A few pics....

I live once again in the sunny south, where we wear t-shirts on Thanksgiving and have 70 degree Christmases.

Can't you tell???

All this snow came, the day after Christmas, the closest thing to a white Christmas that any of us have seen. Princess definitely had fun!

This is our snow-covered house!

And now presenting the new kitty!! My sister went to the mall to buy a birthday present and, after not finding anything she liked for me, stopped by the pet store. She came home with this thing lol. She named him Pippin, but we mostly call him Pip. He has a very pink nose, very pink paws, and he literally cries like a baby when he is upset. He has a prissy little walk, he is somewhat cuddly, and he enjoys aggravating poor Scout within an inch of her life. He is only nine months old now, but as you can see, he is a pretty big baby!

He did not know what to think about the snow!!

We got almost ten inches!!

This is his favorite way to be -- asleep, upside down, and stretched out!!

This was taken right after we got him in October. You can see he has practically doubled in size since then!

This is one of my favorite pics ever!

This is the South?

I remember living here years ago. Winters were mild. We wore t-shirts on Christmas Day. The most snow we got was a dusting. But look at this year. I haven't seen this much snow in this town since I was two years old.

Baby's first snow! She didn't like it at all :(

This was right before she looked me and said "MEOW!!!"

She stayed outside exactly two minutes.

Princess loves the snow.

This was the view when I came home from work late one night. Snowflakes the size of cotton balls caught in all the trees. It was gorgeous. The perfect snow for snowballs, snow cream, sledding, and taking pictures.

But ......... I AM READY FOR SPRING!!!!

Spring is Here!

Awww! She loves spring! :)

First daffodils.

I found this tiny little cherry tree growing in the brush near our house. It was so cute! the flowers are beautiful!

Ice Storm

We also had an ice storm during all this. At least it's pretty. :)

It is COLD outside

The weather around here has been cold. Really cold. Temperatures during the day have been in the teens and when I went to work a few mornings ago, the thermometer said 6 degrees. We haven't had a lot of snow, though, just a few snow showers that leave about an inch of snow on the ground. Anyway, today is one of those days when I just want to bake cookies and stay inside all day. Maybe watch an old movie or read a book. Unfortunately, I have school work to catch up on and I have to work from this afternoon till late tonight.

Being tennis fans, we've begun to tune into the first rounds of the Australian Open. It is so strange to think that while it's too cold here to stir outdoors without four layers of clothing, on the other side of the world the temperatures are so hot that the tennis players can hardly bear it. I'm ready for sunshine and summertime on this side of the globe.

Fall is here!

I love the cool, crisp fall weather! The leaves are changing colors and the weather is perfect! I love taking walks now. In summer, it's just too hot, but now, everyday when I come home from work, I take a walk and enjoy the fresh air and breeze. So nice! I hope it stays like this for a while before the cold weather gets here.

Things I love about fall:

caramel apples
colorful leaves
cool weather
long walks
pumpkins
boots
light sweaters
jean jackets
rich colors in my closet
apple cider
county fairs
my birthday!!

WHEN IS SPRING GOING TO BE HERE???

Springtime in January

The weather was so nice today. It was actually warm with just a little bit of a cool breeze. I spent this morning working on some new drawings, but after lunch I had to go for a walk. I had put Princess outside to play for the first time in a long time. When I went out to walk, she was so happy and excited that I got her leash out and took her with me. During the summer, she hates to go for a walk worse than anything, but she practically begged to go today. It was so nice to be outside for a change.

I enjoyed working at my new drafting table a lot. It was great to have all my art supplies organized, right at my reach, and to be able to see my drawing and my reference photo at one time. The desk lamp has been an aggravating issue. I got one kind of lamp to go with the desk for Christmas, but when my dad helped me put it on, there was no way it would work. This kind of desk lamp comes with a clamp that attaches to the table and then you set the lamp into the clamp. What it doesn't have is a way for the lamp to stay in the clamp. It swung around and crashed into the wall on one side, then swung forward and fell out. The manufacturer didn't provide instructions, either. We tried several times to make it work, but it was just impossible. We took it back to the store this week and I picked another one with a built-in magnifying glass. This one is a lot sturdier than the other, but any sudden movements near it will send the lamp swinging into the wall. Oh well. The light works, that's the important thing.

I'm also trying to finish Persuasion before the movie debuts next week. I like the story a lot and can't wait to see the movie. The old version with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds really needed an update.

