Wednesday, January 29, 2014

All day yesterday I watched the news about this snow/ice/freeze weather for our area. Prepared and ready to accept Mother Nature's expected fury for us, calmness & prayers filled my mind. 

Living in the southern part of Alabama and very close to the Gulf Coast most of our weather threats are hurricanes and/or tornadoes. We just don't have snow, ice or freezes, and we are certainly not accustomed to temperatures in the low-mid 20's.

But.....last night as the temperatures dropped & rain/sleet fell, freezing began. Somewhere around 9PM we started hearing some "cracking and/or crashing" around our neighborhood. Street lights were flickering off for a period and then clicking back on. Not much more happening so we decided to retire for the night.

Around 12:30AM or so a loud crash awoke us. Fearing the worst from the sound that was made, we raced to windows to find the sound source. A very large pine tree branch (from our pine tree) had fallen into our neighbor's driveway and cracked into a million pieces. 

From the window we could see her outside assessing the damage. We got her attention, waved and then she & I spoke on the phone to calm our nerves a bit. (Last time our trees participated big time in nature's plan was back when Hurricane Ivan came through and a tree {her tree BTW} fell on our patio cover and back portion of our house) A little more outside weather noise before I finally fell asleep.

I awakened this morning around 8:15 to see what all had happened during the night. Power lines down, some power outages throughout the city (most resolved now), limbs down and some vehicle accidents. Thankfully, the only weather related activity we had at the house was three rather large limbs that had fallen due to being laden with ice. The picture below is one branch that I expect to fall before too long.

Looking around the neighborhood several large limbs full of ice fell during the night. The grounds are dusted with snow. Our back yard has more snow than the front.


A look at some of our trees full of frozen ice. 

My poor cedar trees 

Gathering limbs to the road 


Sweet neighbor Gayle 

Thankful for being safe & warm.
Prayers for those who are 
still stranded in the Atlanta area.
Loving the kindnesses I'm reading about others.




Monday, January 27, 2014

3+

Growing up, seasons were true seasons. I often think now of our seasons as one big season. 

My past winter seasons had me wearing heavy coats, gloves and other warm attire. I enjoyed snow days where I built snowmen, made forts, and of course, enjoyed homemade snow ice cream. Ahhh.....the memories.

Married & settled in hubby's hometown back in '77, I was expecting area to be JUST LIKE my hometown. NOT!!! After a year of living in AL, I sold/gave away all but one of my heavy coats. And still today...I have one, maybe two heavy casual jackets but mostly I wear lightwear attire.

So look below at what is on our news. Yep...this is what has been predicted for our area.

 Only twice in my AL lifetime have I seen some snow.
Our last "dusting" of snow was in 2010.



So as we wait to see if the forecast happens as they say it might, we make sure we have batteries, food, water, etc, on hand. 

AND...who knows? Maybe that heavy jacket I have will come in hand.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Searching for my insides!

On Monday Gayle and I walked in the neighborhood for the first time in a long while. The temperature was a nice 50+ but the winds were blowing quite a bit. We didn't really realize how strong the winds were blowing until we got around the bend. We decided to continue on, and in some areas the winds were not that strong. 
After the walk I trimmed the "frozen" off of the plants in the front yard and then came in to settle down.

The next morning I awoke to a sore throat burning like crazy and a dry, hacking cough that won't go away. It is now Saturday morning, and I do feel a little better. I am still coughing quite a bit and with each cough my chest continues to ache. I've had no fever (YAY!) but I do experience some of the "chill~hot" episodes. {I am feeling the same way I did back in October...all symptoms the same...when the doctor said that I would just have to "ride it out'. Only difference...I had laryngitis.}



Wednesday, January 22, 2014


Saturday, January 18, 2014

So I was thinking the other day that I really would like to have a space in the house all my own. Some place where I could sit & write or study and be able to leave it all until I returned. 

Oh I could go sit in the guest room at the desk but leave it there...for an hour or two or maybe a day or two. Not me. It's the guest room not my space.

Well, our foyer has been home to all of my Creative Memories STUFF (which I don't use much any more because of digital creating) and other general stuff of mine. There is a computer desk and a four-shelf cabinet upside down on top of the desk in the foyer.The area gets a thorough cleaning once or twice a year. It's time for a change.

THIS IS MY SPACE!!! So......................the computer desk is "up for free" on my FB page, and I have purchased a small black writing desk. The four-shelf cabinet has been turned right side up and is waiting on a little onyx Minwax color. I am so excited!

First, the writing desk must be assembled.





Totally forgot to take pictures of re-staining the shelf. This piece of furniture was made by dad & myself years ago when Garrett was a small child. We made it for his bedroom. Here is the finished product. A change from pecan to an ebony color.

Here is a peek at the writing desk and shelf. Now to get a little creative in this space and organize just for me.

So this morning I start to tackle this...mess, clutter...

and finish with my own little space. I have a few more ideas for this area but for now I am happy.







Monday, January 6, 2014

With a 12-2 overall record and a 7-1 SEC record 
the AUBURN TIGERS 
had a very successful 2013-2014 football season.

From an amazing catch in the Georgia game
to an awesome run against Bama
AUBURN played their hearts out
at the BCS National Championship game
against Florida State.

Even though they did not win
AUBURN fans proudly shout
the "WAR EAGLE" cry
to the football players
for a terrific year.

...and TOOMERS CORNER 
was rolled to show our support.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

This laid-back guy spent the day with me
and helped me take the Christmas tree down
and store all items in the attic.
He's such a sweetheart!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Once again Glenn & I had a great time @ PCB.
Pictures tell the story.










    




I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring into our lives.