Humor Me...

I seem a little obsessed with the weather lately, don't I? I confess (and apologize), this snow thing has got my attention. In our wanderings, we have lived in Germany and Kansas, both places that are not unfamiliar with severe winter weather. But that was a long time ago (we left Kansas in 2003, so I guess it's not that long ago) and we have been living in more familiar surroundings ever since (Texas, Virginia)....

This is the view out my back door yesterday afternoon. I'm not so fond of the white stuff when it's coming down (specially if I happen to NOT be home when it starts), but I am literallly enchanted with what is left behind when it's done. There's something in the simple beauty of an expanse of "virgin" snow (don't go there! I'm talking about snow that hasn't been tromped through by my overzealous 9 year old boy) and how it twinkles in the sunshine (just like glass glitter- I LOVE that stuff!). Add the contrast of a very blue sky (no retouching in this photo, btw) and the simplicity of the bare brown trees and it's a beautiful sight. Even more so if you happen to be observing from your cozy living room.....

Give it another month or so and I am sure I will be complaining about the goopy, muddy mess this snow leaves behind as it melts, but for now....humor me.....

In other news, I have had a pretty nasty cold this week and made the mistake of taking two (count 'em) night time cold pills the night before last. Now for me, I KNOW this is a big mistake. If it says "Nighttime" anywhere on the packaging, one will do the trick (even "non-drowsy" medicine makes me nap) but I just wanted some relief and some sleep, not necessarily in that order. Well, I got both wishes. Unfortunately, I dealt with the fallout yesterday-sleeping until 10 am (unheard of in my world- I am an early riser) and feeling like I had been hit by a Mack truck the rest of the day (I never knew there were SO many "judge" shows on daytime tv!).....bleck....

To bring things full circle ( and stop boring you with my ramblings)...Don't think I will be taking anymore pictures like this today....Have a winter storm warning all day...you know they expect it to be bad when they cancel school before the storm has even started....

A Rather Blustery Day....

And NOW I'm starting to really understand what all the fuss about an upstate NY winter is! We woke up to this.....40-60 mph winds and snow....I'm sure the locals would tell me this is nothing, but I'm not buying it...

Here's hoping you are NOT having a rather blustery day today!!

P.S.....I've been tagged a couple of times now...working on it...I promise!

RUN!!! Don't hop....

To...

I know a breath of Spring Air would be quite welcome here in upstate New York....

Imagine my delight when I clicked on a link just like this one on Mustard Seed Original's Blog ....

Just click on the sweet little girl above to hop on over to Nancy Malay's blog and see what it's all about...

If you, like me, are ready for Peter Cotton Tail, you won't be sorry!

Goodbye Hello.....

Well.......I'm back....finally...sort of....about seven weeks ago, I wrote my last post...

We said "goodbye" to one home (Washington DC area) and "hello" to another (Fort Drum, NY). Nothing new in the seventeen years I have been married to the Army....errr.....my soul mate (I LOVE U, Mr. Sunshine!).....

This new home is much smaller (from 2400 sq.ft and a full basement to 1600 + NO basement- you do the math), but we have what we need. And all of my favorite, familiar things have found a home again....

Remember these guys? My button jars were part of one of my very first blog posts....not quite sure why but these old jars have become special to me. Maybe it's because half of them came to me because a good friend left them in my car after a memorable weekend of junking with my SSODS sisters last spring. They'd only cost her $1 each-what a steal!- and it would have cost five times that to mail them to her (they are heavy)....so she let me keep them....Every time I see them (and I used ALLOT of buttons last fall on my spoon ornies), it reminds me of that very fun weekend...When I unwrapped them from deep in a box full of art supplies and paper goodies, I had to smile.....Thank you Diana!

....And my non-working alarm clocks, another part of that great junking weekend. Seems most of my favorite things are attached to memories....I think I previously posted pictures of them also...See the clock all the way to the left? With the red accents....funny story about that one.....all the jarring and moving around must have given it a new life....about an hour after I unwrapped it, the alarm went off...scared the pants off of me! lol....

And above are some more of my favorite things...the quilt was made by Mr. Sunshine's great Grandmother- I love the vivid colors. I found the gameboards and the doilly stretcher (hanging next to the quilt) on my Ohio junking trip also (don't think I will be able to go this year- boohoo!)

In my new "simplified" lifestyle (ie, cramming 2 pounds of sardines into an 8 oz. tin), I will be working in a small seating area right off the kitchen. No more "Me" room, no more guest bedroom/ studio. Now anyone who enters the house will get to see how a messy artist works- oh joy....

