A quick post today

Thank you all for all those lovely birthday wishes.  How kind you all are.

Blogger friends are special people.

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57 degrees this morning for my walk.  Same as yesterday just walked

in a different order.

 Some low hanging fog around but lot of sun too.

The sun was shining behind me in both pictures.

Walked 6.2 miles

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Not much time for blogging today and haven't been able to visit you all.

We have been walking around Happy Trails ALL day.

Tomorrow I'll tell you why.

I have some BIG news to share with you about the next project

up at Happy Trails.  😊

We are off to church now.

Till tomorrow.......

Hope your day was a happy one.

happyone 🎈

Another Year

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54 degrees this morning and it was sunny. 

Walked one of my usual routes - behind my house, through town, up Barn Sale

a ways, down toward Happy Trails, and back to town.  Then around the cemeteries

and ball park loop and back home once again.

Rebeca was out walking.  Nice to see her again, it's been quite awhile

since she was out.  I see people come and go and come again.

Walked 6.2 miles

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Today is the REAL Memorial Day, before they made holidays on Mondays

and it is also my birthday.  

Ken made cherry turnovers for our breakfast.

I did some more laundry - have to take advantage of these 

nice sunny days.

Did a bit more weeding out front and planted a couple more plants.

Ken took me out to lunch and we went to Brenda's for pizza and a salad.

Nice to have a GOOD pizza again after the pizza we had last week at the other place.

Had a nice chat on the phone with my friend Bernice.
We rarely get to see each other but not a day goes by that I don't think of her.

It's been a nice but quiet day and I am thankful for all my many blessings.

Life is Good
Hope your day was sunny and bright.
happyone 🎈

"The first fact about the celebration of birthdays
is that it is a good way of affirming defiantly, and even flamboyantly,
that it is a good thing to be alive."
~ G K Chesterton

"Inside every older person is a younger person
wondering what happened."
~ Jennifer Yane

Memorial Day (observed)

Memorial Day. 

When we remember the brave men and women who died so we may live free.  

Thank You.

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Woke up early to thunderstorms and heavy rain but by the time I walked

it had stopped and was just cloudy, and finally the sun made itself known.

The temperature was 60 degrees.

How nice to walk in the sun for a change.

Since it is a holiday it was very quiet around town and I didn't

encounter any people.

The rabbits, geese, birds, a deer or two, and some cows were around though.

I walked around both cemeteries, the ball park loop and down toward 

Happy Trails before walking back to town and home.

Walked 6 miles

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Since the sun came out I did a load of laundry and hung it out on the line.

Then I made a Cherry Dessert Cake to take along to a BBQ that

we went to late afternoon.
I have had the recipe for years and this is the first time I've ever made it.

I had that in the oven and went outside and planted

Tomatoes

Peppers

Brussels Sprouts

Cucumbers and Zucchini.

It was then that I remembered I had a cake in the oven.  Ran back inside

and there were 2 minutes left to go.  That was close.

Got the cake out of the oven and then went back outside to continue

with my planting.  I planted a bunch of petunias out back.
Weeded some out in the front garden and it was time to get ready
to go to the BBQ.

At the BBQ there was good food, laughter, played a few games
of table shuffle board (lost both my games) and had a fun time.

Oh and the Cherry Cake Dessert was a big hit.

Home now for a bit of reading, Netflix and a quiet evening.

Hope your day was sunny and bright.

happyone 🎈

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry,
show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.
~ unknown

The Statue of Liberty and the Cross

Today at Church Chip sang this song as the special and thought I'd share the words with you.  

🗽

In New York Harbor stands a lady,
With a torch raised to the sky;
And all who see her know she stands for
Liberty for you and me.

I'm so proud to be called an American,
To be named with the brave and the free;
I will honor our flag and our trust in God,
And the Statue of Liberty.

On lonely Golgotha stood a cross,
With my Lord raised to the sky;

And all who kneel there live forever
As all the saved can testify.

