Country Fence ~ City Fence

I was driving to our neighboring town a couple of weeks ago and saw all this white on the pond, or some say lake.  There was a gravel road just off the highway so I turned down the lane and stopped to get a better look.

Zooming in I could easily see there were hundreds of various geese on the water, on the ground, and in the air waiting to land. 
 

If you look closely, you can see a fence in the background of these shots and the next one. 

I wasn't there long and didn't even get out of my car, but it must have been enough to scare them off.  And away they flew!

                               

I was really excited when I realized there were Trumpeter Swans in the group.  I also spotted Canadian Geese, Snow Geese, Mallards, and Greater White-fronted Geese.  If I have a name wrong, please correct me.  These aren't very good shots, but it was a fun sighting and I was very happy to get to see the Trumpeter Swans! 

                                                                    

Just in case it was too hard to find the country fence, I'll share a city fence, too.  I liked the stone and wrought iron combination and I really love the gingerbread on the porch.

Linking to Theresa's Good Fences 

Happy Thursday to you!
xo Cheryl

This and That

It's time for Operation Spring Spruce Up around here.  I am on a mission and have been looking at curtains, pillows and a few new houseplants to freshen things up a bit.  I have ordered some new drapes from Country Curtains, but I haven't decided on pillows just yet.  A wall gallery is still in the making.

Did you watch the Academy Awards last night?  I watched most of it.  The only movie I was familiar with was American Sniper.  BG and I went to see it when it first came out in the theaters.  We both thought it was a good movie and Bradley Cooper did an excellent job in the lead role.  I was disappointed, but not really surprised, that it didn't win more awards.

By the way, Betty White is a lucky old broad...lol!  Did you see her big lip lock with Bradley Cooper?  I think this was on the SNL anniversary show.  He is so handsome and if I were younger and single...just sayin'.  No, BG doesn't read my blog!

We were blown away by Lady Gaga singing a medley of songs from the Sound of Music.  Who knew?  I certainly didn't know she could sing like that!  This was the biggest surprise of the show.  If you didn't get to see her performance, click here and enjoy.

The kitties...with the exception of Lazy Bones aka Stormy...are playing hockey in the kitchen with some pony tail holders as I write this.  They like to steal them from my daughter's dresser and bring them to the kitchen where they can bat them around.  Then they will shove them under the refrigerator.  I know this after finding about 20 of them when we moved the refrigerator to clean behind it.  I have read on Susan Branch's blog that her cats love to play with them, too.  Do your pets have a favorite hiding place for their toys?

I hope those of you in the ice and heavy snow areas are staying safe and warm.   Take heart...this month will soon be over and spring is coming!

Happy Tuesday to you!
xo Cheryl

Friday's Five

It started sleeting here a little while ago.  I had heard the weather might get a little nasty, so I filled all the bird feeders and then headed to the grocery store this afternoon to get a few things.  It was very busy and people were stocking up as if they were expecting to be snowed in for days.  Why do we do that?  I already had enough on hand that should we not be able to get out we would not starve for several days.  But, I needed those important items like...another bag of potato chips, dip, little smokies, cheese and crackers.  You know, in case the electric goes out.  lol! 

Speaking of getting groceries...do you keep an emergency supply of food on hand to last a couple of months or longer?  Just curious.  I don't hoard food, but I do keep stocked up on essential items.  I will buy extra when essential items are on sale at a good price.

I want to replace some of my houseplants as soon as I see some nice ones at one of those home centers.   It's supposed to be hard to kill a pothos, but I can do it!  And I'm counting the days until spring when we'll see spring flowers blooming.  Speaking of spring flowers...do you remember the mystery tulips my daughter got for Valentine's Day?  Well, she knew they weren't from her boyfriend and told the girls at work that he wasn't too happy about her getting flowers from a mystery man, so her assistant and another teacher confessed that they got them for her.

Little Tuffy is feeling more like himself again after being sick.  He started out by limping and then he began vomiting several times a day.  He then quit eating and just laid around and slept.  The vet said it was probably gastritis and the limping was from a small abscess.  He was given shots and an antibiotic to take, so all's well again.

Commenting on blogs is still a hit and miss for me.  I have had this problem for way too long.  I'll type out my comment and hit publish and it won't publish.  I try to remember to copy my comment so when that happens I can paste and hit publish again.  Usually the second time it will go through.  Does this ever happen to you?  It's very frustrating.

Linking to Willy Nilly Friday Five 

Happy Friday to you!

xo Cheryl 

The Weekend ~ The Weather ~ The Wussy

The weather...we had close to 4 inches of snow by Monday morning.  Nothing like what has fallen on the northeast.  I honestly don't know how they are coping with those amounts.  I feel sorry for the farm animals and wildlife trying to survive in those conditions, too.



