Winter Vacation

The pictures above sent by Sheila Mary who is back on the ranch enjoying ranch life and actually participating in all of the round ups .   Who says you cannot have a winter vacation and enjoy every minute of it.    She will have many tales to tell when she gets back home next week.    She has had some weather to keep her in but she managed to find time in the kitchen and cook a big meal for the family and guests.   Sheila Mary is  bright and beautiful and loves to share herself with  all who come into her life.     

Here are Angie's two dogs all dressed up for winter weather.   After all you have to dress warmly if you want to walk out on the beach every day.   They sure are cuties.

The big storm finally got around to us in the middle of the night.  I woke up to one lamp on, one of those touch type lamps on the computer desk.   It wasn't on a three a.m. but it sure was at four a.m., a mystery.   Maybe the wires for the computer are close to the windows along with the wire for the lamp.  The wind was blowing so hard it must have blown the curtain and it touched the lamp.   Unless Mortimer, our old lost ghost of the past has caught up with me again.    Whenever the children had a problem with a breakage or two, 'Mortimer' always did it.   He was a very busy ghost who spilled milk, broke things and kept us all very busy cleaning up his messes.  I forgot to put the garbage cans in the back area ; wonder if they blew down the street.  Oh the things I will find when I get dressed and go outside and look around.   There was a notice on Facebook this morning that there was a lot of damage on the ranch from winds that got up to ninety miles an hour in Nevada.  I will have to check on son Michael and see how he made out in his trailer.   There sure isn't much one can do until the winds die down.  

So hopefully you didn't have heavy stormy winter weather and will go about sharing and caring this weekend.   Find reasons to smile, there are so many if you just take time to look around.    Be a ray of sunshine and shine.  Hugs to all.   

A Question

                                                                LOVE  . . . What is it?

                                                                 persistence

                                                                 resistance

                                                                 frustration

                                                                  laughter

                                                                  tears

                                                                  fears

                                                                   love

                                                                   hope

                                                                   prayers

                                                                   charity

                                                                   love

                                                                   desolation

                                                                   loneliness

                                                                   consolation

                                                                   love

                                                                    hold a hand

                                                                    kiss a cheek

                                                                    blow a kiss

                                                                    never miss

                                                                    love

                                                                    beauty is

                                                                    as beauty does

                                                                    no one is ever ugly

                                                                    fat or thin

                                                                    neat or messy

                                                                    everyone

                                                                    needs love.

So, end your week with a lot of love in  your heart.    Share  YOU.

Hugs. to all.

Getting Around

Granddaughter Erin has a new scooter to get around the island.    She also has a new job as a sales manager in a health food store.   wish her luck.    

 Sheila Mary is on the ferry heading for the ranch and vacation time. 

she arrived without any problems, found her friend right away and is off to a great start. 

even the lama was glad to see her return.  It looks like a wonderful place for a vacation.   

A clever idea and a space saver as well. 

Now we are talking!

