A touch of Spring

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.   ~ Gertrude S. Wister

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The time has come where I crave flowers and Spring. So I went out to the flower store and brought all these colors home.

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Book I am reading right now - "The Walking People" by Mary Beth Keane

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Blog I like - Happy Sonne by Yvonne from Switzerland 

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Arold - The Reluctant Crocus

'Arold...come on out!

Raise your 'ead all about,

Show a bit of pride

To this springing world so wide.

'Arold...be you no son of mine

If never you don't come out and shine,

Glory be, boy, where's your yella...

Oh do come on out little fella.

'Arold are you truly there

Unfurl your petals if you dare...

Mother, mother speak to the boy

Is it he's just green and coy?

'Arold...be you no son of mine

If never you don't come out and shine,

Glory be, boy, where's your yella...

Oh do come on out little fella.

'Arold sprightly now, what say you?

'Tis no fright for you in the dew,

Glory be child, what matters a hint of frost,

Never a moment to count such a cost.

'Arold...be you no son of mine

If never you don't come out and shine,

Glory be, boy, where's your yella...

Oh do come on out little fella.

'Arold sweet 'n shy, bide your time then,

But, be sure to be out by ten...

Ours is to bring much joy and hope,

Of promise given free to those that barely cope.

'Arold...always a son of mine,

Gentle ever heart of thine,

Glorious forever in saffron yella...

Be it shy or coy little fella!

Patrick Heathcock (March 2006)

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Have a good week ahead!

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

May this Valentine's Day 
be filled with love, understanding, and contentment 
as you journey through life with those you hold dear.

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Must, bid the Morn awake!
Sad Winter now declines,
Each bird doth choose a mate;
This day's Saint Valentine's.
For that good bishop's sake
Get up and let us see
What beauty it shall be
That Fortune us assigns.
~Michael Drayton

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Without love, what are we worth? Eighty-nine cents! Eighty-nine cents worth of chemicals walking around lonely. ~M*A*S*H, Hawkeye

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Lucy Lu

Here is our big surprise. We named her Lucy. She has been too long at the Almost Home Humane Society, thank goodness it is a no kill shelter. She was picked up by Animal Control early December on a busy road. Now who would let a beautiful baby like her go? She did not have too many people looking at her, until I checked their website and the rest is history. Lucy found her forever home! ~

She is about four years old and gets along fine with our Rat Terrier Gracie, who was also rescued from the same shelter a little over four years ago.

So now we are owned by two little dogs.

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I often stop to think about,
What my dog had went through.
She was adopted at the shelter,
And where she came from, no one knew.
You see, one can’t help but wonder,
Was she treated right?
Did she have a warm place to sleep,
Or was she kept outside all night?
Were there nights she went hungry?
I can’t imagine someone treating her wrong.
I wonder if she went without food,
I always pray it wasn’t too long.
Was she somebody’s best friend?
Did she get lost one day?
It’s just a question that I think sometimes,
If she could talk what would she say?
I know what she’d tell you now,
And it would put a smile on your face.
She’d tell you that she’s found her home,
And she’s happy in this place.
She’d also remind us, to remember,
That even though we may never find out,
The dog will always be grateful to you,
And that’s something you don’t have to doubt.
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About the author: Savana Frame is a poet & dog lover from West Virgina. She enjoys taking photographs and playing with her kids, three of which are dogs. 
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Happy Sunday to all! And to my friends in Europe, stay warm! 

DEJA VU

I have my favorite stalls at Deja Vu and this is one of them. The guys restore old furniture beautifully. They always have something that catches my eye. If only I had a huge house.

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One of my favorite vegan and vegetarian food, etc. blogs - http://www.sweetonveg.com/. Jennifer always has something expiring, check it out.

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I booked our Spring vacation. We are not traveling very far, going to southern Indiana, just to get away and relax. Tired of driving 1000 kilometers to get to our destinations.
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Book (short stories) I am reading this week - The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai.
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Our snow has disappeared again and we have beautiful sunshine, although it is cold.
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What are your plans for Spring?
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I have a surprise and will tell you about it in my next post.
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Have a nice weekend!

Fun in the snow

We had a great day yesterday. Despite the cold temps we went for a walk and watched the kids sled. Then we were off to our favorite vintage stores for some browsing and a restaurant for dinner.

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Frosty is the morning;
But the sun is bright,
Flooding all the landscape
With its golden light.
Hark the sounds of laughter
And the voices shrill!
See the happy children
Coasting down the hill.
There are Tom and Charley,
And their sister Nell;
There are John and Willie,
Kate and Isabel - 
Eyes with pleasure beaming,
Cheeks with health aglow;
Bless the merry children,
Trudging through the snow!
Now I hear them shouting,
"Ready! Clear the track!"
Down the slope they're rushing,
Now they're trotting back.
Full of fun and frolic,
Thus they come and go.
Coasting down the hillside,
Trudging through the snow.

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Blog I love - Vanessa Jackman

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Things to do next week: Going to Indianapolis, planning our March vacation...

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Have a great week!



F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian Proverb

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Sabina (with the pretty red boots) and I had a great time in Chicago this past December. She sent this pic to me (taken by my husband)  yesterday. I knew then what this post would be all about...Cannot wait to see her again this coming Spring! We have known each other for almost 24 years. (So you know we must have been infants when we met, ha,ha...)

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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

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Enjoy your week!

Figure 8.....anyone?

The other night we went for a nice little walk through town. We stopped at Riverside Skating Center and had fun watching the skaters. It was a warm evening so we stayed a while so that I could shoot some pics. It's not that easy to catch anything in motion. I need more practice.

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I love the music by Lady Antebellum

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Book I am reading right now "The House of Bilqis" by Azhar Abidi.

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One of my favorite blogs Kaylovesvintage

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My other favorite blog aaaandreaaaa's Creative Memories. If you like arts & crafts and so much more, head over to Andrea's blog and become a follower. She is such a wonderful person.

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It is really cold out today and it has started to snow. The wind is howling and not even my little Gracie wants to go outside. So we will have a cozy day with lots of lounging on the couch.

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Well, tomorrow it's back to work. It's been nice having had these two three-day weekends, I could get used to that.

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Have a good first week of January!...See you soon!