Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside. Elizabeth von Arnim

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Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Time Out

Well it's been another winter weather day here by me.
Snow, freezing rain and ice.
We've been home all day in our nice warm cozy house.

Going to take a bit of a blogging break.
Be back to blogging next week again.

Have a great week ahead 
and be happy.

happyone  ❤️

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Morning Moon

Looking at the morning moon right outside my front door.
Though the sun came out this morning there were icy patches
and it was very cold so another walk in the basement.
Though I do like winter, right about now I'm ready for spring.

From the comments yesterday it seems that hooks for coats
by the door is very popular.
I think forgetting the closet was a good thing! 😊

Got some housework done this morning.
After lunch we went down to town and got a few errands done.

Haven't seen the deer in the back woods for a while but today
5 of them were back there.
Amazing how well they blend in.
When first looking out there, you can't see them till they move.
I watched them for about 15 minutes.

The yellow baby blanket is coming along well.
I think it will be finished by the end of tomorrow.

For supper tonight I made us a couple of BIG salads.
Green Leaf Lettuce
Carrot
Bell Pepper
Celery
Cheddar Cheese
Toasted Bread for Croutons
Pecans
Craisins
That's been my day.
Hope your day was a good one.
A happy day to you.
happyone  ❤️

Monday, February 18, 2019

Hooks for coats

More winter weather kept me from walking outside this morning
so back down in the basement for my walk.

Baked the third and final batch of the chocolate cookies
for the Sunday school kids.
The cookies now sit in the freezer till Sunday March 3.

One thing we didn't think of when designing our house was
a closet by the front door for coats.
So today Ken put up some hooks
for coats and hats by the front door
 I spent the afternoon reading and making weave-it squares.
See there are some days that I don't do anything. 😊

It's been a dreary and windy day with snow.
No accumulation though, the snow just blows around.

A happy day to you.
happyone ❤️

Sunday, February 17, 2019

God's Peace

 Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord alway:
and again I say, Rejoice.

Let your moderation be known unto all men.
The Lord is at hand.

Be careful for nothing,
but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving 
let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, 
whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things honest,
whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue,
and and if there be any praise
think on these things.

Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard,
and seen in me, do:
and the God of peace shall be with you.

These verses tell us that we can have a peace that only God can give us if we:
Praise God
Pray
Think and focus on good thoughts
And practice to do what is right and good 

A Blessed Sunday to you and may you know the peace of God.
happyone ❤️

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Flamingos

Out the door the morning at 6:45 for a walk to town.
Mostly cloudy but the sun did come out once in a while.
18 degrees but it was very still so it didn't seem that cold.
 Walked through town and over to the ball park and went around the loop.
Walked along one of the side roads over to the lower cemetery and
walked around there before heading out of town and back home.

Pretty quiet around town on this Saturday morning.
A couple of flamingos were out.
These are the only kind of flamingos that you will ever see around here. 😊
Walked 6 miles
🌥     🌥
While walking home I decided to have a hot bowl 
of oatmeal for breakfast.
I added some fresh blueberries to it and it sure hit the spot 
after a nice brisk walk.

Just hung around the house during the day,
doing my usual stuff.
It was sunny but stayed cold.

Every year around Valentine's Day there is a couples banquet
for the couples at our church.
It was held this evening at a restaurant about an hour from our house.
Another couple from our church asked if we would like to ride
with them.  Said sure and they came to pick us up a little early
because they wanted a tour of our new house.
(hard to believe we've lived in the new house for 6 months)
Had a fun time at the dinner with all the other couples.
A guest speaker talked about the importance of laughter in the home.

Well that's been my day.
Hope you had a happy one too.
happyone ❤️

Friday, February 15, 2019

Keeping busy

A cloudy morning but a good morning for walking.
43 degrees, no ice and nothing falling from the sky.
It is now light enough for me to leave the house at 6:45 and that
is when I left this morning.
Walking down the hill to the main road I counted 11 deer running
across one of the fields all in a row.
On the way to town I smelled a skunk and the smell got stronger
and stronger as I walked up the hill.
Then there it was dead in the middle of the road.
Must have just happened.
Stopped at the post office to mail a Netflix.
Then walked around town, around the cemetery on the top of the hill
and then headed back home.
Walked 6.2 miles
 ☁️     ☁️
After breakfast and our morning routine we went down to
the old house and had another morning of painting.
Well we lasted two 2 1/2 hours.
This afternoon I started reading another book.
The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser
which I liked from the first page.
The picture on the first page here
reminds me of a couple of needlepoints I made a few years back.
Put them in black and white because the picture in the book is B & W.
Here they are in color.
Baked another batch of those chocolate cookies this afternoon,
one more to go.
Also made a few more weave-it squares.
There are 40 squares on the right which will be the middle.
I've got 3 of 30 yellow ones done which will be the boarder.

