SUN'S OUT! SNOW'S OVER!

Hey, All!

Our "Winter Storm 2010" is over. The sun is out, but it's still cold. I took this picture early this morning. Where the sun is hitting the snow on the roof it is melting just enough to make some big icicles. Golfer got a path cleared to the mailbox and some cleared off the driveway and walk. He measured in the front yard and we have at least 6". Some areas got more. Because there was some sleet and freezing rain at some point, it's very icy out.

I mushed my way around to the back yard and filled the bird feeder and knocked a few icicles down off the gutters. I'm sure the birds will appreciate the food. The squirrels, too. Yesterday afternoon there was a squirrel out in the back yard jumping from one spot to another. The snow was way over his head and he'd land, then stick his head up and he'd have a pile of snow for a hat. Then he'd do it again. Cute! I didn't have the camera handy though.

Nothing else new here with us. We're now back inside for the day.

Stay safe!

UPDATE

It's still snowing and a little windy and very cold.

The morning paper never came. And I don't see any signs that the mail has come either.

Laundry and ironing are all done and put away.

Other than that, all is well here. Maybe it's nap time!

Stay safe!

SNOW DAY! (even if it is Saturday!)

Hey, all!

We are in the midst of a big snow storm here. Some of the TV folks are calling it a monumental event. I don't know if I would go that far, but we don't get this much snow very often around here. There are several inches already and we may get up to twelve inches according to the forecasts.

Golfer made it home last evening before the snow started, so we are all safe and sound. Nurse J called this morning and they are all in for the day and safe, too. And Bikini tweeted that she got home from her work trip and all is okay except for an explosion of laundry and toys and such that greeted her when she got home.

A large number of birds has been hanging out in our back yard. They have already emptied the feeder. I saw cardinals, wrens, a red-headed woodpecker and several other kinds. Pretty. And they are providing entertainment for the furry kids sitting in the windows looking out!

Cancellation notices started running yesterday afternoon while the sun was still out. It doesn't take much to shut things down here in the Tidewater area. Basically there are constant announcements to "stay home, don't go out unless it's an emergency".

Golfer and I are catching up on our recorded TV programs. I took a break from that and did the ironing. The last of the laundry is in the dryer. I have some other projects around here I'll be working on later.

I hope you are all doing well. Stay safe!

Hey, again!

After looking at a few pictures of Golfer's retirement ceremony and festivities, I have decided for security reasons, I should not post most of those pictures. You just never know who's lurking about out in cyberspace. And being military, we're very security conscious. I , unfortunately, do not have the skills needed to blur faces and name tags, nor can I find any instructions in the programs I use. Sorry.



As I said before, last weekend was a wonderful time and we so appreciated our family and friends who came and shared that time with us. Golfer was presented with many gifts and letters and such. But I will only post a picture of one for now. Bikini and Nurse J will know before seeing it which one it is! He is quite impressive. He is the symbol of the squadron. He has been given a place of honor in our "new" library! I don't know what he is made of, but he is heavy! (and he is anatomically correct)

In other news from here, our weather forecast for the weekend is ominous. It is supposed to get colder and tomorrow night start snowing. Anywhere up to 10-12 inches is predicted. That should effectively shut down the area if it happens. I have been to the store and stocked up on kitty food and fresh fruit. We're all set.



Stay safe! More later.

It's Been a Whirlwind!

Hey, all!

The last few days have been a blur of activity. The retirement ceremony was beautiful and impressive. It was wonderful to share this important time with our family and friends. We want to thank all of you who came and shared this time with us.

Our family had to leave to get back to their lives and routines, work and school. Our niece had to leave on Saturday morning. Bikini and family left on Sunday morning as did Golfer's brother and our sister-in-law.

Things have been busy since then with laundry, cleaning, errands, sorting through things. Golfer has been emptying his office and bringing things home every day. The piles are growing. We have some sorting and packing to do, but it's easier on Golfer to just bring it all home.

The furry kids are calmed down and back to their normal routines now. I'm back to work and getting to the "Y". I've started the Suppartz injections in my right knee since they seemed to help the left one. We'll see.

Our weather has turned cold again and they say we might have snow by the weekend. I am sooo ready for Spring! I will try to post some pictures soon. Stay safe!

Retirement Ceremony Day

Golfer's brother, L, and his wife, V, arrived yesterday. Their daughter, M, was to arrive late last night. Bikini, Brief, Boxer and Bloomer all arrived late afternoon yesterday. Nurse J, Cable Guy and BeyB came over and we had a house full of family for dinner last night. And friend stopped by for a visit, too. It's great to have everyone together.

It had been a long day and everyone went to bed fairly early. However, I woke up at 3:30 and have not been able to get back to sleep. Golfer woke at 4:00. I finally gave up trying and have been here in our office. He is up and is now feeding the furry kids. They are perhaps confused and a little nervous by all the activity and additional humans in the house yesterday. Little do they know it's going to happen all over again today! And tomorrow.

We'll all be heading out to the base about 9:00 a.m. There are some final instructions for us before the official ceremony starts at 10:00. The people Golfer works with had a luncheon for him on Wednesday and had many nice things to say. There will be more of that today I am sure. And amid the joy and celebration there will be a few tears. And don't you know, as I was pressing my new clothes to wear today, I discovered the darn clothes don't have any pockets for tissues!!

