Monday’s Sky..........

Monday morning view from the front yard. It sprinkled earlier but seems to be clearing of for now. The back deck is almost dry now. It is abnormally warm again today but that will correct itself soon.

The clouds are clear enough now that the jets coming in are staying higher in altitude before landing. Early morning I could hear a jet coming in but no way was I going to be able to see it.

The openings in the clouds are welcomed as the sun is shining through them.

One train that I haven’t shared this season is this won here.  There are bears everywhere riding on the train.  The little guy in front needs to be glued back on somewhere as he is dislodge from the train.  I don’t really know where I will need to glue him back but he is loose for now.

My wife bought this a few years back at a store that is now closed.  It was like a k-mart but was not of that name.  The decorations are coming down now a few at a time.  I removed wreaths yesterday and took them to the basement.  The dreaded task at rebooting and replacing things on the shelves has yet to happen.  I need to get a furnace guy in for a checkup so I will be forced to put some order back into the storage and shop area.

The bookstore that we like to visit is built on a hill like our house is and on Saturday there were vapor trails everywhere.  When were were home I could see them and after in the evening they were leaving more trails. The reflection in the neighbor’s windows shows that the same sky wrapped all around us.

 The leaning soldier is about to take a trip down stairs. He doesn’t get include in any display and gets place anywhere that there is an empty space.  This year he was under the tree.  It will be good to have a full week without a holiday stuck in the Tuesday.  By the end of the week I could decide what day that it really was.  The Saturday seemed like Sunday and we repeated it again on Sunday.

Our January is really mild right now but our worse winter weather can be in February going into March.  The temperatures fluctuating keeps us readjusting to drastic changes.  I was out with the dog this morning the second tie without a heavy coat.  A spring jacket was what I should have had.  The moisture is slim in amount but it still is helping green the grass.

Thanks for checking in on me today.  I hope all is well with everyone.

Sunday’s a Go.......

It is a lot like a growth chart when the stand up straight and are side by side. The oldest becomes six in February and the short guy is three in April. Our son took this shot for the Christmas card.

It looks like the youngest one wasn’t so sure about the guy dressed in red. I don’t think he ever made it beside Santa.

I was gifted a mug in the past that had Charlie brown flying a kite that was all tangled up around the rim of the cup. The kite was hanging on the other side with Snoopy looking up at it.  The saying inside said that I needed to unwind today. I got a new mug again from my wife and this one was the same but also very much different.

On the new mug he kite is stuck on  the other side in three dimensional form caught up again.  The tail of the kite is all wrapped around the hands.

The tail has cloth pieces of yellow.  Our old kites when I was a kid were tied with many scraps of different colors of old shirts and worn out handkerchiefs.

In years past my wife’s family would get together and exchanged Christmas gifts.  The sister-in-law would pick up things in the mall after the season and they sometimes were the very unusual. We will get them the next season.  One year my wife and I each received one of these weird snowmen. They sit on a base connected by springs and there is a light inside of their bellies.  I like them as they are so creative.  They did get moved to the new place but they don’t always make it out for display every year.

The day seems to be a gray one so far.  Lots of low clouds and it isn’t so very cold.  It would be nice to see the sun today but I am not sure that will happen. Everyone have a great day.

Santa Klaus Again........

I am old enough to remember the Coca Cola ads at Christmas with Santa being the main theme.  He would have a bottle of coke in his hand in most ads.  This ornament isn’t an ad but it sure seems to be duplicating that history. The age of the top wire clip makes it an older ornament.  My wife brought that with her to the ornament collection when we married back in 1984.  I think it was a family ornament.

In the past I was able to buy these dolls at Christmas time. My wife was gifted them each year and she likes to call it a Christmas doll because of its colors of clothes. Victorian styled dolls stopped being sold about ten years ago. Some dolls will head to the closest for the year while others will remain on shelves as decorations with antique times.

I took down the lights on my garden ledge a few days ago.  I may be sending this guy and his partner to the basement soon.  The spikes to hold them in the ground will maybe loosen up enough that I can get them pulled out of the ground today.

A lot of the lights burned out on the female deer so I need to wrap new lights on her before I can put her out next year. The snow we had was so scant that the deer never did appear to be standing ousting in the snow.

The kids from Illinois send us a box of fruit each Christmas.  We have four of them left now and I had to refrigerate them as they have become too ripe.  The are so good to eat in the wintertime.   The color of them is so great to see.  We never see them on sale at grocery stores as I suspect they are more fragile for shipping and displaying.

