Spoiled or Not Spoiled?

While that is a ridiculous question, the answer is all of the above. Daisy, as was all dogs before her, is on one hand spoiled and on one hand just lovingly taken care of. I am rewarded by such care as never being allowed to get too far from sight…

Do you know how hard it is to type with a dog under your arm? She didn’t care, she wasn’t moving. If we go to the sunroom, she gets to be in front of the fire and I don’t have a dog under my arm but I am carefully watched.

This has been a chilly winter – downright cold the last 3 weeks. So the fire feels good to all of us. Last week she had to go for her check-up and get shots. She is always good but gets a little droopy and lethargic afterward. When I realized she was not in the living room I found her in the bedroom…under everything.

Well, it was -10F degrees outside, so fair enough. She slept that way most of the night. I had to move her over to get room for me. Last night she was much better. It is still cold but a normal cold for us, 34F.

Stretching out takes up 3/4 of the sofa. While my dogs get spoiled, I don’t baby them or dress them in clothes. I understand they are dogs. However, as a responsible pet owner, she is well taken care of, even if she is somewhat spoiled more than some dogs. Tonight I chose to work at the dining room table, which she is not happy about, but she is remaining very close.

So we close out the night with a reminder to be kind to most of God creation. I say most because I am not being kind to the slithery creations – not being mean either – just not going near them, even at the zoo.

FOTD, Anthurium

It is a yucky, cloudy, dreary, melty, and foggy day here in the Midwest. Yes, thankfully the 26 inches of snow is finally melting after three weeks. Enough already.

I understand that FOTD is taking a well-deserved break but I needed some color today, so I give you the Anthurium that is growing in my office.

These are supposed to be difficult and fickle plants to grow so we will see how long it takes me to kill them. I really wanted some color in my office and while Poinsettias are wonderful this time of year, I know how fickle those are and the one in my office is really sad. So onward with the adventure.

Hope you enjoyed this splash of red for today. I really liked the one with the green edges.

Remember to always try to be kind. You never know when you smile or kind gesture may just make someone’s day.

Digging Out

I know that many of us live in snow zone areas but what we got here in a 24-hour period missed the record by 1 inch. We got 15.5 inches. That in itself was crazy but it fell on the 8 inches snow from Tuesday which was still on the ground. A bit much for this southern girl.

So, I thought I would share some of the beauty we had because it was beautiful…thank you, Lord, for a warm home. Our current temp here at 8pm is 1 degree Fahrenheit. One, not two or twenty but 1. Tomorrow’s high will be -12F with a wind chill of -32F. Canada we love you but you can have your weather back, not interested. Although I don’t think it’s their fault either. Somebody ticked off Santa as it’s a polar vortex. So bundle up friends, we don’t see above single digits for 10 days and many of those are on the wrong end of the thermometer.

Let’s see some pics and forget the cold…if that is possible.

Then we had to start clearing the sidewalk…

Just for reference, that is a 4-foot-high fence

The strong winds created 3-5 foot drifts.

Street facing south. Thank goodness for snowplows

My neighbors trees were really pretty.

As storm Gerrie moved on past us, I hope you were not hit badly by it. I think the New England States may have a rough time. Be safe and stay warm friends. Try to be kind when you can.

Photo Challenge: Getting Inside

Bushboy gave us a fun challenge and as I am putting away Christmas things, the beauty of my antique keys get a chance to be seen across the world.

This first one is not an antique but shows how electronics have now become keys.

There are many keys that open doors of life and the key of kindness is an essential key we should always use.

The Middle of Round 2

The body time clock still goes off at normal time even though you can go nowhere, a good day to sleep in but no the systems are on a timer.

I got out early between the two lines of the snow to get some updated pics in case you are not sure what snow looks like…

I am always amazed at how snow sits on top of fence posts. It doesn’t take much to amaze me. Since I knew the heavy stuff would be here within the hour, I needed to refill the feeder so the birds would have something to get to since we spoil them now in providing their food.

They said thank you as the snow started up again.

The reflections of the Christmas tree are in the window. It comes down today.

The Downy Woodpecker is really enjoying the seedpack.

All in all, this snow is dryer and lighter than what we got on Tuesday, so it should not be difficult to remove. I already cleared the sidewalk once just to keep the weight down.

