Picture my December

Our area got coated in a thick layer of ice that stuck around for a week. Trees looked beautiful coated like this, but there were many branches lost, including the one where we had our bird feeder hanging. We have yet to find the perfect place to hang it since losing that branch.

Steven loved spending time outside, dressing a little differently almost every time he ventured out.

The sun made the ice sparkle, which my camera did a terrible job in trying to catch that beauty. Going to town and seeing entire tree covered mountainsides glisten in the sun nearly took my breath away in the beauty of it all.

Cold mornings meant Rosie Mae had to scrape ice and frost off her car before leaving for work. She seems to enjoy it.

Our annual Christmas box from my parents arrived. The small package on the lower left hand side of the picture had a piece of paper wrapped around it, and Mom had written a few sweet words on it. I decided to wait to open it, sure that what ever was inside couldn't be as special as what she wrote on the outside. After opening it I discovered a lovely letter opener my brother Mahlon had made, and immediately burst into tears. I'll treasure it for always!

After wiping my tears I noticed this rainbow on the floor in the laundry room and had to smile. I have no way of explaining how it can appear there. It really makes no sense logically. It never did before Mahlon died, but now on days when I'm really missing him, little rainbows appear. They always make me smile, and always turn my thoughts to God in praise for His love and care.

Sharon was offered the job of being one of the chefs on the train. She accepted it, and absolutely loved it. Running her to and from the train yard kept our weekends extra full, but I was happy she got to experience this.

Christmas Day rolled around and we did our traditional 'children in front of the tree' picture. We had a lovely day even though I took an accidental nap most of the afternoon. While I was sleeping the guys decided to wash their vehicles. Not very festive, I know.

 Of the gifts the children gave each other my favorite was a beaded bracelet that Steven gave to Sharon. He spent a lot of time painstakingly making sure each little bead was in the proper place to create the pattern he wanted. All the gifts were all thoughtful, heartfelt, and meaningful.

I don't know if I'll be making another blog post before the new year rolls around, so I'll take a minute now to wish everyone a happy and blessed New Year! 

Picture our Summer

We've been having rain, rain, and more rain. A day can begin beautifully sunny, but at some point during the day it begins to grow dark, and rain and storms move in.

With all the rain keeping him indoors, Steven has been buried in books. He has always loved books, but has turned into a complete bookworm this summer.

One of our friends invited us to join her and her daughter on a day trip to visit a lavender farm. It was absolutely gorgeous there. We enjoyed sampling their lavender flavored lemonade, jams, chocolates, and ice cream. I was surprised by how much I liked it, and came home with a jar of the jam for the rest of the family to enjoy as well,

I would never have thought to do something like this, but they had windows with flowerboxes scattered all around the farm, and encouraged guests to take as many pictures as they liked.

A sign outside of the store on the lavender farm amused me.

 Wild flowers have been blooming in abundance this year. I'm particularly fond of black eyed susans.

The wildlife activity behind our house has also increased. It's no longer unusual to see deer there. Turkeys, raccoons, squirrels, and hundreds of birds keep us entertained.

Sharon, Steven, and I took advantage of a few hours between rain showers to go on a hike, Steven was sure he didn't want to wear shoes, but the gravel on the trail got to be a bit much after a while. He asked to share Sharon's pair of flip flops, and being the sweet, sharing sister she is, she gave them to him. In return he gave one back, and so they both hobbled up the trail with only one flip flop for a few minutes.

Rosie Mae has been making lots of macarons, in hopes of creating some with the perfect "feet". She had plans on sharing these with friends from Canada who were stopping in, but wasn't satisfied with how they turned out, so Sharon asked if she can have them. 

Rosie Mae plopped the entire tray full on her lap and said, "Have at them." Sharon was thrilled, but the rest of the family helped her eat them. These chocolate flavored ones are so, so good!

We attended the wedding of one of LV's nephews. The wedding cake my multi-talented sister-in-law made looked lovely.

Picture my Week

Steven spent a lot of time playing with his favorite cat.  I've never tried training a cat, but his patience seems to be paying off and the cat is beginning to do what he wants her to do.

 

 

It's been raining, and raining, and then raining some more. Just when you think it's finally over and it's nice and sunny the skies open up and it rains again. We have water every where. Running through the basement, miniature ponds, or giant puddles in the yard, and running down the walks like a tiny river.