The weekend...we were talking to our son on Saturday and he asked us if we wanted to come for a visit and to eat some of that excellent Kansas City BBQ.  Well, we thought about that for a couple of minutes and decided to throw a few things in a bag for an overnight and off we went.  He bought us a yummy dinner for Valentine's Day and then we ate the BBQ the next day before leaving for home.  We visited him in KC last month and we ate at Gate's BBQ and I've been in love ever since!  My meal came on a plate, but BG's and son's were in a box pictured above.   We had a great time in spite of my hobbling around.  

Call me a wussy... for I've been grunting and groaning for too long.  In addition to having had tendonitis in my left ankle, which is much better now, and a sore knee which is somewhat better, I had to have some surgery on my big toe Friday afternoon.  And a little work was done on the next toe.  Both were taped together, but I pulled a sock on and slipped on some sandals and hobbled on along!  If you see any dirt on my foot, I'm here to tell ya that they were super clean before all this work was done, but I was not to get it wet for 3 days which will be up tomorrow.  The pain has been bad enough that I make sure I'm taking my Advil every 4 hours.  The doc gave me a prescription for a strong pain pill, but I don't like to take narcotics.  The weekend trip was good to take my mind off of it.  Monday was a lazy day and with the snow, I didn't think I'd better go out walking in sandals.  So I stayed in and napped a lot and it was so nice!

It's a very late entry, but I'm linking to Amy's Barn Collective

Happy Tuesday to you!
xo Cheryl 

Random 5 ~ Happy Valentine's Day!

Have you ever received flowers from a secret admirer?  These pretty tulips were delivered yesterday to my daughter at her work place.  She doesn't know who they were from.  There wasn't a card with them.  No, I didn't send them!

Both my children have someone special to exchange valentines with this year.  Our daughter has recently gotten back with a former boyfriend and our son has a new lady that we will be getting to meet soon.  I'm happy when my children are happy!  

BG and I met in a grocery store parking lot one night over 40 years ago and we've been together ever since.  One night we went to the movies.  I don't remember if we were married yet, but Love Story was playing and I wanted to see it since I loved a good romance.  The movie was good but the ending wasn't what I had hoped for and I left the movie with tears flowing.  I did remember one line from the movie that I thought was a good one at the time.  The line was "love means never having to say you're sorry."  I remember thinking "oh, goody!"  I learned differently over the years.  I firmly believe that saying you're sorry when you've hurt someone, especially a loved one, even inadvertently, is so very important in maintaining a good relationship.  And being able to forgive is equally important, too.

There was cookie baking going on in my kitchen last night.  Cookies were made for the kids at my daughter's school and a few for us, too.  We had to put the kitties downstairs and shut the door because they would have been in the middle of everything.  You can't turn your back on them a minute when you have food around.  


My all time favorite love song is Unchained Melody.  It's a little harder to choose a favorite romantic movie because there are too many I like.  The Notebook is one.  Do you have favorites?  Do tell!

Linking to Willie Nilly Friday 5

Hugs and love to each of you as we celebrate Valentine's Day this weekend!  

Happy Friday to you!
xo Cheryl       

Good Fences

There used to be a fence behind this, but it was taken down.  I don't know if they plan to rebuild it or not.  This farm has been in the same family since I was a youngster and lived just a mile or so down the highway.  I would saddle up my horse and ride down the lane just to the left of the sign to the farm house for piano lessons.  I only took lessons for 3 summers and learned just enough to play for my own pleasure.  And to aggravate my brothers by playing the same favorite song over and over!  lol!  The woman who lives on this farm now is the daughter of my former neighbor and piano teacher.  There have been a few changes to this farm, including a new house which was built several years ago.

I'm not sure the first photo qualifies as a fence, but maybe this railing across the bridge which goes over the Missouri River will.  I rolled down my car window and snapped this one.  I only just noticed the reflection of the old railroad bridge in the water when resizing the photo. 

This has been a busy week so far and I haven't gotten to visit as much as I would like.  Can you believe tomorrow is Friday already and almost the middle of the month?     

Linking to Theresa's Good Fences  

Happy Thursday to you!
xo Cheryl   

Monday's Barn

This barn photo was taken the end of last October.  While looking for a barn to share this week, I realized that I needed to go on a barn hunt.  That will be such a hardship.  Just kidding!  You know I love an excuse to go road-tripping!

I played around in Photoscape and used the Watercolor Pencil effect in the photo above.  

Linking to Amy's  The Barn Collective

Happy Monday to you!
xo Cheryl

A Fence Across the Way

Our second snow of the year fell yesterday giving us about 2 inches of the white stuff.  I quickly zoomed in on this scene from my front door this morning.  I had to be quick because the temps are frigid with below zero wind chills.  Yikes!  It will warm up tomorrow and the snow will be gone in no time.  By Saturday, temps are supposed to be in the upper 50's.  There is a saying in Missouri that if you don't like the weather, just stick around and it'll change in 15 minutes.  