Hope you all have a good day, a calm weekend, and a continued good year. And as always, remember the value of kindness, especially when things around you are NOT calm.

Preparing for Round 2

As Daisy and I are warmed by the fire

We wait for round 2, not our desire

Round one still leaves us 3″ on the ground

Round two promises to keep us homebound

The joys of winter in the Midwest, or not. Being from the south, I could just pass on this weather thank you very much. But no, the second major storm for the New Year is upon us. I will have to say the wet snow still clings to the buildings and trees making them quite beautiful, well, at least the trees. Not much interest in a column except for the way the wind-blown snow clung to it.

The limbs of those trees are my favorite for catching snow. These are trees that I see from my window at work. And close up you can see their interesting shape.

Once I got home, my Christmas lights that are frozen into the ground are solar-powered and still shining through this bleak dreary weather making me smile.

If you really try, you can always find something that makes you smile. Smiling is an easy way to show kindness as it reflects the beauty of your heart. So smile often to help others smile. It is contagious, like yawning.

Well, We Can’t Complain

Today winter finally showed it’s face. For the last three years it has been relatively mild here in the Midwest – it was in the 50s at Christmas. But today…its here.

Looking at my bird feeders, it looks to be about 5 inches…so far and supposed to snow all day. It is a wet heavy snow with temps at 33 but when that artic air comes in later today, the temps will plummet to single digits. The snow will become dry and powdery and a hazard to those who have to be out in it because we are expecting 20 sustained winds – 40 gusts.

But for now, lets enjoy the beauty of it.

Birds always gotta eat. The cardinal guarding the small feeder.

Love my mourning doves. So for now Daisy and I sit and watch…and think about the huge task at hand. Gotta get the rest of Christmas down…there is a lot! But what fun it was.

Have a great week, stay warm if needed or enjoy you summer conditions while we relax by the fire. And as always, remember to be kind, its a lot easier than you think and twice as rewarding to you.

Everyone and everything can use kindness.

Moonwashed Musings, Reckless

Rears streamed down Rebecca’s chubby cheeks as she stared at her scraped and bleeding knee.

“Rebecca! Are you okay?” her brother asked as he ran up to his baby sister.

“It hurts Bubba,” she whimpered.

“You are too little to ride my skateboard. That was reckless of you. Can you stand up?”

Rebecca stood up wincing at the pain in her knee.

Bubba picked up his skateboard and they headed for home.

“Here, hold my hand and I will get you home safely. Mom’s making chicken noodle soup, your favorite. We will put extra noodles in your bowl to help you feel better. And we will put some love on your knees to make them feel better too. Okay.

“I wanted to ride your skateboard like you do.”

“When you get bigger.”

Always Be Kind

FOTD, January 4

I thought I would share some “Not Flowers” flowers from my trip to Vegas. At the Bellagio, they have a Conservatory & Garden made totally out of dry flowers. It was amazing so I will share those for my Flower of the day.

As you first walk in the lobby area, the ceiling is covered with glass flowers that look like they are floating like balloons.

Then the archway going into the conservatory is bordered with 20 foot tall sunflowers (compare by the huge doorway, column and arch ceiling). Since I had huge sunflowers myself in my yard, I was not surprised by this but the flowers themselves are decidedly larger and all made from dried flowers and grasses.

The mushroom fairy houses of this magical land were fabulous. This is where you could get close enough to see the individual flowers.

And of course you can’t have a mystical forest without a mystical moon…

…with a very large owl.

I hope you enjoyed a walk through the “Not Flower” garden. Remember, all flowers are beautiful, even those that are not flowers. Let their designed beauty and their radiating kindness bring a smile to your face.

Always Be Kind!

CMMC, Close Up & Macro

I love playing with macros and was so busy last month there was no time to play, so today we play. Today is the 3rd day of the new year…not that far from Christmas and since I did not play with Christmas pics this year, lets at least honor the fir tree. I have two in my yard that I planted about 10 years ago and they are finally big enough to really enjoy. I love how the needles hold onto the rain.

And spider webs make the rain look like its floating in mid-air.

Plants, just like people, you always have that one limb that wants to do things differently by swirling around the end instead pf being straight.

And since we are playing with a Christmas tree, lets get a night shot because I was able to put lights on it this year.

As we start this new year, lets remember to let our light of kindness shine brightly giving others a light of hope for their seemingly dark circumstance.