Well that's what I've been up to today.
Hope you've enjoyed your day too. 😃
happyone  ❤️

Thursday, February 14, 2019

❤️ French Toast

I suppose I could have taken my morning walk outside because
this morning brought a mix of sun and clouds,
but it was still cold and icy.
So walked once again around in the basement.
A couple more pictures of Ken's Trains.
A closer look.

I made us French toast for breakfast and because it is
Valentine's Day
cut a couple of hearts out in the bread.
Later in the morning I kept thinking that I should have just went
walking outside anyway.
So when it came time for my book club meeting down at
the library, I decided to walk there.
Meeting was at 11:30 and I left at 10:45.
It had warmed up to 35 degrees by that time.
The sun went back behind the clouds so I had a cloudy walk there.

Enjoyed the meeting with all the women.
There were 10 of us and two of them were celebrating their birthdays today.

Ken picked me up after the meeting and we went out to
do some errands.
Dropped some things off at the church
Went to Lowe's
Shopped at Walmart
 We had lunch while we were out too.

Made some weave-it squares but not for the bedspread.
I've put that aside for a bit to work on a baby blanket.

This evening I'll read, make some more weave-its and watch a Netflix.
Tonight we will be watching Foyle's War.
We bought some Klondike bars today so will have one
of those tonight, a double chocolate one.

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone  ❤️
Comment Replies:
Vee - Glad you enjoyed those chocolate cookies.  They are a big hit with the kids, and with the adults too. 😃

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Winter weather continues...

Temperature dropped, the rain turned to ice and it got
VERY WINDY overnight.  
Morning brought snow which is now on top of ice
and the wind continues.
Looked like a blizzard out there.
Another basement walk.
Passed by this scene quite a few times on my laps. 
A scene from Ken's HO Train Layout

Found things to do around the house on this winters day.

We did venture out to see what the roads were like.
Getting down to the main road 1 1/2 miles away is usually the
worst part and once you get to the main road it is much better.
Not so today, the main road was still snow covered.
With all the wind, it just kept blowing more snow around.

We decided to stay home this evening and not go to church.
Both of us not crazy about driving in the dark with the snow.
Church is a 22 mile drive and we can't see as well
driving in the dark like we used to!
Besides we can listen to the sermons live on line.

So we are home in our nice warm cozy house this evening.

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone ❤️
Comment Replies:
Rose - Favorite ice cream is Turkey Hill Chocolate Chip Mint, then comes Hagan Chippitty Chocolately.  Yes, I am a big fan of just plain chocolate too.

Lisa - I agree with your husband, just can't handle a treadmill.  Nice to know there are other people obsessed with getting their steps for the day in too.  😃

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Icy Morning

Last night the rain turned to freezing rain, to snow,
and back to freezing rain.
Another morning not very good for walking outside.
So down the basement I went for a walk.
I opened the front door and took these pictures this morning.
It was very windy too and as the frozen tree branches brushed
against each other they made a crackling kind of noise.
Did the usual morning chores around the house.
After lunch the temperature got to just above freezing 
so the ice started melting a little.

We met our friends for another day of bowling. 🎳
 5 of us bowled. 
My scores today were:
117
115
123
My bowling was a bit off today but not the fun I had.
Debbie had a very good bowling day though and
hit a new personal high score.
 In the 10th frame she had 2 strikes with one ball to go
and a score of 193, just 7 more pins to break 200.
But it wasn't to be, the pressure was just too much
and she threw a gutter ball.
What a great score though!!!  193!!

The bowling alley opens at 3:00 and by the time we are done
bowling it is just the right time for supper so
we go out to eat too. 😊
This evening we all headed over to El Canello's for some
Mexican food.

This evening I'll be reading
watching Netflix
making weave-it squares and
having my ice cream snack.

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone ❤️
Comment Replies:
Victor - Winter still has a ways to go here.  We still get snow in April!  Can't plant anything till June 1.

Monday, February 11, 2019

A day of reading

It started snowing late yesterday afternoon but by
morning the temperature had risen to 33 and the snow turned to rain.
It was a slushy mess out there and figured I get soaked
so though I thought about walking outside I wimped
out and did loops in the basement.

Sunset is from Friday evening.

