Trains, a blanket, and coins

 When I woke up this morning it looked like we were getting
some frozen rain so I decided to walk down in the basement.
While I was walking the rain turned to snow.
The temperature was just under freezing at 31 degrees.
Here is todays walking picture of the train layout.

Basement walk was in three parts - 2 miles, 1 mile, and 2 miles.
The last mile I walked outside while I shoveled snow.
We only got an inch or so but still went out and cleared the driveway.

After lunch we drove to church to drop off a couple of things
and to pick up a couple of things too. 
It hadn't snowed down that way.

The finished baby blanket for January.
This may be my favorite one.

Did some reading this afternoon.  Really enjoying The King of Thrones.

Hard to believe this is the last day of 2020.
We're not doing anything at all, just home as usual.
Will watch a couple episodes of Law and Order
(still no Monk) and have our dish of ice cream.  Maybe we'll
put some whipped cream on it to celebrate the new year.
We usually go to bed about 11:30 so probably will stay up till midnight.
We'll work on getting the latest puzzle done so we can
start one our new ones!

Happy New Year to all.
🎊    🎊
Wishing you a healthy 2021.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Added up all the coins I found this year on my morning walks.
$4.49

Comment Replies:

Linda - I do puzzles on line also but I do them on Jigidi. It's fun to make puzzles out of some of my own pictures I've taken. 

Melanie - Yes, Monk is coming USPS.  

Morning Moon

 22 degrees this morning when I left the house for my walk.
It was mostly clear and a bit windy.
Took this picture of the moon from my driveway
before leaving for town.

Saw three deer cross the road in front of me on the way to town.

Walked around town and today both cemeteries and the ball park
were clear of snow so got to walk around there too.
Saw a rabbit hopping around the lower cemetery.

Walked down to the see bulls which I haven't seen for a while.
They seemed to be fine standing around there in the frozen mud.
Can't tell anymore that Farmer Marvin put concrete, gravel and LOTS
of hay down there.

Surprised to see a couple of Killdeers down by the town pond.
Didn't realized they stayed around in the winter.

Nice to see the sun again and it stayed around for a while but
later in the day it clouded up.

Walked 6.2 miles
Sunrise 7:47

🌕    🙂    🌤

Today our big day out was shopping at the Dollar General. Got things
we didn't get yesterday at the Shop and Save and also wanted to get a birthday
card for our youngest grandson Japhy, who has a birthday 
coming up in a couple of weeks.  Hard to believe he will be 15!!
He's living in Hawaii - step father in the Air Force.

Monk series still sitting in DC.  Wonder if we'll ever get it.
The puzzles we just ordered arrived today already!!
Will post pictures of them when we do them.

Also finished the latest baby blanket but haven't taken a 
picture of it yet.  Since I finished Januarys blanket early
I'm not going to start another one just yet.
Been working on a weave-it bedspread for quite a while and will
work on that for a couple of weeks before starting another baby blanket.

Got some housework done today and then read and worked
on the current puzzle.

A happy day to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Comment Replies:

Tina - Yes we also get DVD's from the library but sometimes have to wait a while.

Sunshine

That 40 degrees from yesterday morning didn't last long.
This morning it was back to a more normal temperature of 22 degrees.
It was windy too but it was clear and when the sun rose it stayed out.
Just a dusting of snow this morning and it had stopped when 
I started to town.

Walked through town and over to the industrial park
and all around there.

At the end of one of the courts in the industrial park
is this trail which (I think) comes out behind the ball park.
It might even be the edge of the property that is for sale
with the tree lined driveway.
Started walking the trail this morning but just had my walking
shoes on and the snow was too deep for my shoes. 
Once the snow is gone I'm going to see where it ends up.

Walked back through town and behind the house where we
used to live in town.

Sure was nice to see the sun come over the mountain and
to feel the sun on my face.

Continued my walk down the main road for a while,
then turned around and walked back to the Jeep and
there it sits all by itself in the parking lot.

Didn't see anyone else out again.
Haven't seen anyone for a while now.  

