Springtime and Violets...

It feels absolutely wonderful outside today!!! The sun is shining!!! There are a few very thin clouds to the north, across the lake. The Red Bud trees have bloomed.
Well, that photo is fuzzy. It focused out in the lake instead of the branch I was holding.
It's a very nice 79 degrees. Opened windows is my idea of spring time in the south. Can't imagine living anywhere else!!! Well, along the beaches of the Florida Panhandle would be nice... Or maybe a nice cabin outside of Durango Colorado... Either of those would be nice, too. ☺
Oh! I almost forget about my African Violets. They are blooming quite nicely in the kitchen window. I was afraid they wouldn't like their new environment. But I shouldn't have worried.

It's Spring!!!

Sitting here in my car listening to traffic and lots of birds. All the trees are showing buds at the ends of their branches. Sun is out. It's only 52 degrees. It is feeling like Spring!!!
I'm thinking the tree in front of Little River Memorial Hospital is a Bradford Pear. David has been doing Physical Therapy here for the past week. He got a very good report from his doctor yesterday. He can go to three days per week next week. His recovery is going so much better than with his other knee replacement. 😊

Days are getting longer...

It's almost 6:30pm. The sun went down below the horizon maybe 30 minutes ago. It seems like just a few days ago it was dark at 6:30. It was warm enough that I raked some of the saw dust where Charlie & crew cut down the leaning tree. WHEW!!! I may be sore tomorrow. But it felt really good to be outside.

The tree is down!!!

This tree has been leaning as long as we've lived here... Since October 1981. At some point it was struck by lightning. Over the years it started leaning a lot more. Last summer one of our sons asked if we'd seen how far it was leaning.
No. We hadn't. Not good!!! Sometime around Thanksgiving, we noticed a split in the back of the tree. Good Grief!!! We called a tree trimmer. He never called back. His loss.
Two days ago I was driving down College Drive in Texarkana. Saw a guy up in a tree. He had a chainsaw and was cutting the top off what was left of a very tall tree... The tree was just a few feet away from the house. The yard was clean. Limbs were loaded on trailers. Safety ropes were tied to the guy in the tree. Ropes tied to the tree trunk to control where it went after it was cut. I was impressed. I saw all that as I drove by.
There is a car wash a couple blocks away. I turned around and went back to get a name & phone number. Charlie McMillan with "McMillan and Watson" out of Texarkana. He called me Friday morning. Came right out here to look at the tree. He and the guy that climbs the trees looked at it. Discussed what they could do. Gave us an amount and how long it might take to complete.
They got here about 7am. It's 10:30 and they have most of it loaded on trailers.

Murphy Bed is almost done!!!

It has been a long time since I've posted anything. Things happen. Posting from my phone is a bit limiting. It puts the photos all in one place & in whatever order they choose. Can't post the narrative between them.
Therefore... Here are the three photos I took as Shaine was working on them. Paint will be later.

Snickerdoodles and Childhood Memories...

Today was a good day to bake the cookies I'd made a couple of days ago. They remind me of the Teacakes my grandmother would make for me and my sister, Mollie, every Saturday morning. Except for the cinnamon, these Snickerdoodles are the exact same cookie. While this Fiesta cookie jar isn't the same as Granny had, in my opinion, it's the thought that counts.
The ceilings of our cabin are beadboard like the ones in her house. She had corner cupboards where she kept that cookie jar full of fresh baked Teacakes. We could have only one. And we had to ask for it. If we didn't use good manners we didn't get that cookie. I don't remember ever not getting one. Although, we'd loved to have had the whole jar, we knew better than to ask for more or to make that little old woman mad!!!
Last night was the annual get together for my family. It was so good to see all of them! It is such a sweet reminder of Christmases years ago when all our sons and daughters were the little ones running around. Now, they have little ones of their own to do the running and laughing. While there were quite a few who couldn't be there with us, we missed them and love them all.
Aren't families the best thing ever??

Storm's about gone....

We got 3.5", give or take a few tenths. The wind is blowing. White caps on the lake. And, we can see more of it than we did a month ago. Eventually, the leaves will be gone and we'll see lots more lake. It will also be a lot colder! When the wind blows across the lake, it is VERY cold when we step out into an open area.