Work Zone......

One doesn’t need a hard hat to be in here but the boxes are just the beginning. I had to go find two more boxes to have the whole tree to be complete. Can you see the trunk of the fake tree stating in the window. It took the two of us a long time to get that tree  all assembled again for the season.

By last evening the tree and the angel at the top was all that we had done. I started on the lights this morning but had to go run some errands before lunch. Maybe after I get done blogging I can add some more lights.

Once the lights are on, it will be time to break out the ornaments. I have this new box to add to our collection.  I really don’t think we will be done for a couple of days, but things to look promising.

Our weather was better this morning but this afternoon it really has cooled down.  I have some outside work to do but it is too cold now for me to do much out there.  I think snow will  be coming tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping in today.

Thursdays' Things......

The sun now rises over the rooftops of my neighbor’s house. The vents sort of contradict the idea that I could call them mountains. It isn’t a very impressive sunrise but seeing the sun is the greatest thing this time of the year.

Unusual cloud formations in the afternoon suggested the cool and warm air was swirling around up there. We are not too warm yet but I guess freezing and above without wind is better than what we could be having.

The biggest tree that I have is out in the yard.  I would love to put lights on it but that would be an overwhelming task.  I could hire a landscaping crew to come in but I think that would be too much over the top.

The angel tree went up yesterday afternoon with every ornament that I could find  in the boxes in the storeroom. We didn’t take to much time to put it up with us both at it at the same time. It has a new location in the window so people in the back can also see it.  Our largest tree will now go in front of the opposite window. That tree has to be assembled. I will be scrambling to find all the boxes in whicht the tree limbs were placed. This is actually the second year for us to be in our newer home.

The angel tree works well here as the collection of free standing angles can go under the tree.  I think I have all of them brought up but I wouldn’t be surprise another will show up on the shelves down stairs.

The neighbor hood too advantage of the warmer weather during the Thanksgiving break.  One can see a lot of decorated trees in the windows as well as on the houses porches and fronts.

My carry-over poinsettia is putting out some red leaves this year.  I don’t know how showy it will be but it is nice to see something from it.  I may buy another one in a different color later on in the season.  I won’t buy the ones with glitter and spray color on them. We had a neighbor friend who hated poinsettias.  She had worked at a nursing home and every patient's room had multiple plants in them for a very long time. She then had a long time watching them all die down as the were taken care of correctly.

I will take all my houseplants to the basement windows while the trees occupy the living room windows. I won’t take the Christmas cactus down as it is the season for them. It may find a place on the dining room table or close by in the living room.

The plant is a magical one when I remember my grandmother having them in her cave and then would bring them out for Christmas. The very first show from The Walton’s showed grandma bringing her cactus up from the cave with it all in bloom.  I suspect that it was a fake one but it made for a good story.

My amaryllis too a dive a couple of days ago and all the blooms are now gone.  I took it downstairs for a while to give it time to grow foliage. I may pick up a red one when they go on sale just because it is fun to see them bloom.

I have plenty of things on my list today to do.  I don’t know which chore will be on top of the list this morning.  All of the chores will require me to go up and down our stairs many times.  It will be my cardio workout for the day.

Thank you all for checking in on my posting today.

Middle of the Week....

One should start with the easiest one first.  I left the tree all together with lights and had wrapped it with a sheet. The stuffed animals all were in one plastic bin and were easy to put on the tree. One tree is done.  Another tree stayed together in one piece also and that was the angel tree.  The tree sits there in the living room and the four boxes of ornaments are ready to go.  I am thinking it will go up today and the empty boxes will be taken away to the store room.

We do enjoy decorating and we do it for ourselves only. No family company will be around.  I will put a couple of trees in windows so the world can enjoy them and I guess our large tree will also go in front of a window. We are starting early as they can then stay up for a longer period of time. Our big tree is the one that has a lot of work involved.  We will hit that next one when I get all the parts up for it to be assembles.

The plants that are all now indoors are still leaning for good outdoor light. It is a nice double window for all the plants and they do well there all winter. Can you spot the begonia, oxalis, aloe plant and the two leaves of the poinsettia.

The moon is waning.  The clouds were surrounding the moon but the camera didn’t bother to pick them up when it wants to take that larger glowing sphere.

I don’t know how they pull it off but the bouquets have one specialty plant.  This one had a lily that reminded me of a day lily.

I worked at the old place this morning, cleaning and straightening.  I had wooden drawers and shelving from the wood storage unit that I tore out of the one room.  I spent some time removing nails and dismantling drawers  I ended up with a lot of dimensional lumber that I can now use to build new things.  I am pretty excited about the wood pieces as they were in great shape even though the unit must have been built 30 years ago.

We are warmer today and that is good.  We still have the wind but it is more tolerable with warmer temperatures.  I don’t think I am going to get to rake my leaves as they are dropping slowly and are blowing everywhere.  That is a great plan for me but I really can’t keep them in my yard.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Frost on your Geese.....

By not deciding to bring them inside, they will weather outside and entertain the viewers.  Our kids were all confused as the look out an see Canada Geese.  Since we do have the all over the area on ponds one expects them to be the real thing.

