A Daily Life

I’m so thankful that our miniature pinscher was inside snoozing when this visitor came by.  The trees are clear of leaves, so there was good visibility to see that the tree suddenly acquired something additional.  The hawk was big, so it’s probably a female redtail in winter plumage. It was facing our neighbor’s yard until it heard my […]

It’s been a hard and strenuous Black Friday.  Somehow has to go out there, fight the crowds, and spend their money.  And you know what?  It wasn’t us. Nope.  We slept in late, had an even later breakfast at IHop, and spent the afternoon watching the Cooking Channel, surfing the Internet, reading, and visiting.  Oh yes, […]

It doesn’t take much for me to find a daily dose of happiness.  Today it was a lovely walk during lunch.  It was sunny, nearly 70 degrees, minimal wind and there is still fall color to be seen.  Oh joy! Word for tomorrow – CHECK.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the […]

The author, Kate Chopin, once wrote: I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe? One of […]

I’d noticed a few weeks ago how very fat the squirrels were looking.  Their coats are thick and their tails even thicker.  While driving around Northern Virginia, my favorite boy toy and I commented repeatedly at the thick coats on the horses and cows that we saw. All of which I think may be adding […]

Apparently I didn’t get enough of the fall colors from earlier this week.  Yesterday I went both to our local park and the botanical gardens.  The trees are a riot of colors in central Virginia and although the air was cool, I had a great time walking all morning and taking pictures. Word for tomorrow […]

Henry David Thoreau once said, Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. I can’t believe it’s already early November.  2011 has flown by.  I’ve enjoyed my life this year, but each day goes by so quickly.   I look back over […]

As I was musing on how to use today’s word, I did a Google search and found the term, “sunk costs”, a term I have not used for a long, long time.  Wikitionary defines it as “a cost that has already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree.” Which explains perfectly […]

William Henry Channing (1810 – 1884), is credited with this inspirational quote about life: To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think […]

My favorite boy toy and I were out all day yesterday to take pictures.  We hiked up and down hills and stairs, visited battlefields, and did some driving around the countryside. After a late supper, we went straight to bed, which is why there were no photos this morning for you. Today was a drive back the […]

My favorite boy toy and I spent all day yesterday outside, hiking and taking pictures.  Needless to say, we were pretty tired by the end of the day.  The lighting wasn’t too good, but adjusting my pictures will have to wait for a different day. Here’s some more pictures for you.  We’re having fun exploring and I will share […]

My favorite boy toy and myself are off chasing the fall colors.  I had a different topic in mind for today’s post, but my staff wants to see pictures.  So here’s a slide show of yesterday’s highlights, straight from the camera. There’s snow up here, although it’s melting quickly.  The colors are pretty, but we haven’t […]

I didn’t start 2011 with the goal of taking a photo every day.  It wasn’t until February that I started to do it, although when I checked my inventory of the year at that time, I’d taken a picture of something nearly every day anyhow. Here’s one I took shortly before I consistently took a […]

For a change of pace, we are having a pop quiz to see how many urban myths you can identify as false.  There are three questions here, and a bonus question at the end. Ready?  Here we go! Now that the garden is down, does it still require extensive guarding from danger? Very good!  For the second […]

Grrr. . . I wanted to write in my journal yesterday as I’ve been neglecting for a while.  Could I switch on my computer and start writing?  Oh no!  No, no, no, I had to wait for an update from the night before to rewrite registries – 104,000+ of them no less – then reboot, then […]

I’m so glad that I keep a well stocked pantry.  It’s a buffer against surprises when I’m cooking.  Last night, I prepped a Cooking Light Recipe, chicken sate with peanut sauce.  I went to open a squeeze bottle of lime juice, only to find that it was open and crusty, even though it was brand new from the […]

The word “mellow” brings to mind a pizza parlor near my daughter called “Mellow Mushroom“.  The pizzas are very good and there are more toppings to choose from then just mushrooms :) My favorite boy toy loves mushrooms.  He’ll eat them any way he can find them from fresh to canned to dried.  Me, I […]

This little guy was quite involved in gathering his food the day I took this picture.  And he wasn’t any too happy with me paying attention to him either! Word for tomorrow – ZONE.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”.

Most afternoons, when the shadows start to lengthen, I see a great blue heron flying north.  The bird weaves in and out of the buildings, looking like a prehistoric Pterodactyl (actually known as a Pterosaur). During my lunch explorations, I discovered a public garage several blocks away (from work) where I could look down on the rookery.  They’re still pretty […]

I’m always a little frustrated at this phase of summer.  In a few short weeks, my winter squash has gone from lush and productive to looking straggly.  Now the race is on to keep the vines alive long enough that the squash will ripen. It happens this way every summer.  One day it’s all looking […]