Hump day and the weather here in Brookings is stormy, going to have ten inches of rain so we are told;  hope it is one of those iffy weather reports and it  only sprinkles, but the reports keep coming up that as the day progresses so will the storm.   I'll be  talking about it tomorrow if we don't float away.    As the downsizing continues, I sold my  bed, box spring and mattress and  and it went out the door yesterday.   My solid oak antique frame is missed this morning and I am having to find out which extra bed I want to sleep in.  So far the odds are against me and I find one to hard, the other to soft and I am not buying a new one until I get relocated.    I can tell you that leg cramps are a great indication of what the body does and does not like.  Amazing how a little change can bring about  a few surprises.    I'm just to old for this stuff!!!   But, giving up my  old box spring and mattress which was purchased back around 1982, I cannot rightfully complain as I think I got my moneys worth and certainly  years of good sleep.  It would have, and still will,  give the new owner a good nights sleep.   I am beginning to think change is not always for the better.  We find throughout life that we think we have to give up or change and find that  along with the change comes upheaval and it upsets our 'apple cart', then we begin to realize that all it takes is a change of attitude and new beginnings become an adventure of a life time and life takes on a whole new meaning.   New faces, new places and  even a new bed, so it cannot be all bad.  So, I am down to a couple of odd dishes, paper plates for emergencies if any one decides to join me for a cup of tea and  a bite to eat.   I haven't decided on pots and pans  yet, trying to find a way  to lighten the load and not cook but that isn't going to happen . . . if I remember correctly  a black cast iron skillet and a couple of pots will do just fine, I've been down the road before.   I have absolutely no objection to eating out .  So life is an adventure, our seconds fly bye and all we have to do is organize our 'stuff'', and our attitude.    Take time to do a good deed, as someone is in need today.   Take time to speak up and tell someone you love how important they are in your life.    Change the frown to a smile;   and take a look around and  get rid of 'clutter' in your life, not only things but people who use and abuse.  Life is much too short to waste.    Hugs to all.

Hung Over

The above pictures came in showing how the animals react to a night on the town.   After a glowing party, we can equate.  Ah, the morning after!!

I gather there is enough ego in Washington D. C. to make this a truism.

A truism we have to practice on a daily basis.  

Good morning.    Four thirty and the coffee is on.    Mid week and the rains prevail.   I have been marveling at the snow pictures on television , poor Massachusetts and Connecticut get much more of their share of snow, wind and cold than the rest of us combined.    I remember the good old days of shoveling snow off of the sidewalk very early in the morning.   I remember walking on tho big snow piles, sinking in and building snow slides.  Those snow plow drivers should be given a medal as I noticed how clear the streets were on the news last evening.   Hopefully it will stay cold for some time as a sudden thaw would be terrible.   Who am I to complain about a little rain.   We are to get  a storm coming through and they predict ten inches which means flooding. . .um. . .maybe it wont come down all at once, only a drip or two here and there...wishful thinking.

Hump day. . . a day to take stalk on how you are doing with your seconds.   Hopefully  you are putting them all to good use and making the most of them.    Remember to balance your seconds so that you save a little down time for yourself.   You know the old adage. . . all work and no play . . . 

I hear there was a lock-down at the White House yesterday, wonder what that was all about.    It seems like a likely target these days.   I thought the drone one was interesting.   Just goes to show tall fences don't always work.    Those FBI men sure had a wake up call.   I can hardly wait to turn on the news and find out what happened last night .   the political cartoonist are having a ball.

Stay alert, be wise, be kind and be careful.   Put a little laughter in your life today, it is very good for the body.   Put a little prayer to work for you as it is good for the soul.    One good deed, one loving thought, one caring nod can make someone feel loved today.   See how many good deeds you can do today.    Hugs to all. 

Special

A beautiful peacock found a lovely and colorful garden patch to stop at.    Nature at its best.   

this happens often in life and makes me wonder why.

A sculpture on a building in Portland, Oregon. . . a city of beautiful and unusual buildings.

How true, although it is extremely difficult to remember that  you love that person when you are really mad with them.   How fortunate  we are that we give ourselves time to be over a 'mad' . . . what would we do without this special person in our lives?   I wouldn't want to find out, would  you?

The rains are back.  What a difference from our bright and warm sunshine days.   It was dark and gloomy all day but a good puzzle day.  Pat is a great puzzler and filled in a lot of spaces.  She is downsizing as she gets ready for her move and is finding that it is very easy to create messes which are puzzles all their own.    What to keep, what to give away,  what you can throw into a box and what has to be wrapped carefully.    Moving is never easy and it certainly isn't a lot of fun, just a necessary evil when the occasion arises.    How long has it been since you made a big move?    I bet you remember every second of it.    We moved so many times, I had it down to a science.   I know I've told this particular story a hundred times but 

I remember one move across  country when the children were small.  We had an old Buick and pulled a trailer behind.  It was much too much for the car and we broke down every other mile.   It was hotter than Hades and the children were tired and cranky and father wasn't doing so good himself as his temper was at the rise when the car quit on a Michigan highway.   I spotted a yard sale sign and we drove to it, dumped an accumulation of fifteen years  and went on our way with an empty trailer banging behind us.    We went all the way to Spokane, Washington and started all over again.    Now fifty years later, I am heading for Washington State again.....I should have stayed there...smile.

