Ohio Winter

This winter loving girl has been pretty happy with the season!

We've had some beautiful snowfalls, icy temps, and brilliant sunny days!

This is my favorite photo I took this winter....taken from my jeep with my cell phone. 

♥ 

Around Here, Lately

1. It was good to see the squirrels this morning after tornadoes, wind, rain and power outages last night.  I guess they hunkered down into their little tree homes and waited it out just like we did inside.  Although, ....
2. They didn't have their boys flipping light switches that didn't work for 4 hours. haha.
3. Snow and tornadoes just hours apart!  Spring cleaning has been put on hold indefinitely since Spring isn't upholding her end of the bargain.  One must be able to fling the windows open and let warm breezes flow through the house to properly spring clean, don't you think?
4. Did you have a nice Easter?  We had a nice quiet one.  Still ate leftovers as of last night. Good thing I like my own cooking. haha.
5. The cats are all doing well.  All 15 of them. :)  It's been a whole month since Pepper died.  Charcoal here, is a pleasant distraction, though.
6. We're still in the middle of bathroom renos.  First bath 99% done.  Just some touch up work left to do.  I'm guessing they won't do that until the end of the 2nd one.  Maybe the before and afters of the first will come soon since those little things won't show up in photos anyway.  I must say we are doing remarkably well in sharing one sink/toilet/bath.  Wouldn't want to do it all the time but it's been just fine!  Loving the boys' bath and soaking in their huge tub.

So, what have you been up to? 

♥

Almost Spring

Spring officially arrives later this week!

Here in Ohio, Spring and Winter are trading days...sometimes hours...

as to who is in and who is out.  Warm then cold, cold then warm.

Today will be warm.  Tomorrow will be snow.

I guess it's time to take the vintage sled off the front porch.

Probably not smart to put the snow shovel away just yet.

♥

Winter Wrens

This is the first year we've been able to keep the

wrens happy and fed all season long!  They don't eat

seed, so when they come around, they are looking for

bugs to eat!  I have seen them searching old webs for

dead, frozen spiders but after that there isn't anything 

out there in the middle of winter!  

Well, meal worms seem to be the answer!

It took a while for the wrens to find them in the feeder

but once they did, the word spread and they have hung

around and dined on those things every day!

We tried freeze dried crickets but they were

 soundly rejected. haha. 

Even birds can be finicky. 

Even when they are hungry. 

Even in the dead of winter.

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Yep, it's starting to look like spring!

After a week of pouring rain we have sun!

And a robin sure helps with the overall feeling!

♥ 

Around Here, Lately

1. We've been missing our aquarium for a few years now and recently decided to have one built to fit into a strangely shaped alcove in our living room!  While we wait for the tank, we've been looking at fish!  Here I am last week taking selfies with some friendly lion fish.  They didn't make the cut for favorites, but they were fun to look at!  Photo credit to The Mister.
2. Feels like spring!  Crazy for Ohio in February that is for sure!  Maybe the groundhog got it wrong this year!  We have warm rains, green grass and the bulbs are sprouting from the ground!  We can have snow into April, so this is weird!  I'm feeling gypped from my proper winter!  This winter loving girl needs her full three months!
3. We're still under bathroom renovations with the boys' bath being finished this week!  Then our contractor goes on vacation for 3 weeks so the master bath will start late March.  It's been very slow going but what is completed looks really good.  Before and After pics to come, probably next week!
4. The boys are doing great.  A few of you have been kind enough to ask.  No good/bad/ugly things to report...haha....just plugging along every day and doing fine.  We've all been sharing a bathroom for 2 months now and they have been very flexible and good about it, even when they prefer a bath to a shower and have had to go with the showers in our master all this time.

What's happening with you?

♥

Thankful Thursday

I'm linking up with Michelle and her Thankful Thursday weekly

group!  As most of you know, I'm an avid bird watcher and

have lots of feeders outside the windows so I can enjoy

my feathered friends all year long.  I've been happily

watching Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Cardinals,

Chickadees, Finches, Wrens and Sparrows

this winter, so it was really nice to see some

Starlings in my crab apple tree yesterday!

I know a lot of people don't care for these birds.

They come in flocks, swooping in like a bunch of

bullies to graze across lawns in the summer or

to take over feeders in a frenzy during the winter.

But I love their iridescent feathers and those

heart shaped stars on their breasts.

And murmurations?  Don't even get me started!

Today I'm thankful for Starlings.

And especially for this last photo.

Sometimes you're just standing at

the window with your camera at

exactly the right moment!

Swooning at those wings!

And look at the little one with 

the crab apple! 

If you want to see more posts

about thankfulness, click HERE.

And feel free to link up yourself!

