REFLECTIONS...

 

I would like to thank all of you

 for your kind words of 

compassion and sympathy 

for the loss of our SIL.  

This will take a good while 

to put into perspective

 and there are so many people

 who will be missing her

 for a very long time to come.

Robin

 doesn't take any 

sunspot for granted.

 Now that spring is here

 and there are days 

that are beautiful and sunny, 

she is taking full advantage

 of every one that she can.

We had a beautiful red sky

 the other morning. 

 "Red sky at morning, 

sailor's take warning" 

usually forewarns 

of unsettled weather 

coming our way,

 but this one was just pretty 

with none of the above.

The morning sun 
streaming through 
the dining room window 
is always a great treat. 
It is the first thing we see 
coming out of the bedroom each morning
 and it starts the day off
 just right.

One bunch of plain, run of the mill,
 grocery store blooms 
look a little more special
 when divided into
 three old mason jars 
and placed down
 the center
 of the table. 

A new set of patio cushions 
have been ordered 
for the screen porch.
  I think the colors will be complimentary
 to the green walls 
and the teal garden urns.

Although the reflections
 in the bright light of day 
are a joy to experience,
 the nights are 
still on the cool side
 so we must wrap up
 appropriately.

Yesterday 
marked two weeks
 since the Captain and I 
were fully vaccinated 
so we are free to roam. 

 I have big plans
 for the first thing I am going to do
 but you will have to wait until next week
 to hear about it. 
 To most,
 I am sure, 
it will be inconsequential,
 but to me it will be so special 
and I eagerly await the joy of it!

(Please keep in mind 
that mostly I am a very boring person!)

Stay Smart
Stay Well
Get Your Vaccines

Wear the Mask (because we still have to)

...Judy...

Since Easter will have
 come and gone before we meet again, 
here are my greetings to you

 for a very special day.   

I hope you have a very

 Happy Easter.

Sharing this week at:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

GOODBYE...

 

Dear friends:

Happy Spring to you all.

This past weekend 

a bright light was turned out in our family. 

 I mentioned last August 

that we had received the type of news 

that you don't ever want to hear.  

Our dear sister-in-law

 had been diagnosed with

 stage 4 liver cancer 

and was given only

 a couple of months to live. 

 We, as a family,

 have lost many loved ones 

but we always knew it was inevitable

 after a long illness.  

This time frame we were given 

was too short

 and so hard to wrap our minds around.

Ron and Jeanie and family

Jeanie and I married into

 a wonderful family. 

 We were young and we grew up together. 

 Jeanie and Ron, the Captain's brother,

 met in high school 

and have been together ever since. 

 They were each other's one and only love. 

 They raised three children and were blessed with five grands.

  We all had such fun as a family.  

Our kids were close to the same ages 

and have been much more than 

just cousins over the years. 

 Jeanie was the best person

 I have ever known.

  I never heard her say

 a bad word about anything.  

She was quick witted, humorous, loving and always ready with

 a helping hand to anyone who needed it. 

 She had a huge smile 

that always let you know

 you were important to her. 

 She was a very soft person 

but strong in her faith and love. 

 She wanted to be here for her family 

as long as she could 

so she fought and fought hard 

to reach that goal.  

Two months turned into almost eight.

  Time that was spent giving herself 

to all who loved her. 

 2020 was a very bad year.  

Covid made it hard for everyone. 

 Covid certainly didn't cause

 Jeanie's illness and death 

but it did keep us apart 

from those we love for

 a very long time. 

 It stole precious time

 when time was all that anyone had.

  We did get to travel to Santa Cruz

 to see Jeanie 

two days before she passed. 

 I am thankful for that time. 

 Two days before that 

she said "I love you" to us

 over the phone, 

but on the day we saw her 

I only can hope 

that she knew we were there.  

Time is so fleeting and it means so much.

 

Rest in peace

 dear, sweet sister and friend. 

 We will miss you 

but everything you were 

will always be 

the best part of us.

...Judy...

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Get Your Vaccines

Wear the Mask

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

SPRING AWAKENING...

 

"Springtime is the land awakening
The March winds are the morning yawn".

Lewis Grizzard

We are at the dawn of springtime. 

 In four days

 it will burst wide open.

As March winds are blowing 
and snow is still on the ground, 
I am trying to join in the game. 
 It doesn't seem that easy to me.  
On a Sunday errand run,
 I noticed that our local IHOP's parking lot was filled to capacity.  
For a restaurant that on a BC (Before Covid) day
 hardly ever had more than a few cars 

at a time in the parking lot, 
it appeared that the community 
can hardly wait to get back at it.  
   