The bakery in town has a sign on the door saying they will
be closed for the holidays till Jan 5, 2021.

Happy to be outside walking and walked 6 miles.

☀️    🙂    ☀️

Shopping day at the Shop and Save.  More people there
than usual this morning.

The pile of papers that need shredding has been growing
and today I got all the shredding done.
A job I like to do!

Guess what? We started another puzzle - surprise, surprise. 😀🧩
This one is only 700 pieces.

We bought the series Monk a couple of weeks ago but
it hasn't arrived yet.  We've been watching the tracking and it
is hard to believe the places it has traveled.
For the past week it has been in DC and has just moved across town.

That's all for today.
A happy Monday to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Comment Replies:

Anni - yes,  we do puzzles over and over again. We have quite a few of them.  Ken just ordered 3 more!!

Hard Puzzle

 This morning the temperature was 40 degrees.
Such a change from 8 degrees!!
It was a cloudy morning and windy.
Drove to town and had a nice walk around town.
With the warm temperature lots of melting going on
but still icy places around and water on top of ice is extremely slippery.

Walked up to the cemetery on top of the hill but couldn't walk
around it because of the ice, same thing at the ball park.
Did get to walk around the lower cemetery though.

Passed by the Jeep and dropped off one of my sweat shirts
because I got too warm.

Barn Sale Rd was cleared and dry so walked up that way.
This is the only blue sky today.

Didn't see anyone else out this morning and no animals either.

Walked 6 miles

☁️    😀    ☁️

Well I didn't have to wash those sheets today!!

I have a hard time leaving the Christmas tree and decorations
up after Christmas and wanted to put it all away today,
but will wait until Friday.

The latest puzzle we finished was a HARD one.
The pieces were thicker than usual and you really had to go
by color because some of the pieces would fit in multiple places.
When we finish a puzzle we turn it over and write on the back of
when we did it and sometimes another little something.
Like Ken drew a little picture of me wearing my face mask
and wrote, Karen looks lovely in her mask. 
This puzzle was to fragile to turn over so we wrote on the
bottom of the box.  I didn't notice what we wrote on it last time till
we were putting the puzzle away.
It said 'this one is a killer'.  

Started a new book today, The King of Thrones by
George R. R. Martin.
I've had the set of 5 books sitting around home here now
for a few years and finally I'm getting around to reading it.
That should keep me busy for a while.  I'm sure I won't read
all of them in a row!

When we've been having pizza lately it's been the frozen
kind but today we had a homemade one for supper.
Both are good, just different.

Hope your day was a happy one.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Hi Patty, got your card today. 😃

Today is Saturday, NOT Monday 🙂

Back to walking today but not outside.
It was snowing again and was only 8 degrees and windy.
So all of my 6 miles was done inside.

Instead of taking a picture of just a train layout scene
thought you might like to see a bigger part of it.
This is about a quarter of the layout.
There is another quarter finished and
 Ken still has another half he's working on.
It is never really finished because there is aways
something else to add.
This is what you see at the bottom of the stairs in the basement.

Got a few house chores done but really didn't do much
today.  Just kept busy with my usual reading,
sewing, puzzling, and knitting.

Had a senior moment today.
I usually take the sheets off the bed on Mondays and wash them.
So today took the sheets off the bed put them in the washing machine
when all of a sudden I said its Saturday not Monday.
Anyway, I got a start on next weeks house cleaning!

That's all I've got for today.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo,
but what you want is someone who will take the bus
with you when the limo breaks down.
- Oprah Winfrey -

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas to all.
Happy Birthday Jesus!!

No walking for me today - taking the day off.
Besides it was only 10 degrees and snowing.
It is still snowing now at 12:00.

Ken and I are enjoying this Christmas Day.
David called first thing this morning.
We didn't get presents but we sat by the tree
and read the Christmas story in Luke 2 (KJV) together,
he reading a verse and then me for the 20 verses.

Then it was time for chocolate chip pancakes with syrup
and we even added some whipped cream.