I'm so glad to be called a Christian,
To be named with the ransomed and whole;
As the statue liberates the citizen,
So the cross liberates the soul.

Oh the cross is my Statue of Liberty,
It was there that my soul was set free;
Unashamed I'll proclaim that a rugged cross
Is my Statue of Liberty!

✝

~ Neil Enloe

1974

A Blessed Sunday to you.

Jesus Loves You.

happyone  💗

More rain today

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Had the exact same weather for walking as yesterday.

52 degrees and rain was supposed to be coming later in the morning

and once again I didn't make it home before the rain.

3 miles into walking a light drizzle started and by mile 4 it

was raining and I got soaked just like yesterday.

Walked first to the library and dropped a book down the slot. 

Flower pot at the library

Then up and town all the streets in town, both cemeteries and the ball park loop. 

Saw all the usual bunnies and this one didn't run off and let me get

pretty close to take the pictures.

 Lisa was out running again and was just as wet as I was.

Don't really mind the rain, but it would be nice to walk in the sun

again one day.

Walked 6 miles

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It's been raining on and off all day.
We went out to do a few errands in McHenry.
Lots of people around for the three day weekend and the official start
of the tourist season.

Between rain Ken went out and did some work rerouting the rain water.
It now comes off the roof and goes into our water feature.

The asparagus from my garden have been popping with new shoots daily.
I got these out of the garden today.
I can't believe how fast it grows.

My day was sunny and bright even though it rained all day.
Hope yours was too.
happyone : )

"Wherever you go, no matter the weather,
always bring your own sunshine ."
~ Anthony J D'Angelo

Birthday lunch for Bettye

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Some low hanging clouds around this morning when I set out walking.

It was 52 degrees and wasn't supposed to rain until later in the morning

so figured I had plenty of time to get a dry walk in.

But that was not to be.  After about 3 miles or so a light drizzle started

and after another mile it just rained and I got soaking wet.

Walked behind my house, through town, up Barn Sale, around the one cemetery,

and the ball park loop.  A quick loop around town and home.

The wild daisies are now blooming along the edges of the road.

 Workers were working on the old bakery and I stopped and asked

them what it was to be.

A Mennonite Bakery/Deli was the answer.

Lisa was out running getting soaking wet too.

Walked 6 miles

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Today is my friend Bettye's birthday and a few of us ladies met for lunch
to celebrate.  We had a nice time and I am happy to have them as
my friends.  Didn't take pictures of any food but the server took
this picture of us.  Actually three of us asked her to take pictures
and she was kind enough to do it.
Starting on the right with the birthday day girl is
Bettye 🎂, Debbie, Heidi, Me, and Tricia.

I started reading the next book for my book club the Devil in the White City
and though I haven't gotten very far I already like it.

Ken has to go out in a little while and I plan to read more of it.

Hope your day was sunny and bright.
A happy day to you.
happyone 💗

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are
and then wait for the answer.
~ Unknown

Working day of Fingerprints

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It was a soggy start walking this morning in the rain and 52 degrees with some

wind thrown in too.  Wore my rain pants, slicker and waterproof sneakers.  

Walked behind my house, through town and back, around the cemeteries, and the ball park loop and then around town.  Don't usually see many people out on rainy days and didn't today either.  

Picture is the path behind the ball park loop and it is a bit overgrown.

 The rain didn't seem to bother the rabbits or the horses.

After about 4 miles it stopped raining but stayed cloudy and there was some more rain at the end of my walk.  

Walked 6 miles

Found a penny

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Right after breakfast we went to church for a day of doing Fingerprints.

At one point there were 21 of us there but by the end of the day

there were just 4 left.

We got over 3000 Romans books assembled. 

Afterward we stopped at Walmart for a few things and then tried a new

pizza place for supper.  Don't think we will be going back there again.

The pizza crust was NOT hand tossed and it tasted like a frozen pizza.

