The Sunday Stuff........

The  view of the deck on Saturday morning shows the sun reflection off of the clouds. In a short time the sun rose and this all went away.

My hardy geraniums continue to bloom on my workshop bench in the basement. The two other plants sitting near it do not act like they will bloom but this one sits close to the lights.

They never made them upstairs for Christmas.  As I unpack things for the decorating season, these three did not make the grade. I moved them out of the way as I was looking for a tool and thought I should just take a shot. I didn’t bother to straighten thins up because it is my work area.  I had to buy a new bottle of Gorilla Glue the other day as I had used up one since I moved.

I did get the big tree completely down and stored away in the basement. I have a small one yet to do but it is in the spare bedroom and I am not bothered enough to take it down. I didn’t get my shelf finished yesterday and I didn’t get my outside lights taken down from outside  I also did not get the car washed yesterday.  I am hopping the rain today will help it rinse off a little until I get a real car wash. . Now the I have shared all my failures I do have to share that the big tree dismantleing is a huge relief to erase any guilt.  I seem to set too many goals for one day.

Tomorrow I go to the dentist to finish off the dental project.  I know the weather will be a little questionable but the dental office says I must come with hail or high water.  Their business is struggling as people don’t have all the dental insurance anymore.  They need every customer that they can get. It is funny that the dental office doesn’t know that desperation is in their attitude. I will be glad to get finished with the last of the bridge project.

The melting continues night and day was we have been above freezing for a long time. We still have some in piles out there but to the most point it is gone.  I wish you all a good day to day and everyone take care.

Moving On......

On Friday morning we had quite a great show in the sky.  The sunrise lasted a short time and I was able to catch during that time.

The jet vapor stream seems diminished compared to the expensive glow of color. The yellow streak in the sky is the real sun light shining from the right of the picture.

All of the ornaments are removed from the big tree and today the big tree will be unassembled. I can see why people like to use real trees, as you can carry one in and when done the whole tree us just moved from the room. That would be easier than what I have to do to our fake tree. The shiny brite was at the back of the tree and was one of the last ones to be removed from the tree. I will find a better hanger for the ornament next year.

I have three thin strips of wood to insert up in the top shelf to cover the screw heads.  That will happen today and then I can load it up.

We continue to warm up today.  We will have a storm on Sunday afternoon to remind us that it is still winter.  Today is a free day for us.  I hope everyone will have a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by today.

Friday

The oldest grandson really liked petting Barney. He understood that the dog liked being rubbed. This was back in late November. 

The youngest one would just touch lightly as it was more the game of touch. He did like to be around him but he didn’t get so close that he would lay on him.

The big tree comes down today.  We started on it last night getting three boxes of things off of it.  There are more ornaments than that but it will be easier because of the evening work.

The train pile keeps getting bigger as I find them all over the basement. I had used some for designing things and I had to check to see if my shelves were big enough. I had a second pile in the workshop as I would go get some to see if I was making a mistake with the design of it.

It will be another warm day today and we will be glad.  I can see the snow leave every few hours between the times that I take the dog outside. Thanks for stopping in today.

Melting.....a Little.

It is melting and I am glad.  We see snow that is now gone from rooftops.  The driveways that were partially cleared are going to now clear naturally. We are 34 degrees F. right now and it is going to warm up more for the next four hours and then it will drop again.

This clock is more decorative than functional.  It has gained on time and I will have to get a stepladder to set it back.

I have two coats of varnish on it now. I learned from an elderly farm woman years ago that the final finish is to be done with steel wool and paste wax. I don’t know if I will get to that today or not.  While working at the old house this morning I found one more piece of wood, oak, that can be placed at the top for decoration. I won’t have a grand revelation of the shelf unit until next week as my days seem to be so filled. I got into two areas that had frozen pipes. today. The water had been shut off during our extreme cold spells.  The one batch, I have a a temporary fix and the next fix is going to involve installing a new bathroom sink base. I was planning on replacing it but now it has been put to the top of my list.