♥

Around Here, Lately

Pepper and Me

1. Well, we feel like we're living at the North Pole with temps below zero (Fahrenheit).  The guys have had extended Christmas break and we're spoiled with some sleeping late and excuses to flop on the couch and stay in pajamas way too many days!
2. We had a white Christmas!
3. The Mister and I decided to have California Closets come and redo the master bedroom closet as our Christmas gift to each other this year.  They come Wednesday, so today we emptied our closet, took out the old plastic coated wire system, painted the ceiling, patched holes and painted walls.  Don't worry.  I even remembered to take 'before' pictures so we can have a proper before and after reveal. haha.
4. The 1988 bathrooms of the house are also getting a total reno this month and not a moment too soon for this lady of the house!  We've been busy picking out tile, tubs, sinks, fixtures and all that fun stuff!  Demo starts soon!  Construction dust of the kitchen reno is a faint memory but still a memory...haha...so I'm mentally prepared.  Dust isn't so much an issue as the five of us sharing a bathroom.  Oh my.
5. I've been trying to get my health under control.  Seems like this poor girl is falling apart!  Finally got a prescription that helps with the migraines.  And I got a prescription that helps with the acid reflux after having an endoscopy and seeing some damage.  And I got one to help with the arthritis after the endoscopy revealed I'm taking way too much Advil for my stomach's good.  Xrays revealed arthritis in my back and neck now.  No wonder I was in so much pain.  But I'm feeling pretty good now with all this pill popping. haha.
6. I ate dinner with a penguin, screech owl and a few other animals last night.  If you're confused.  Check out my Instagram account.  Oh, and the guy on the label of my latest wine bottle started talking to me!  You'll see about that there, too.  
7. By now you're probably sure that I've gone crazy. :)  Yes, yes I have!

Honey Comb

Some of you may remember the video I posted last year

of the bees flying in and out of my lovely ivy topiary

I had on my back porch last summer.

If you want to see it again click HERE.

I couldn't bring my ivy in the house when the

weather turned cold or we would have had a house

full of bees! This past spring I pulled it out

of the pot to see what the bees had been doing

in the dirt and found this.  The bees were all

dead, unfortunately.  I guess they didn't survive

the frozen winter either!

No bees, no topiary, but I do have these cool

combs by which to remember the whole thing!

♥

This and That

1. Going to the chapel.
2. When your nails match your mug.
3. Seeing red.
4. Feeling blue.
5. When it's soup weather.
6. Soaking up the sun.

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Caught Between Winter And Spring

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Vintage Wooden Eggs

OK, so I caved and put out one little sign of

spring in my kitchen. The eggs are an auction find

and they fit perfectly in this little nest!  So sweet.

I may or may not have added a big bunch of silk 

daisies to the old mail box hanging on my front door. :)

I also brought Mr. Penguin inside and put him away....

just in time for the snow coming this weekend! ha.

♥

Well, Hello There!

Sedum, sprouting at my home sweet home.

♥

Random Thoughts

Sunday couch flopping.

1. We're back to a calm breeze and sunshine after days of fierce winds and rain!  So nice to have the sun streaming through the windows!
2. A couple of weeks ago, The Mister's car was hit by a drunk driver. Not only did the driver not have insurance, she didn't even have a current driver's license!  He was thrilled to find out that they could make repairs instead of calling it a total loss.  He gets it back in 10 days.  Not a day too soon for him, as he's hating his rental. haha.
3. You know how much I love that new garden window in my kitchen. Well, just before it was installed last fall, I planted a ton of pink tulips bulbs around the base of a tree that I could see from my kitchen sink!  So proud of myself for finally doing this after years and years of it being on my To Do List!  Well, wouldn't you know that the garden window sticks out just far enough to block my view of the tree base???  Lol...what on earth.  I guess I'll move them this summer after they're done blooming.
4. I've been craving doughnuts!  Krispie Kreme to be exact.  I swear if I bought a box of those glazed yeast beauties, I could eat half of them in one sitting.  Or those cream filled ones with the chocolate frosting?  I could eat two of those.  Well, maybe three. haha.
5. Our daffodils have bloomed!  It's about a month early, but they're out there looking cheerful and spring-y!  I'm going to have to cave and bring Mr. Penguin in from the front porch.  He is just not feeling it and I'm not either!
6. Thanks to some of your recommendations on the search for the best toilet paper, we tried the Cottonelle Clean Care and loved it! Soft, strong and no bits left behind.  It passed all the tests!
7. My favorite thing of the week was the day the sun came out and about 75 sparrows sat in the crab apple tree and sang and sang, just soaking up the warmth of the sun!  They were so loud, I could hear them inside the house!  Such a different sight than their typical flitting about the feeders, looking almost anxious, as they take turns getting the seed.

Happy new week, friends.

♥

Windsday

March winds and April showers.

Sounds like we've started out March just like

it's supposed to be!  The wind has been howling all day!

♥

Back To Reality

Barefoot and shorts on Friday, walking around in the warm grass

.....to jeans, sweaters, socks and slippers on Saturday!

Oh...and snowflakes! 

♥

Fog

This morning, looking out our front windows.

♥

Almost Like Spring

Well, I didn't open any windows today.

It only got to 59F according to my outside thermometer!

But the sun played hide and seek with the clouds and it was

very pleasant.  I did get a little dusting done!

My plants are still loving my garden window!

I moved my rosemary plant here to enjoy the sun.  

The other herbs will probably follow suit as I have time.

I got the pot while antique shopping this week.

I looked it up when I got home....  It's a Ransbottom,

made in the 30's and sells for about $80.

Not bad for my $12 purchase!

♥

Snow Moon

Moon above my home sweet home.

2-10-17

February's full moon is called the Snow Moon.

Like all full moons, it was named by the Native Americans,

and given the name because February has more snowfall

than any other month on the calendar!

I wonder if my love of the moon has anything 

to do with my Cherokee DNA. 

And you know I love snow!

Snow.

Moon.

Snow Moon.

♥

Snow Near Honfleur

Claude Monet

1867

Yes, more beautiful thoughts of winter!

No hate speech, please. hahaha.

 ♥