The red twig dogwoods started showing off their red bark earlier in the fall.  I really like the look of them especially in the snow.  They do stop being red in spring as they leaf out for the summer. My leaves all blew up against the fence to help mulch things there.  I did rake once early on in the fall but with all the winds the leaves ended up right where I wanted them to be.

The house is 15 years old so I guess I can expect to update repairs on things around the house.  This handle on the front door fell apart on the inside of it.  I pulled out some kind of plastic circular part that had broken into three pieces.

It didn’t take long to install the new one here after I readjusted it to fit on the left side of the door and not on the right side of the door. It was made to be universally installed by flipping things around to make sure the lock is on the inside and the key entry is on the outside. All of the latches in the entire house match with each other and now I have a front entry that doesn’t match.  The old latch had a ball shaped on the end of the handle.

The sun is shining today so the flag can be hung outside. It could withstand the weather but I don’t think it should have to when it is so easy to bring in and take out.

Some Christmas tree activity will take place today. I have a couple of artificial trees that I didn’t disassemble.  I just wrapped sheets around them and stored them in the workroom. I don’t have a lot of energy again today but I will get on the task and just do it.

We missed the winter snowstorm by 20 miles.  Southern Iowa is still partially shut down from up to 16 inches of snow. We were braced for it all and the line just missed us with only having lots of cold air.  The wind chills were bad and one didm’t volunteer to go outside unless we had to.  We took a quick trip to get a new door latch so we could shut and lock our door again. My wife picked up some decorations on that visit and we are now home for a while.

I wish you all to have a great Tuesday.  Do take care.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Monday’s Mentions......

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Sunday Afternoon....

The dog will be catching up on his sleep for a few more days.  He doesn’t get all of his naps in with the young ones are around.  They like petting him and he does like it. He gets nervous when the youngest one wants to pull on his leg.

While we were awaiting a snow storm we were getting these cloud formations in the sky.  We  didn’t get the snow storm but we still had the cold air that roared down form the north.

That cold air blasting down our way did make the clouds to develop strange shapes.

This morning we had a sense of a colorful sunrise but the clouds moved out quickly.

The wind blew the squirrels tail back and forth while he was working at getting as much seed as possible.

Saturday afternoon was pretty mild so we had men on roof tops everywhere.  I zoomed in on this brave soul as he scaled up and dow the roof. The whole family was working hard to get this all done. Another neighbor earlier was doing an acrobat act in his back yard.  He would climb from one roof to another until get to his different roof edges. We won’t see his lights as we look at his back side of the house.

I hope everyone is having a great day today.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Visitors are Gone........

The house is quiet again as the two grandsons are on the trail to their home with their parents. We had breakfast out before they left and then we said our goodbyes.

AJ played with the legos most of the time he was here. He like the new or different sets of block that we have here. He has really grown up and such creative work as he creates things.

Teddy charms us all as he uses his smile to help with his request for grapes or chips. The weather was good for their travel home.  We hope they have a safe journey. It has been a fun visit for us.  Barmy is exhausted now from all of his loving pats from the boys. He will catch up on his naps now that he missed while they visited.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Vistiors........

The youngest member of the family is playing cars and watching the Daniel Tiger show. He is two and a half years old.  He has so much energy and this very cute smile. He is as ornery as they come.

The tallest and oldest keeps growing up on us.  He is in kindergarten and he is proud that he gets to ride the bus to school.

The men from Arlington Heights are piling in as they wake up from a long nights sleep.

The oldest one loves legos.  It didn’t take him very long to master this new one. They supply great directions and he studies them closely to help make things work successfully.

The little guy is growing up fast but he is still a younger brother. He likes to imitate all that his big brother is doing.  He is prone to break out into a dance and smile all over being pleased with himself.

We are having a great visit with parents and boys. They will be leaving tomorrow to beat the snow storm that is coming on Sunday. The weekend  will have snow again and I still think it is too early for winter. Thanks for stopping by the post today.

Thanksgiving... Today!

A hundred years ago the farmers picked their corn by hand.  It was a slow difficult job with time being the major part of job. The full harvest moon would help them to work later in the evening if they were not finished with their picking. This moon was in full view early in the evening with a purple haze of clouds in front of it.  By the time I made it to my deck the lavender clouds were gone. When the camera focuses on the moon it ignores the background other than it knows if it is daylight or dark. With a day moon I can get a blue background.

It is amazing as to how fast the moon changes in shape as it makes its different phases.  I got a shot of it in this half size and then the clouds moved in every night after that for a few weeks, so I missed its three quarters phase.

I will feed the birds this morning so they too will have a lot to eat. We will be having our Thanksgiving meal this evening as our guests from the Chicago will arrive this afternoon. We are anxious to see all four of them. I was thinking we need to put up a growth chart to mark each time they young boys visit.  The oldest grandson is tall like his father.

The amaryllis is showing off for us with six of its eight blooms now in view. I keep thinking I need to brace the stems but it is holding its own. They sell these with such a small pot, just enough to hold the bulb, so it seems it could get top heavy.