Put a pot roast in the slow cooker with potatoes and carrots
and that will be our non traditional Christmas Dinner.

We are working on a puzzle today which is a very hard one
and will take us longer than usual to finish.

🌲 I wish all a Very Merry Christmas. 🌲
Enjoy your day and take some time to remember
what Christmas is all about - Our Savior Jesus Christ.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11 (KJV)

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.
II Corinthians 9:15 (KJV)

Thanks for taking the time on Christmas Day
to stop by.

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

This years red ornament

 When I got up it was above freezing and raining,
making a real mess out of the snow.
Decided it was too messy to walk outside so got my miles in
down in the basement.

It has rained on and off all day but we still have some
snow around.  It is supposed to get cold again tonight 
and snow into tomorrow.  
So looks like we'll have a white Christmas.

Not much to blog about today.
Just at home keeping busy.

Here is this year's painted red ornament.
It is number 48.

Happy Christmas Eve!!
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️
🌲

It's Christmas Eve.
Its the one night of the year when we all act a litter nicer,
we smile a little easier,
we cheer a little more.
For a couple of hours out of the whole year,
we are the people that we always hoped we would be.
- Bill Murray -

I thought this was a sad quote and thought that sure doesn't
have to be true.  Here's to being kind and nice every day. 😃

Ice

 I waited till it was light enough to go out and walk
and left from the house at 7:30 to walk to town.
It was 27 degrees with a slight breeze and clear.
Sunrise 7:35

The road down to the main road was icy in spots and I
had to really watch where I walked and it was a little slow going.

When I reached the main road though I could walk up to
town on a dry road.

Once I reached town though it was a different story.
There was just nowhere to walk without having to walk
on ice, so I turned around by the church and walked
back home again.

Didn't see anyone else out walking and didn't see any animals
around either, just some tracks.

A shorter than usual walk at only 4.8 miles.

⛅️    🙂    ⛅️  

Thought about walking the other mile in the basement
but never got around to it.

Did some things around the house and then we put
our trash in the back of the truck and went to the dump.
While we were out we decided to go for a little ride and
drove down by the lake.

When we got back I read for a while and did some more
sewing squares.
Ken has started another puzzle. He's put out all the pieces and
finished the border.  I haven't done anything on the puzzle as
yet, but probably will later this evening.

We've been watching the second season of Law and Order
and will continue with that tonight.

Happy Wednesday to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Bless us Lord, this Christmas with quietness of mind.
Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.
- Helen Steiner Rice -

Outside in the snow

 Woke up to more snow and wind and 29 degrees.
Walked 2 miles in the basement this morning when I first got up.
Never made it down there again today.
Ended up spending most of the day outside.

Before breakfast I had the driveway shoveled except for the very
bottom where the snow plow went by.
Then it started snowing again.
Just couldn't keep up with the snow on the driveway so
went inside and had breakfast. (a late one at 9:30)
Before I went inside walked around back and took 
a couple of pictures.

Right after lunch I went back outside again when it had
stopped snowing and once again shoveled the driveway,
this time even getting where the snow plow went by.

Did some more shoveling around the house.
Then it was time to have a little fun in the snow.

Tried to make a snowman but it wasn't the right kind of snow.
Too fluffy, you need wet snow to make a good one.
Walked around in the snow, ate a little snow 🙂
drew pictures in the snow and then threw snowballs at a tree.
I felt like I was 10 years old again playing in the snow.

Didn't know it at the time but Ken took this picture of me
throwing snowballs at the tree.  My aim was not that great
but I did hit it 5 times as you can see the tree with 5 
splats of snow on it. 

Asked Ken if he wanted to come out and play with me but
he declined. Stayed out a little while longer and finally 
went back inside.
Ken made me a cup of tea and I had two pfeffernusse 
cookies with it.