I will have more on this subject as shown at left on a later blog. My gazing ball broke in the winter weather about  eight years ago in and ice storm.  I could not find a true glass blown one to replace it as most on sale were plastic.  This is really blown glass.  It is the same color to replace the one that was gifted to me by my wife.  I was happy to find this at Hobby Lobby and of course they were fifty percent off.





We are off to the bookstore.  Weather has keep us home and our health too.  Today it will be 55 to 59 degrees by the end of the day.  It is a day where a winter coat seems ridiculous and yet it is needed.  Everyone have a great Saturday.  Rest and relax and stay safe. Thanks.....

I do like Fruitcake....

This is a two year old photo of a wonderful fruitcake.  I had forgotten that I was able to buy it last  at the supermarket at that time.  Unfortunately I did not see this for sale anywhere this season. I did not eat any fruitcake and now will have to wait another whole year.  I am sure some of you out there could care less about this subject.

Our old mantel at the old place was not decorated this year.  It was a great place to live back then and now we live in a better place.

We have missed going to the bookstore for a couple of weeks.  I think we should be able to get away tomorrow to go there.

We have warm weather right now and we are just going to appreciate it.  We took my wife’s friend to her doctor this morning and then to Hobby Lobby.  Afterwards we ate our at an Chinese Buffett.  It was a good morning and now we are resting.   Thank you all for stopping by today.

Thursday’s Things.....

A warmer day today and the sky is mostly clear. A sliver of a moon was out there but it had faded before I could get a shot of it. It is abnormal warm weather but it will still be welcomed.

It still is cold enough to keep the snow on the tomato patch and in the yard. I did not move any snow with my shovel  as there wasn’t enough to do so.

I don’t think I have shared the camels in this season but I can now.  I see that I have a bunny sitting among them for some reason.  Soon the camels will disappear.

My wife’s doll collection did not grow this year.  I did look around for something but there just wasn’t anything out there that fit the kind that she has.  One of the very last dolls I bought for her, years ago, was a Barbie doll that was dressed as Dorothy with her little dog.  It doesn’t fit in the collection but it was a collector’s item.

We did a little shopping this morning to pick up everyday items.  The Christmas stuff was almost cleared.   Both stores were moving things, I guess getting ready for spring items.   I saw cut off shorts for guys in the one store today. Wally Mart is always full of all seasonal things. Their toys were being sold at big discounts as they must have ordered too many.  We are glad to be home though and glad the crowds have diminished now.  School is open and people are back to work again. Thanks for stopping by today.

Changing Sky Patterns.......

Tuesday Evening and the cold air was messing with the clouds. I don’t know what causes this but I have seen it before, mostly on cold days.

I walk in to a store to buy a 1 by 10 that is 8 feet long.  I walk out with this too.  I picked the same batch last year at a very low price. One can never have enough color, sparkle and shine. I suppose I can find some tree to put them on next year. Yes, I know that I need to go to rehab for this ornament addiction.  Thank you for stopping by today.  Have a great day.

2019....a new Start.

The cold weather did bring the birds back to my feeder.  This feeder sits on the table and the squirrel has scattered see everywhere.  When the bulk of it is eaten I will move that feeder off the table and put it on the deck floor.

One or two house finches stop by at the feeders.  Their striking red colors are gone for the winter. The bird here seems to think I am invading its space. I am still not seeing flocks of this kind of bird but full snow cover will probably change that.

This is the same bird with a different pose. The juncos have been out there for quite some time.  They do come in large numbers.

I caught a quick shot of the geese and the carousel horse.  I am not going to rush to get everything put away.  I am more the kind of guy who grabs stuff and take is down stairs when I go downstair to take care of the birds. Grabbing things here and there works good but could last for a whole month’s time.

An added ornament to our collection is a home-made one that was gifted to us from my wife’s friend.  She is known as the button lady and you can see why. The buttons are usually antique ones that she picks up at second hand shops. It is fun to see all the things she can find to sew buttons onto.  We helped frame her one large banner of buttons that was of a garden scene with the sun shining.










It is 2019 and I will accept that fact as time goes by.  The past year was not such a great year for us but I did like to write out 20 and 18.  They fit together so well. The 20 19 seems like you are writing backwards. I don’t write a lot of checks but I do pay water bills at the old place with checks and on a rare occasion I buy with a check because the limit on the card isn’t high enough. Anyway, the look back is one of losing people, most friends or acquaintances of the past.  Many of my former students are having grandchildren and some students are having their first child.

The older I get, I know, that the farther I can look back.  Things like Facebook makes that easier to do with the posting of obits of people that graduated from my high school.  Classmates are losing siblings too that all at the same ear as my family.  Trudging on with new things to do and see.  I wish for everyone to have a very good year this year.  Thank your family and friends who follow this blog.  Thanks for always stopping by.....let us sail on.