I'm so glad you could stop by. This is my personal blog of daily life and my journey through life. You will find a strong emphasis on family and friends as well as finding my ancestors through genealogy. Unlike my other blogs this blog is more of a catch-all so any topic is fair game.

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Little Critters


Brown Anole
(Anolis sangrei)
January 14, 2009

One thing we really enjoy when on vacation is seeing local wildlife. This adorable little brown lizzard was spotted on the trunk of a tree about 10 feet from the rental house sunporch. I think this was a female brown anole along with another one scurried to safety just out of human reach but I managed to snap a few pictures. We saw several of these little critters during our stay. One of them even made their home inside the sunporch of a home we visited. The owners were quite pleased as the little critter kept any bugs in check and no doubt he was happy being out of harms way from predators.

The brown anole (Anolis sangrei) is an introduced species to Florida from Cuba and the Bahamas. These little (5" - 8" long) lizards scurry about the ground and in trees. They co-exist with the native green anole and like them change colour depending on their surroundings. Males have a dark stripe down their backs while females have a white stripe. Males have a bright orange dewlap displayed for attracting females. Their diet consists of small arthopods (eg. pill bugs, spiders, centipedes, millipedes), annelids (eg. worms, leeches) and molluscs (eg. snails, slugs).

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Friday, January 30, 2009

The Rental House


The Rental House
January 13, 2009

Early Tuesday morning of our vacation we moved from the guest house to a rental house. Pictured is the outside of the triple wide manufactured home. The house was across the road from the same large pond the guest house backed onto. There was a spacious two car garage on the front with a rather short but steep bricked driveway. Unlike the interior of the guest house, all the walls in the rental house were drywall and the corners were rounding giving a unique design feature. The walls were a pale, creamy taupe with white ceilings and trim. This 2 bedroom, 2 bath house featured a large kitchen with granite countertops (pictures here) opening onto the open concept dining and family room areas. The front door opened to a large foyer with a den to the right (bowed portion in the picture). The smaller bath and kitchen had a solar tube that lit up the areas without the use of electricity (more here). A large enclosed porch at the back of the house offered a lovely view of the woods and only seconds from one of the golf courses. It was a wonderful place to stay for a few days!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Thursday, January 29, 2009

Dancing Girl


Dancing Bird
January 11, 2009

Finding humour in daily events is really a blessing! Watching wildlife can give you an awful lot of chuckles. A case in point was this water fowl that frequented the pond behind the guest house. Sorry, I don't know what the name of the bird is but if some kind soul knows I will make the correction. Anyway, my husband is a huge music fan which means our iPods travel with us. He was sitting in the sunporch relaxing, drinking his morning coffee and listening to the iPod on the sound dock obviously oblivious to the dancing bird. I looked out and quickly grabbed the camera! Here was this bird at the edge of the water not only dancing but seriously singing to the music. Every time the music hit a bit higher note the bird would send out a call. I tapped my husband on his shoulder to watch. It was the funniest thing you ever saw. Now what was even funnier is this bird appeared out of nowhere every time the patio door to the sunporch was opened. It stood there very patiently waiting for the music then it started the dancing and singing. I seriously just about busted myself laughing! What was even more impressive was we moved down the street half way through our vacation to the rental house that still had a good view of the pond. The sunporch on the rental unit didn't get morning sun so my husband went to the front along with his iPod. Guess who appeared within seconds of the music being turned on. Talk about down right funny!


Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Peaceful Pond
January 11, 2009

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Right Place, The Right Time


Moon Rays
January 10, 2009

Saturday evening we headed down to the club house for dinner. Just after the drinks were served my husband realized he forgot a folder in the car that we wanted to discuss over dinner. He went out for it and upon returning said "You might want to go out and take a look. Take the camera." I went out and saw the most gorgeous moon rise possible. Little did I know at the time that the moon that night would be the brightest it has been in 7 years! At the time I was just busy snapping pictures and marvelling at what an absolutely amazing beauty I was witnessing. I returned to enjoy a lovely meal with my husband. Once we were back at the guest house I took another good look at the moon. On the way back to the guest house I realized how bright the moon was. It was so sharp, bright, defined and impressive! I snapped a few more pictures from the front of the guest house but could not bring myself to get near the water's edge for a picture. It would have been so very impressive but knowing there were alligators out there, I kind of chickened out. Trust me I'm not a good runner but I can play dead pretty good though I doubt any self respecting alligator would get that close to a scrawny human who needs to change her drawers but is hanging onto her camera for dear life. Now I really wish I had not chickened out. I mean what is more important? Getting an awesome picture or being molested by an alligator?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Monday, January 26, 2009

Wild Turkeys

wild turkeys
Wild Turkeys
(Meleagris gallopavo)
January 10, 2009

On one of our first journeys from the guest house on Saturday we noticed a large flock of quite large black birds congregating around one of the ponds. Asking the residents we discovered these were wild turkeys! I'm sorry this picture is a bit fuzzy. For a close-up view and more details on wild turkeys click here. We saw the wild turkeys daily always at the same pond. They were quite the sight! They were also quite vocal. In the evenings they filled the trees on the edge of the pond. The day before we left another flock of wild turkeys appeared at another pond closer to the road.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Sunday, January 25, 2009

Blog Your Blessings Sunday


It has been a relatively low keyed week as we got back into our normal routines. While we were away we stayed at four different places with two of them very much the types of houses to get my creative decorating ideas flowing. I ended up with a lot of great ideas with pictures to follow through. I've been happily going though the house straightening and getting the kitchen into high gear again as well as getting the blogs back in order. I think the biggest blessing for this week is contentment.

We were content to be at home and enjoy each other's company - no fancy meals, no having to dress for the occasion, just simple enjoyment at being home :) It's a blessing to simply enjoy what you have!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Alligator

alligator
The Alligator
(Alligator mississippiensis)
January 10, 2009

After settling into the guest house we did a bit of exploring. It didn't take long to find one of the resident alligators! The larger pond was on the other side of the club house just before a small bridge on the main road going out of the park. What caught my attention was the deep turquoise colour of the water that was a striking contrast to the other brownish green colour of the other ponds. I immediately spotted the alligator and he was a beauty. I think it was a he because it was a solitary alligator with no signs of other alligators. I took several pictures from the comforts of the car ;) We saw the alligator daily during our stay with the exception of the last day when we left early. During the mornings when the sun was on the side of the pond in the picture he sat sunning himself. In the afternoons he would sun on the opposite side of the pond. Later in the week the weather turned a bit cooler so he sat on the afternoon shore just under the water with only his head and a bit of his back showing.

Alligators are cold blooded so like to warm themselves in the sun. There are several ponds on the Cypress Lakes grounds all with the potential for alligator habitats. We spoke with several residents of the park about the alligators. Those who golf know alligators are in the ponds along the golf courses. For the most part the alligators are said to not be docile rather than aggressive and will walk or swim away from you if approached unless they are provoked. Feeding alligators within 500 ft of a residential area is prohibited but is not illegal at greater distances. It is not recommended feeding alligators as they will lose their fear of humans possibly becoming a problem. I decided to enjoy our alligator friend from a distance and not get too close to any of the ponds just to be on the safe side!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Friday, January 23, 2009

The Guest House


Guest House
January 10, 2009

We arrived at the guest house Saturday morning. Pictured is the guest house where we stayed for half of our vacation and the Pontiac Grand Prix we rented for the trip. It was a new manufactured home that even from the outside did not look much like a double wide trailer. These homes certainly bring a whole new meaning to trailer park! A picture of the guest house kitchen can be seen here. The house was set on a lot backing onto one of the many small ponds on the property although this was a rather large pond. The pond itself was bordered by brush and trees on the far side. There was a lovely, screened in porch at the back of the house. The exteriour of the house was a creamy yellow, vinyl siding with white trim and dark shutters. The house itself was about 1,100 square feet consisting of two spacious bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, dining area, living room and laundry room. It was bright and airy as many Florida houses tend to be with light neutral colours. Unlike older trailers the main part of the house was drywalled and painted in neutral light taupe. The bathrooms and second bedroom walls were the older style pre-finished wall panels with strips where the panels met but they too were light, neutral colours. The baths, halls and kitchen floors were large 18" square ceramic tile in and orangish taupe colour. The rest of the floors were carpeted in a low cut, medium taupe carpet.

The guest house was a wonderful accommodation for the first part of our vacation. We drove to the club house and around the grounds only because a golf cart was not included with the guest house. It was about a 20 minute walk from the guest house to the club house. It was lovely sitting in the enclosed porch watching the waterfowl. We saw no signs of alligators in that particular pond but I didn't get too close to the water's edge just in case. It was quit dark and very quiet at night with the exception of the sounds of wildlife from the pond and surrounding woods.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Thursday, January 22, 2009


Do Not Molest Gator
January 10, 2008

We arrived at Cypress Lakes just after 11 AM. Adjacent to where we checked in was a small pond with a sign regarding gators as shown. Being of sound mind I asked the receptionist if there were really gators in the pond. "Honey" she said "this is Florida, of course there is!" Well we found out later she was telling the truth but in the meantime this was our welcoming to Cyrpess Lakes.

I should note with me at 5"1" mixed with my propensity towards lack of physical activity aside of brains and fingers the prospect of molesting any alligator was a very remote possibility. I mean it could have happened but honestly me against a gator? I might have given the gator a good tongue lashing from quite a distance. Molesting a gator just wouldn't be my style. Besides I'm pretty sure a gator would do a pretty good job of molesting me!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


May Flowers
May 31, 2008


Garden Gnome
©2006-2008


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Airports

For the past few years our winter and spring vacations have included flying which means we get to spend quality time at airports. You will note the lack of summer and fall vacations and that is because at some level we just wouldn't handle it. Anyway, let's talk airports. Our scenerio is we have to arrive at least 3 hours before boarding time so my husband can get the seat of his choice. This time we nipped that problem in the bud by reserving our seats a couple of months ahead on line. And we checked our bags and we were ready to go. Oh no, my husband still insisted on being at the airport hours before we would board. Seriously I am rolling my eyes here!

Ok so we arrive at the airport, check our bag and clear security. That's always fun going through security. I have this thing that I hate putting dirty socks into my shoes but at security you have to walk through "gawd knows what" in sock feet then put those socks back into your shoes! At the same time you get to stand in line watching others who kind of feel the same way I do tippy toeing around waiting to go through security. Then you get the "idiots" [for lack of a better term] that for whatever reason they feel they do not have to follow security rules. That means they will hold you up from clearing security but at the same time they are the most vocal making matters worse. Once you clear security you get to basically do what you want on the other side until the plane boards. Enter into the bar...

If you have never sat in an airport bar you seriously have missed an awful lot of free entertainment. There is always an "I'm very important so have a cell phone attached to my ear and make sure everyone else knows it", a "I'm a fluzzy can't you tell", everyone in between and then there is the "I''m an idiot, no serioursly, I'm an idiot". When we travel my husband and I are rather low key and relaxed. What happens happens. In airports that attitude affords us the chance to view the others at their peak of idiocy and they give us a very good conversational topic. We make up stories about the folks we see behaving rather badly and snicker amongst ourselves. Then there are the folk that see you have 4 seats at your table but are only occupying 2 that will politely ask if they can sit at your table. These folk tend to be on the friendly side so we have met a lot of nice folk this way. At the same time from most airport bars you get to do a lot of people watching. That in itself is a wonderful thing and yes you can use your imagination. Let me tell you I have some pretty good stories about folks in airports! Real or imaginary they are still very good stories :)


Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Monday, January 19, 2009

Heading Out


Snowy Lights
January 9, 2009

Despite the weather reports it was snowing as we loaded the car. Our small side road was completely covered and the main road was not much better. The snow continued as we made our way to the border. The roads turned to wet and slippery as we made our way to the border but it was still snowing. After clearing customs we checked into the park & fly motel, unloaded the car and rode their shuttle to the airport. More of our adventures tomorrow :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Winter Vacation



A little over a week ago we left for our winter vacation to the warm of the sunny south in the land of No Snow. Just to be able to get out of the cold and snow even for a brief time is a blessing that many living in the Northern Hemisphere can appreciate. While there we were blessed with the enjoyment of being with friends in the warm and for the most part sunny weather. We saw some interesting sights, ate some great food, soaked up some of the sun's rays and despite having a bit of a different agenda we managed to relax. We stayed at an exclusive golf & country club enjoying two beautiful homes in the process. I personally enjoyed that I had free high speed internet for the week so I could keep up to date with the blogs even though it was to a lesser degree. We took about 700 pictures so there will be lots to share with you over the next couple of weeks.

