LOOKING UP!...

 

I saw this cheeky little robin 

sitting on the edge of the fountain this morning. 

 He was looking up 

and singing a little song

 just for me.

As I looked around

 there was a perky little bouquet

 sitting on the table

 looking up at...

...the sun 

reflecting off of

something bright and beautiful...

...and 

making a 

commonplace sight

 seem new and promising.

I took a deep breath 

and as I looked around

 I could see that spring 

might be happening 

any time now...

...and even though 

I have been feeling

 a little beaten down by winter,

 and a little bit house bound,

 I am starting to breathe again 

and home

 has never looked 

so good...

...and whether it is said

 in bird song or

 in the language of flowers,

 it sounds and feels 

the same......

Even though it might be 

beginning to feel like

 we are getting closer to "normal",

 we are not there yet so:

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Get Your Vaccines

Wear Your Masks

and

Breathe! 

Home is a good place to be! 

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

GREEN ACRES...

 

I was never what you could call

 a Farmer's Daughter. 

 Back in the day 

my dad owned and ran a saw mill.

  My grandfather was closer to a farmer

 than anyone else in the family

 but still the property that

 my sister, brother and I

 spent time on as kids

 was always called "The Ranch".  

There never were large gardens or crops that needed to be tended, 

just an old barn where the

 milk cow and barn cats shared space,

 a chicken coop, a few rabbit hutches, some old knarly fruit trees

 that gave us sweet plums, cherries, apricots and loquats, 

Bachlor Buttons, Sweet Williams and Pinks

 planted by the kitchen door 

for endless bouquets for the tables,

 and a small garden

 that produced everything 

we could ever want 

on our plates.

Although my immediate family 

didn't actually live on the Ranch, 

when we were younger

 our dad built us a house 

about two miles down the way,

 we were always within walking distance.

 As we grew older,

 on any given summer's day,

 we could ride our bikes

 down the country road, 

 through the neighbor's cherry orchard, 

over the bridge, up the hill, past the barn,

 and invariably end up 

with a bowl of strawberries

 and fresh cream 

served by my grandmother 

under the shade of 

the old chestnut tree.

My dad's saw mill 

was on the Ranch property 

and he and my mom planted corn

 in a lower field beside the creek. 

 We had fresh

 corn on the cob, in season,

 for most of our dinners

 and I remember it always being

 very sweet and my folks discussing 

how much water was used 

or how much less would be used

 for next year's crop. 

 Between the rows of corn

 there grew some green plants. 

 My mom would harvest them

 at just the right time and 

they tasted wonderful piled high with 

butter, salt and pepper! 

 She called them Pigweed 

and, in fact, 

they really were just weeds,

 but I have never tasted anything

 so good.

As I started a family of my own,

 I was always interested in decorating. 

 When we first had a home,

 Danish Modern furniture was all the rage.

  A lot of orange, turquoise

 and bright blues and greens were used.

  We had it all. 

 Later on, I started using 

whatever was considered "country".  

We went through two homes 

using that decorating theme 

and started incorporating

 American antiques into the mix.

When we moved to the Cottage,

 I wanted to fulfill her roots 

and brought the Victorian influence

 into my realm, 

selling most of the country items

 that I had left over. 

 Although I had been surrounded by

 the farming community 

while I was growing up, 

I didn't see the potential 

that it could hold for me 

in the aspect of decorating.

  What I saw were 

always clean and neat rooms 

with pretty colorful pieces 

and an abundance of store-bought items

 usually ordered through catalogs such as

 Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Wards,

 or "monkey wards",

 as grandma called them.

 No on-line shopping then,

 just perusing the catalog,

 phoning in (or sending

 in an order form with a check).

 As neither my mom or grandma drove 

and the menfolk were always working, 

they were at the mercy of 

someone with a car

 who could drive them into town 

to pick up their orders,

and they weren't even living through 

a pandemic at the time!

Truthfully,

 I didn't pay much attention 

to what is now called

 "Farmhouse" decorating

 until we moved to an area

 that featured HGTV

 and I started blogging. 

 Looking back, 

when we were first renovating the Cottage,

 I wish I would have covered her 

in shiplap and white paint

 with natural and painted wood pieces

 but with very colorful accessories.

  It is too late now

 as that time has come and gone 

and without a "willing" partner

 that will never happen...

