Winter nesting

 

 

Being a spring and summer kind of person, it's hard for me to get through the winter time.  Today is cold, rainy and dreary, as it has been for awhile.  I push ahead on days like this.  Feeling confined to the house, my nesting gene will usually kick in.  A little decorating, maybe rearranging my dish cupboard, watering my house plants, or baking a pie. 

 

 

 

 

Hubby and I have an ongoing scrabble game, a puzzle on the dining room table, and lots of books to read, not to mention time spent on the computer ~  Pinterest can be addicting as I check out all the home décor, gardening ideas and recipes. 

 

 

 

  Napping is a part of winter time nesting, too.  At least Otis thinks so. 

 

Looking forward to spring, how about you? 

 

 

Is anyone else tired of this crazy winter weather?

Looking out the window right now, the snow is coming down fast and furious.  We've had warnings to stay inside and off the roads because of icy conditions today.  This is North Carolina.  Crazy, crazy weather.  Yes, I know it's crazy everywhere, all over the US.  

So, what do we do while being confined to the house?  

How about sitting by a nice warm fire, reading to your hearts delight.  That's what I've been doing.  Catching up on some old Belva Plain books.  

And drawing in my sketch book.  
These birds will eventually end up on note cards in my etsy shop.  Next comes the paint.    

I hope you're enjoying whatever it is you're doing today!  

And I am wishing and wishing for warmer weather to hurry up and come soon!

A little "me time"...

.....with my morning coffee, my favorite magazines and a good book.  What could be better, especially on a rainy, gray Saturday morning but to curl up on the sofa and enjoy what makes you happy.  

My Victoria magazine came yesterday in the mail and I saved it for this morning anxiously awaiting what was in those pages once I turned the cover, and The English Home magazine is one that I read over and over again and never tire of.  
The book I am currently reading is "After the Fire" by Belva Plain, really good.  I found this one at our local library for $1.00.  

So don't forget to have yourself a little "me time" every now and then 
with whatever makes you happy!

Hello, my friends

I just finished reading two good books.  The Magic Apple Tree was one that a blogger friend, Cherry Menlove, recommended on her blog, and the other one I found at the library a few weeks ago for 50 cents.  

With all the painting projects and the upkeep in the garden, not to mention helping my brother and sister-in-law move to a new home, it's been difficult to find time to read, but oh so relaxing when I do.  How about you.  Have you read any good books lately?  

Thursday I have my follow up appointment at the UNC Cancer Center in Chapel Hill.  It's just a routine checkup to make sure everything is going well with me.  It seems to be....I've been feeling great, and I also feel so blessed to be getting my life back.   

Enjoy your day!  

Good Morning, Everyone.....

I woke up early this morning, poured myself a cup of hot coffee and walked outside on the back porch.  What a lovely morning.  

The trumpet vine is so heavy with blossoms they are hanging way down over the pergola.  The hummingbirds love the sweet nectar and I love watching the hummingbirds.  

  

I am feeling really well since my last chemo treatment.  My very last chemo treatment, by the way (forever and ever)!    

I still have a bit of neuropathy from the chemo but that will eventually go away.  My energy is slowing returning.  My appetite is back.  I really have no complaints.  

Surgery is next, and that is scheduled for August 20.  I am very anxious about surgery.  Every time I think about it I have to take deep breaths and tell myself everything is going to be fine.  I've made it this far and I can surely make it through surgery.  

After surgery, then comes six weeks of radiation, every day, Monday thru Friday.  I've heard that radiation is not all that bad.  

The end is in sight.  

I've been spending time in the garden and reading lots of books while my body heals.  

Oh, and one more thing.  My hair is finally starting to grow back!  Yea!  

Thank God for small miracles.  

And thank you, my dear friends, again, for all your thoughts and prayers.  

I know they are helping me.  I love you all.  

Winter, in this heat??

It's 100 plus degrees outside and hotter than all blazes, 

so, yes, I am cooling off today inside and reading the most wonderful book... 

 "A Week in Winter" by Marcia Willett.  

It takes place in England and the Cotswalds and it's all about an enchanting old country house called "Mooregate".  

It's the kind of book that makes you want to curl up on the sofa and enjoy a cup of tea, 

or in my case a cup of coffee....yes, even on a hot day like today.  

I found this book at our local library for $1.00.  

Love a bargain!

Hope you're staying cool!  

A good book and a cup of coffee

A gray weather day is the perfect time for a good book and a cup of coffee (or tea if you like). I'm reading Anne Rivers Siddons, Sweetwater Creek, just one of the many books I've read of hers, and this, too, is another good one. I like how she writes.

This is my favorite spot to sit and read, and as you can see beside my chair is a book stand filled with my favorite books and magazines.

We may be in for a few more gray weather days as Hurricane Katia moves its way up the coast bringing more rain.

I think Otis is looking for some sunshine.

It's the little things

...that sometimes make us the happiest,


like a good cup of coffee in our favorite mug,

early morning sunshine after a rain storm,




.....and spending time with our grand kids.


We had our granddaughter spend a few days with us this week. She's not so little anymore, in fact, she seems to grow taller each time we see her. Just having her around and enjoying simple things like playing board games and sewing a pillow, made me realize how much fun can be had in little things. And what a joy seeing her smiling face each morning.

It's just the little things.....

but sometimes the little things make the biggest difference!

Surrounded by books....

One can never have too many books.





Yesterday when I was cleaning, I decided to line the top of the desk in the study with books. The room already has a lot of books, in the tall book shelf in the corner and others scattered here and there, why not a few more on top of the desk?




And, as I sit here today at the desk doing some paperwork, I realize how happy I am to be surrounded by books!

Books are the most quietest and most constant of friends;

they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors,

and the most patient of teachers.

~Charles W. Eliot