 Another popular restaurant in town

 that is closing their doors after 37 years,

 had diners overflowing

 for one last time.

 ("We weren't supposed to do it

 but we did it anyway. 

Patrons just wanted

 one last seat at the table.")

 Serious questions:

 How many of these people

 have had their vaccinations

 and how many are paying attention 

to all safety guidelines?

 These are questions

 I can't help asking

 and I can't help

 being skeptical of the answers. 

In the mean time 

our numbers are still rising.

 

We had our second dose 

of vaccine yesterday.  

My arm was a little sore and itchy

 right afterwards 

and I had slight shivers during the night and some stiffness when I got up. 

Now, other than a pretty sore arm, 

I feel fine. 

 The Captain had

 just a slightly sore arm

 and nothing else. 

 I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup

 just in case

 and it was so good 

whether we needed it or not!

All the kids

 have had their second shot,

 except Tim will have his second 

the first part of April. 

 After all the waiting periods are over,

 I'm hopeful

 we can get together safely 

and enjoy each other's company

 for the first time since Christmas, 2019. 

 I can't wait.

I know there are one's 
that may think I am over thinking this 
but it is important to me 
to follow the science 

and to do everything I can
 to guarantee that myself, 

my loved ones

 and everyone else
 we may come in contact with, 

stays safe.  
To me, it is not a lot to ask.  
Truthfully,
 I have empathy for those

 that are afraid to take the vaccine

 and hope that they have 

neighbors and friends in their circles

 that can talk to them.  

I have no patience for those 
who refuse the vaccine

 for other reasons 

and who don't take the precautions needed 
to get us all back to how we want to be.
 It is such a small thing to do 
in the big scheme of things.

I have been showing 
some signs of spring around the Cottage. 
 Just a little nod to happiness 
for being out of winter 
and some wishes 
for a better year to come.

Stay Smart
Stay Well
Get Your Vaccines
Wear Your Masks.

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

TRUTHFUL REALITY...

 

Even though
 you saw some pretty sweet sights
 on my last weeks' posts 
such as...

...this stack of

 cute dishes and...

...this cute sign and...

...this bright, shiny object.

I forgot to take photos right at the beginning of the clean-up, so this is only half or what it looked like!

In reality,

 this is what was happening

 in and around the Cottage

 behind closed doors, so to speak. 

 She never complains

 when she is abused in this manner

 and, believe me, 

this doesn't happen all the time,

 but this is the situation

 we are in right now.

One summer,

 a few years ago,

 we changed up a 

pretty, little sunporch

 off of the guest bedroom 

into a pretty, little craft/sewing room. 

 It was used in the early morning hours

 but it became too hot during the day. 

 When winter set in,

 it felt like a freezer, 

so it became a large box

 for stuff waiting 

for the right time to be put away

 where it belonged. 

 Over the years, 

for one reason or another, 

the right time was never found 

and it became 

a long haul storage situation...

When I picked up the bug for painting,

 I moved my craft paints

 into the library.  

Without going into too many explanations,

 before long 

the pretty room seen above

 turned into this...

...no other explanations 

needed or wanted!!

Our pretty, little Cottage

 has too many small spaces,

 hidden behind doors, 

that are too easy to shut

 and then taken advantage of,

 so to speak! 

 I am not making excuses,

 this is just the truthful reality 

of life here at the Cottage. 

 I don't have a problem 

keeping the main living areas respectable,

 but it is way too easy 

to just lay something down 

"just for a minute" 

and then just shutting all those doors.

When it came time 

to pack up all the Christmas, 

we stacked up the boxes

 in the dining room. 

 As it rained a few days

 during this project, 

we waited for it to dry out 

before transferring the boxes out

 to the garden shed 

which should be a receptacle

 for garden tools, right? 

 Long story short:

  Since I wasn't using

 the craft/sewing room 

except for storing stuff,

 let's take out all the unusable stuff

 and put the Christmas stuff

 there so it is easier to get too

 when it comes time to use it.

 Good deal! 

 Now we can 

close the door 

and not feel like losers! 

and I can still get to my sewing machine.

As far as that library/art studio goes,

 we are still working on it. 

 Hopefully,

 we can get it done

 in the coming week.

I am making myself happy,

 I am making the Captain happy

 (he has space once again 

for his garden tools), 

and I am making the Cottage happy. 

 That is my story

 and I'm sticking to it!!

And while you are waiting

 on pins and needles 

to see the outcome...

  ...here is a

 little funny, bunny business

 to remind us that

 Spring/Easter isn't far behind.

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Get Your Vaccines

"My interest is in the future 

because I am going to spend

 the rest of my life there".

Charles F Kettering

Wear Your Masks.

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

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