Barney got two haircuts to get him ready for company.  He was laying on one side so still last night that I started brushing him.  I cut his hair at the same time as he was relaxed and he did let me cut off the excess growth of fur.  I took him outside after I got the first half cut. He looked very lopsided as only the one half was cut. When he came back in he laid down on the opposite side so I finished the job. Since he is older he does cooperate.  A few years ago he would have had that border collie energy that made him want to get up and run away in the middle of a brushing.

We have a big meal planned for our  Thanksgiving meal.  My wife has the pie made and is working on the green bean casserole. We will have the big turkey and all the fixings.  I bet we will have left overs for a few days.  I wish all of you to have a great day of Thanksgiving no matter of where you are and what you are doing.

Cactus......and More......

While doing some last minute shopping for tomorrow I found this plant.  I am being told by many that they really are a Thanksgiving cactus.   Even so I have call them a Christmas cactus most of my life. I didn’t buy one already in bloom as I want to watch it bloom through the two holiday seasons.

While shopping at our newly remodeled Wally mart, we picked up some different things for the boys to play with.  They will be toys that can stay in our house for them to play with while visiting us. The ABC book is an oldie that my wife pulled off the shelf to have for the youngest grandson.  Teddy the younger,  is two and half years old and we are anxious to see how much he has changed since he was last here. We found a new block set that might be more interesting than all the old ones that we have. Just in case you haven’t been reading my blog very carefully, Teddy will get a new baby brother or sister for his birthday in April. We are so happy about that. We thought we were going to holding on the number of two grandchildren for forever.

This is a winter project that I have laying in the back of the truck. I made this for my garden shed at the old place.  It has to be 15 years old or more.  I didn’t have the right kind of wood so the base of it was all rotted out.  A strong wind storm should have taken it down but it didn’t.  Don’t tell my wife that I was up on the roof to get this down.  I had parts that did have to be pried off and then I lowered the cupola by rope to the ground. It wasn’t a pretty sight but I did get it down. The lower part of OSB wood had rotted through and I could break that off before lowering it.  It made it to be lighter in weight.  What I like about it is the roof section with its tight fitting shingles. I will probable rebuild the rest of it with a better plywood.

I dug through a lot of photos but I did find the piece that rested on the top of the shed for a lot of years.  I am going to turn it into a garden ornament among the cottage garden of flowers.  It will replace the one my dad had made thirty years ago and it has seen better days. I was avoiding tearing that old one apart but I can do it now with out any regrets.  My dad has been gone 18 years now and I can’t keep everything. It was poorly made out of scrap wood.  I guess that is where I get that practice as that is how I made my bird feeder using only scrap wood.

As I was digging through old photos I did also see this piece.  I just won’t bring it to the house even though I am tempted. I will leave for the future owner to enjoy.  I would like to build another on for my pole here at the new place.

We are getting ready for company now with the family arriving Thanksgiving afternoon.  We have lots of food to share and my wife is making an apple pie this afternoon.  Company is a good way to get the house cleaned and we are getting it done.  I hope everyone will have a good holiday.  Some will have simple quiet days at home and others will travel to large family get togethers.  In any way it works I hope that it is a day of resting and enjoying a day that reminds us all to be very thankful for all God does for us.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Thanksgiving Shopping....

The vapor streams from the jet makes a distinct line in the sky compared to all the fluffy clouds in the sky.

The sky has been filled with clouds so much that the moon revealed itself just at a brief moment . I haven’t seen the move for a lot of days now. Seeing the jets flying over this morning good as the clouds have thinned out now.

I keep taking more shots of the amaryllis and they all do look about the same. Having to wait for its second season to bloom has been a good bonus.

As life continues on I find people passing away that are closer to my age.  A neighbor boy on the farm has passed away.  Monty was the first person to get onto the bus after we were picked up.  In the 60’s he was a cool guy with a very friendly, kind smile.  I can still see him saunter down the aisle of the bus grabbing the handles on both sides  one after another as he found his seat.  He could have just walked down the space but it was more dramatic as he did that. He was born in 1943 and live with his farmer parents and an older sister.  My memories of him was of how much he liked to do things with my older brothers.  He always seemed like an only child but his sister was four or five years old. I can still see him and my brothers jumping into our farm pond to cool off on a hot summer afternoon. I was seven years younger than him so I could only watch all that they could do to have fun.  I remember in 1962 when he brought over his Chevy Malibu to show to my brothers.

Monty married and had three kids.  When he died at the age of 74 his body finally just gave up. He had fought intestinal diseases and liver failure in his younger life. A transplant did help but it barely kept him healthy. He had these conditions for 30 years or more and yet stayed strong and worked on his farm.   I last saw him at his mother’s funeral a few years back.  I had not seen him since his hight school days but my parents keep me up to date on his life. I didn’t think he would know me but he smiled and said he saw me coming back in the line.  He would know Larry anywhere.

We did get our Thanksgiving shopping done this morning. We wanted to get through it before the store gets too crowded. Our major grocery store is packed on weekends and especially on holidays. The cashier told us that this week is sometimes really busy earlier, as people take the week off to do thanksgiving. I do know that I may have to do a return trip to pick up any things that we have forgotten.

Thanks for stopping by today.