So make your day as good as you can.   Do something you really want to do today, be it a run away lunch, a bit of deep cleaning you have been meaning to do, or a lazy day doing a lot of nothing special but what suits you.   Those are fun days.   What will you choose?   Make it fun and invite someone to join you.   Light up the room with your smile.    Be good, be kind, be gentle , be YOU.    Hugs to all.

A little history

This should bring a smile to your face.   The old fashioned way of passing information.

A boxing match for ladies.    Not a very bright idea.  There must be a better way to defend yourself.

How about these stockings?    I think some folks are still wearing some almost like them.

Something to think about.

We all have a tendency to work hard and that is a good idea, but don't work so hard that you forget to get on with  a balance to your life.   Remember the old adage that 'all work and no play' reminds us to put proper perspective to our seconds and to use them wisely.   Time has a way of getting away from us so pay attention and make each one count.  

I had an invitation out to breakfast yesterday and enjoyed the buffet at the casino and I had all that I told you about yesterday.  I didn't miss a thing and it was all so tasty.   I even tried my four card keno but to no avail.   It was nice to meet and greet some folks we knew and meet a prospective buyer for my bed and dresser.   I am going to miss my antiques but they are going to a good home.    Downsizing can be fun but a bit painful as well.   One has to remember to  move on, change style, do with a lot less because we have a tendency to overload ourselves.    There is a lot to say about 'let go, and let God'  as  you find your way back to more simplicity and a lot calmer life style.   A time to realize what you truly value in life;  it just takes us so long to really decide.   We really do not have to accumulate so much, we just do.  We just do because we can, and those yard sales provide the perfect opportunity ... come to think of it they have yard sales up in Port Orchard. . . um, maybe I'll replace a picture or a book or two, but not as many.  

Have a good week.   Plan to catch up with yourself.    Start with the  thought that soon it will be time for spring cleaning.   Wonder what the ground hog has to say today....early spring, more winter?   We are sure to find out before the day is over.  It is my niece Eileen's birthday today....Happy Birthday Eileen, may  your day be a bright and lovely as you are.   

Enjoy today, all day.  Hugs to all.

Good Deed

Allanah is showing off her long tresses which she is donating to  "Love Locks" to help a cancer survivor.  What a blessing she is and how proud her parents are as well as her grandparents Bob and Andrea.   

Here she is with her new look and isn't she beautiful?  Yes . . . a real beauty with a smile to light up our world.

A flower is a flower and no fence is going to stop it from showing off.   what a beauty.

Nature at its best;  no way will this tree stop growing;  tangled roots are hanging in there.

February 1st and this picture reminds you that Valentine's Day is coming.  

A new month, get ready for L O V E . . . time to stock up on some Valentines and have some fun.   Our unseasonable weather has all kinds of spring flowers sprouting up.    It looks like we are going to have an early spring, kind of hard for some folks to think about when they are shoveling tons of snow.    The picture reminds me of all the pictures we see in our skies.   This one has a heart for sure but it also has a face, almost like a cameo.   I can see a big fat cat curled up  and an eagle flying high.   Love this type of picture which makes the imagination soar.   So today, take a walk outside, look up and see what kind of pictures  you can find in our big blue skies.   Don't forget  your good deed for the day  if  you can find some spare time from watching the big game today.   A lot of excitement out there.    Pick  your team and root for them and enjoy a snack or two.   Have fun,   Hugs to all.