Winter Solstice

Thanksgiving saw us driving through snow to spend the holiday with OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw, Grandson's #1 and #2 and the three four-legged friends at their home.  Our Thanksgiving dinner was traditional fare.  The boys and I played some Monopoly and Parcheesi and OnlyDaughter and I started some jig saw puzzles that all helped with here and there.  Both puzzles made the return trip back to our home so that my Mom, Gigi, could be as frustrated as we were.

OnlyDaughter and OnlySonInLaw had settlement in early November on some land closer to the location of the grandson's school(s).  They hope to break ground on the construction of a new home in the spring.  While we were visiting over Thanksgiving, we all made a visit to the property for delivery of two four-wheelers that will enable them to move around their property with ease.  They have since had some issues with folks who, having probably hunted on their property in the past, are unhappy seeing it posted and no hunting allowed.  Hopefully, there won't be too many problems until things can be fully secured since they aren't in residence yet.

The Puddle Pond had a skim of ice on it early this morning but with the sun out now, it's probably gone.  

For some reason, I am ambivalent this year about the fact that Christmas Eve is in three days!  Yesterday I did a little baking and cooking which I needed to do so it could be included in the gifts I will be taking in to work tomorrow for my co-workers.  I need to make some seasoned nuts for OnlySonInLaw and if I'm feeling ambitious, a few more cookies.  Mr P assisted today in addressing gift tags as we pulled together the gifts I had stashed for everyone.  

This will be my last Christmas celebrated as a working stiff.  Even knowing this, I couldn't really get into the Christmas dinner at work, I will be glad when Christmas is past and we turn into the new year.   Our division has their annual luncheon tomorrow which will be the last celebration at work. My focus these days is by October next year I will be retired and I am so ready.  I have a countdown going at work for the remainder of 2014 and lo and behold, I only have 6 days to work this year.  I'll start next year with a countdown of the months and eventually narrow it down to days as the year moves along.  There are certain processes to be followed in preparing for retirement so I will be mapping out a timeline.  

Winter Solstice arrives at 6:03PM today.  Exciting, since daylight will begin to lengthen just a bit each day from here on out.  Going to work in the dark, or taking my weekend walks in the dark is not a downer for me.  I find my drive in to work is a time of reflection and I enjoy the solitude until I pick my car-pooler up about 1/3 of the way into the trip.  When my walking buddy, R, and I walked this morning, the skies were beautiful and the quiet around us peaceful. 

Thank You

Today is Veterans Day here in the United States.  Thank you to all those who have served (including my father, brother-in-law, uncles) and who currently serve (including a niece, nephew, coworker) in the military.  My brother-in-law made service in the US Army a career.  He and his family lived in many places both stateside and overseas.  My home has been in the same state where I was born and within 20 miles of where I grew up.  I salute all those families who routinely uproot themselves and are often single parent families while the military personnel is serving far from home and putting their lives on the line for our freedom.

Being it's Veterans Day, I have the day off work.  Six months ago, I scheduled a doctor's appointment for today.  Once that was out of the way, Mr P and I made a stop to pick up bird seed that had been pre-ordered, followed by breakfast out at Cracker Barrel.

The sun is out and temperatures are to hit 60 degrees F today.  There was some cleanup outside earlier this morning to finish pulling annuals that were hit by the first frost over the weekend.  Mr P is golfing, I will be taking a walk after lunch and finishing the marker for Chance so we can get it in the ground.  We hope to get our three fig trees "winterized" too.

The Try the World box arrived and on the right in the back you can see the country we will visit will be France.  The only item I'm unfamiliar with is the chestnut puree/paste.  The teas and cookies will go good together, won't they.

Election Day came and went and Pennsylvania will have a new governor come January 2015.  What a relief to no longer have to see those nasty TV ads, robo calls and all the cutthroat activities that are part of election campaigns anymore.  

Take care and have a good week.

