Over the lake, over the weekend

I’m thankful for the view out my window this past Saturday morning.

It would be lovely to live here year ’round.

I am thankful to have had two beautiful mornings at this retreat center.

Winter must have her fingers pried open

Winter’s grip is firm
unyieldingly tenacious
Spring opens her hand

Time Warp Tuesday: the unofficial engagement picture

I was at a scrapbooking retreat over the weekend. Prior to the event, we were each asked to provide a picture of ourselves from the 1980s.  While I remember the 80′s, with big earrings, bigger hair, and big geometric print blouses — and I can even remember all 3 on myself at once! — I have yet to find the photographic proof.  And honestly, I didn’t dress the style very often.  You can, however, contrast my photo from 1983 with this one from the spring of 1987:

When we were very young…

My hair was not in a pony tail — it was actually cut and styled this way. 

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For those of you who have been waiting… I never did find a picture of me with those lavender-colored leg warmers from the early part of the decade.  I promise that if it shows up, I will share it with you!

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.

Lawn Ornaments

A statue at Blooming Hill, a garden and shop run by my friend Cyndie Rinek in Northern Virginia.

Lawn ornaments can be traditional…

whimsical…

surprising…

my neighbor’s bottle tree

or simply a neighborhood eyesore.

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What kind of lawn ornaments do you have in your neighborhood?

Signs of Spring

I was so thrilled to get outside and walk last Friday morning! It was the first time since my foot surgery that I could travel farther than 2 blocks without pain. It was a long, slow walk, although I didn’t go very far. I stopped often to take photos, so I’ve got plenty of them to share with you.

signs of spring

I think those shots were worth the swollen, stiff toe I had by the end of the evening.

This weekend I will be on a scrapbooking retreat away from home, so I will have to provide my own toe massages. The combination of my sub-par massaging abilities and the “dry” facility may be grounds for some failures in pain management, although of course I will be bringing along the 800mg pills of ibuprofen. (At this point in my life, that is probably my blood type.) I’ll try to figure out a way to elevate my foot as much as possible while still being productive. 

Not Yet Spring

This is what greeted us yesterday morning.

Snow falling on cedars Blue Spruce

My cardinal on the Welcome sign looks rather unhappy.

[click on pic to embiggen]

Today there is a wintry mix falling from the sky here at my house, but the mountain has 3 inches of fresh snow and SuperDad is off enjoying his retirement with Nordic skiing.

What’s it like at your house today?

Time Warp Tuesday: 1983

One of the reasons for not cropping a photograph is the treasure trove of stories in the background.  Here we have gold draperies and a Volkswagen “microbus” parked on the street.

One of the hairstyles that is classic to the 1980’s is bangs (also known to some as “fringes”).
I have, as the girl says in the Peanuts cartoons, naturally curly hair. Don’t be too envious; naturally curly hair does what it wants, when it wants. You get what you get. I was just lucky that this happened to be one of my “good hair days” — when my bangs were actually behaving themselves.

Christmas 1983

I’m happy to say that by my senior year of high school, I was finally having a little more say in my clothing choices. I actually liked this blouse quite a bit! It was a little more teal colored than it looks in my photo-of-a-photo. Yes, those are tuxedo pleats, a faux bow-tie, and puffy shoulders. Yes, those puffy lips and smile are brought to you by the wearing of braces. And yes, I was still receiving stuffed animals for Christmas!

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.

My Town Monday: a beautiful day in the neighborhood

We’ve had some beautiful weather lately. Please join me for a walk in the park.  The path is still icy in places, so be careful where you step.

Look up at that beautiful blue sky!

If you sniff the bark of the Ponderosa Pine, you might just detect the scent of vanilla or butterscotch.

The tree pictured above is the one on the right below.

The sun melts the frost and chases away the winter chill.

Even the moss looks greener today.

I do believe that Spring is on its way…

February Sky

Looking up — Virginia 2011

Time Warp Tuesday: Be My Valentine

This picture is a flashback to 1994, with a young SuperDad and even younger MusicMan (he was 3 years old) both wearing their university clothing. Of course, MM didn’t know he would someday be attending Dad’s alma mater but he loved the sweatsuit and his daddy — and I loved the picture of the two of them.
Obviously, I still do. ♥

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.