WINTERNIGHT WONDERLAND

It's a "soft" night out there, I don't know how else to describe it.

It's perfectly quiet and feels like you're snuggled in. All sounds, what there are perhaps when a car drives by, are muffled.

The cloud cover is solid and with the bit of snow on the ground it makes for a lightness that breaks through the dark. The snow crystals sparkle, but it is very hard to capture that with a camera. Moving your eyes around over the snow cover allows you to see literally billions of diamonds as the light hits them.





I looked out my window and saw a pure white bunny on the lawn, searching for munchies. Only the tips of the back of the ears are black.




I moved down to the front door and through the glass caught this pretty creature keeping a wary eye on me, turning it's head to me and then away again.

Finally, this little beauty moved off in search of more grass to munch on under the snow across the street. It was fun to watch how the little paws and snout are used to move the snow away to get at the grassy dinner.


I managed to catch a few sparkles here:




And now a goodnight to all. Take good care of each other and God bless.

PEACE!
Love Jude

It's unbelievable how so very fast this time has gone by since last Christmas! I just finished saying to a friend that even though the time really does go by faster the older you get, this past year fairly whizzed by! My hair is still flying straight out behind me. LOL


It is the end of November, so my Christmas tree has been lugged upstairs in it's festive red nylon bag, ready to assemble. I am still going to try doing it this weekend but if that fails next weekend it will be finished. I like having it up for awhile, it's too much work to do it all only to take it all down again in a couple of weeks. Besides, Christmas lights and decorations are so pretty to look at!




I have also started gathering ingredients and supplies to begin making some of my gifts, and I've already got one item all done. I don't have that many gifts to actually purchase now, as some of them I've been accumulating for a short time. Who can afford to make all the purchases at once anyway?


Hell, I've even got 2 gifts wrapped already. But that's only because one of them is for hubby and I don't want him peeking.

We are one month away now from the holiday, and so far we still don't have snow. Completely unexpected as we were forecasted to have another long winter like last, which last year meant it started with whopping amounts of snow EARLY in the year. We are, however, expecting to get some flurries in the next couple of days and the temperatures are going to take a dive. The first days of next week are supposed to have daytime HIGHS of only about 8 F so my walking to work in the morning days are now over until spring. One of the girls I work with will be picking me up on her way in. Thank goodness for her!


Well enough about the upcoming holiday season for the moment, it's still far enough away but I just wanted to share some pre-Christmas planning! I hope you're all doing well, and that all of my American readers had a great Thanksgiving. It's been awhile now since we've had turkey up here so I'll be more than ready for it again.

Take good care of each other and have a great week.

PEACE!
Love Jude

THIS 'N THAT

Howdy all, good heavens where does the time fly off to? It seems like a few months ago I took down my Christmas tree and here in another 2 weeks or maybe less, I'll be putting it back up again. Yay! It IS my favourite time of the year, afterall. I know.... I know..... those of you who don't live up here haven't even had Thanksgiving yet. That's what I love about having ours in October, it's not so close to the next turkey time!


Some potential fabulous news, I think. Maybe. Hubby is apparently getting tired of being nudged awake to turn over when he's sleeping noisily on his back. So he made an appointment and came home with this yesterday.



The thing is, it will cost close to $1,000 and we don't have that kind of dough. He would have to dip into his retirement savings to do this. I told him he doesn't really have to do this and that's when he mentioned being awakened to turn over when he's snoring on his back, and he also said he's aware that I have many sleepless nights because of his snoring. So....... he's thinking on it. The other thing is that he was told that some people have minimal pain and others have a raging painful throat from this laser surgery. He's not sure, of course, which category he'll fall under but isn't overly concerned as long as he doesn't have to miss any work.

The other thing is, it may not be totally fixed with one surgery either. Might take another one or two times to get it. I guess we'll see if he goes through with this or not! Now to figure out how to keep him from tossing and turning, which is what keeps me awake the other half of the time on bad nights.