...and so,

 I have turned to living

 the farmhouse lifestyle

 in my imagination 

and in my kitchen. 

 Last autumn,

 I read a post

 put out by (Sarah)

 where she decorated

 a beautiful table with 

black and white placemats. 

I apologize,

 but I don't remember 

the name of the company. 

 I just knew that 

they would be perfect 

for my 

kitchen Christmas table. 

 Last month, (Kim), 

showed just a sliver of 

the sweetest plates 

on her pretty kitchen table

 and I fell in love. 

 She gladly shared with me

 where she got them 

and I was off 

on-line

 to Target.

  Thank you, ladies,

 for your kindness 

and your wonderful taste.

  Had it not been 

for the two of you, 

I probably 

wouldn't have realized

 that these separate objects

 would be a match 

made in heaven...

...these dessert plates

 are just a small portion 

of what this line offers...

...there is service 

for eight available...

...along with 

the teapot, cups 

and other matching pieces.

  I wish I could 

have them all 

and maybe someday I will,

 just not

 all at once.

Now, with these pieces

 in my collection,

 I can imagine all I want to...

As an afterthought: I covered up the red Cardinal and holly center of this Christmas plate from Tuesday Morning with the dessert plate. How cute that edge looks alongside the black and white cow.

  ...and

 outside my windows,

 I may not see 

endless Green Acres

 but when we 

sit down at the kitchen table 

the memories are

 all right there.

Have a wonderful week...

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Get Your Vaccines

and

Wear Your Masks.

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

THE SHOTS...

 

Just one week ago,

 we thought this never would happen. 

 We kept hearing that shots of the vaccine 

were being given around the country 

but our little corner of the world 

didn't seem to have gotten the message.

  I called the doctor's office,

 the health department, drug stores

 and everything else I could think of

but couldn't find a thing available, 

except on waiting lists. 

 Then last Tuesday, 

our son-in-law said he heard that

 CVS was opening up time slots, and making appointments for Thursday. 

 I went to bed with the computer on 

and kept getting up every three hours 

to see if I could find something but nothing,

 until around 8:00 AM 

and there it was.

Just to let you know 

this is not a photo of the Captain 

trying to steal a shot from a baby, 

although at that point in time,

we were ready to try anything! 

 I have just thrown in a few photos 

of a cruise to Alaska 

that we took a few years ago 

for lack of anything else to show.

I quickly put in the Captain's name and info 

and found that the

 closest CVS Pharmacy to us

 that was giving the vaccine 

was in Auburn,

 about a 45 mile jaunt, round trip,

 from us.  

I put in his name 

and got an appointment for 11:45, Monday morning, February 15. 

 By the time I filled out what was required 

and then entered my name,

 the only time slot I could get was 4:45, that same afternoon, so I took it.

  Everything was set and we knew

 we would have to make two trips on the same day,

 but that was OK as we could stop for dinner at In-N-Out Burger 

after my time slot. 

 We signed up for our

 second dose at the same time

 and it is scheduled for March 15, 

exactly one month from now.

One year ago, 

we were not really aware 

of what was to befall us

 in such a short time,

 and I wrote a post then

 that turns out was more truthful than I could ever have known. 

 It was almost as if I had a crystal ball

 and could look into the future. 

 It was called Kaleidoscope

 and you can read it again here. 

 One part that stands out to me was: 

 "A kaleidoscope of views 

that could be, 

and probably will be in another time,

 so much worse than

 they are right at this minute. 

 It is a phase and event 

that holds so much gratitude

 for the here and now..". 

 

 And the gratitude is very present

 after only one short year has gone by. 

 Who would have imagined that a vaccine 

would be researched, tested and made available to combat this virus 

in such a short amount of time? 

 After the initial signing up,

 it seemed that everything had finally fallen into place 

and we were set.  

Fast forward to the day of our shots:

  

We arrived at CVS in Auburn at about 10:30.

  We had received a call 

that the Captain needed 

to check in at the pharmacy

 before getting the shot 

to correct something on his record. 

 When we stepped into the store

 we were met with some confusion and people lining up in different directions.  

An employee was telling us

 that they were backing up and we would have a little bit of a wait.  

She suggested that we go

 back outside the store 

and check in about every fifteen minutes.  

We wanted to make sure our name and time

 was on her list so she checked 

and, no, we weren't there.

