It's a Beautiful Day In Indiana

my backyard

Ahhh Autumn!
Cool Crisp Days, the trees are full of reds, yellows, greens, and browns. The lovely sound of leaves crunching under your steps. The blue skies with the swirls of white clouds. Even the gray days are simply beautiful here this time of year.

Despite my ickies, this day is bringing me an overwhelming smile.

My beloved ASUS, Laptop computer had a, uhm mishap with a full cup of coffee last Sunday. I have desperately tried to save it... It now is in a coma state, resting in the hands of my dear Brother-In-Law, aka~ ComputerMan! I am hoping he can breathe life back into it... If I lose all my data, including tons of photos, (and yes I know, should have backed up.... but I didn't okay! I live dangerously!), anyway, if I lose it all but still have a working Laptop... I will be thrilled!  I can't stand being stuck back in Hubby's office on the old dinosaur PC (although again, GRATEFUL!). I am so uninspired back her in this windowless room with guy stuff. Work stuff, and all alone. Currently ASUS can't even power up... :( Poor thing, not even two years old yet. I love ASUS. this is true. Best Laptop ever! I want it back.

I also have some icky drama going on. I am amazed at how I have been holding up, using my coping skills, and staying strong. Last night was especially painful, but my darling Hubby stood by my side and well, we got through it together. Amazing the strength you can have with love ones by your side. I am so glad I am able to give this to God, and trust in Him to guide me through. I can't even imagine not having Him through this all.

I really want to do a post about my Annie! My precious BABY GIRL turns 21 tomorrow! ASUS has all the pictures & scanning capacity so, seriously? How can I do a post justice without posting a bunch of photos of her.   Although I will post this one! I took a picture with my iphone of the proofs that came in the other day.

Andrea 2011

Ironically, they stuck the Greek letters up on the corner to give us an ideal, but they used Chi Omega letters, which are her Sister's sorority, Annie is a Delta Zeta Girl. Isn't she a pretty young lady?  I am so proud of her!
I will do a post about her later. When I can access the photos.

Tonight I am going to a Lifer's 50th Birthday Party.   I will take pictures & try to figure out how to post on this computer. I have known Mary for 43 of those 50 years! How Blessed I am to be able to still call her friend.

Oh my goodness! Look at the time!  I must rush off. Things to do, places to go!

Sorry I have been so MIA. Thank you to all that has kept me in Prayer, and thank you for positive energy sent my way.  I am such a lucky person, and so very grateful for all the love I do get.

A BIG Kahuna

I have been having a bit of a Hornet situation...
I have seen one or two in the front yard, and twice I found one trapped in our screened in porch.

I know it's hard to see how big he/she is. Trust me.. it's a Biggy!
Here's a better shot, after I captured it:

Look at that Big Kahuna!!!

Don't worry, he's fine.  I took him to the back of the yard & safely released it by a flowering tree.
Hubby & Annie were not pleased with me bringing it in to the house, but I wanted them to see it & help me take a picture.  The stinger was huge. I imagine this guy could really hurt given the chance.

I think it's some kind of Ground Giant Wasp.  I don't know...I tried to research, but actually started to get more confused.

I wonder, with this crazy weather we have had, are you all seeing rather bizarre insects too?  Are you noticing things changing and, well, rather odd?

Lazy Hot Summer Days

I have been Home Alone (plus critters) all week.  I will not lie...it has been blissful. One morning I slept in till 11am. Seriously? When was the last time that happened? In my defense, I stayed up watching trashy reality shows till 2am the night before.

I have this wonderful opportunity to get so many "projects" done, cleaning done, and catching up.  I have many draft post that are begging me to complete & post. I have friends & family I could go visit and enjoy. Books calling me to read.

I have sat around mostly...vegging in the heat.  Watching crap on television, eating junk, laying around, surfing the web, and doing NOTHING.

I haven't worn makeup all week.  My hair is in a ponytail. I'm wearing comfy ugly clothes.  I have barely left the house.

Gosh it feels marvelous!

How often do we get these opportunities? Me? Never!

The Baby daughter comes home today. I should clean up. (House & myself). I should maybe tackle a couple of those things calling me to take care of. Maybe the easier ones at least. I texted a couple of friends to go check out a new antique shop later today.  It's trash day... maybe I should cut the big tree branches down to have out for trash pick up... (nah it's already 90 degrees with a heat index of at least 10 higher). 

Whoops...Baby Girl just texted me that they are on there way back, that means she  will be home this afternoon instead of this evening.  I guess that's my clue to get out of my comfy chair and get moving.

ugh...back to reality!

July?

Today is July 1st? 
Really? 
How did that happen so quickly?

We are still enjoying the cool summer breeze that I am obsessed with. However it is raining west of us and heading this way.  I believe it will hang out all weekend.  I'm fine with that. Better than the heat.

This birdhouse is the one I got from my Aunt last year. I was so disappointed that no birds would use it. Then I moved it to the front yard and placed it in the Magnolia tree.  I have a perfect view of the activity it now has.  Some sweet little Momma nested in it.

This summer is really flying by.
June was but a blink of the eye.

Happy July everyone! Hopefully it will slow down just a bit.

Sweet Tea

It's a Sweet Tea kind of day.
I made mine with Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Herbal Tea, and threw some cherries and an orange slice in. I guess it's not really sweet tea... Sweet tea is Southern sun tea with a ton of real sugar thrown in. But this will have to do for today.

There is a gentle warm breeze, high temps...
My neighbors empty hammock.. (why oh why do they NEVER use it? I wanna go jump in with a book and some sweet tea...)  One of these days I'm gonna do it. They are so nice, they wouldn't mind... However, I would rather just have one myself & not lay around their yard...

My weekend at the Bestie was Fabulous.  We didn't do much. That is what made it so fab.  We did exactly what we intended... laughed, ate, and was lazy.

Something about completely vegging with a Bestie... It is heavenly.   It was plenty hot down in southern Tennessee.  We lounged in the pool on Saturday morning. Until it got too hot.  Then ran off to see a movie (Bad Teacher...cute predictable chick flick. Not grand, but fun). We also grabbed a bite out.  But, mostly just talked the days away, watching HGTV, sipping on wine, and eating fabulous cupcakes.  Early Sunday I was back on the road for my 8 hour drive home.  I love her dearly and wish she was a few hours closer at least.

Monday, Hubby left for a business trip. Gave me a great opportunity to clean the carpets. Then I watched a bunch of goofy Lifetime Movies.

Tuesday, I visited a couple of Hospice patients and had a funeral to attend. 

By 6pm I was starting the Yoga class, breathing for the first time all day.

After class, some of us went out to a nearby Italian Restaurant. Iozzo's Garden of Italy.  Oh Baby! Made that workout worth every struggle!  Ohhhh old Italian Restaurants are the best!  We sat outside, again, enjoying this amazing gentle summer breeze we have been blessed with lately.

Carol, Me, Jill, Joann & Jerrilee

What beautiful women.
Inside as well as out.
They have incredible souls and I feel such joy being in their presence.

The Hubby is home from his business trip early. I am trying to catch up on blog readings.  Boy, its easy to get side tracked then takes forever to catch up! 
I just wanted to let you all know that I am well and busy.  I guess that is good. Even though I have a lot I wanted to blog about & never seem to enough time.
Love to you all~

Rainy Days & Monday's Never Brings Me Down

I went to sleep with the window cracked open. I would have had all the windows wide open, but Hubby can't sleep like that.  Yesterday was a wonderful high of 79 degrees. By evening the wind was picking up and the fresh smell of rain was enveloping the air. I fell asleep to the gentle rain and occasional roar of thunder.

Waking to it gives such a feeling of freshness. It's soothing, comforting to me. It makes me think God is washing away the cold and bringing warm spring. The birds are chipping and flowers are blooming.

Ahhh... fresh rain♥

Heaven and Hail

Today I spent an interesting couple of hours in a small town cemetery.

Last year, a fellow Blogger Brooke introduced me to a group called Find A Grave . It is an organization that has volunteers take photographs of graves from request. I have been wanting to do a shoot for awhile, but every time I attempted one, something either got in the way or someone beat me too it.

This morning, I got an email request for a small town just south of where I live. I know the area, and knew it would be a small cemetery. Typically you can find out the area of a grave, through the cemetery website or groundskeeper. This cemetery is old, and has no office/groundskeeper on the grounds. It also did not have the information on line. Just a confirmation that the grave I was searching for was indeed there.

It was a beautiful but windy day. Perfect for photography.

Have you ever really paid attention to the detail in the Headstones, Memorials, or Markers? Particularly in the older ones. They are amazing. Some are outlandish and some are simple. Some have a lot to say while others are brief and to the point. Some are downright creepy.

This cemetery only had one Mausoleum. Must have been a very prominent person. There were side windows that were Stained glass, with light pouring inside the mausoleum. I felt it would be disrespectful to take a photo at the door where I could see the colorful light pouring in.

Benches were popular here as well.

It was fascinating to see the detail and consideration to age..years, months, and days. To an exact.

Here lies siblings. Just to the side of their parents Headstone. Each child died within two years of life. Life was hard back in the 1800. There certainly wasn't the medical knowledge or immediate care that we have today.

Some Tombstones are so old yet grand. The smaller one is of a child, and there is a sleeping lamb craved on top. The old Oak tree is magnificent in the background.

I noticed a lot of older Headstones with the hand pointing up.

Then I saw this one...

Which freaked me out. Actually scared me.  Did I mention I was all alone walking this Cemetery for two hours?  Did I mention how the ground is very uneven and I found myself tripping now and then? Or when I stopped to take a picture, my foot would start sinking into the ground?  To make up to these souls I did a lot of praying for them and their families (especially for the many young people buried here). I also picked up a fallen cherub or two.

I saw a few of these old broken tombstones. 

In all I saw hundreds and hundreds, maybe a thousand tombstones, headstones, memorials, benches, markers... whatever you are comfortable calling them.  The problem... with all those I read (and I read every name searching for my assignment), I could not find her grave. This teenager that died so young, that I went on a search to photograph her grave for a loved one, and I could not find anyone by her name.

So I went home without the picture I sought after.

Now about the Hail part of my post.

Tonight the weather got really weird. The sunset was so bright. Scary bright. Then the warm air got really cold! The weather alerts were on the tube and just like they predicted, this came down loud and hard.

It hurts when Hail hits you. But I had to get a picture. 

This Buds for you...

magnolia buds

(I don't know what these are)

(I don't know what these are either!)

Crocuses!

 

Spring has sprung! The trees and flowers are budding!
Ahhhh Spring.....
Hubby is away for the week. I am planning a Surprise Guys Night In for his Birthday the day after he comes homes.  An all Guys evening. No women folk hang around.  Basketball games on the tube... card tables set.... food & drinks... maybe a little cigar smoking on the patio...

oh wait!
This is what Hubby did yesterday before he left!

This is a huge branch he decided to saw off the tree before it started budding. The branch scrapped on the roof and filled the gutter with leaves in the Fall.

It is stuck between my tree and my lovely bird feeder stand. Blocking the walkway... He figured he can saw it later next weekend. BUT I need it out of the way for the little gathering on Saturday.  With today being a pretty day (it reached 75!),  a little rain but mostly sunshine. With the weather getting colder through the week, I realize I need to get to it now.

Sooooo... with my clippers & little hand saw, gloves and a glass of wine... I sawed, clipped and turned that dang branch into kindling.  Not gonna let that get in the way of his Guys Night! (Gosh, I am a pretty sweet little Wifey!)

愛、祈りとヘルプ

愛、祈りとヘルプ 

translated from Japanese to English

Love, Prayers and Help

I know you are all aware and following along with the current tragedies in Japan.

First came the massive Earthquake,

followed by the devastating Tsunami,

and now the damaged Nuclear Plant causing much
panic and fear.

And the weather is not helping.

I too have read much in the Internet, paper, and watched
the news intensely.

Tonight reports claim
4164 confirmed deaths
12,000 unaccounted missing

I have been in awe of the amount of people that can / will stop and go help without a second thought.
I am so impressed with the many Bloggers that have written beautiful pieces and are doing so much with them for the Japanese victims.

My Blogger friend Erin Wallace did it best 

(of what I have seen)

Please click this link
HERE
Her Blog
Dropped Stitches
is a wonderful resource of ways you can help
as well as cool things you can purchase that will also help through proceeds.

I also found helpful the radio station I listen to
K-LOVE

Please remember, Prayer is Free!
We can all keep those affected by this disaster in our prayers.

This will have a domino effect in many ways.

Let's be a part of the positive effect.

Where are you Spring?

It's rainy outside this morning.

Actually a spring shower, lightly misting and making for a wet day. It's just 49 degrees outside. Still enough to put a chill in you. Especially with the rain.

I am ready for Spring!  

So are my bulbs.

I want to go out and start gardening.  I have lots of ideals and plans. I want to see lots of flowers.

I want to get my hands dirty!

My daughters are enjoying warmer weather, as they went vacationing for Spring Break.  

Emily went to Daytona Beach, Florida. 

It is currently sunny and 75 degrees there.

Annie is in South Padre Island, Texas. 

Although it is 68 degrees and cloudy there right now. But the rest of the week screams warmer weather.

I am a little jealous.

(but really happy for the girls. They needed a nice break from school).

RUT RUT RUT...