This is by no means organized and/or ready for work yet, but this is how my work area looks right now....

I will also be sharing this kitchen/seating area/studio with the Wii and Playstation (and the TV and children that they are attached to), so we will see how this works....

But hey, there's a nice view today....everything white and frosty past the stained glass....great weather to stay home and update a blog....maybe read a few too....

There's no place like HOME for the Holidays....

I was reading my friend Roseann's blog, Rosebud's Cottage , and she was talking about some childhood memories of the holidays. We have been so busy trying to get ready for this move that I don't even think the holidays have registered for us yet. But reading Roseann's blog and seeing the great pictures got me thinking about where we will be this year, AFTER the move from h#ll (it's not the place we are going to , it's the timing of it all). Once the boxes are packed and we've made a pit stop at fort Drum, we will be making a cross country trip HOME.....

Where's home?

Here's a clue, just in case that picture above of downtown's world famous Riverwalk all decked out didn't give it away, this one below should....

San Antonio, Texas....where our roots are deep (and yes, we remember the Alamo- lol!). Mr. Sunshine (as the dh shall be know as from now on- if you know him, this should amuse you!) and I grew up here (but he doesn't let me live down the fact that I am not a NATIVE, just got there as soon as I could!), courted here, got married here. Most of our family is still within a 250 mile radius of San Antonio, so when we go home, we get to see them all....It's a soft place to land and I am so looking forward to it this year. Homemade cookies and tamales (not toether! ), balmy weather (at least compared to upstate NY), nieces and nephews, cousins and parents and fur babies too (cant't wait to see Zack and Brandy, my most favorite Labs in the world), laughter and stories...everything I want for Christmas!

Where will you be this year?

What a Beautiful City I live in....for Just a bit Longer!

Well that visit from my in-laws I mentioned also coincided with my purchase of a new toy- a Canon Power Shot camera (S5 IS, if that means anything to anyone-lol!). It's got all sorts of bells and whistles and took a bit to get used to, but I have been having quite allot of fun learning how to use it. By no means am I an expert yet, but things are improving....

I took quite a few pictures of this beautiful city during my in-laws' visit. Thought I would share a few.....

I am sad that we were only here for two years (and there were some rough family times that ate up a good portion of that time)...didn't see near the stuff thatwe could have....But I WILL NOT miss the traffic and commotion that this town produces!! If you have ever even driven through DC, you may have an idea of what I'm talking about...the hectic pace of life and daily congestion (on the roads, in the stores, everywhere) that comes with a big city are just not for me....too much visual stimulation, if that makes sense....

Anyway, on to the pictures....

Can you guess the hand? Shouldn't be too hard, if you think about where I am...my feeble attempt at being "artsy" with my pictures...there will be a few more of these....

Yep- Ol' Honest Abe Himself....these are our pictures from the Mall. It was a very dreary day, but when you're on vacation, sometimes you can't wait for the sunshine.... The view from Abe's seat....

The Viet Nam Vet's Memorial..."The Wall"....this is probably the most moving place on the Mall. People really stop and study the names...

I had to wait quite a bit to get this picture with no one studying the writing, even on a blustery day....

This was not the only flag left that day....

I have many more but this will have to be continued...Like the Dwarves....Hi- Ho, Hi- Ho, it's off to work I go.....

My, MY....How time flies....

Well now that was quite a "Blog-iday" I took, wasn't it? I have been busy, and unfortuantely when you're extremely busy, something's gotta give. My poor blog was the victim this time.....

Allot has happened since my last post...

My wonderful in-laws visited us here in DC. We had a very nice two weeks- did all the sights in the area and took a day trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, home of the famous Civil War Battle. I love that place. To this day, you just feel the importance of what happened there during the Civil War. And the scenery is just to die for- a visual picnic for a primitive artist.....

A few of the great old houses....

One of many MANY beautiful monuments...this one was dedicated to General Robert E. Lee...

And this is my son in the "Devil's Den", quite appropriately named for more reason than one...because this is where my soldier husband got the call that we would be MOVING in less than two months! So now you know exactly WHY I have been so busy....

In seventeen years with the military, we have moved...allot....but usually we have some inkling that a move is impending. This was completely unexpected, out of the blue, shocking....whatever you want to call it, it was the first time we have felt like we've been hit by a Mack truck on a beautiful Saturday afternooon....an experience I don't care to repeat if I'm completely honest....

Soooooo......

It seems come mid-December, we'll be loading up the truck.....and moving to.....

NEW YORK.....