Baked the first of three batches of cookies for the kids at Sunday
school.  Don't have to bring them in till March 3 but I 
bake them ahead and then freeze them.
This time they are getting 

Didn't much of anything today except read.
Finished How the Light Gets in by Louise Penny.
It was a page turner for me and very hard to put down.
It is the 9th book in the Gamache series and I think the best one so far.
I thought it was excellent.

We drove down the post office and mailed off a couple
of Netflix and then stopped in the library before coming home.
I picked up a book that was on hold for me and checked
out the next Louise Penny book.
Want to finish another book I'm reading first before
starting on these next two.

Decided not to go to Brenda's for pizza for supper tonight
and stay home and make home made pizza.

Temperature supposed to get below freezing again so
it may be icy in the morning.
I'm hoping that won't happen!!

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone ❤️
Comment Replies:
RK - The water here in Garrett county doesn't flow into the Chesapeake Bay but into 
the Ohio River.

Saturday, February 09, 2019

Out to Uniontown

This morning it was only 10 degrees and still windy so I
was back to walking in the basement.
At least I had some good outside walking days.
This picture is from yesterdays walk and is
just about a half mile from my house.
No painting today.
😃
 It was a pretty day, sun shining and a bright blue sky.
We drove out to Uniontown mid morning and spent the day there.
I hadn't bought enough yarn for the bedspread I'm making
so picked up the rest of the yarn for that.

Mostly we just walked around looking in the stores,
but it was nice.
I got this sunflower and put it in a bottle that I had
to brighten up the half bath.
 We had lunch while we were out too.
It was a nice pleasant day.
Pleasant - adj.  Giving a sense of happy satisfactions or enjoyment.

Hope your day was a happy one too.
happyone  ❤️

Friday, February 08, 2019

Afternoon Walk

Same barn as in yesterdays post.
Including the Drane house this time.
Notice the outhouse too.
Had a great time playing Mexican Train last night.
It was one of the best times we've had playing.
We did so much laughing that my cheeks hurt from laughing!!
Trish made us a delicious lasagna and garlic toast dinner.
Oh and by the way I was the winner of Mexican Train.
 Got home around midnight.

Went to bed on the late side and when I woke up this morning at
6:00, I turned over and went back to sleep.

I made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast - yummy!

Did a few things around the house in the morning and
then after lunch I went for my walk.
The morning was cloudy but by afternoon the sun was shining
brightly but boy was it windy.
The temperature was 30 degrees.
Sure nice walking in the sunshine.
Walked to town.
Walked around the two cemeteries a couple of times,
then down by the Drane house again and around town.
Ended my walk at the old house where I met Ken.

We got some more painting done.
One coat finished in the family room.

Then back home I read for a while till supper time.
 That's been my day.
Hope your day was a happy one.
Life is Good
happyone ❤️

Comment Replies:
Victor - You're right, haven't found a penny or any coins at all for quite a while now.  
Lisa - We have a lot of ground hogs around here too, also known as wood chucks.

Thursday, February 07, 2019

A walk, painting, and an evening out

 Another mild morning for my walk, 47 degrees.  
A cloudy morning with some patchy fog around 
but near the end of my walk the sun did peek out for a couple of minutes.
It didn't last long though till it started raining.
No rain at all during my walk though.

There was a dead opossum in the middle of the road just down
from my house.  Boy those things are creepy looking.

 Walked to town and then stayed there and completed my 6 miles
right in town before meeting Ken at the old house.

Dropped a book down the book drop at the library and then
continued walking around town.
Went around both cemeteries, down to the Drane house,
and around the ball park loop.

This old barn is down by the Drane house and has looked
like it is about to fall down since I've been walking here.
This is the pond by the Drane house and where the horses once roamed around.
🦋     🦋
I got to the house first and Ken arrived a few minutes later with
milk and a selection of pastries from the bakery for breakfast.
I had one of the crullers.
Then it was work time.
The kitchen, dining room, and living room have all been painted.
Nice to be done with those rooms but this job seems never ending.
 Worked till 11:30 and then home.
Since I wasn't home all morning, this afternoon I had to do
my morning house chores.
Then spent a little time reading.
Posting a little early today because we are leaving in just a little while.
Going over to Trish and Randy's house for an evening of playing
Mexican Train.
There will be 8 of us playing.
Before the game starts we will have supper.
Don't know what we will be eating but Trish is cooking
so it will be delicious.  She is a very good cook!!!
Hope your having a happy day.
Life is Good
 happyone  ❤️

Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Book, unwrapped

45 degrees again this morning when I left at 7:00 for my walk.
It was just cloudy and wasn't supposed to rain till later in the day.
After about a mile it started to drizzle a bit but only latest
for a few minutes and made it back home before the rain started.