Got some reading done and sewing this afternoon too.
It was a fun day in the snow.
☃️ So glad I live where it snows. 🌨

That's it for today.
A happy day to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

When it snow, you have two choices:
Shovel or make snow angels.
- unknown -

OR why not do both! 😃

Monday

 Walked outside this morning.
It was 31 degrees when I left the house, no wind, and once
the sun rose there were some periods when the sun broke through
the clouds but it didn't last long.
Still grateful for those times of sun while I walked.

Drove to town and walked around town where I could.
Was limited where I could walk because of the snow covered
sidewalks.

Couldn't get to the cemeteries or around the ball park.
Too much snow and ice.
The two streets that run parallel on either side of the main road
were good for walking so manly stayed around there.
It was better to be outside walking up and down then loops around 

  the basement! 😀

Noticed all the icicles hanging at the library.
You probably don't want to walk under them!

As expected didn't see anyone else out early this morning.

Happy to say I managed to get all 6 miles walked.

🌤    🙂    ☁️

We made a quick trip out to the Shop and Save to get some
milk and a couple other things.

Made a good start on the housework for this week.

We completed all three of the puzzles.
Bathroom, kitchen, and porch.

This puzzle has some really unusual pieces in it.

I've finished all the weave-it squares in the baby blanket already and
have begun sewing them together.

 Another Santa Ornament

We've had sun and clouds during the day and late afternoon

had a few snow showers with some more
snow expected over night.

Thanks for stopping by.
A happy Monday to you.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Why should we give God thanks?
Because everything we have comes from God.
- Billy Graham

Verses, a poem and more blocks

Hebrews 4:14, 15, and 16 KJV

Seeing then that we have a great hight priest,
that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession.

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched 
with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

📖    📖    📖

Read this in The Daily Baptist Bread

More Than a Baby

To me Jesus is the lover of my soul.
The one who redeemed me from my sin.
Jesus is my Good Shepherd.
Jesus is the One who stills my storms.
Jesus is the living water to my thirsty soul.
Jesus is the heavenly manna for my hungry heart.
Jesus is my peace in a troubled world.
Jesus is my rest from the weariness of life.
Jesus is the One who walks with me daily.
Jesus, He is more that just a babe in a manager.
Jesus is the soon coming King and LORD of lords.

🌨    🙂    ☁️

A few mentioned in comments yesterday that you liked the
Christmas blocks that Ken made.
Here are some other blocks he's made.

A Blessed Sunday to all.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Christmas Blocks

Another day for walking my miles down in the basement.
No sense in driving to town to walk because the sidewalks
would be slippery and also the side roads.
Tomorrow will probably be inside too.

I made the mistake of picking up a puzzle piece as I walked passed
the puzzle this morning, and there went the morning!

After lunch we went out for a drive just to get away from the
house for a little while.
Everything looked so pretty with all the snow.
I especially like the snow on the pine trees.

Just puttered about the house the rest of the afternoon.
Today was one of those days when I didn't get a thing done.

Ken made these Christmas blocks quite a while ago.

A happy day to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you.
- Mother Teresa -

Comment Replies:

Inger - Ken is well aware of The Tehachapi Loop. He says it is famous with model railroaders and people have modeled it on their train layouts.

Square Colors

 We got a few more inches of snow overnight.
It was 24 degrees and foggy and I
decided to walk basement loops.
First time 2 1/2 miles,
second time 1 1/2, and the third time 1 mile for a total of 5 miles.

Train picture for my inside walk.

I went outside and shoveled the driveway.
Since it was just a few inches I went outside on my own.
It only took me an hour today.
I don't mind shoveling snow at all, in fact I enjoy it. 😀❄️
It gets me outside in the snow.

A couple of snow pictures from today.

Finished up a bit of housework.

Ken and I worked on the puzzle and finished another one.
We have now completed two of the set of three that are 500 pieces each.
When we finish the third one I'll post a picture.
These puzzles have some really weird shaped pieces!!

Ken asked if I would make some more of the caramel candy that
I made last week.  Of course I said yes, it is so easy!
I left them too long in the refrigerator last time but we liked 
breaking them in to odd shapes so I did that again this time instead
of cutting them into squares just when set.
I gave a small box of them to our neighbors Ron and Theresa.

These are the 9 colors of squares I'm using to make the
latest (for January) baby blanket.

Another ornament today.

Over and out for today.
Thanks for stopping by.
A happy Friday to you.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

The very fact of snow is such an amazement.
- Roger Ebert -

Comment Replies:

John - We got 8 inches of snow yesterday NOT 18 like you mentioned in your comment, though I would have liked that!  No, won't ask the snow plow driver to pull up the blade, just the one driver does that.  I think he sees me out there shoveling and feels sorry for me! 🙂Really can't expect them to pull up the blade.  If they did that for everyone, they'd never get done plowing!!

Snow Removal

 Snowed through the night and stopped this morning.
Too much snow and the snow plows hadn't been through yet
so walked 2 miles down in the basement when I first got up.

This is looking out the basement door.

After breakfast we both went outside and spent 3 hours clearing
 the driveway. Ken as usual with the snow blower and me with the shovel.
While we were out the snow plow came by and blocked 
the driveway entrance again. 
Sometimes the driver will pull the blade up when he passes
the driveway but this guy didn't.
It is pretty hard for our snow blower to get that snow cleared 
so the shovels work better.
Ken walked up the driveway to get another shovel when our
neighbor Ron came over in his BIG snow blower.  He has the kind
that has a cab and he is out of the weather.
He made a couple of passes and got all the snow cleared for us.
So nice to have great neighbors.

I went down in the basement and walked another two miles
but skipped the last two miles because I figured the
snow shoveling made up for it.

This afternoon I worked on the puzzle a bit and
made some weave-it squares.  I think this baby blanket I'm
working on may be my very favorite one.  There are
nine different colors in it.

Todays Christmas Ornament
A Delft Santa

We got about 8 inches of snow and late afternoon it started 
snowing again and it's still snowing now.

That's all for today.
Thanks for stopping by.
A happy day to you.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Winter is a season that sparkles with magic
and transforms our ordinary world 
into a glittering kingdom.
- Abi Elphinstone -

Snowy Day

 22 degrees and cloudy this morning when I walked.
Drove to town and walked all over town.
Stayed away from the cemetery on the hill because because
it being out in the open the wind would have been worse.

Walking around the ball park I saw the man walking his
little dog.  Still don't know their names. 

A couple pictures along my walk.

It was supposed to start snowing at 7:00 but it held off till
I got home.  After about 5 miles I started to see a few flurries
floating around in the air.

Walked 6 miles
Found a Penny.

☁️    🙂    💰    🌨

Got some house work done in the morning.

Finished the puzzle. 🧩

Took it apart and started another.
The puzzle we are doing now is a set of three - different rooms in a house -
each 500 pieces.
We almost mixed all the pieces together but in the end
decided NOT to do that. 

Baked a Yum Yum cake this afternoon.
It has mincemeat in it and the recipe is my
Grandmothers - mother's mom.

Today's ornament is a reindeer, a gift from a friend.

The snow continued all day.
I went outside to get the mail at 3:45 and then stayed out for a little
while walking around in the snow.  I love being out when it's snowing.

Here's the snow angel I made.

That's all for today.
Thanks for stopping by.
A happy Wednesday to you.

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Life is like a blanket of snow.
Be careful how you step on it.
Every step will show.
- unknown -

4 inside and 2 outside

Temperature dropped and it got icy so I decided to walk inside.
2 miles before breakfast and 2 miles after breakfast.

Inside walk train layout picture for today.

 Mid morning the sun was shining so we went outside and got

the driveway shoveled and salt put down.

Picture looking out from the driveway.

I got the last two miles in walking around Happy Trails.

Thought my fence looked pretty with the snow on it.

We didn't go to Shop and Save today because we didn't need anything,
but we did go to the Dollar General for a couple of things.

This Santa ornament is one that I made.
Cut it out with a scroll saw and then painted it.

Didn't get any work done inside.  Got working on the puzzle in the
afternoon and the day just flew by.

That's all I've got for today.
A happy Tuesday to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

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