October Weather

O sun and skies and clouds of June,

and flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour

October's bright blue weather

When loud the humblebee makes haste,

Belated, thriftless vagrant,

And Golden Rod is dying fast,

And lanes with grapes are fragrant.

When on the ground red apples lie

In pile like jewels shining,

And redder still on old stone walls

Are leaves of woodbine twining.

When springs run low, and on the brooks,

In idle golden freighting,

Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush

Of woods, for winter waiting.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Most of our October days have been like this, but not today. The rain has poured all day long. Considering that this state has been in a drought all summer, everyone is grateful for the rain and hope for more. Most like October, though, the leaves are finally changing into brilliant colors!

Fall

http://www.allposters.com/

The weather has changed so much around here. Only three weeks ago, the temperature would be around 100 degrees everyday, but now the afternoons are warm and the evenings are almost chilly. I'm glad. I love fall much more than summer. It is just too hot during the summer. Fall is the perfect time of year to do anything -- take walks, read a book outside, play a little tennis, go shopping, or even take a hike. I'm hoping we can go on a hike when the leaves change colors so I can get some good pictures.

Fall weather does make it difficult to pack for a trip, though, because it means I have to bring cooler clothes for warmer days and warmer clothes for cooler days. I'm already trying to figure out what will be the best things to pack when we travel down to visit our family next week. We were supposed to take our last trip back home for the summer three weeks ago, but it didn't work out and our vacation got pushed back to next week. So, we were planning on leaving this Saturday. Now that's not going to work out, so we have to wait to leave until next Thursday. Changing plans so many times is NOT fun, but we have decided, definitely, once and for all, that we are leaving Thursday. If we push it back any further we might as well wait until Thanksgiving. This way, at least, we'll be able to stay longer -- about ten days. Anyway, it will be great to go home for a visit and we've already have plans made to do some fun stuff with family and friends while we're there.

Summer Is Over

This week was Gabrielle's first week of school, which pretty much ends the summer for me too. Here's an overview of some of my plans for the year:

1. Helping Gabrielle with math. We went through Algebra 1 together last year, so we're going on to Algebra 2 this year. Considering the fact that I hated algebra in high school, this is not a lot of fun for me, but I think I'm learning more from it this time around than I did then.
   
2. Art lessons. I haven't kept up a steady pace with my work this summer, which means I haven't completed as many projects as I did last year. Part of the reason is because we had such a busy summer, and the other reason is a lack of projects. I completed one painting and three graphite portraits by May and then had nothing else to work on. I've just been picking up odd projects here and there since then. My teacher doesn't like for me to use magazine photos for references because they're copyrighted (since I don't sell anything I don't see what difference that makes, but..), so I ended up drawing another graphite portrait and now I'm working on a large graphite house/landscape scene. I did check out a few painting instruction books from the library that gave me some ideas. I really want to work on my painting skills so I think I'm going to buy some new canvases and get to work.
   
3. Reading. There is so much reading I would like to do this year. I set a goal in January to read fifteen books that I'd never read before by 2008 and so far I'm halfway through number twelve. Most of them have been classic literature books, though. I would like to do more "serious" reading -- a few biographies, some history books, my Constitutional Law book (I still haven't finished it), and devotional books. There are a lot of books on my shelf and on my list that I haven't even opened, so I have a lot of catching up to do.
   
4. Music. I really want to get back into playing the piano again. I think my hands can take it now. I've been working on some scales this summer and my right hand is pretty much back to normal. That left hand tends to want to flare up, though. I'm determined to try to work my way back into playing, slowly and steadily. I ordered a new hymn arrangement book today that I'm really excited about. I think it will be difficult enough to be pretty, but easy enough not to stress my hand.
   
5. Writing. I'm going to try update my blog more regularly. Hopefully I'll be able to post three times a week, preferably every other day. I have some other writing projects to keep up too, so this will take a lot of work.


6. Crafts. Everyone knows I have to have crafts of some sort going on. I've got three quilt tops that are waiting for me to quilt them, so I have to buy backing, filling, borders, get them basted together and choose quilting patterns for each one. I'm also working on a cross-stitch sampler, I have a set of Christmas ornaments that I need to make before Christmas if possible, and I have a few more ideas for things I'd like to get done before Christmas. I have a feeling I won't manage it, but I'll try.

That's just the main things. I have a lot of other ideas/plans for the next few months that I have to get busy with if I'm ever going to get anywhere with them. My main goals for right now are to get serious again with my painting/drawing and to start playing the piano again. Once I get those underway, I can start working on the other things more.