THE DUST WILL WAIT

Ha ha ha ha ha!  That Tom is such a purrrr-vert. What's your caption for my silly elGee? (This is what happens when I'm "chatting" with friends on Facebook.    She had been napping -  curled around my mouse.  When I grabbed my camera she rose and gave a large yawn and stretch.)

I haven't joined Carmi's Thematic Photo challenge for quite some time.  This week his topic is Far From Home. The Eastern Blue Jay is a beautiful bird that is seen in eastern and central Canada, and in the eastern United States.  It isn't supposed to be in my back yard. Several times in the last six years I have had one or two of these beautiful birds visiting my feeder in the middle of winter. This fellow truly is far from home . Click here to see others far from home choices. Or better yet!  Post your own!

We have such amazing ways to communicate in this ever increasing mobile world. Just think of the tools we use to contact family and friends other than  meeting face to face.   I'm sure I don’t know half the current terms that describe the electronic media that is available for purchase.  Do you ever stand wide-eyed and act perhaps a little embarrassed when someone speaks about an upgrade or an innovative new gadget that completely baffles you? With that in mind, I feel that some things should never become antiquated or or go out of style. Things like writing words on paper.  Things like thank you notes.  Especially thank you notes from grand-children. I hold them in my hands and run my fingers across the paper that the children held in their hands.  My eyes mist over when the words they wrote are read aloud.  Simple and sweet.  After the notes have been smiled over and caressed, and maybe shared with a few friends, they can be stored in a...

Lisa, of Lisa Chaos, turned me on to a new meme called First of the Month .  It is something she picked up from her blogging friend Jan .    To quote them both - The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is, is fine. It can even be a record of where you are each First of the Month. Watch them grow! Z-bub, Dinkum, Mizellie.

As I sit here at my computer in the darkest night of winter chowing on Gourmet Chocolately Caramel Crunch, I am sure that this yummy snack would be the only thing required to survive the winter chill. But, Ari , who is hosting the weekly Fun Monday meme, was serious when she asked, “What's in your winter weather arsenal?” We’ve had some seriously cold days and a few inches of snow scattered here and there so you have to know we own a snow shovel and a container of de-icer.  (Thank God I am married to a man who loves to bundle up and take care of those early morning chores.) The past few years have also found us in the dark more times than we care to repeat.  Thus, we have a small gas powered generator to see us through any extended periods without electricity. The wood stove is roarin’ right now and we have a fair supply of kindling and logs to feed it when the temperature drops.  (It is 14º F on our patio right now.) There is long-underwear, polar fleece masks,...