I've got hoards and hoards of pictures on my computer and not one is backed up. I've got a bunch of CD's to get them onto, I will just have sister Pammie show me how to do so, and I'll get it done. There are a lot of irreplacable shots and I'd hate to lose any. After 2 years of being a photography hobbiest (is that a word?) you can imagine how many I have on here. Scarey thought to lose any of them!


We have a birthday amongst us! Saturday is a very special lady's big day, please do me a favour and head on over to KATE'S BLOG, tell her Jude said dang woman, you're getting old! Happy Birthday!


I hope you all have a great weekend, take good care of each other and I'll see ya in the blogs.

PEACE!
Love Jude

REMEMBERING

For me November is a month of remembering, and of memories. And in more ways than one.

On Sunday the 11th. is Rememberance Day here, or Veteran's Day in the U.S. As far back as I can remember being a child in school on military bases, this date was ushered in with awe and with reverence each and every year. It always made me think (and it still does) of the immortality of my own father being a soldier during World War II. Even though he never did make it over there before the war ended, he devoted his life to the military.

My thoughts and heartfelt thanks goes out to those who have died in the name of Peace, for all of us left behind; those who gave up their todays for our tomorrows.

In annual tradition here at Showers and Sunflowers, here is the link to Terry Kelly's "Pittance of Time". It gives me misty eyes every time.......

Pittance of Time


And November's wistful time brings back other memories for me too. It's not that it's a painful time, just a little sad. Every year around this time I feel it coming, it always takes me by surprise and makes me stop to think...... then I get it. "Oh yes, it's that time of year again."

Next Thursday the 15th. sees me on a day off, but at my office in the evening for a staff meeting. It happens to be the day between the birthdays of 2 men I greatly loved and admired when they were still here; my Dad and my late hubby. That's the start of the year's end wistful emotions that end after Christmas has been enjoyed and spent remembering loved ones who are no longer here.

I've some groupings of pictures of those that I miss, so I can say a silent 'hello!' when I walk by them, which I do frequently. Both of my parents, late hubby, my best girlfriend, and both sets of grandparents whom I grew up with and loved to bits.


Some other pictures are gathered in amongst those too, mostly friends and my wedding photos to Mr.Hippie Chick. Even a photo of our family dog Dusty, "shaking a paw" with Dad. Ah yes, I am so grateful for the invention of cameras!



The thing is, every one of our loved ones gone on before us are at peace so that's the blessing, the thing that makes it all okay. I'm happy! I'm happy to have the love in my life I have and have had.


In remembering this Remembrance/Veteran's Day in your own ways, also remember the love you still have in your lives. And most importantly, feel the Peace.



Take good care of each other!

Love Jude

MORNING SURPRISE

By the end of the afternoon, today being blue skies and sun, most of the following had melted, but this time there remains some patches. I think it's here to stay this time!

I got up early this morning and just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon of rooftops, I snapped these. The last ones I took show more sunlight as it slowly moved upwards in the sky, although the pics aren't in that order.

1. A little fun with my photoshop



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4. Gaggle of geese



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More snow is in the forecast in the coming week, so winter is officially here where I am! As beautiful as a little of it is, I can only hope that we don't get as much as we did last year.

Pretty strange. A few days ago for Halloween, we set a 25 year record for warm temperatures!

Hope you all have an excellent week, take good care of each other!

PEACE
Love Jude

BOO!

It was a fun Halloween! Sister Pammie and I decorated the front yard and porch, put some spooky Halloween music on outside, and waited for the kiddies. We ran out of candy by 7:30 or so!

























The kids loved it and many of them said how "scary" our house was, and even the parents sometimes say they love it too.

Up here we usually have some kind of snow on the ground for Halloween, even if only just a light dusting of it. This year however, it was the warmest Halloween we've had in over 25 years! Perfect day for it, as a matter of fact. Today though, one day later there is a very cold northerly wind blowing the rest of the leaves off the trees. We are supposed to have "wet snow showers" (sleet?) on Sunday, and maybe some snowfall the end of next week. Well, it is November and we are far enough north!

I hope you all had a fun Halloween too. Have a great weekend, and take good care of each other.

PEACE!
Love Jude