Thanksfuls

I am thankful for so so many things...I am blessed in many ways...but to name a few:

I'm thankful for:

My husband and that we still get along after all these years. I'm excited to be going into retirement together and look forward to many more adventures.

My son who still likes to talk with his mom (and listens to my opinions) and seems to be in a very good place right now, emotionally and otherwise.

My mother's health...that its holding steady.

Yaric and that he so enjoys his studies at Full Sail.

the ability to travel, to see new places, and experience in some small way other peoples lives

My friend Peg and everything that goes with her.

My friends, Marda, Maridadela, and Emily (the threes eMs) who make me laugh.

My friend Judy for her years of sisterhood, for being there, for letting me be there.

Snow (yep, really)

Finding my birth family over 8 years ago and all the wonderful adventures and connections I've had with them since.

Books...oh, yes, I'm really thankful for books.

Simply the Best!

Last Wednesday night I had the distinct pleasure to experience the phenomena that is Tina Turner. And she is....simply the best! Energetic, in great voice, sexy as all get out, beautiful, and courageous (clearly she has no fear of heights...and no I'm not talking about her 3 inch stilletos). We had great seats (only 5 rows and an aisle away from Beyonce and Jay Z) at the Pru Center in Newark, NJ. It was Tina's 69th birthday and she defied every single one of those years! I feel fortunate beyond measure to have finally seen in her in concert. And the great thing? I get to see her next week in Montreal! woohoo!

Snow?

It snowed here on Friday...early for the season. We got about 1 1/2 inches. it was beautiful. Had to get out the snow scraper and increase the amount of bird seed in the platform feeder...everyone was in town, blue jays, cardinals, red headed flickers, mockingbird, mourning doves, song sparrows, and my favorite winter visitors,,,the juncos. They give the cats endless hours of entertainment (aided by 5 or 6 squirrels and fat snowflakes). The cold has stuck around...so got the corduroys and uggs out (do you know why those boots are called uggs?...because they are so ugly that when you look at them you say "uggg"...but they sure are useful in winter weather). Now all I have to figure out is when it will warm up a little so we can get the frozen ice out of the fountain for the winter!

Scratch and Sniff - Just Say No

Much to my delight today, the People magazine arrived with Hugh Jackman on the cover as the sexiest man of the year (I say "It's about time!"). So as I settled down for a read, I came across the section called "Sexy Scents" with photos of four "hunks" where you can "rub here to smell Taye Digg's Sexy Scent"....eeeeww. I think we've just crossed the boundary in to "Poor Taste Land". I think Taye Diggs is very handsome...I do not want to scratch his bare chest and smell it....eeeeww. What set of marketing morons came up with that idea? geeesh.

Little tiny albino mice

That is what Geena Davis (my cat...not the actress) thinks snow flakes are: teeny weeny albino mice floating down from the heavens. She runs from window to window (actually I think she has figured out that they really aren't mice...but they sure had her fooled for a while there). And yes, that means it is snowing here...light...a frosting...but early for the season.

Winter is around the corner

It is a foggy and rainy morning in the 50s. The little gray and black juncos have arrived for a stay until April. The squirrels are foraciously eating all the pumpkins we've put out for them. The cats' naps are getting longer if that is possible. And I'm wearing my knitted scarves. I'm ordering Christmas presents online. And we've started making stews again. So once all the leaves are off the trees...winter is here!

Dropped Into the Midst of Autumn at its Peak

Usually we have the luxury of having autumn gradually creep up on us. First the Walnut trees and the locust start to yellow and drop their leaves (first to drop, last to leaf!). Then the dogwoods start to turn along with the oakleaf hydragenea. And then one by one different trees and bushes of different species start to turn on their colors. Until one day its the peak and the next day we're on the downhill slide into winter. This is usually a two to three month process from start to finish. But this year we were out of the country for over 4 weeks (all of October the first few days of November). So when we landed at JFK and drove out the jersey turnpike towards Pennsylvania we were literally assaulted (visually at least) with a barage of oranges, reds, and yellow. EVERYTHING was a firework! We went from the greens and grays of steamy to tropics one day to the peak of autumn the next. how lucky are we! Our Red Leaf Maples at home are really earning their name today...they are like emergency flares set upright in my front yard...I can see them from almost all the windows in the front...against the gray sky...dynamite!