. I am not a fan of winter rains...but if this were snow with those winds last night.. I would be shoveling today.
  California is getting so much rain...too much at once.  Places in the south having snow and ice. Cold in Texas.  Where are people going for a warm  vacation?  Wishing you all well. Be safe when going out. XO