 

In the middle of all this rain a bull decided to wander about and visit some cows outside of his pasture. The second fence was keeping him out though so he wandered up and down the road seeming to take great joy fearlessly staring down traffic. The incessant honking bothered me a lot more than him. Even a big log truck with its big log truck horn did nothing to intimidate him.

 

I tried reaching the owner to tell him what's happening. There was no way I wanted to go out and confront him myself. I'm too much of a chicken for that, and the fact that he didn't belong to us helped keep my chicken-ess quite chicken-y.

 

 

A neighbor and a few other men finally came by and got him back where he belonged without too much trouble, and no excitement. The owner came by later that afternoon and fixed the trampled down fence. Hopefully that will keep the roaming Mr. where he belongs.

 

 

Rosie Mae baked some lovely braided bread. It was delicious!

 

We finally remembered to take stale bread along to the library to feed the huge flock of ducks (80+)that hangs out there. They're so pretty! And quite tame considering they're Mallards.

 

Picture my Week

We had lots and lots of rain, so when the sun came out for a little while Sharon had to grab a blanket and run outside to pet her favorite kitten.

 

The eastern sky after another rainstorm was scuttling away. Somehow I love barns with dark skies. It didn't last long, and I was happy I managed to capture it before it faded into a friendlier light gray.

 

We enjoy trying new foods. I took a quick picture of my plate before I ate this week's new fare. The broccoli wasn't new, but it's my favorite vegetable. The fries are actually yucca root cut to look like fries, tossed in olive oil and seasonings before being baked. It was our first time trying them. I loved them, they were slightly sweet kind of like a sweet potato, but more fibrous. I could happily make it a weekly addition to our menu, except that the rest of the family didn't enjoy it as much as I did. The rice noodles were another first for us. They were a hit.

 

 

With all the rain we've been having, trying to get a daily walk in has been challenging. We've been heading outside at the first break between showers. All the wild flowers seem to be thriving under these wet conditions.

 

Sharon thought it would be really cool to try to get a picture of a water balloon popping, so we filled up a giant bowl with balloons and headed outside. I did my best, and out of almost a hundred pictures I finally managed to get a fairly decent one. We both loved how it appeared there was a ball of water hanging there.

 

Rosie Mae made some yummy savory pastries for lunch the one day. The filling consisted of broccoli, ham, and cheese.

 

 

And since this is my favorite picture I took this week, I am sharing it again.

Picture My Week

We knew we had a litter of kittens somewhere, and Sharon spent a lot of time hunting for them. She finally found them this week. They're the cutest little things, but so wild. This was the only one they were able to hold.

There's a deer that keeps strolling across the hill behind the house. The picture isn't the greatest, but it's the best I've been able to do. Apparently it has not received the memo that holding still would produce a better photo.

I spy blueberries! Can't wait until they ripen and we get to enjoy freshly baked blueberry treats.

I spotted this book in the library and had to get it because ... Pioneer Woman! As it happened Steven loved it too. The illustrations amused him greatly.

We spent a few hours at one of our favorite outdoors spots. Steven had to check on the tadpoles that he hoped were still there, but had already grown up and hopped away.

I had been hoping the wild roses will be in full bloom, but sadly it appears I missed them this year. All that was left was one plant with several rain washed blooms.

I enjoyed the other flowers that were blooming.

Rosie Mae and one of her dear friend went off the beaten path and found an old stone house and had to sit in the window opening for a picture.

One afternoon we enjoyed wading near the edge of the lake and skipping rocks across the surface. 

Home made pizzas are the best! With LV and Kenneth gone for the day the four of us at home each made our own pizzas. 

Picture my Week

I got the year book pictures turned in. Out of the group of fifty or so pictures I took I was happy to end up with three that seemed to capture who they are,

 

 

 

LV's nephew from Seattle was in for a visit for a little over a week. He did a great job in decorating the house for Sharon's birthday.

 

Rosie Mae, my resident baker made the desserts.

 

We took the decorations down yesterday. Steven got slightly distracted from his schoolwork when the streamers came down. Being the son of a big truck mechanic the streamer became a truck horn. Each little thing completed in his workbook earned a celebratory honk, honk.