We then treated ourselves to an ice cream cone at Katie's and that

was good.  We have been passing Katie's since we moved here just about

4 years ago and today was the first time we stopped!!

Don't think I'll be having any snack later.  That ice cream cone was a big one!!

It's been a good work day and I'm ready to have a relaxing evening

watching Netflix (Murdoch Mystery - we are on season 4)

and reading.

Hope your day was happy and bright.

happyone  💗

"I nod to a passing stranger, and the stranger nods back,

and two human beings go off, feeling a little less anonymous.

~ Robert Brault

 Comment Replies:
Tom - Yes, skunk cabbage.  Didn't know that the flower was called Dame Rocket.  Thanks for letting me know.  It is all over the place!!

Cookie Lady goes to the dentist

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A cloudy morning for walking today, 57 degrees and windy.

Started walking on the streets behind my house.

Then over to and around the ball park loop, the cemeteries,

around town, and then back for another loop around the ball park and home.

Work is slow going on the old bakery but there is some progress.

More new windows and those tree columns are new.

Inside the walls are getting framed out.

I have heard rumors that the new business going in there is to be a deli.

Saw some more rabbits, sure are lots of them around and I guess that

means there will be even more around.

Pretty quiet around town.

Walked 6.2 miles

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Ken went out and got gas in my car for me, which he always does.

He is being nice when he does it,

but I think he really just likes to drive my car. 🚗 😊

Walked over to the dentist for my appointment at 11:00 and brought the usual
chocolate chip cookies for the staff.
They call me the 'Cookie Lady'.
I am very good about brushing my teeth, flossing and also using a water pic,
but on dentist days I brush, floss, water pic, and then brush again.

I am HAPPY to say that my teeth cleaning was a breeze.
No cavities and healthy gums.
I'm set for another 6 months. 😀

Ken was up at HT in the morning and came home lunch time.
Didn't go back up because the afternoon turned into a drizzly misty one
so we stayed home inside getting some things done around the house.

 Hope your day is sunny and bright.

happyone 💗

"If you have a garden and a library,
you have everything you need."
~ Cicero

Comment Replies:

Melanie - No, a gazebo is NOT our next project.  It's a much bigger project.  Not quite ready to reveal what it is yet. 😊

Tuesday

This is NOT in my yard but I'd like it to be. 😊

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A cloudy morning walk today and 45 degrees. 

I got an early start walking so decided to walk the Farm Loop.  

In a couple of weeks when school is out I can walk the Farm Loop anytime

without encountering the buses.

 These trees are on Farmer Bill's land and every time I pass them I

think they would all make great Christmas trees.

Didn't see the dairy farm cows today because they were off in the far field.

Once I got back to town, made a loop around one of the cemeteries and

the ball park loop, then up the main road before arriving back home.

Walked 6.2 miles

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Right after breakfast Ken went up to Happy Trails and later I left

to go to the store to exchange a dress that my friend Becky had given me.

She was out one day and saw a dress and thought of me and so decided
to by it for me.

Sadly it was too big and the store didn't have it in a smaller size 

so I exchanged it for two light weight little sweaters, a black one and a yellow one.

 Ken came home for lunch and afterward when he went back to HT

I went along too.
Things coming along nicely with the cabin.

A few little things still need doing but we can finally see the end coming.

Then we have another project we are anxious to get started with. 😊

More on that in the future.

The dentist office called and my appointment has been rescheduled
for tomorrow morning.  I'll be glad when that is over.

A happy day to you.

happyone 💗

"The reason people find it so hard to be happy
is that they always see the past better than it was,
the present worse than it is,
and the future less resolved than it will be."
~ Marcel Pagnol

Comment Replies:

Sue - I wrote a post back in Jan of 2015 about the coins I find on my walks. Here's the LINK.

Rose - The book I picked up yesterday is The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  It's a non-fiction book about two men living in Chicago in the late 18 hundreds,  Daniel H Burnham, an architect, the other Dr. Henry H Holmes, a serial killer.  There fates were linked by a single event.  This book is the next selection for my book club. 