Walked to town and around the cemetery at the top of the hill
and down to the barn near the Drane house.
Walking back down the hill here from the cemetery and toward to main road. 
The town pond is still frozen over.
 Continued my walk around town for another mile and then
headed back home.
I took note this morning of all the school bus drivers 
that wave to me regularly.
1, 3, 9, 10, 46, and 48.
🚌     🚌
Unwrapped the library book from yesterday.
















I have a couple of other books to finish reading first before starting this one.
📚     📚
Ken went to the old house alone this morning.
I took the day off from painting.
Had some house work to get done at home.
Ken came home lunch time.

After lunch we went out and picked up some more door prize
donations for the Wild Game Dinner.

Did some reading later in the afternoon.

That's it for today.
A happy day to you.
Life is Good
happyone ❤️
Comment Replies:
Vee - The horses are now on the other side of the barn with a fence between them and the cows.  If you look closely at the barn picture today you can see one of the horses in the back on the left.

ChipButter -  For more information about the weave-its click on the link "Weave-its"
at the bottom of the page.

RK - Though it is not that great I found a picture of the green weave-it blanket I made for my daughter.  I think I told you that she ended up giving it to Giles, her dog.











Debby and Lisa - The white bedspread that you saw in yesterday's picture is neither vintage or chenille but one I knitted using Red Heart yarn.

Tuesday, February 05, 2019

Squares, Gift Wrapped Book and, Crock Pots

A mild 45 degrees this morning but it was a rainy foggy morning.
A little rain didn't stop me from walking though.
I put on my rain gear and wore my snow sneakers to keep my feet
dry and off I went.

Walked down a steep hill and then up a hill to town.
Walked around both cemeteries and down by the Drane house.
The horses aren't around much anymore because now
 cows are there now.
I miss the horses.

Walked back down a hill and then up a steep hill to home.
My raincoat keeps me dry for the first three miles.
After that water somehow starts to drip off the hood
and ends up going down the front of my coat and I end getting a bit wet.

No deer today, just saw a lot of cows.
No people again, just people in cars, trucks and school buses waving to me.
No walking pictures today.
Never took my phone out of my pocket, too wet.
Sure was nice to be able to be walking outside again though.
Walked 6 miles
🌧     ☔️     🌧
Sewed the third row of weave-it squares on the bedspread I'm making
this morning.  I think there is enough done now to give you an 
idea of what it will look like.
It is a yellow gingham pattern.
There will be 24 rows consisting of 24 weave-its to a row. 
144 Bright yellow
144 White
288 pale yellow
576 squares in all.
It will probably take me all year to complete it!!
🧶     🧶
After lunch we went to the old house and painted most of the afternoon.
Slowly the painting is getting done.

Before coming back home we stopped at the library to pick up a book
that was on hold for me.
When I walked in the door there was a table with books on it
that were gift wrapped with a sign that said,
Take a blind date with a book.
You're supposed to check out one of the books without knowing
what it is and unwrap it when you get home and read it.
 Thought it would be fun to see what book I'd get.
 Here's the book that was on hold for me and
the gifted wrapped book.
When you participate your name gets entered in a drawing to win
a $25 gift card from the Firefly, a business in town.
I haven't unwrapped my book yet.
Be back tomorrow to see which one I picked.

Using my new Crock Pot today for making chili.
Not for today though.  It is for Sunday.
We are having our annual Chili Bowl Day at church after the morning service.
 From yesterdays post, blogger friend Lisa was wondering about the
difference between a 
Crock Pot and a Slow Cooker.
I noticed on the front of my new Crock Pot it said this:
Which seemed to be that Crock Pot was a Brand Name
of a slow cooker and that they were the same.
I looked it up and learned that they aren't exactly the same.

The brand name Crock Pot came out in the 70's.
It has a stoneware pot surrounded by a heating element.

A Slow Cooker is a metal pot that sits on top of a heated surface.

Seems now though that most people think of a Slow Cooker as
the same as a Crock Pot.

That's it for today.
A happy day to you.
Life is Good
happyone ❤️
Comment Replies:
Tom and ChipButter - Though the back splash you noticed in yesterdays picture does look like tin, it is actually a thick plastic.  It looks like tin in person too and it cleans up very easy.  It comes in squares and we got ours at Lowe's. Had it in the old house too.

