"And that's when I know it's over. As soon as you start thinking about the beginning, it's the end." ~Junot Diaz

December 1 ~ a soggy beginning to this month (and end as it turned out)

December 2 ~ grandson Knox celebrated his 7th birthday with a Harry Potter themed party

December 2 ~ my sweet grandpeeps Shelby, Elijah, and Knox

December 3 ~ RIP #41

"Be bold in your caring, be bold in your dreaming and above all else, always do your best."

~George H.W. Bush 

December 12 ~ Ella the elf

December 13 ~ Merry & Bright

December 16 ~ Some of the thickest fog I think I've ever seen

December 16 ~ daughter Holly celebrated her 40th birthday

December 16 ~ celebrating Holly's 40th at Red Lobster ~ with Knox, Elijah, and Shelby ~ the wait staff sang The Birthday Song to her and served up ice cream and chocolate with some extra spoons to share

December 19 ~ Ella the candy cane

December 21 ~ Ella the reindeer

December 22 ~ late afternoon on Broad Street

December 22 ~ Knox and Grandpa at Poet's playing a video game online together

December 22 ~ I sneaky snapped a pic of my niece Julia with her friend at Poet's ~ nice smile, Julia

December 23 ~ Sunday lunch at El Tapatio with granddaughter Shelby, grandson Elijah, and daughter Holly

December 23 ~ daughter Kelly, grandson Knox, and granddaughter Ella ~ I borrowed this selfie from Kelly

December 24 ~ my Christmas grandpeeps in reindeer gear ~ Ella, Shelby, Knox, and Elijah

December 26 ~ watched the Christmas tree light/music show in Dogwood Park ~ borrowed this pic from Kelly's Snapchat

December 26 ~ Not sure if Ella got to see much of the light show ... the music was really loud so she couldn't get too close ~ she was snug as a bug in her stroller on this chilly night

December 26 ~ some local businesses sponsored this carousel in the park near the big Christmas tree ~ free for all the kiddos who wanted to hop on and ride as many times as they wanted 

December 26 ~ the day after Christmas at Wal-Mart ~ when we walked into the store, I told Neil that I'd bet the Valentine candy would already be on the shelves

December 27 ~ nine foot fake Christmas tree back in the box

December 27 ~ the struggle is real wrangling that tree back into the box ~ that thing bites me every year, same hand, same scratch

December 29 ~ another late afternoon on Broad Street

December 29 ~ this kid loves her bouncy chair and the fun mobile her Aunt Holly gave her for Christmas

December 31 ~ saying so long to 2018 and wishing everyone a very

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Picture Postcards ~ Middle March

March 11 - Coffee and cheesecake at Poet's 

Courthouse Square wet and rainy painted with Brushstroke

Rainbow-colored pavement outside MickyD's

March 12 - Snowy day Cold North windy day

Every time

March 14 - Pi Day - Or Pie Day as we like to think of it - an excuse to indulge in a circular frozen sweet treat from the DQ (MM Treatzza Pizza!)

"The constant pi, denoted , is a real number defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter
It has been represented by the Greek letter "π" since the mid-18th century, though it is also sometimes spelled out as "pi". Being an irrational number, π cannot be expressed exactly as a common fraction (equivalently, its decimal representation never ends and never settles into a permanent repeating pattern)."
Math was never my thing.
Don't say I never taught ya nothin'

March 16 - made it pop with a filter in Snapseed

March 17 - Saint Paddy's Day - The story goes that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns, who will pinch only those they can see - Knox was safe - Grandpa not so much -
Nice to have a helper to do the yard work hard work

March 21 - First full day of Spring - yep, it snowed ....

.... but it was all gone by sunset

December days were brief and chill,
The winds of March were wild and drear,
And, nearing and receding still,
Spring never would, we thought, be here.
~Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861)

"That grand old poem called Winter" - Henry David Thoreau

In my neck of the woods [the hilly little middle Tennessee town of Cookeville], the kids can be out of school for a ‘snow day’ when there’s not a snowflake to be found [such as yesterday, unless of course you live on the mountain in Monterey]. It was cold and there were some slick spots, so there you go. The kids were back in school today [on time] which is always a good thing [unless you’re a student or a teacher]. Still freezing cold and probably some slick spots lurking about, so I’m not sure what was going on with that. It did snow, briefly, in the early afternoon, a pleasant surprise [for me, anyway…I like snow…well, as I’ve aged, it’s become more of a love/hate relationship…but I mostly like it]. I wandered around in the flurries while they lasted and snapped some pictures of these icicles decorating Neil’s shed. I like icicles. Didn’t even realize they were there until it started snowing.

There are always fascinating things to be found [and gawked at] in God’s handiwork…things that beg to be photographed…like clouds. And icicles.

The birdseed in our birdfeeders is a siren call to the neighborhood squirrel population. I think this one finally got its fill. It seems to be in a birdseed coma. Look at that belly!

Pretty little bird enjoying the snow [and probably waiting for his turn at the feeder]

flora and fauna ~ looks like winter has taken its toll

Thank God for woodstoves and firewood…the only thing keeping us toasty these frigid winter days and nights [we have a heat pump, but there hasn’t been much heat to pump lately]

On Frozen Pond

Grandpeeps Elijah and Shelby. Shelby forgot her hat and gloves this morning and was a popsicle [or maybe an icicle] by the time we picked her up after school this afternoon. The cure for frozen fingers [and toes and everything in between] is a stop at Poet’s coffeehouse for hot chocolate [with whipped cream of course] to go. That seemed to do the trick. The fire in the woodstove helped, too. Hope you find a warm spot on this cold winter’s day.

But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day. ~Benjamin Disraeli

November, we hardly knew you! Where did you go?  ~ Some random picture postcards ~

“Flurries early, pristine and pearly. Winter's come calling! Can we endure so premature a falling? Some may find this trend distressing- others bend to say a blessing over sage and onion dressing.”
― Old Farmer's Almanac, The Old Farmer's Almanac 2013



Birds have the most fun

Blackbird ~ Go ahead and sing it ~ you know you want to


Exposure gone awry ~ made for an interesting photo ~ either that or the neighbor’s tree is on fire

Shelby and Knox

Elijah ~  almost had it

Shelby ~ contemplating her choices

"The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.
The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.
And yet the world,
In its distress,
Displays a certain
Loveliness"
-   John Updike, A Child's Calendar 




Knox ~ mom made him wait until after lunch to eat his Superman cookie he picked out at Santa’s Workshop ~ good things come to those who wait

“November is usually such a disagreeable month...as if the year had suddenly found out that she was growing old and could do nothing but weep and fret over it. This year is growing old gracefully...just like a stately old lady who knows she can be charming even with gray hair and wrinkles. We've had lovely days and delicious twilights.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

"O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being.
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing."
-  Percy Bysshe Shelley


Down on the farm ~ cows and giraffes and T-Rex, oh my

The time has come once again ~ how did it get here so fast?! ~ tagging our soon-to-be Christmas tree at the tree farm ~ we actually took the time to do this on a warm day instead of waiting for the coldest day of the year [which we always seem to do]


All the area school’s 3rd graders competed in the Olympics at TTU ~ Elijah won the bronze medal [he was representing Italy] for the javelin throw ~ the javelin in this case being a pool noodle ~ he got to stand on the winner’s platform with first and second place [Mexico and Sweden] ~ they even played the US national anthem ~ very cool ~ proud of you, Elijah

Knox at Poet’s Coffeehouse ~ you know, it’s a law that you must eat a chocolate chip cookie and play on an iPad when you hang out at a coffeehouse

The works at Gondola Pizza ~ extra large

My most fave times usually involve spending time with these peeps of mine ~ and most likely there is food ~ that’s a law, too ~ this was after they all went to see the movie Big Hero 6 ~ around the table from left: Neil, Shelby, Elijah, Holly, Knox, and Kelly ~ Kelly, Knox and I skipped the movie and enjoyed caramel apple cider at Poet’s

American graffiti ~ never ignore anything in the shape of a heart
"Yea, I have looked, and seen November there;
The changeless seal of change it seemed to be,
Fair death of things that, living once, were fair;
Bright sign of loneliness too great for me,
Strange image of the dread eternity,
In whose void patience how can these have part,
These outstretched feverish hands, this restless heart?"
-  William Morris, November