Goodness,  did I miss winter and not do any contributions to this blog?  It sure looks like it.  Spring is in bloom, the nights still cold but Gods creation is beginning to bloom in living color here.  I realize for many it is still winter and I count my blessings as I'm out in the low 60's checking out each little bud or leaf or flower.

Counting my blessings.... makes me start to think of how many things are blessings to me in my daily walk.  Let me share just a few....

My Mom turns 99 in July...  How blessed my sister, brother and I are to have her still with us, that she is still very sharp and alert to the world.  It's hard to get Mom out and about (she lives in an assisted living home and has NO assistance) as she is so comfortable in her lovely apartment.  Going places tires her out, but yesterday, I went to her home and told her to grab a sweather we were heading out for a ride.  She agreed to go  (She was going to walk around the sidewalks but riding sounded easier for her) and out the door with Mom and her walker.  We went and got the car washed and took a ride... all the time visiting and enjoyed what we saw.  It was a wonderful hour for both of us...nothing like "mother/Daughter" time together.

Another blessing I have is the beautiful area I live in...  SW Washington State along the Columbia River which heads out (60 miles away) to the Pacific Ocean.  We have color where ever you look, mountains, evergreens, trees that lose their leaves in fall and burst into full bloom before they get leaves in the Spring.  Small creeks wander through the rurul area's giving beautiful spots for fishermen to fish small fish.  Along the Columbia you will see Fishermen with sturdy poles trying their luck for a sturgeon, salmon or steelhead in season.  God's beauty everywhere.

I'm blessed to have been married for 53+ years to the same man.  We went together in High School and married the year after I graduated.  I'm blessed to be Mom of 3 wonderful & responsible kids who have given me 8 grandchildren plus 2 great grandchildren.  How very lucky I am and blessed even more.

I'm blessed to have my little Sparky dog whom we both love dearly.  For those of us that have had our family grow up and be gone for some time, our little furry friends are like children to us.  They love us unconditionally as we love them.

I'm blessed and thankful for the little things, running water, electricity, phones and computer.  Food at my table and a wonderful home to live in (for the last 47 years).  Wonderful family members and church family members...friends I've seen and have seen.    I am so  blessed.

It's a blessing to have you at my table as I chat away....  Have a great day!

Fall is such a Beautiful Season

I've so enjoyed the changes from summer to fall. The leaves of all colors jump out at you where ever you go in SW Washington State. Some flowers are still blooming in my yard... gerianiums, inpatients and a few nasturtiums and a few struggling rose buds. All will be gone with the first heavy frost so I am enjoying them as I can.

Fall is a great time to shed bad habits and be renewed in the springtime. I'm back working on the pounds, hoping to be back into my smaller clothes by Spring. (now I didn't say they were 4's or 6's but smaller than they are now,laughing.)

Laughing? You have to laugh, it's much better than crying. Crying cleanses but laughing cleans and put smiles on our faces... I want a happy face, how about you? If it is to be, it's all up to me...

Where did Summer Go?

The nights are cold, the mornings have fog, the trees are changing their colors, the leaves are starting to come down... FALL has arrived, where did summer go?

We had a wonderful summer in the Pacific NW. Lots of Sunshine Days... We are so very blessed to have our definite 4 seasons, the most colorful Spring and Fall. Those are my favorites.

How was your summer?

Summer, Oh Summer

We've had some wonderful weather in the Pacific Northwest. Some days a little too warm when it hits the high 80's - 90's. It's so wonderful to sit outside in the early hours of the day and listen to nature or in the evening as the birds are saying goodnight to each other.

The challenge is being able to keep everything watered so it doesn't dry out. That is a challenge some days but those days my hubby takes over. We both love the colors and sounds of summer.

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time. ~John Lubbock"

Wonderful Spring... wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

Here it is late May already. I've been missing from blogging as I've been busy getting the yard, flowers, etc caught up. I've finally done it so now I can just pull the determined weed that appears here and there and talk to the flowers.

We live semi rural, just 1 1/2 miles from the main highway to the Pacific Coast and a couple miles from the hustle bustle of business's. It's so amazing how much nature we have here right in my own yard. More of it than I realized before my camera and I became great friends.

The mama duck at the top with her brood walked down the road (big hill) in front of our house., across into the neighbors yard below us. I have pictures of the parents before the hatchlings appeared. I think there are nine of them, maybe only eight.

My flowers are beginning to bloom and color is every where. I'm so thankful to live where there are 4 seasons. Winter is my least favorite as it is dreary and gray except when it snows and can be depressing. I live for spring and the first signs of growth. From then on my heart beats a little lighter, my face smiles a lot more and I'm into the NOW. So many colors of greens and a myriad of colors of flowers are to be seen everywhere. How much luckier can a girl get?

I looked out my window and

Here was this beautiful Flicker (woodpecker family) eating at the suet hanging outside the window. I had to take the picture through the blinds but still got a great picture of him. Aren't those polka dots something? Double click on the picture and you will get a close up of him...

Mr. Tree

This Cedar tree is in our yard about 10 feet from the house. I call that portion "my little back yard". He just got an overhaul with some fresh paint. He keeps an eye on the creatures that linger there to eat the seeds, cracked corn and bits that we put out. The squirrels, the tiny birds and the bigger birds visit here. It's somewhat shaded and a neat place to sit and listen to the music of nature.

Last night I sat outside as the sun was going down. A combination of a choir and bird orchestra was going on. The birds were chirping, some were singing their goodnight songs, others were peeping. In the distance a frogs voice sang out... Oh how I love Spring.