Monday, February 04, 2019

Old and New

So nice to be outside walking in the sunshine.
Getting a bit lighter earlier each day and I can now start my walk
at 7:00.  Won't be long before I'll be back starting at 6:30 again.

Temperature this morning was 35 degrees but warmed up quite a bit by the
time I got back home and later in the day it was in the 50's.

Walked to town and made three stops there.
First dropped off the water bill at public works.
(still paying a water bill for the old house) 
Next stop the library to drop a book down the book drop.
Last stop was the post office to drop a Netflix off.
Then through town again and back home.
 Saw a couple of deer.
No people.
 Walked 6 miles
🦌     🦌
We went down to the LaVale to Walmart to get food shopping done.
While there bought a new crock pot.
The old one finally gave out.
My Mom gave me the old one many years ago, must be 35 years.
I always think of her when I use it. 
Will just throw out the heating part and keep the blue pot,
it will come in handy for something.
I might even use it as a flower pot.
 The new one of course is the black one on the left. 
Puttered around the house this afternoon.

It was pizza night at Brenda's
which is always nice to look forward to.
I'll be making some more weave-it squares this evening
as well has reading, watching a bit of TV and
having my ice cream snack. 🍨
We've been watching NYPD Blue
and are into the 4th season now.

That all folks.
Life is Good
happyone  ❤️

Comment Replies:
Melanie - Mr Snowman's head fell off but he is still standing. ⛄️

Sunday, February 03, 2019

New Verse and a Snowman

A new month, the first Sunday and time for a new Bible verse
to memorize at church.
This month is an easy one.

Proverbs 2:6

For the Lord giveth wisdom:
out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

☀️     ☀️
I am happy to say that I did get to walk outside this morning.
It was 37 degrees with a mix of clouds and sun.
Left at 7:10 but could only walk to 8:00 because
I had to be home to get ready for church.
This afternoon there was full sun and the temperature reached 50 degrees.
Wow it was so warm!
I went outside and built a snowman. ⛄️
It is so warm he is already melting.
Took another walk this afternoon around Happy Trails and up the lane.

A Blessed Sunday to you all.
Jesus Loves You
happyone  ❤️

Saturday, February 02, 2019

Sunset

I think this morning was my last walk in the basement for a while. 
We had a nice warm up and by the afternoon
it was in the mid 30's and sunny.
We went outside after lunch and got the driveway
passable.  Ken used the snow blower and I shoveled.
Lots of ice under the snow so we had to put salt out.
Temperature supposed to stay above freezing the next few days
so lots of melting will be going on.

At the very bottom of the driveway where the snow plow
leaves that big pile of snow we noticed that this time
it wasn't there.  Our neighbor plowed it down for us.
I'll have to bake him some cookies to say thank you.

Just home puttering about the house today.
A very little bit of house work, 
reading, 
and making squares.

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone  ❤️

Sunset this evening at the Overlook

Comment replies:
Dianna - No, we didn't measure how much snow we got but it was probably 10 inches or so.

Friday, February 01, 2019

Snow views from my windows

❄️More snow today and this morning it was 10 degrees.
This was the view out of the front door this morning.❄️
I'm sure you all are getting tired of seeing snow pictures but
it is just so pretty and I keep taking more. ❄️
Took this one from the basement glass doors which I
pass making my loops around.
I made pancakes for breakfast and added some mini chocolate chips
for a treat.  Some syrup and a dollop of redi whip made them extra special.

❄️This was my view from the kitchen window as I stood there washing dishes.
This afternoon the temperature made it up to 18 degrees and the beginning
of a warm up.
  
While sitting in my office making weave-it squares and listening to an 
audio book, this is my view.❄️
Then sitting at the dining room table working on the next puzzle,
I look out into the back yard at this view.
❄️I never cared so much for snow till we moved up here 5 1/2 years ago.
But then we lived near a city where so many people panic with 
the thought of snow.  Streets weren't always plowed and it was
just a mess.
Living here in western Maryland I've come to enjoy the snow.
It is easier to enjoy the snow when there are enough 
snow plows needed to clear the roads,
 it is done in a timely manner, and have them do an excellent job of it.
It is also easier when you are retired and don't have to
go out in it.❄️
Then it is very easy to sit back and enjoy the snow falling all around you
and can enjoy the beauty of it.
❄️It is also nice to bundle up and go walking in the snow
and then come in side where it's warm for a nice cup of hot tea or hot chocolate.
We are blessed to live here.

I hope you too can enjoy the snow.
And don't forget after the winter and snow
comes spring again.
❄️A very happy day to you.
happyone  ❤️