I may have mentioned it before but I did find my glass toy collection.  I have acquired these from different sources.  The train is one that I step on while walking around in the old attic of my wife’s old farmhouse. The scottie was from my wife’s cousin who just passed away 8 months ago. I can see now that the airplane is not on the shelf with them but I do know where it is and can move it soon.

Our weather is warming up enough for a while that I know have to go back to working on the old place. I am at the end of an arthritic attack on my left hand. It is getting better but it was touch and go for a while.  I didn’t like pecking on the keyboard but I figure I could call it therapy. It seems like that I do something that messes with my hands bruising the muscles of joints that I pay for it later. Shoveling snow has been a bummer for me and I have to rethink how to do that now.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Everyone take care.

Middle of the Week.....

Clear and cold this morning but we will warm some today. The snow probably won’t melt today but the next few days seem hopeful for that.

Looking more westerly the sky was pink this morning.  The old tree up the ravine between our houses  did finally lose its leaves.

I found in a box the last of my animals from my old barn set. All of the little ducks and chickens have apparently been swept up and thrown away.  I remember farm geese with the sets along with colts and calves. I use to line up the little ducks in a row.  I do remember that the set had brown horses and brown cows.

My older brothers went to the state fair with the neighbors.  One of the brothers brought me the holstein. He must have gotten it from a cattle barn display. It always bothered me that it was not like all the other cows. The platform  didn’t seem to be right either.

We took down the angel tree today and all the figurines that go with it. My workshop area is looking better now that most of the boxes have been refilled and place on shelving again.

I tossed an old can of varnish that we moved here so I did get another new one bought. I have a second coat of Varithane to paint on my display.  I really don’t understand why some products raise the grain on certain kinds of woods.  I have a lot of sanding to do in order to smooth the wood out again.

I am getting anxious to get it done but things do come up to keep me from working on it. We have a trip to make today to help my wife’s friend, to be moved to a nursing home.  I hope it is temporary as she will be getting rehab durning the stay.  It would be nice if we could get here into her apartment again.

The sun is shining and it is going to warm up today. No thawing will be happening today as the projected temperature numbers seem to be forecast too high. I am hoping that we get warm enough over the weekend that at least half of the snow can go away.

I see the people in the South are much colder than they normally every have.  Those in the north are having unbelievable temperatures.  Iowa has always had these extremes as we are affected by those above us and also those below us.   I hope everyone is safe and staying warm.  Thanks for checking in today.

Snow Fall.....

The snow was not extremely heavy but it still did build up on things. I can tell how much snow we have by looking at the patio table or my geese. The shoveling of the walks was not in vane yesterday but the winds did keep shifting things around. My cleared driveway was covered again by late afternoon as the northwinds kept moving it around.

The buildup on the feeder seems pretty established for a while. I see this shot and wonder why feeders are designed the way that they are.  I guess it is less costly to make the smallest tray as possible for a feeder. When the birds land on the feeder they have to either stand sideways with it or lean back as this one is doing.

I almost took this fake tree down last week but it is giving me some good pictures to take of the snow. I turn the light on it when it is snowing just for fun.  It is Tuesday morning and our temperatures are below 0 degrees F. We are getting a heavy fluffy snow right now making it look Christmas-like.  We will warm up tomorrow but not today. Supposedly we will be above freezing on Thursday and some snow will melt.

The mugs are going to be sent to my cousin in New Mexico.  She likes having some of my mom’s old things.  The handled dipper I will keep as I can water flowers outside with it. I don’t throw those kinds of things away as historically they were used for dipping and transfer water for many different reasons. I remember using one daily for drinking from a water bucket. We had one as a dipper to drink from a water bucket.  I remember my parents using them to water animals, pouring water into pans. I have three or four of these from different estates.

 I am tired of winter and all that is involved with it.  We don’t have to go anywhere today and yet I need to go to the hardware store.  It is at the top of our hill less than a mile away. I will wait for it to stop snowing before I go out there.

I wish you all to have a good day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog today.

Things To Do and Do Over Again......

Thanks for stopping by today.