Linking to Theresa's Good Fences 

Happy Thursday to you!
xo Cheryl 

Two More Years

Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was 

sixty-five I still had pimples.
~George Burns

The decision that was sort of hard to take that I referred to in my last post was BG's to make. 

I really wasn't all that surprised to learn of his decision when he sat down with me to discuss what had been on his mind one day.

He had said for a year or more that he would retire the first of this year.  When it really came down to the last few months, he said he just wasn't ready.  I already knew that he has always loved his job.  Everyone should have a job that they love as much as he does his.  So, I've known that retiring would be hard for him to do.

But, selfishly, I was disappointed.  I had already envisioned the things we could get done and had planned, in my dreams, of a few trips we could take.  We would be more inclined to get in those daily walks.  Oh, so many things I had dreamed of and now they were going to have to wait.  Two more years.

He said he wanted to work 2 more years.  Now, we all know how fast time flies and 2 years doesn't seem like a long time.  Except when you get older, though, there is always that little worry that something might happen and retirement won't be quite what you had pictured.

In two years, BG will have worked 40 years as a lineman.  In spite of a mild heart attack a few years ago, he says he feels just as good as he did 4-5 years ago and he isn't ready to stay home and nap all day in front of the TV.  Of course, I had to tell him that it wasn't all that bad, except in my case it is falling asleep over a laptop.   

I enjoy waking up and not having to go to work. 

So I do it three or four times a day.
~Gene Perret

So, I swallowed my disappointment and actually didn't try to change his mind but told him that it was his decision.  I try to look at the plus side.  Having the extra money is a good thing.  Having the house all to myself most of the day is a good thing.  He tells me to go and do what I want and that is a good thing.  Still having to fix those lunches for him each night?  Not such a good thing.   Two years.  I tell myself those 2 years will fly by.   And looking on the bright side, I'll have more time to tune up my bucket list!

Those of you that have retired...do you wish you had worked longer or quit sooner? 

Happy Wednesday to you!
xo Cheryl

Projects Still Pending

 

-Tuffy-

It's true hard work never killed anybody,
 but I figure, why take the chance? 
~Ronald Reagan

Where do I begin...

to tell the story of how great a slug I've been? 

The same old story that is older than the sea

the story that I've sung before to thee....

Where do I start?

Since it's the Love month, I thought I'd have some fun with a line from that wonderful old song from the movie Love Story.  I remember BG and I going to that movie and me walking out with tears streaming down my face.  I'll talk more about that movie another day. 

I haven't got one (well, maybe one) thing done that I planned to do when I began my blog break.  The word projects is going to be stricken from my vocabulary.  I never seem to even get to first base let alone cross the home plate when I make plans involving a project.  The Project is still a work in progress.  We are awaiting some help to arrive (and who knows how long that will be) with a few things. 

I do have a few excuses for my laziness and lack of progress with those projects plans.  My right knee decided to start hurting and then, about the same time, I developed tendonitis in my left heel making walking really difficult.  It hasn't been much fun trying to negotiate the stairs while doing laundry.  

I'm better, but not yet at 100% and there are so many much worse off than me, so I've tried not to complain too much.  I've managed to keep the house from being condemned by the health department and meals on the table.  Otherwise, I've been sitting and icing the heel and knee, hugging kitties and reading some books.  I think the newest kitty, Tuffy, developed sympathy pains because he took to limping a couple of days and was even off his food for a day, but he seems to be improving, too. 

I haven't been off my food like Tuffy, but all the candy and cookies from the holidays are gone, thankfully, and we're trying to eat healthy.  Trying is the operative word.  It's hard to do when Rocky Road ice cream is calling your name from the ice cream aisle.  Really, it actually opened the door and jumped into my cart!  What's a girl to do?  I just didn't have the heart to put it back when it practically begged me to take it home.  You know what an old softie I am!   Well, I only indulge in ice cream every chance I get once in a while.  

I usually keep some fruit in the freezer and blackberries, raspberries and blueberries are a favorite combo, but I saw the fresh fruit on sale the other day and bought some.  I like to mix it with some yogurt and whipped topping.  Yum!  In this photo, I just had whipped topping, the lite variety.  It is so good and so much healthier than the ultra sweet Rocky Road.  Which would you rather indulge in...ice cream or a bowl of fruit with yogurt/topping? 

While lazing around with my feet propped up, I did some pondering about the future of my blog.  I'm getting older you know, and I have lots I want and need to do and less energy to do it.  Part of me said to just not come back.  Blogging does take up a lot of time, as you know.  But, the other part reminded me how much I do enjoy the blog world and of course I love all the wonderful people I've met here.  I still have a few stories to tell, not to mention that this is a journal of sorts.  My stories will be here for my children to read.  So I've decided that I can't give it up just yet.  

Next time, I'll share a decision that was sort of hard to take, but not surprising to me. 

Happy Monday to you!

xo Cheryl