Quiet times

The past two weeks have been relatively quiet and productive.

I'm back into the regular routine at work after taking lots of time off at the end of the year. It's nice to see the sun up longer after work, as the daylight hours lengthen. We've had some sunny days here and I love seeing the golden glow on the snow-covered trees.

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to go. By 7 a.m.I had a pot of chili cooked and packaged for the refrigerator. By 7:30 I had a stir fry of ham, veggies and Asian noodles also in the fridge. Now (at 8:10) I'm boiling eggs for breakfasts and a ham salad spread for sandwiches. So that means I have lunches and quick suppers if I don't feel like cooking. And . . . I have the rest of this weekend free - sort of.

We're taking our friend Cindy to lunch today to celebrate her birthday. Tomorrow morning I have to go for a diagnostic exam, but will hopefully be done by 10:30. Since I had an exam Friday, with anesthesia, I was pretty much out of it all day. Saturday we shopped and ran errands. I think I need some down time.

I haven't been out much with the camera. My favorite - the one with the longer zoom - hasn't been outdoors a lot lately. The smaller one, which fits easily into a pocket, is always in my purse. It's got a 10X optical zoom and a panoramic feature, so isn't too bad. I've shot a few photos with it, but nothing at all exciting. I'm so ready for spring. I don't go out for long periods in the winter because of my arthritic back and the fear of falling on ice. I did shoot this from my front door a couple of weeks ago. The sky was soft blue, and the flash highlighted the snow on the lilac bush right by the door.

I'm looking forward to following the progress of mushers in the Yukon Quest in February. The race starts in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and ends in Fairbanks. I love watching the dogs run - it's very evident they are having a good time, doing what they love.

In March we have Ice Art, and we'll probably go out to see the ice sculptures again. They are so beautiful, intricately carved.

And, of course, Mae and I will be heading to El Paso, Las Cruces and Phoenix to visit our friends Bonnie and Junior.

All in all, the end of winter is looking pretty good. And with spring come the return of the birds to Creamer's Field, green-up and warmer weather. Lots to look forward to.

Happy days everyone.