The old barn

I've taken quite a few pictures of this old barn down by the Drane house.

It seems to be falling down one board at a time.

One of these days the whole thing is going to fall down.

I'm linking up today with Tom for his Barn Collective Series.

Why not hop on over to see more barns or post one of your own.

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Started out walking this morning with a mix of sun and clouds and 57 degrees.

The clouds soon took over though and a light mist started falling

4 miles into my walk and lasted for about a mile.

Didn't rain again till after I was back home.

Walked behind my house, through town, down toward Happy Trails,

up Barn Sale a ways, and around both cemeteries, through town again

and back home.

This is one of the largest rhododendron bushes I've ever seen.

More work was being done at the old bakery this morning, inside and out.

Lee, the older man who rides his bike around town was out and stopped

to say hi and gave me two round red and white peppermint candies.

He hands them out to whoever he sees. 

Lots of swallows out by the cemetery and I counted 6 rabbits

scattered around town.

A opossum ambled across the road in front of me and I'm sure glad it

kept right on going.  

Walked 6.2 miles

Found a penny

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It rained in the morning so I got a couple of things done around the house.
 Then we went out to get some bird seed and stopped at the
library to pick up a book that I had on hold.
By the time we got back home the rain had stopped and the sun came out.

 Ken took the tractor back up to Happy Trails and I stayed home to
get some yard work done.
Transplanted the lily of the valley and also separated some of the
daisies and planted them in another garden.
Got the lawn mowed again.  Grows so fast this time of year.
Sometimes I wish our house was on a smaller piece of land so I could spend
more time up at HT.  Seems like there is always something to do here at the house.
Maybe we should move our house up to HT.  : )

Nice to sit on the porch when my work was done and do a little reading.

Life is Good

Hope your day was a happy one.

happyone  💗

She was a girl who knew how to be happy 

even when she was sad.

And that's important -- you know.

~ Marilyn Monroe

Rejoice

 Rejoice In the Lord

Ron Hamilton

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.

I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.

Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.

O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

 Job 23:10

But He knoweth the way that I take;

when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

To listen to Ron Hamilton singing the Hymn click 

HERE.

A Blessed Sunday to you.

Jesus Love You. 💗

happyone  😊

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Pictures from my walk this morning

Walk and work

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When I started walking this morning it was 60 degrees and cloudy

but after a few miles the sun came out.

I walked the Farm Loop.

 The cows were out along the fence and stopped eating to watch me walk by.

I stopped and said good morning.

Heading down the road back to town I saw our friend Dave from church

in his driveway washing his truck and stopped to have a little chat.

Continued on to one of the cemeteries and walked around there,  made a quick loop

around town and back home again.

A couple of pretty blooms along my walk.

This picture is of some kind of pine tree.  I guess that is all new growth on the ends but there was so much of it that there was hardly any green on the tree. 

Anyway I thought it made an interesting picture.

  Walked 6.2 miles

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After breakfast I got a load of wash hung out on the line and then Ken and I

went out to Lowe's.  We bought some flowers and a few other things.

Then we headed over to church to do some more cleanup behind the back

building that people have been using to dump old wood and building material.

We loaded up our dump trailer with old wood and took it up to Happy Trails

and burned it in the burn barrel.  This was the second time we did this and

probably have one more load to do.

 We will then put up a sign that reads,

Yard Waste ONLY.

Hopefully that will work.

The day sure flew by

but I'm glad it is evening now and time to relax.

A happy day to you.

happyone 💗

You can't buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream.

And that's kind of the same thing. 

~ Unknown

Moving the lilacs

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58 degrees this morning and sunny during my morning walk.

 Stayed around town today.  Walked behind my house, through town

around both cemeteries and the ball park loop.

The pond down by the Drane house with Mamma Goose and her babies.

Looks like lots of pollen on the pond.

