Look What I Found!

This afternoon with clear blue skies, bright sunshine and warmer temperatures I ventured out for a walk.  It was so nice to be out and I love using my walking sticks.  I wasn't the only one out enjoying this beautiful day.  Stopped to visit with three of my neighbors who had brought chairs out and was enjoying the day with grandchildren they were tending.  Think I need to bring out a couple of chairs from my patio and sit in the sunshine as we are going to have a couple of nice days.

As I was walking down my sidewalk a little color caught my eye and I was delighted to see these sweet little crocus' poking their head up.

I wasn't sure if I would have any this year because my children pulled out so many grasses, etc. this fall that had filled in during the summer when I wasn't able to get outside.  But luckily, I am seeing several little shoots popping up.  Daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are also starting to surface.  

They absolutely delight me and I know when I see them that Spring can't be far behind.  I love that they bring color into my world after a long, cold, dreary winter void of color.  Makes me want to get out side and clean out the leaves and other things that have collected in the flower beds through the late fall and 

winter.  But, for now I will enjoy seeing what else pops up to brighten this little corner of my world. 

A little Work And A Party

Can't believe I haven't posted anything for several days, but then I guess I can as I've been busy cleaning, sorting and eliminating more "stuff".  I have to do this while I'm in the mood which doesn't happen all that often.

Spent the last couple of days going through old slides of my husbands.  He loved taking pictures of mountains scenes, flowers, family trips, etc.  After he passed, I got rid of a lot of slides that were just scenes he had taken while traveling through Europe that were not identified and didn't have any significance to the family.

Now the ones I am sorting through are of family times as well as mountains, flowers, streams, seasons, etc.  I am saving all the family pictures and will take them to our Family History Center to be put on a thumb drive.  Then I will make pictures for his nieces and nephews that he has taken of times together when they were little.  I'm not sure if they have any, but I think they will enjoy them.  Some I will add to his book that I made for him at his passing. The others of our family I will go through photo books to see if we have them and also check with my children to see if there are any they would like to have.  I'm hoping to finish going through the carousels by next week.  It will be nice to have this done as I notice that some of the slides are fading and not as vibrant as they once were.

Also spent a few days last week getting ready for our Valentine's Party.  I wasn't sure I was going to do one, but when my youngest grandson asked if "Grandma"
was going to do one, I knew I had to.  We have so much fun and of course, the kiddo's go home loaded down with sugar!

Bingo

Candy Bar Game

One of Ty's (sitting by his mother)  favorite games is stacking conversation hearts and seeing how many you can stack in 30 seconds.  Then we use them to play bingo.  Everyone gets to select a "prize" from the bowl.  Probably our most favorite game is the Candy Bar Game.  Everyone starts with a candy bar in their sack and then rolls the dice for taking, sharing, giving back, etc. the candy bars.  We have to set a timer for 10 minutes or this could go on forever.

Old Fashioned Lighter

My daughter's birthday is coming up soon and as we were all together we decided to celebrate her also.  After a dinner of Chinese food, we had brownies and ice cream.  Ty, sitting next to his mother, asked if he was old enough to use the old fashioned lighter to light the candles when I brought them and the box of matches out.  We all got a good laugh.  His brother Kohler ended up striking the matches. 

Three of my cuties

Somehow through all the pictures, I missed one of my SIL.  Will have to make sure he's included in the next party which will be our Easter Party.

Cleaning Out

Saturday my daughter and her family had some free time so they offered to help me clean out and dispose of items that have been taking up space in my basement "cutting room" that I no longer wanted.  We call the back room, the "cutting room" because that is where I cut all my fabric, store supplies and do my scrap booking, etc.  It was hard to say "goodbye" because in the back of my mind I would think, but what if I need it and now it's gone."  Thankfully, my daughter is good at eliminating items that have not been used in a long, long time.  We were able to get rid of fabric that is old and outdated and several shoe boxes that held cut squares of fabric ranging from 6" to 2".  I always thought I would use them to make quilts.  But, I no longer want to do that so decided that it would go to charity.