Don't worry, I promise not to do a poor poor pitiful me posting.
I'm just sick of the blahs and the yuckies and the cranky mood over our city, the bitching on Facebook and on & on & on.
This morning we woke up to this:

Here's a prettier view without Riley's booty in the shot:

The sky is gray, and Mother Nature painted everything white again. As much as I love snow... I am ready for spring. Especially after last weeks tease.

So, I needed a pick me up...a change..a fresh pick me up.

Time to scroll through the many wonderful background websites and pick something Springy and Fresh.  This one is from My Style. My other favorite's are Shabby Blogs ,   Paisley Cat  ,  The Smitten Blog , and of course, we can't forget, The Cutest Blog on the Block.  Sometimes it's fun for us Bloggers to change it up a bit. Find fun new things and share them with each other.

Rumor is that after a bit of rain to melt this snow, we are expecting warmer and summer days.
Thank Goodness!

BRRR...round two

backyard

This morning Indiana wakes to a frozen state. Some got it worse than others. We certainly faired better than some.  Hubby & I are pleased to have power, food, and each other.
It's cold out there, but the wind makes it feel ten times worse. I don't hate the wind though, it actually helped protect one of my trees. (more about that later).
I will start you with photos from last evening. The above shot was taken last evening. I love that birdhouse but birds never go in, even when I stick food in it. Was my Aunts and I don't think she ever got the birds to fancy it either.

Aunt Nancy's feeder pleases the birds

They love this one. I have been trying to keep it full.

Home Sweet Home

Last night when the ice started our round two, I was so pleased it was coming down in pellets. Therefore rolling off and accumulating on the ground like snow. It was travelable. And not clinging to my already loaded trees. Our fear was if just a couple degrees warmer, it would turn to rain, therefore becoming thicker ice and more dangerous.

I don't know if you can tell by these photos, but EVERYTHING has a thick coating of ice. Look at my poor Magnolia.
Later last night, around 10ish, it did turn to more of a wet sleet. Not good.
We awoke around 1:30 to the worse sounds. I thought the roof was being shredded. It turned out the wind was slamming some branches into the roof, shattering ice from the roof & tree, and rolling down the roof.

Our bedroom window & the tree that was slamming the roof

Please pardon the lighting on these photos taken today. The wind makes for darkened photos.

chunks of ice from the roof & trees

I don't know if you can see this one well. The side of my house, as well as around all the trees, are tons of small chunks of ice that the wind knocked off. Also makes for safer walking for dogs & me! Better than the slick surface under the chunks.

Backyard, see all the ice chunks around it?

Can you tell it's windy? Poor Bandit

Hubby just came in from shoveling ice. I need to make him some hot chocolate. The dogs are all cozy in bed snoozing. And the cats are freaking out watching the bird party at the feeders.
To my friends across the US that has been affected by this nasty wave of bad weather...stay warm & safe!
Everyone else, be glad you are not here!
Love~

Ice Ice Baby!

Rob Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice, 1989 hit "Ice Ice Baby" has been running through my head all night.
We have survived Round One, and are expecting Round Two this afternoon.
It is absolutely beautiful!
And it's absolutely dangerous.
So grateful Hubby stayed home.
Haven't heard from my girls so I am not sure if they had classes or not. Annie works on campus and this is a work morning, and Emily would be with her 5th graders about now. I will check on them later.
Here's some pictures of round one.
~~~Enjoy~~~

around 11pm last night

Good Morning Ice

That's Riley trying to walk on the ice

Because it was so "warm" prior to the Ice Storm, much of our snow melted. That's why you are seeing patches of frozen grass, and frozen snow. Imagine a sheet of glass on top of snow, where it is now smooth. It is extremely difficult to walk on.
I thought the dogs would have an easier time walking on the frozen grass, however, the frozen blades of grass hurt the dogs paws. Riley had the hardest time. She is so big. She would slip on the smooth ice, but cautiously try to walk on the painful frozen grass. Poor thing never did take care of business. She retreated back to bed. Little Dakota legs kept slipping out beneath him. Remember he is my crippled boy and having the bum leg, he had a more difficult task. However, he managed. Bandit, seem to fair the best. He seem to enjoy it, and, like a child keep eating the icy grass.

Dakota & Riley

Bandit

Riley

Front of our home

Our street, yep, that's all ice

Round Two will hit us in a few hours. I worry so for our trees. They are fairing okay now, but add another 1/2 inch to an inch of addition ice...that's too much weight on the trees. It is eerie to hear the tree branches creaking in the wind. Sounds like they are breaking. Same with the sound of autos trying to drive across the streets.