Easing into winter

Had another busy month - work, house, preparing for winter, shopping for Christmas (already!). Dealing with various issues with my back and trying to adjust to new diabetes medication has left me feeling less than perky. However, the latest bloodwork shows the A1c dropping, so I guess the new pill is working. I just wish it didn't plummet my sugar levels so low. I'll just have to remember to eat a snack earlier than usual and try to raise the levels before the pill takes hold of me.

Buddy has had a super busy month, growling and woofing and barking wildly at all sorts of things. He lies on the back of the couch and looks out the window. Then he alerts on everything and everyone who dares enter his space. It doesn't matter if it's a car driving by or the yard guy shoveling the walk (and boy is THAT worth the money - my back is spared) or a bird flying or the squirrel on the fence.

This isn't as sharp as I'd like, but it's shot through a window and between the lilac branches. Note his stash of cones from the spruce tree. He was eating there when I pulled into the driveway and remained there until I came in, shot a few photos from inside the arctic entry and didn't move until I brought Buddy outside. Then he ran to the spruce tree where he sat and chattered at us until we went back indoors.

He chattered so long and loudly that Buddy - Mr. Tough Guy inside the house - just sat and looked. He didn't make a sound. In this photo the squirrel's mouth is open. I guess we disturbed his dinner.










The days are getting longer now, and this morning (for the first time this winter) I had single-digit temperatures at my house. However, the sunsets are gorgeous. This one had just a hint of pink and a promise of what was to come. Since I was on my way out, I snapped it before it reached its peak, because I knew I'd be driving by the time it was at its best.

I like the colore filtered through the branches of the spruce tree. Although summer is by far my favorite season, there's something about all four of them that I love. Each season has a special beauty all its own - and each one makes me so glad I live in a place with glorious things to photograph.








I'll be taking some time off work to use up some leave between now and New Year's, and I'm truly looking forward to it. I plan to do some housework (not looking forward to that!), some shopping for Christmas and birthdays and some cooking.

I bought a convection oven this morning after much research. I hope it's all I've read it is. I'll give it a try today with a baked potato and some cookies for my granddaughter. Maddy is coming over to show me her pirate costume :), and she's always hungry when she gets to my house.

I'll also be making some gifts for my sisters, so that will keep me busy in the weeks I'm off.

Happy November everyone.

It's here

After an unseasonably warm September, it appears our summer and fall have ended. Although there's not much of it, the snow has finally arrived.

Thanks to Maura & Micah, my leaves were all raked and bagged before the snow. This one was pretty easy to sweep from the ramp and sidewalk this morning. It's still rather warm - 33 degrees at 11:30 a.m., but I figure we're in it now.

Some sort of virus kept me off work Thursday and Friday. Thankfully I'm fully recovered and back to normal. I was too sick and dizzy to even make it to the computer. I stayed in Saturday and started to update my genealogy files. Nothing new this week, but I'm forever an optimist when it comes to the family tree.

I ventured over to Fred Meyer's pharmacy this morning and to my gas station downtown. The roads weren't too bad, but Fred's parking lot was a virtual ice rink. I was walking like a toddler on a new unfamiliar surface. It's time to adjust not just my driving, but my walking.

I do look forward to the gorgeous scenery that comes with the serious snowfall - trees and yards looking like Christmas cards. It's a whole different world.

I spoke with my friend Bonnie in New Mexico yesterday for a long while. We talked politics and baseball as well as what's happening in our lives. We are talking about maybe going to Phoenix for Spring Training in March. I'm pretty excited about that. After a long cold winter, there's nothing quite like sitting in the stands watching a baseball game, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. I love stepping outside of the terminal in Phoenix. (My socks and shoes have been replaced by sandals in Seattle during the layover.)

So I guess this winter will be full of genealogy and Arizona dreaming.