Home Sweet Home.

Thank goodness for FaceTime, or I would never have gotten to see my peach.

I'm telling you, there is nothing like being HOME.
NOTHING.

We were gone for a month, and it seemed much longer.
I was ready to come back, cold weather or not.


While Roy is a fantastic traveling companion, he was also very happy to be home.

Back at the loom............sweet relief.

Back to my sewing room......

I split and transplanted several sea onions before I left, and they are all doing fine.
Except that I now have about 8 of them, and I can't seem to give them away.

And I still have two big plants that need to be split.
What in the world am I going to do with them all????

I think I'll just have my favorite snack, plain yogurt, bananas and wheat germ, and ponder the sea onion dilemma.

Did I mention that I am beyond thrilled to be HOME?????

Leaping Lizards.

Here I am on vacay, and poor L is holding the fort.

But it's not all wonderful here.

Today we went for a long walk........

We have walked this path before, and then we saw THIS.
We watched him swim around.   And he looks kind of LARGE.
If we had known there were alligators in this water, we would not have been walking on a path all around the edge of this lake.
Can anyone say change of plans????

The rest of the walk was lovely.
Although a bit nerve wracking, now that we knew.

So enjoy our walk..........and don't lag, if you know what I mean.

This hawk seemed to be enjoying her perch.......

 And then across the water, here comes her partner....

On a mission it seems....

I couldn't zoom in any closer, but I think hawk chicks are in the making by the looks and sounds.

Look close.....this guy is blending in with his background.

This is my favorite shot of the day.

By this time, we had worked up a sweat, time to sit by the pool.

Trippin'

Our rental in Florida......a 7 hour drive from Atlanta.

Lovely neighborhood, quiet.

The house has its own little pool, heated.

 And in the back yard a huge lake, filled with all kinds of birds.

And not far, is the Gulf of Mexico.

 Where there was a lot of fishing going on.

 The marina was busy.

 The beach deserted......

It was very windy, but still 70 degrees, and the sun was incredible.

After a lot of walking and just enjoying the fresh air, the evening was lovely, too.

I may be looking serious here, but trust me, I am having a blast.

Vacay, ya gotta love it.

Facts

Some truths:

A simple cold knocks me flat for 2-3 weeks.  Coughing is not indicated for my neck/head issues.  The relief I feel when it's over is immense.

Sometimes going south to get warmer doesn't work.  Sometimes the cold follows you.  It's best to be happy where you are.

Chicken doors are temperamental.  Fresh eggs are priceless. Having a friend like L who keeps your girls......all of them, chicks and felines.....safe, priceless as well.

Some sweater patterns found on Ravelry are poorly done, or simply  over the top.  Tearing out THREE times is contraindicated in a simple life.  The whole thing needs to be re-thought.  Knit simple, that's my motto.

"Altered books"  is a new medium that is incredibly addictive.  Just what I need.  Who knew retirement could be so much fun?

Oh, I'm sure there is a ton a room for improvement, but the thing with this altered book endeavor is that there are no mistakes.  You either like it, or you don't.

You can say anything to your best friends.  They get it.
"Pulling into the Kroger's parking lot.  Starts to swing into space clearly marked for PREGNANT women.   I tell her:  it's ok, you could probably get away with it.  She calls me a bitch.  We laugh hysterically."    We are that comfortable with each other.  Priceless.

Roy is the best traveling dog on the planet.

And wherever you land, he's happy.

That's the best way to be.

Kid germs.

Sicker than the proverbial dog.
Ack.
My mother always said you can catch a cold faster from a child than anyone else, and apparently that is so true.  Super germs.
I watched baby Dale last Monday, she had the sniffles.  By Friday I had the sniffles, and they were deceptively mild, for days.
Then Monday night, as we were in the movie theater watching "The Revenant", I began to feel sick.
By Tuesday morning there was no doubt.  Now I am full tilt miserable.

So....." The Revenant"........I concur with a Facebook friend's comment.....the cinematography was incredible.  DiCaprio was amazing.  But on the down side, I did have to close my eyes a few times, there was no way I could intake some of it.  Very violent and graphic.
That being said, no one deserves an Oscar more than Leo.  Truthfully, he had to have frozen his butt off for the entire shooting of the film, which took MONTHS in the worst conditions possible.  The film does have that WOW factor, making you wonder how the hell they did what they did.
I came right home and googled, and found that in truth, no animals were killed in the making of this film, but you sure thought that there were.

Yesterday I spent most of the day on the couch, sleeping intermittently, knitting.  I am knitting an OWL hat that I found online.

Mine is a lighter gray than the one on the pattern, and while the instructions say it is for a woman, the one I am making will perfectly fit Dale, who is TWO.  So I have to adjust the pattern to make a bigger one.  It is really pretty fast and easy though.


Someone asked for my scone recipe, but since there was not an email to reply to, I posted it under the RECIPE tab at the top of the page.  Note that I have adjusted the recipe to suit myself, after making it a bunch of times.  And you can really add whatever you want, although I must admit the cranberries and pistachios might be my fave.

The other day I made this broccoli cheese soup, and bread.  The soup might be my absolute favorite ever.  It was so good, it didn't last long.

Both these recipes are on my Pinterest page....link on the right side, top of this page.

I did manage to finish 10 towels off the AVL before this respiratory bug hit.

They are nice, but I like the gold warp better, it was a lot more fun.  I better learn to like it, there are 35 more towels to be made.

I don't adapt well to being sick.......I want to do things, and there is always so much to do.
But when your body says no loud enough, you sit.

This is my view when I SIT in the studio by the fireplace.


ROY, baking until he is hot to the touch.

Sydney, lounging on the BACK of the chair.

The AVL waiting for me to get off my butt and get to work.

The Schacht 36 waiting for LOIS to get here.

One thing about getting older, that I guess I should have expected, having lived with my mother for the last ten years of her life, is that we get nostalgic a lot.  It's not that I don't appreciate what I have in my life now, or that I am unhappy with it.  I love my grandkids and my daughters just the way they are, but still, there is a part of me that misses times gone by with them.

Here is a throwback, me and AVA in Niagara Falls.  She is going to be 11 next month.

 Where the hell has the time gone????