On the home front we were very blessed to have our youngest housesit for us and neighbours watching the house as well. We had problems with the furnace before we left so were concerned it might stop altogether. My husband fixed it twice and showed youngest what to do if the belt came off again. Miracle of miracles the furnace is still chugging along. This is a real blessing because it is a Clare Megasave I that you can no longer buy parts for other than a few simple things like the fan belt. If it goes we have to replace the furnace! Our youngest and friend (see previous post) even tidied up after themselves.

All in all it was a week filled with a multitude of blessings!

May the up coming week be filled with many blessings for you. Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Saturday, January 17, 2009

The New Face of Being Homeless



I really wanted to start our vacation highlights on a great, upbeat, sunshiny note but felt this was more important. You see if you look at the baby in the tree image and once you see it you will know where I'm going here. This is the new face of being homeless. It is the new face of poverty. Children do not ask to come into this world. Those who bring them into the world have a certain responsibility to provide at least the bare minimum of necessities of survival. More so they aren't and that really hit home with us for this vacation. Our furnace had been acting up and our youngest was off for three weeks so we suggested a bit of house sitting, food and amenities provided. The offer was accepted so we could relax and enjoy ourselves while away.

When we returned we learned a friend of our youngest had stayed as well. This friend was recently laid off, is waiting for unemployment insurance and is homeless. He's not a bum or a panhandler or an addict or any other negative connotation you could come up with for homeless. He's a young person with hopes and dreams, seriously down on his luck with no parental or family support and no place to call home. No where to call home! Can you just imagine the hopelessness of that? Our youngest never asked if it was ok for his friend to stay or whether it would be ok to share our food and give him a safe, warm place to stay. He simply acted knowing we would have approved. I'm proud of him for acting as we would expect.

Our philosophy has always been to help those in need. That philosophy has been well instilled in our kids. I can't count the number of young folk who have eaten at our house and whom we have fed more than one meal a day knowing full well that may be the only meal they would eat that day. No child should ever have to go hungry, ever! I always figured if I have enough to put on the table for ourselves, there is always enough for another hungry mouth. And for that matter we would never turn away their parent or anyone else that is hungry.

The next time you worry about cutting back your food dollars or complain you can't afford to go out for dinner or even the price of ordered in pizza, think about these young folks. They are just starting their lives out. The way things are going they are destined for failure before even getting a chance at life. If you know a child in need or even a young person do whatever you can to help. Often they really just don't know where to turn for help and they just don't have the resources to get the help. Anytime you can help a child even just one child is one way of helping the next generation. [sorry I really want to express this a bit better but have writer's block]

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Friday, January 16, 2009

Back Home

[sorry no picture today]

Good evening :) This is just a short post to let you know we arrived home safe and sound from our winter vacation. We had a six hour delay at the airport so after landing we arrived at the park & fly motel to rest enough for the driving leg of the journey. The road conditions as we drew closer to home were surprisingly dry. After making a couple of stops and an unexpected detour, we were glad to be home. I put a chuck roast and potatoes into the countertop roaster knowing it would be a late dinner but after the last couple of days we really needed a home cooked meal.

I took lots of pictures while we were away and of course I picked up a few things to share with you. Watch for an evening post tomorrow with the starts of our winter vacation highlights.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Dora's Delight
December 27, 2008

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Bewitched



We were lazing around the vacation house this morning savoring our morning coffee while planning our day.  My husband flicked a few channels landing on Bewitched.  Who can forget this wonderful old sit com with a bit of magic?  After all these years Darren and Samantha can still bring a chuckle :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Monday, January 12, 2009

Skip This Ad Advertisements

No Drops

This post is meant mainly for Entrecard members but I'm sure other web surfers can relate to what I'm saying. For those unfamiliar with Entrecard, this is a social networking site for bloggers that allows you to drop your 125x125 card (similar to a business card) to say hi, I visited your blog. Bloggers participating in Entrecard can be identified by the widget on their blog that has a yellow bar with a brown "E" with a "drop" or "get one" beside it and a guest blogger's card above (see side panel). In addition to dropping you can advertise your blog on other blogs with the credits earned from dropping. It's a fun way to promote your blog while visiting other blogs.

