Sunny Day And Cottage Names

Today for my early morning walk I started very early.  In the midwest, many of us, missed spring.  We had some nice spring days, then it got cold and rather than go back to spring the weather jumped into the middle of summer.  We are having several days in the low 90’s which does not usually happen until late July or early August.  Who stole spring?

I do love early morning and the nice mirror and stillness of the water.  This photo surprised me with the pretty reflection of the clouds in the water.  I was very lucky with this shot.

While I was walking among the lake houses my mind wandered back to my recent trip to England and many homes have names, not just the huge manor houses or castles.  So I decided to name a few.

Eagles Nest went to a home that could be a tract home elsewhere.  A simple 2 story aluminum sided house.  But, this home has an enormous half dead tree in front, the kind I have seen eagles stand in to survey their next meal, it also had an eagle with its wings spread nailed above the doorway.

Another smallish home with beautiful blue siding became the Bluebirds Roost.  We have long ago dubbed a  quaint home The Witches Cottage because of the moon shaped cutouts in the shutters.  So you can see, the is a bit of whimsy in this process.

So let’s get really cheeky as you might hear across the pond.  This we call Skiers Rest.  That is because they have used retired water skies to surround the mail box. Very clever.

We named this next one Evita’s Cottage because of the great view from the balcony overlooking the lake.

We also found a Rabbit Hutch due to the bunnies nibbling on their lawn.  Lilac Cottage due to the purple flowers blooming throughout the lawn, no lilac bush in sight.  Old School House is named for the large bell hanging near the front door and it never was a school to our knowledge.  Whales Tale is due to the fact we saw an airline pilot getting out of her car one day. ( Pilot Whales in case you were wondering.)  Guppy Cottage is due to the collection of fish always swimming near it.

What would you call your neighbor’s houses?  I think I need to get busy and quilt small banners for the neighbors to hang in their homes or yards and let’s see if the names stick.

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Over The Past Year

About a year ago, I started writing this blog.  Today I went back and reread my first one.  I am surprised that I still like and feel the same as what I wrote then.  It’s like a 5-year-old child who feels that every day they are getting taller or smarter and it is visible to others.  I know I have changed in many ways, can’t you all see it? HA. Other than the fact I dyed my hair (again a new color) and lost a couple of pounds, it’s not even visible to me.  But I have changed.

I have accomplished a couple of bucket list items I was never sure were going to happen. Some of them were on my bucket list before I knew what a bucket list was. Thanks to that movie for making the term OK to use even with old people like me. We don’t automatically fear it or think that when an item is crossed off the list the end is near.

I hope that my writing and photographing some of my adventures will encourage some others to step out of the box.  Embrace the unknown, learn new things, try different food, listen to new music and open your heart to enjoy all of those things.

I have decided to extend my time of blogging, because I am enjoying it. I will continue on this site, the name and the direction will change, but not yet.

Renewing & Reintroducing Myself

Why start a blog, that is so last year were the first comments I received.  My first intention with blogging, was for a faster and easier way to communicate with a large group of family and friends.  I knew I would not be able to use some fast forms of communication since I would be 5 or 6 time zones away from most of my friends. This way they could ask questions and see what I was doing on the blog.

That proves not to be the standard response from family.  I heard oh, it is so hard to log in and out each time, it is much easier to call you.  This shows no regard for my needs and requirements.  I also heard about how interesting it was that I could talk about things in my life and make it sound interesting and they could not do that, so they did not read my blog.  Some only like the pictures.

So, I guess I am a little old lady, living in a new city, working a new job, meeting new people and sharing my adventures with whomever.  When I read that sentence back, I am very much OK with it.

I enjoy all aspects of writing.  I am not really good at fiction, though I think someday I will try my hand at it.  I am in the process of trying to improve my writing to make it easier to read and enjoy.

 

Grandson’s

I am very lucky and have several of the world most handsome and intelligent and all round nice guy’s as grandsons.  Just saying.  So one who has a birthday in June came to visit me this week.  He is turning 20 and we need to do some fun things together.  So just like a grandma, I put him to work…WHAT. It’s not that kind of work, it’s easy things for a strapping young college student to do and a grandma to worry about.

Illustration of a Male College Student Moving into the Dorms

I am only renting my apartment for 6 months, so no painting walls , no holes in the walls etc.  He tells me his first dorm room was larger than this.  I had purchased some black out curtains for the windows, to keep the 20 hours of daylight out and tried hanging the rods with no holes in the walls.  So we use those self stick thing that remove easily.  Again, I hear, oh yeah this is what we use in the dorm.  Way to make me feel old.

 

We have now completed covering both the window and the balcony door and I do not have non-stop sun keeping me awake all night. I also have him sorting out some of the quirky things my laptop does that make me crazy.  It’s a beautiful thing.

He is arriving as I am still fighting off this cold, so not a good thing for him, no energy and I am feeling like a wimp. So I will not be participating in extreme sports this visit. Things are still wonderful in Alaska.

 

 

I Will Survive!

No that’s not a picture of one of my children or grandchildren, it’s how I felt when I got the correct tools to have this hook-up again.  I promise I will be better at giving you that information about Alaska now.  Wi-Fi here has been spotty at best.  I have been looked at suspiciously  as I sat in a fast food restaurant with my laptop.  I have been looking at arrows spinning in a circle so long they thought I was drunk at the coffee-house.  It has been a bit of a challenge.

Now I can better chronicle what is happening here in a more orderly fashion. I am still loving the experience, at every level, even the non-internet moments.

Just can’t resist one more thought about how happy I am. I can also now chat  via computer with the family who has the urge to see if dear old granny has totally gotten off the tracks.