Friday Favorites

Hello and happy Friday. A full week back at work was a little rough but I left early today to have a late lunch with my friend Lorie. So that was definitely a favorite. We hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas and hadn’t even gotten to share Christmas presents. So we took care of that today. It’s always so good when we get to catch up and solve all the world’s problems.

Here are a few other favorites I want to share with you.

I just had to show you these shoes. I actually bought them last summer. I was in Knoxville with my friend Lorie, yes same one I just mentioned, and we stopped at Ross. Ross is a discount clothing store sort of like T.J Maxx or Marshalls. I found these in the clearance section and I couldn’t believe they were like $13.99. Just my size too. I wore them a couple of weeks ago for the first time. The hearts are just a plus and quite appropriate for Valentine’s Day. They are so comfy and great in wet weather. My husband is not always a fan of my shoes. When I showed him these and told him I had only paid $13.99 for them he said “I can see why”. HA!!! It doesn’t stop me from wearing the shoes I love. I guess that’s what 33 years of marriage does to you.

My favorite Valentine candy is out in the stores. You can pretty much find it everywhere. I had to have a couple of bags. I often place these little candies around the house so my husband will find them. They have really cute sayings. Although some of the sayings on them are quite different from what they used to be, bae, goat, what??? I guess I’m old school.

Isn’t she pretty. I got her from my mother in law’s house. I probably told you that my MIL has moved into an assisted living village. She has her own little room and kitchen area and bathroom. She has been there now for several years. She has never wanted a lot of her things with her. I don’t actually think she remembers now that she has a house. Her dementia is slowly getting worse.

This swan sat on her hearth for as long as I can remember. Probably even when my husband and I were dating. I never really paid much attention to her. She was just always there. Last week we were over at the house doing some things. I told my husband I wanted to bring the swan home and put it on our hearth. I cleaned her up. My niece suggested that I fill her with the yarn balls that I had made at Christmas. I did and I think they look great. I named her Gracie.

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I went to one of my local thrift stores and bought a couple of things. I saw the most beautiful flower patterned platter, that’s a tongue twister. I looked at it, examined it, I walked by and gave it a few sidelong glances. I went back to the same spot in the store several times. This is usually a good indication to me that I should just buy whatever it is I have been looking at. It was only $5.00 but I just didn’t know if I needed another platter. It was sunny looking and reminded of spring. I left without it.

Last week the snow and ice came and left us pretty much snow bound for several days. I don’t know why but I kept thinking about the platter with the flowers on it. As soon as I was able to get out last week I returned to the thrift store. I just knew I was going to march back to the spot and find it. I was already thinking about what I would serve on it. Probably my homemade bread. I went into the store and went back to the spot where the platter had been. It wasn’t there. I looked around and around and around thinking someone had moved it. It wasn’t there. I looked for that platter for several minutes before I admitted it was gone. That’s why you should buy it when you see it. Lesson learned. With all of that said. I did find these four little green vases that I thought were really cute. When I bought groceries today I picked out a small bouquet of fresh flowers. I think these look like spring and sunshine.

I will place these in several areas around the house. I put the bigger one on my table with the kitchen clock. The fresh smell of these flowers are so nice.

I am in the middle of this book by Ann Patchett. It is a collection of essays by her, about her, her family, her writing and a lot of day to day things. It is so good. I am loving it.

I am also loving:

That we are having warmer temps, it almost feels like spring.

That my nephew still loves my homemade bread and wants me to make it for him and his friends.

The way the rain sounds on the metal roof when I am at work.

Crossword puzzles.

Having kitties sleeping on my lap while I read a good book.

Catching up with my husband after a long day at work.

So what are some of your favorites this week? Have a great weekend.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Wordless Wednesday, The Frozen South

I hope you enjoyed the pictures

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Sunday Morning Coffee Share

Happy Sunday. Come in and let’s share a nice hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate or tea. It is 10 degrees F and a northerly wind is blowing and it is soooo cold. The sun is shining brightly but is so deceiving because there is absolutely no warmth coming from it.

If we were having coffee I would share with you that I missed several days of work this week because of the weather. It was nice being home and warm working on some of my favorite things. But I hate the trapped feeling of not being able to get out and go when I want to. The ice around our house has been so bad we have been afraid to even step out on the driveway or onto our front porch.

This was my road when I finally made it out Thursday morning to go to work. It was scary in several places until I got down to the main road.

If we were having coffee I would share with you that I finished the book by Abigail Thomas, What Comes Next And How To Like It. Abigail Thomas is quite an author. I have also read, A Three Dog Life by Abigail. She writes her life. Good or bad she is bluntly honest. After reading one of her books you will feel different about going along day by day in your own life. That may seem like a bold statement but it is true. As I said she is quite an author.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I have been thinking a lot about retirement. It is still a few years away but from everything I have read you should start looking at all the details involved several years before you actually take the plunge. Scary and exciting at the same time.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I was supposed to be on a trip this week to Greensboro North Carolina with the Attractions group that I am involved with through my work. I chose not to go. We have so much going on at work and have been out of work for several days. This has really put us behind. Plus with the bad weather and cold temperatures it did not seem like a good time to make a long drive for the few days I would be gone. I felt that I needed to stay home and be at my job. I am overjoyed that I stayed at home.