[rant]
I author five blogs, four of which are in the Entrecard system. I try to do regular drops on all the blogs with the lion's share of 300 going to my cooking blog and anywhere from 50 to 100 each going to my other blogs including this one on a daily basis. That means on any given day I visit 450 or more blogs. I do a lot of commenting as well subscribing to my favourite blogs. Over the past couple of months I have noticed a number of blogs using the advertising as pictured. There are a couple of things wrong with this. First and foremost it is against Entrecard's TOS and can get you site removed if someone complains. That means you lose your hard earned credits. Second and most important, I the reader do not feel I should have to jump through any hoops to read your blog. I'd really like to read your blog and comment but I just don't feel I should have to click an ad to do so. I personally do not bother reporting such blogs. Instead I simply will not click the ad nor will I visit your blog. What I will do is put your blog on my blacklist of blogs not to visit. Once it is on that list, that's it. Even if you remove the offending ad I would never know because I stopped visiting. Even if I click your url I won't see your blog because it is on the blacklist. Your blog simply won't load until I remove it from the blacklist. Now you can have the best content in the world and the cutest designed blog BUT you have lost a reader. You've lost traffic that is important when I realize I'm only one reader and not all that important to your success as a blogger but if I'm offended by having to click an ad before I can read your blog then you can be sure others are too. You've missed the point that readers ARE what you want. No blogger can afford losing readers.
[/rant]

Seriously, you need to ditch that "skip this ad" advertising! Change it for something where your blog is the first thing your readers see. There's all kinds of ad programs out there that are not an in your face click me first advertising. Your readers will thank you by reading your blog, commenting and subscribing to your blog. That's what you really want.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Sunday, January 11, 2009

Blog Your Blessings Sunday


Everything has been quiet for the past week - the phone, the house, daily activities. Quiet is a blessing! Don't get me wrong, I love having my family home and us traveling to visit them. I love being with our friends. This past holiday season was hectic with a lot of activity, entertaining and traveling. But it has been blissfully quiet. I really needed a bit of quiet!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Saturday, January 10, 2009

But I don't have a water bowl???

I received the following from a friend and thought I would pass it along. Thanks friend for sharing this wonderful story with me. You are always welcomed at my water bowl :) I've taken the creative liberty of adding a graphic for you.

-----

This explains why we forward jokes.


A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?! "

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Soooo...

Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word.

Maybe this will explain.

When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes.

When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes.

When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how, you forward jokes.

Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get?

A forwarded joke.
So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

You are all welcome at my water bowl anytime.

-- author unknown

-----

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Friday, January 09, 2009

Grandma's Socks


Grandma's Socks
December 26, 2008

As you know we celebrated Christmas at the home of parents to oldest grandbaby because we felt it would be easier for us to travel than those with the little ones. Everyone gathered there Christmas Day for a wonderful day. The next day a my husband wanted to check out a couple of boxing day sales. He had a specific purchase he was looking for but it wasn't for us. Sorry but I barely do shopping as it is so my idea of spending my time certainly would not be getting hauled around checking out boxing day sales. I purposely stayed in my pj's of which my husband noticed then made the hint that Grandma might want to babysit. Hey twist my rubber arm! So hubby and the kids headed off which was fine until Little Miss Sunshine realized they were gone. The temper tantrum started at the door, down the stairs then up through the kitchen and finally back at the door with everything within reach being angrily tossed. Once back at the door I said Mommy, Daddy and Papa have gone shopping but will be back soon. She pounded the door so I opened it to show her they were indeed gone. She made a couple of sniffles then went downstairs and sat dejectedly on her new Dora couch, sniffling a few times. Grandma gave her some apple juice and a homemade shortbread cookie. A few minutes later she gave me a hug and went about playing.

Oldest grandbaby is intrigued by anything Grandma and Grandpa - our water bottles, our suitcases, our clothes and of course everything she sees when she visits here. Our suitcase was in the corner of their family room by a built-in shelf unit and behind the love seat. Little Miss Sunshine plays with things on the lower shelves so I didn't think anything of it. She was quiet and I knew there wasn't anything harmful there. Grandma loves wearing heavy fleece vests and thick sucky socks in the winter. She came around the love seat with a smile ear to ear sporting one of Grandma's vests and a pair of Grandma's socks right out of our suitcase. She wanted help getting the zipper working. Well now this was the most hilarious sight! I honestly could not help but laugh. It was priceless!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Thursday, January 08, 2009