Golfer has spent over forty-two years with the Air Force. First as active duty and then as a civilian. I have always known he was a wonderful man and he was great at what he does. It's nice to hear so many others say the same things. Our life has not always been easy, but it has always been wonderful. Now we're on to a new "chapter". I love you Golfer!

We're getting an early start on a very busy day. The rest of you stay safe!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLOOMER!

We hope you have a wonderful day!

Busy, Busy!

Hey, all!

It's been a busy week here. There's been all the usual stuff like work, and household duties - the cleaning, the laundry, the cooking. But the weather finally got a little better. And by better, I mean actually got above freezing! So it was the time to get the cars cleaned up and make sure things were good in the yard. Not much needed to be done regarding the yard; it has been too darn cold for any weeds to grow! But the cars had not been cleaned in a while. So all went to the car wash and much detailing and inside work was done at home.

Then, in the time that was left, I did some prep work for next week. We will be having family and friends coming for Golfer's retirement ceremony. I've been getting a jump on the Spring cleaning and doing some menu planning and making lists. Golfer has brought more lists home from work about the retirement doings. So, all in all, we've been busy.

While we have had some better weather for a couple days, it's supposed to turn nasty tonight and tomorrow and rain at least a couple inches. I really don't think we need any more rain right now, but it's coming anyway.

So, life goes on, moving faster and faster. Stay safe!

Patience!

When we remodeled our bathroom about a year and a half ago, Golfer and I discussed getting a "shower stool". We knew we did not want a plastic one. We decided we liked the looks of the teak ones we had seen in ads. In pursuing such a stool, we discovered they were not available in stores. They had to be ordered, with the starting prices near $200 plus shipping fees. I just wasn't quite willing to spend that for a wooden stool. Since then, I have kept an eye out for them and when we traveled I would check new areas. This morning we were "out and about" and stopped in Bed, Bath and Beyond to get a couple other things I had on my errand list and "TA DA!"!!! There were lovely heavy teak stools! Fortunately I had stuffed a handful of coupons in my purse when we left the house, so I was ready. We got it for way less than if we had ordered one. I have to say this, though, teak is heavy wood! We got it home and I gave it an oil rub and now it is in its new home!

I may have surprised Golfer a little, or at least caused him to pause for a moment in thought. I have always had a tendency to see something I like and then not get it. I had absolutely no hesitation this morning. Been doing a little thinking and reflecting on things lately. I'm about to have my sixty-first birthday. I have decided I'm not going to put things off. I do intend to be around a whole lot longer; I do, after all, have a mother who is over 100! But, in reality, why wait? I told Golfer I wouldn't just go off and spend money on stupid, dumb stuff, but if it was something we had wanted or had been waiting on, I wasn't waiting any longer. So we huffed and puffed that stool out to the car and loaded it in!

And on that note we went to Best Buy to replace the receiver for our TV/stereo system. Golfer discovered this morning that teh old one no longer gives us any sound with our new DVDs. Bummer. We brought it home with us. It is sitting in front of the fireplace.....waiting for the Geek Squad to come on Wednesday and integrate it into our system and make sure everything is compatible and working. See....age does bring wisdom. We are now smart enough to know we don't want to even try to tackle that project!

It is still cold here. No signs of a major warm-up any time soon. I said WTH and started cleaning windows anyway. Also vacuumed the drapes and curtains and did a little extra cleaning. In two weeks we'll have friends and family here for Golfer's retirement ceremony and festivities and I need to be ready! Plus, I always like to do some extra clean-up after the holidays.

So, that's about it for now. I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Stay safe!

Oh, Well.

The snow "event" the TV guys have been talking about all week is over. It was cold and dry last night when we went to bed. It snowed a little during the night and by the time we got up at 5:00 a.m., the little snow we had gotten was starting to melt away. Like they predicted, there's been from a dusting to an inch around the area. Sitting here at the computer, I can hear the snow melting and dripping off the roof.

I'm sure BeyB is disappointed that the snow day didn't happen. They have a two hour delay.

So, it's time to get things done and get ready for work. I hope you all have a good day!

Stay safe!

Geez! It's #*^%##! Cold Here!

Hey, all!

I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are.

The sun is out here, shining nice and bright, trying to fool us. The thermometer says it's about 20 outside and the the TV reports that with the wind it feels like 6. So, YAY! We have no outside plans for today. Except I will probably, at some point, bundle up and go refill the bird feeder.

I've been busy cleaning out our file cabinet and shredding papers. Getting things ready for tax filing and doing some insurance filings and other desk "stuff". The "to-do" piles on my desk are shrinking. Hooray!

I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the humongous bag of shredded paper. When the recycle truck came by last Thursday, they took the bin. Friday morning we found a note with two paper grocery bags on the porch saying the contract had expired and until the new company delivered new bins we were to use those two bags. HA! What a laugh! So we will wait and see.

Tomorrow it's back to work for us. We have several appointments in the coming week and things to do. So that's about it for now.

Stay safe!