Back to a quiet morning around town.

Didn't see anyone.

Walked 6.2 miles

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We both had dentist appointments this morning but the office called and

cancelled them.  On the one hand I was glad but it would be nice to go and

have it over with.   

We got some work done in the yard today.

There were 4 lilac bushes by the stone patio and we thought they

were just too big to be there.  

So we decided to transplant them up at the property line in back

in between some forsythia bushes that were there.

Handy having the tractor to dig them up and then dig the holes

to plant them in.

Here they are transplanted between the forsythia.

On one side of the where we dug out the lilacs, I dug up some daisies from

the front yard and planted them there.

On the other side I will be planting lily of the valley.  I have some in another
part of the yard and will take them from there.

The daisies aren't looking so hot right now, but they are just in shock

and should perk up.

That pretty much took all day to do.

 Glad we finally got it done though.

Hope your day was a happy one.

happyone  💗

It's amazing how one word from the right person 

can turn your whole day around

and make you feel better in a second.

~ Unknown

Rooster in the doorway

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Sure was a great morning for walking today.  58 degrees and sunny. 

I woke up a little early today and was outside walking at 6:15. 

Being a little early I decided to walk the Farm Loop because I would

be walking past the school before any of the school buses arrived.

The cow family that lives in this pasture has grown a little

and has three more little ones.

Couldn't get the other three in the picture.

The llamas were out over at Farmer Bill's farm.

Once I got back to town I walked around the ball park loop 

and one of the cemeteries.

People out around town this morning.

Lawns were getting mowed.

Builders started the roof on the new building by the car dealer.

A new sidewalk was getting put in by the old bakery.

George stopped to say hi.

Caroline was watering flowers over at the Day Care center.

It seemed mid day instead of early morning.

Walked 6.2 miles

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We have a new project at the church and today after breakfast we

went and picked up a 20 foot corrugated drain pipe.

Just picked up the pipe but didn't start the work yet.  I'm sure I'll be taking

pictures when we do the work.  : )

Stopped up at Happy Trials for a little while.  Ken did a little work,

but I wasn't in my work clothes so just walked around.

We went home lunch time.

We brought the tractor back to the house and were going to transplant
4 lilac bushes but we never got around to it.

It was like a summer day with temperatures in the low 80's.
I was tempted to plant the petunias and some of the vegetables
but have learned in the past NOT to plant anything till June 1.

Just finished supper and off to church in just a little while.
Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone  💗

"If you think sunshine brings you happiness,
then you haven't danced in the rain.
~ Unknown

Back to bowling

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Another sunny morning for walking and 42 degrees with no wind.  It warmed up quickly and I soon had to take off my sweat shirt. 

Started out walking on the roads behind my house and those two geese were out waking again.  This time they didn't even fly away when I got close.

Walked through town and up Barn Sale Rd a ways and then down toward HT before turning back to town.  Made a couple of loops around the cemeteries and then back home.  Saw a deer running through the pasture, but again no people out walking.

Walked 6.2 miles

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Finished knitting the scarf last night with the yarn that had all these colors in one hank.  Picture of the yarn is HERE, the one in the middle.

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Ken went up to HT again and I stayed home.

Had some things to do around the house left over from yesterday.

Then late morning I went outside and mowed the lawn.

Still soggy in spots but not too bad and I got the whole lawn mowed.

Ken was home for lunch and then we left in the afternoon to
meet our friends for some bowling.  Haven't been bowling for a few weeks now.
The lanes don't open until 3:00 this month so we have to bowl later
in the day now.
Not my day for bowling,  122, 114, and 94 in that order,
but still had fun.

After bowling we all went to a little eatery called Tomanetti's
for supper.

Then to Walmart to do food shopping.
Groceries put away and now another day is just about gone.
Life is Good.

A happy day to you.
happyone  💗

"The art of being happy lies in the power
of extracting happiness from common things."
~ Henry Ward Beecher