A Wii Problem


Wii Bowling
December 26, 2008

Parents to oldest grandbaby have a Wii so over the holidays we played a few games. Oh my gosh! When we first tried I was all gung ho to buy a Wii. We giggled over making our avatars. We giggled as the little one used one of the controllers sans batteries to mimic us. We giggled over the first few attempts at bowling which honestly we should have been able to do quite well considering we bowled 5 pin for years. My husband bowled before we met, we bowled for entertainment while dating and we bowled on a weekly league for several years (about 15). Bowling is one of the very few sports I do like participating in. About the only other sport I will willing participate in is tennis. Ok, herein lies the problem with Wii. We played a few games of bowling, tennis and baseball. I sat out of the golf because while I do golf or did for awhile I really needed a rest. Then the kids set it the Wii to do the fitness test. I'm not kidding they busted their sides laughing watching me! Guess what my fitness was? Oh come on, just take a guess...
.
.
.
fitness age 74
followed by fits of laughter from my family; they even had tears from laughing so hard - humpf

Hello! I still haven't hit the big 50. Dumb machine! Doesn't it realize I've worked very hard at increasing my brain power and that physical fitness is highly over rated? I exercise my brain daily but the Wii did not take that into consideration. Then to add insult to injury, the next day my muscles were so sore to which the kids said you have to work through it. Yea, right! Four days later I could finally move normally.

Oh and we apparently we are getting a Wii [sigh] :( I'm getting a lot of exercise right now hiding money. If he can't find it he can't buy it!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Looking Up
August 15, 2006

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009


Monday, January 05, 2009

New Year's Day


Deer Herd
January 1, 2009

After dinner on December 31st we travelled to spend the even with good friends. We prefer house parties because they tend to be low keyed or at least with our friends yet they are a lot of fun. When midnight approaches someone always turns on the television so we can watch the ball drop at Times Square. Once the ball drops and the new year has officially arrived we wish each other all the best for the upcoming year then we call all of our kids. It's a family tradition.

We almost stayed home this year as I have a sinus infection that I've been battling since before Christmas. I really need antibiotics for this one but my doctor's office was closed for the holidays. Oldest grandbaby and parents left in the morning so I had a bit of a fitful nap. Anyway I decided to tough it out thinking a bit of very cold air all be it painful would help turn the infection around. So I stood in the very cold for several minutes before getting in the car to make the journey to our friends'. It was early, just after 8 pm but still I was surprised we only went through one ride check. We stayed over night to avoid other drunk drivers.

The following morning we headed home and less than 10 minutes later spotted the deer herd. They were very close to town just outside a forested area. There were 7 of them all together and they didn't seem to mind us slowing down to take their pictures. What a beautiful sight! I haven't heard of any reports of deer being spotting in town but I'm sure there will be especially around the perimeter. We continued on our journey home, happy to greet another new year together. For year's we hosted a New Year's Day steak barbeque but this year decided to cancel since the weather had been so unpredictable. Actually the weather had been very predictable going to the tune of "we have a large event planned" to which the weather responded by "how many feet of snow would you like and can I add a bit of ice and whiteout conditions with that". You just have to love it when you can still get great weather like this! New Year's Day ended up being a quiet, restful day enjoying the water from the warmth of the house and simply spending time together.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008


Sunday, January 04, 2009

Blog Your Blessing Sunday - Exhaustion the Good Kind



This is the first BYBS post of 2009. I'm going to be trying very hard to not miss a Sunday even though some Sunday's the post may be a bit late. That is usually due to spending time with family and friends on Sundays that cut into my online time but that isn't so bad. The BYBS posts are a blessing in themselves. They help me see all those little blessings that sometimes are taken for granted and they help me reflect on the past week. At the same time I have the great opportunity of reading the blessings posted by others in the BYBS blogroll.

I am now officially exhausted but it is the good kind of exhaustion that is a blessing. It means there has been so much activity with family and friends they have seriously tuckered me out! It means I've had the time of my life enjoying my family and friends. It's the happy kind of exhaustion. It also means I'm getting a bit excited about our upcoming winter vacation.

Happy New Year :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008


Friday, January 02, 2009

11 year old dies of hyperthermia, father charged with murder

I'm sorry that I don't have a picture for this post. I honestly cannot get my head around this one. Seriously what the heck was the father thinking? We raised a larger by many standards family and I'm telling you there is no way I/we would ever have thought of making one of them walk 10 miles let alone in those weather conditions. The sad thing is a little girl is dead. Her family left behind is in a shambles. To read the full story, click here.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008


Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year


Garden Gnome
©2006-2008