Signs, Sounds and Smells of Fall

 November 1st and everywhere there are signs, smells and sounds of fall.  My walking buddy and I made our trip out in a light mist this morning and now at 8:30PM the wind is howling outside.  There are a few lily pad stragglers in The Puddle Pond on this 1st day of the new month.  The leaves that are left on the trees have turned and the walks from the house to The Puddle Pond are noisy as leaves crunch under our feet.  There's no sneaking up to snap pictures of the deer in the field on the other side of the stream that borders our property.  

We took a trip to one of our local apple orchards to select apples for pies and eating.  Lots of pumpkins, apples, winter squash to delight the senses.  Jonathans were purchased for pies, honeycrisp and cortlands for eating.  There's one honeycrisp left so another trip to the orchard will need to be planned soon.  Pumpkins grown down at the pond were picked and yielded 5 pints of canned pumpkin to use over the winter months.  

The wood stove has been in use at our house and the smell of woodsmoke is in the air.  The neighbors living in the little stone house across from the pond had a fire going the other night and I couldn't resist taking a picture. 

Another birthday came and went since my last post.  OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandsons #1 and #2 sent a beautiful bouquet of autumn toned gerbera daisies in a copper bucket.  Their box from http://www.trytheworld.com/ (Try the World) arrived today too.  Pictures of the goodies in the box will be in another post and will allow me to enjoy the culinary wonders of Paris, France.  

Mr P surprised me with an evening out to enjoy Varekai, a Cirque du Soleil traveling show. http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/

The music, costumes, choreography, gymnastics and story line were superb.  Our seats were on the floor next to the stage and Mr P was pulled from the audience to participate in a skit which, for me, was as much a highlight of the night as the performance itself.  

Thanks to all who sent birthday well wishes my way.  It was one of the best in years.

Tomorrow morning there will be an early morning walk and later some of us are gathering at my Mom's apartment to move furnishings in her rooms so maintenance can paint.  Tuesday is primary election here in Pennsylvania and everyone I talk to says they will be happy when we are no longer bombarded with nasty commercials and robo calls from the candidates.  

I'm off to work on knitting a tea cozy that is a lesson in cable knitting.  OnlySonInLaw's second sock is on its way too.  Have a good weekend wherever you are.

Shine on Blood Moon

Wednesday morning around 4:30AM, I took a few pictures of the blood moon from the deck at the back on the house.  The trees blocked a lot of the moon and the pinkish color wasn't supposed to be visible until about 6:15AM.  I leave for work at 6AM during the week so Mr P offered to drive up the road (he's not a walker like me) to a spot where there would be an unhindered view.  He managed to get some nice shots and said that while he really couldn't see the pinkish tinge just looking at the moon, it is visible in the pictures themselves.  All week long when I woke for work, it was so light outside, I felt like I might have overslept.  

Fall is in the air.  The leaves are turning colors here in the Northeast and the air feels crisp.  It was 43 degrees F when my walking buddy, R and I went out at 6AM this morning.  It's such a quiet, peaceful time.  On the way home, there was a doe watching us from the side of the road for quite a while as we approached.  When we stopped to look at work being done on a house in the area, she slid quietly into the woods.  There were about 15 turkeys near the house this morning when Mr P and I returned home from our favorite little breakfast restaurant this morning.

I finished a gray tube sock this morning (for OnlySonInLaw) and started the second one.  I have some yarn to try and make into a baby hat but I'm not sure what I will do with it once it's done.  The yarn is very different and is pink, green and white varigated.  My nephew and his wife are expecting their first baby in February of next year and I want to make them something special so I'm gathering my ideas.  

Tomorrow is Columbus Day, a holiday for me from work.  This is the last Columbus Day holiday I will observe as a day off work since plans are for me to retire next year.  I'm eagerly anticipating retirement.  

It's a beautiful day outside today.  I need to take time to walk down to The Puddle Pond and enjoy the sunshine and fall colors.  

Hope you are having gorgeous weather too.

1st of October

1st of the month at The Puddle Pond.  Lily pads gone and the trees are slowly starting to turn colors.  Mornings have been warm and the afternoons even warmer.  It may be unseasonably warm but the air smells like fall.  The garden has been cleaned up and Mr P continues to cut, split and stack firewood.  There should be plenty to generate heat this winter.