If we were having coffee I would share with you that it has been a bit of a sad week. My nephew moved last weekend, just a couple of hours away. But I guess just knowing he is not as close as he was is sad. Plus the area he moved to had even more snow than we did. I always worry when loved ones have to be out in the snow trying to get to their jobs. My husband had to go out on Wednesday to get to his job and the roads were horrible. Because we live in a rural area there is not cell phone service along some of his route. I made him call as often as he could to make sure he hadn’t run off of the road. He made it fine.

If we were having coffee I would share with you that I am fortunate to be here as I am and I will tell you some of the things I have loved about this week.

Ice fell on top of the snow and made it a beautiful shimmery blanket of white. So dazzling it almost hurt your eyes to look at it.

Icicles formed and dripped and were just beautiful.

Warmth. We never lost power. We had lots of heat and light.

Lots of books to read and puzzles to work and plenty of yarn to knit.

My husband and my kitties and I all snuggled together during our downtime.

Downtime to relax and regroup and recharge.

How was your week? What do you have to share over our coffee?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

I am joining Natalie The Explorer over at Weekend Coffee Share you can check out some of the other posts here # Weekend Coffee Share

We Had A Snow Day or Three

Hi friends and happy Wednesday Let me clarify that title by saying we didn’t actually get much snow at our house we just got the dreaded ice. The city I work in actually got about seven inches of snow and that is a lot for us. Everything pretty much shuts down when we get a snow of this magnitude. Don’t laugh. We are southerners and just not used to that kind of snow.

We had been hearing all weekend that we were going to get a major winter storm in our area. At first it was supposed to be Tuesday but then it changed to Monday. I went in to work as usual Monday morning. It had only snowed a very small amount by the time I woke up on Monday. But I was keeping the amount of snow we were supposed to have in the back of my mind. By the time I got to work it was snowing like crazy and very cold. Within an hour it had covered the roads and driveway. I was at work with one other coworker. Her dad called and told her the roads were getting bad. We locked everything up and left.

I had driven our old Toyota four wheel drive to work so I made it home easily with only a few scary moments. The funny thing was when I got on my road the snow stopped and it was only rain. The only problem with that was that everything froze solid Monday night because the temps were so low. So needless to say me nor my husband left the house on Tuesday. The snow continued to fall in nearby areas and they accumulated about 7 inches.

This picture I got off of our work security cameras. This was after the snow stopped and added several inches.

I did not take this picture. Someone posted it on FB. It is downtown Knoxville, South Gay Street, at the Tennessee Theatre. What a mess the snow made Monday afternoon. I think it’s still kind of beautiful.

I would like to say that while I have been home bound, I have been keeping busy cleaning out closets and drawers and much needed inside things. But I haven’t. I binge watched Grey’s Anatomy and read, and worked a million crossword puzzles, worked on my heart cross stitch and finished it, and finished the rose colored scarf I had been working on. Oh and I have cooked a million meals. Well that might be a bit of an exaggeration. it has only been three days. HA!!! But it seems like it.

Sunday before the snow came I made a big chocolate cake. I had been wanting cake for a long time and I decided to make one. So we were able to eat that during our snowbound days.

Over the weekend we moved my nephew Tyler to Cookeville TN which is about two hours from us. He has taken a job there and rented a house. He rented a U-Haul and me and hubs, his parents, his brother and my sister went along to help with the move. I have been trying not to think of him living two hours away because it hurts my heart. I know that is not that far and he will come home often but it’s still not the same. I made him his favorite Butterfinger cake and put it in his new refrigerator for him.

On Friday morning we woke up to really strong winds. Luckily I had taken an extra day off. A good thing because we had a tree down across the driveway! We were also expecting some heavy rain so before the rain started Mark and I went out and cut the tree off of the driveway. Ahhh rural living.

With the bad rain and bad weather, and the day spent moving my nephew we didn’t get a lot of the tree cut up and moved. We just cut it up enough to get it off of the driveway. The cleanup will come later.

***This is how we found Gus and Kitty Kitty when we got home Saturday evening. I think they were waiting for us to walk in the door.***

Last year I bought two heated kitty houses for my outside kitties. We always bring them into the garage at night but even with the garage door down, when the temps drop down to 2 degrees F, as it was last night, it is still very cold. Last year they hated the kitty house and would not go in it. I left it in the garage for a while and then wound up throwing it away during the summer.

Last night I got the other kitty house out. I put it together and took the plastic flaps off of the two entrances. That is what they seemed to dislike about the other one. I also placed it next to their main bed where they love to snuggle together. Mama cat, Allie, was the first to venture in. Then Izzy and finally Sadie went in. They can all three fit inside. They love it!!! I am so glad and relieved. They refuse to come into our house because of Kitty Kitty and Gus plus they are still a bit feral. This will keep them warm on the really cold nights. It makes my kitty mama heart happy.

I finally ventured out this afternoon to take a walk around the house. I seriously needed some fresh air and vitamin D.

So a lot has been going on. A busy week and then a lot of down time at home. Much needed I think. I am hoping to get back to civilization tomorrow.

How has your week been? Any snow where you are?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!