The metal shelving looks full still, but in reality the most they hold are empty containers and a few projects that need sorting like all the old photo boxes that have items to be shredded.  The woven basket was made by my grandfather for mother to use as a laundry basket when my parents were newly married.  He was a master basket maker and many of his offspring hold dear the different types of baskets he made. It will now sit on my fireplace and hold quilts I have made.

We were also able to work on the closets where I store containers that hold my seasonal items and more supplies.  It really felt good to see the floor of the closets clean and empty of storage containers.  There is still a lot to do for another day.  Can't believe how much stuff I have accumulated over the years and have hung on to.  But, oh, it feels so good to be making progress.  I love the space that is opening up and hopefully it will not get filled up too soon. 

Frazzled Nerves!

Today has been an unsettling day beginning shortly after I got up this morning.
I was sitting in my office at the front of my house when I hear this pop, pop sound.  It was a different sound so thought I had best investigate.  Walked down the hall and into the bedroom and as I did I saw this flash outside the window.  The blinds were closed but I could still see it which was rather scary and went to the front door to see if there was anything going on.

A neighbor was across the street walking her dog and said she had seen a flash that seemed to come from the south side of my yard/house.  And then she said I think I can smell gas.  I stepped out further and thought I could also smell gas.   My gas meter is on the south side of my house.  Called my neighbor across the street and he came over but couldn't smell anything.  Decided to call the gas company and have them come check things out just to be safe.  Later learned that if it had been a gas leak there would have been a fire that did not burn out.

The gas service man arrived fairly promptly and with his testing instruments went around the outside and inside my house, but discovered nothing.  He shut off my furnace and water heater and then went back out to do some more checking.  The man came to my door and said he thought he had discovered something.  So I went with him and we walked over to the city's electrical box and noticed a piece at the base was broken and we thought we could could smell something. 

Next phone call went to the city offices as there is a light pole at the corner of my property.  They sent out a team to investigate the electrical box and my meter, but again found nothing.  Everything seemed to be checking out.  My gas was turned back on and everyone felt things were ok.  We're thinking that maybe there was a surge in the light pole that cause the pop and flare.  Guess we'll never know for sure. 

I still feel a little on edge.  Have done a lot of praying and trying to keep the faith.  Tonight the street light came on and all seems to be in order.
My kids have been here and double checked everything and feel like all will be well.  Just hope I don't have another adventure like this in a long, long time!

It Is Finished....

....Well, the top for the Love Supreme Mystery Quit from Fort Worth Fabric Studio is finally pieced and now I need to decide what to do about quilting it.  I had thought I would hand quilt it, but I'm not sure I still want to do that.  I keep asking myself if I really want to put out more money to have someone do it for me or if I should just take my time and hand quilt it.  I love the somewhat old fashioned look of hand quilting.

I think if I quilt it I will just quilt in the "ditch" of each bock and call it good.  Since I  won't be doing anything until after Valentine's, I have time to think about it. 

February has come in like a lion here and I'm missing the milder days of January.  Yesterday we had wind and snow beginning in the middle of the night and continuing throughout the day.  We got about 6-8 inches of the white stuff.  It was hard to get an accurate measurement with the wind bowing the snow around.  Road conditions were terrible and many schools closed or had late starts.  Many businesses also opened later in the morning.  I was never so happy that I had retired this summer and didn't have to leave the comforts of my home.

We had a short break in the early afternoon and I was able to get out and do a little shoveling.  The snow was light and powdery which made it easy to shovel.   But, I only got a little ways on my driveway when two of my neighbors came and finished up.  I really appreciated their help.  They did it so quickly even with the wind blowing the snow around.

Today the sun is shining and it is beautiful out.  Temperature has warmed from 14 F to a balmy 25 F.  We are supposed to have cold temperatures for a few days and more snow.  Can't help but wonder if we are really going to have an early spring.