Friday afternoon was spent seeing the sites and enjoying the eats at the Bloomsburg Fair 2014.   At the end of the evening I would have liked to take a ride on the sky ride back to the car but decided just to walk.  We're hoping to make a visit to the fair an annual event.  

Fall is in the air

Fall officially arrived this week.  The leaves on the trees have started to turn colors and drop.  It's cooler in the morning following much cooler temperatures overnight and it's dark when I drive to work in the morning.  It's still light when I come home from work and there are few hours of daylight in the evening to get outside so we cram outside duties in right after dinner.  

Ginger Gold and Honeycrisp apples are transformed into pies or just sliced and eaten.  There will be more trips to the orchard before the season ends.  Our final harvest from the garden included five neck pumpkins.  One will be roasted in the oven and canned for use over winter and others will be given away.  Kale and three kohlrabi plants are still in the garden but the rest has been cleaned up and put to bed for winter.  There's lots of weeding to do in the asparagus bed and the front flower bed but first frost will probably hit the weeds before I get them all pulled. 

Last November Mr P had major surgery and because he was very limited in what he could do physically, our firewood supply was depleted almost when winter started (remember that horrible winter of ice, snow and cold temps?).  We have been working together to replenish or supply.  He wields the chainsaw, and we share the splitting and stacking duties working to get enough for this winter season.  

Chance was a talker and left us know when she was ready to eat at 5AM in the morning.  She was a constant presence these last six months in her favorite spot under the table in the kitchen.  The house is quiet without her.

I have off work tomorrow and there may be a trip to a fair.  There's a yard sale on Saturday too.  

Enjoy the upcoming weekend.

Sadness Decends

Last Wednesday, September 3, 2014, was a sad day here at the Puddle Pond.  Chance had a medical emergency during the afternoon.  An appointment was scheduled at the vets, a visit that evening and the heart wrenching decision during that appointment made to put her to sleep.  We were both with her until the end which was peaceful.  We brought her home and buried her here with all the other pets that passed before her.  There was a visit to OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandsons #1 and #2 over the weekend.  We gave OnlySonInLaw her collar which according to his parents was the collar he picked out and put on her when he adopted her in Florida over 21 years ago.

She had a long life and was relatively healthy up to the end.  She was quite the talker and now the house is quiet and we miss her terribly.

Rest in Peace Chance.

See you in September...

 

Where or where did August go??? 

Grandson #1 turned 14 in early August.  He's almost (or is already) as tall as I am and such a handsome young guy.   Goodies from the garden were harvested and enjoyed.  There is still quite a bit in the garden which is quick a tangle of weeds and plants.  If I devoted every evening until the end of September in weeding, I don't think I would finish weeding the garden and my flower bed out front.  First frost will probably hit before then.

In my last post, I detailed the war being waged against the lily pads in the pond.  As you can see from the first of the month photo, it appears the spray is doing its job.  Mr P stated that he will be in the little blue john boat first thing next spring to spray any lily pads brave enough to try and sprout.  There is lots of algae bloom but that will be addressed next year if it continues to "bloom". 

My Mom celebrated her 88th birthday in mid-August.  We took the annual pic with the siblings that made it to the picnic and my brother's grandson hopped on Great Grandma's lap for the photo op.  Happy, happy Birthday Mom and many, many more.

Lots of signs of the end of summer drawing nigh.  There will be at least 4 nice neck pumpkins to pick and can for baking a pumpkin pie this winter.  Chance had a quick opportunity to explore the back yard a little bit one nice day.  

We held a Labor Day picnic yesterday with family and lots of good food.  Pinochle was the card game of choice after eating and Mom was at her table in the family room for a while working on the latest jig saw puzzle.  

I finished a book this week which was a recommendation on a blog I follow - http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/.  The book, Little Heathens by Margaret Kralish was delightful.  Even though she was writing about her life growing up during the Depression and this time frame was my Mom and Dad's, there were lots of things that I could relate to and that were things done as I was growing up.  

Hoping you had a safe Labor Day holiday.  

It's not as light out when I leave for work in the morning and the sun sets earlier now.  Fall is right around the corner so enjoy the last vestiges of summer.