And So it Begins

The other day, while putting the Christmas decorations away, I wanted to stand on a chair to take the bunting down. Big deal, right? Bruce thought so, saying, "now that you are 62, you have to be more careful." He got a ladder....

Yes, now that I am 62, what happens next? Only time will tell.

I will say that something happened this last week that has NEVER happened to me before. Do you see what I see?

Unbelievable right? Both arrived in Saturday's mail!  One from Steve and Kirsten in Winter Haven and the other from my sister Carol in Beverly Hills, CA!! I was dumbstruck when I opened them, as you can imagine. I pretty much still cannot believe it, but I suppose that is the way it is when something brand new happens at my age. :)

Because most of our friends were out of town, or had other plans, there weren't very many folks at Bunker and Cathy's NYE chili cookout, but those there were treated to a delicious cake provided by none other than Mr. Bruce for this blogger's birthday. Charlies Gourmet, no less.

I tried chili, Cincinnati style, for the first time, provided by Lisa and Oren. Delicious! My pork chili with poblano peppers was just fine.

Poor Lisa is on crutches after injuring her knee! The weather was on the steamy side with high humidity making the smoke from the fireworks hang long in the air.

In spite of the warm weather, Bunker had a nice fire pit going. Before long it was January 1, 2016. And so it begins...

Hopefully, this year I will find some new interests, however, I'm not willing to let go of old ones, so there may not be room in this little brain for more. I still love my birdies, captivated by their behavior. If ever you hear a loud bird song around these parts, the first bird that should come to mind is the tiny Carolina Wren that sings it's heart out.

Even when no one is listening. Fortunately I was, and it was a real treat. So too, it is always great fun, well relatively speaking, to watch the birds in the bird bath. Generally they stay only briefly, but Mr. Cardinal made an exception Saturday afternoon, enjoying himself greatly in the warmish water.

Speaking of warm water, late afternoon, on the first of January, I thought it would be nice to take a sunset photo, so I got on my bike to see what I could see. Not much, to tell you the truth.

However, I did hear some shouting and laughing nearby and followed my instincts to a viewing spot next to Lake Gem Mary, the small lake at the end of our cul-de-sac. Sure enough, there was a large group of young people swinging and jumping into the lake!!! On January 1, no less! They saw me with my camera and did a bit of showing off for me. Now, it has been warm and all, but swimming in January?

There was even a girl there--see them standing at the water's edge under the tree? Too bad I didn't have my zoom lens!

Meanwhile, Mr. Bruce and I have been creating...me, working on a quilt block that has stymied me for a while....called Card Trick it is multiple triangles that have to line up just right.

For Christmas Bruce got me a little tool that neither of us were quite sure about. I am totally sure about it now. A thread cutter made by an artist from Japan, it works like a charm!

He took a few days off which means he finally had time to make some gorgeous frames for two canvases I'd hung in our bedroom once I quit going to the market. Here's one...

and here's the other. I love how they look so finished now.

I always feel terrible for my family having to provide birthday gifts only six days after Christmas. Nonetheless, I did receive some lovely fabric from Ray and Jane, Tom's folks in England, as well as some super neat notecards from Tom and Matt. Michelle had the super idea of taking us to brunch at the Grand Bohemian yesterday and it was spectacular. Bruce wore his new handmade tie from London, given to him by you know who.

It has been forever since we've eaten there and during our absence they have redone the dining area. It was glam before, however, now it is over the top glam!

The brunch offerings were out of this world! And, as you can see above, it has finally gotten chilly. This morning is wonderful, the cold front that brought rain yesterday has given way to a bright blue, sun filled sky, with the temperature reading at 51!! I was beginning to think I would never see sweater weather again!

And we are off, to new beginnings,

Gail