 At this time, however, she said they were letting husbands and wives go together

 so I didn't have to come back at 4:45. 

 She then told us to 

go to the back of the store

 and check at a window there. 

 As it happened, 

when I was putting the Captain's info 

into the computer,

 I misread the first number 

on his Medicare card, 

saying it was an S instead of a 5.  

After that was cleared up, 

that lady sent us to wait on aisle 16.  

We did and there were not

 too many in front of us 

so we got our shots 

within about 15 minutes.

  We might still be waiting in line now 

if it wasn't for my little mistake. 

 We waited for 15 minutes after 

to make sure there were no complications 

so, all in all, after the initial start, 

it was pretty smooth sailing. 

 The only down side was

that it was too early for dinner 

so we didn't stop at In-N-Out.

They have opened up vaccination spots 

in town now 

and as we just walked in the door

 from getting ours 

we got a call from a pharmacy in town.

  Oh, well.

  Now, someone else will get an easy one.

  Isn't that almost always the way things go?

 In real time,

 the outcomes are not too bad. 

My arm was sore last night and this morning

 but the Captain reports he feels fine.

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Stay Home

And

Wear Your Mask.

...Judy...

I could tell you 

this is what we look like today,

BUT, 

the time stamp on the photo said 2007. 

Time does have a way of flying by

 and, believe me, 

it is not that kind!

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

MAYBE, NEXT YEAR...

 

With our world's narrowed down greatly,

 I am not finding much to write about these days. 

 I tend to look back at better times 

starting with the Year BC 

- Year Before Covid -

  As time progresses we are running out of the Year BC.

  This will be the last month 

that we can really say that. 

 So, I turned back the pages 

and here are the results.

This was a photo

 I showed to celebrate Valentine's Day in 2020. 

 Unfortunately,

 fresh tulips are not offered 

when you shop groceries on line...

...so here I have done

 my up-to-date version

 with some faux tulips 

I have on hand.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.  I wish you all a heartfelt and lovely day.

The upside of all this is 

that we have been having some nice, sunny days. 

 It is still a bit chilly 

but having the effect of sunshine

 is a healing point for me.

One year ago, 

we had just painted the sitting room

 with Skinny Jeans by Behr.  

It was quite a change from

 the very dull gold that it was. 

 I went looking for art to display

 and came up lucky at a local thrift shop.

(the last time I have done that)

  Above, 

you see how the new pictures looked 

after being hung over the sofa...

...today you see

 that we added the black shelf back into the mix.

  After taking Christmas down,

 I decided to hang the same pictures back up,

 not even remembering

 that they had first hung there

 one year ago.

It was almost exactly one year ago

 that I bought the new rug

 to be used in the sitting room 

and then discovered that 

my plan was not a good one

 so the parlor inherited it...

I still really like it in the parlor,

 and you might catch a glimpse of the

 burgundy carpet that is still beneath it.

  I did say that I couldn't wait to remove that old carpeting, 

and the Captain said that when we finish

 two small projects that we are working on now,

 he will start that process.  

Can you imagine,

 that one whole year has passed 

since those words were first spoken?

One year ago

 the drawers on 

the chest were gray...

...this year the drawers are white,

 and that reloved bunch of flowers 

on the game table 

just keeps showing up

 no matter what the year 

or the occasion.

Like I said,

 it will soon be feeling like

 we have always lived during a pandemic. 

 We won't be able, for awhile,

 to look back to the year before 

and find that things were quite different.  

The big thing to look forward to now

 is the vaccine.  

There have been big numbers 

of shots given,

 but in comparison to the whole population,

 it seems a very small number.

 

 Last week, here in our county,

 ages 75+ were listed 

as receiving the vaccine,

 but due to the shortage

 that the county was receiving,

  there was nary a place that had them when we wanted to sign up. 

 This week, the age group has gone back down to 65 and over 

with no consideration given 

to the 75+ age group. 

 So that means there will be 

more competition 

for the small amounts of doses 

that the state receives.  

My fear is that

 the ones that are being given the vaccine 

will get lax and not continue

 to take the precautions

 that are necessary

 to keep everyone safe. 

 I have our names on every list available

 so we just go one week at a time.

Have heart everyone, 

this too shall pass.

  Hopefully, sooner than later. 

 Maybe, next year?

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Stay Home

And

Wear Your Masks

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda