Pressing On

I really do love the four seasons. I enjoy watching the change of color, seeing trees and plants go dormant for the winter. Everything is finally green and practically growing in front of our eyes. I'm always surprised to see the new growth on a branch that had looked dead for four months. It's fun to watch and I get excited seeing new growth on our trees and flowers. Last Thanksgiving some of our family came to celebrate. It was bittersweet in the way that it was our first Thanksgiving since Jim's mom passed away. He wanted to do something special to honor her and knew that birch trees were one of her favorites. So, in late November he got in his truck and drove to a few places looking for birch trees. Most nurseries were out or didn't carry them. He had one last stop before he would give up. He looked all over and as he was heading out the owner asked if she could help him find something. He said "I don't suppose you have any birch trees?" She replied ...

I love spur of the moment trips. Whether a day trip to the ocean or an impromptu over night trip somewhere. We have had some time on our hands and wanting to take advantage, decided to enjoy some of the great sights around the East Coast. There's so much to see and explore here. So we got in the car and drove to The Cape. It's literally just over an hour to get there. The weather has been nice but the season hasn't officially started yet so there wasn't a huge crowd of tourist or ridiculous traffic. It was perfect and exactly what we needed. Jim suggested throwing the bikes in the truck so we would have them once we got there. We rode them all over Martha's Vineyard. Took little pit stops to see points of interest and had a few little surprises along the way. We found a quaint little cafe behind a bookstore where we had lunch on the patio. Stopped by an Alpaca farm where we met these funny furry guys. They were actually for sale and can be shipped to most places in ...

I am a big fan of Keith Urban. I saw him perform at a private party last year and just love him. I also love Carrie Underwood. So..... When I heard Keith and Carrie had a new song together on his latest album, I couldn't wait to hear it. I knew I would love it before I even downloaded it. I usually do a little pre-listen before I commit to a purchase but hey, this is Keith and Carrie. So, I put it on my play list, headed out for my morning run and fast forwarded to the song titled, The Fighter. It had a catchy beat and the lyrics sucked me in.....  It's one of those story telling songs that they sing to each other. And if you're like me, you are a sucker for a good love story.... He knows the last guy hurt her and he is thankful that she belongs to him now..... He promises to never let her fall, won't make her cry and if she gets scared he will just hold her tighter. He will be the fighter. Ahhhh! How sweet! And every little girls dream of Prince Charming to the rescue....

Have you noticed how often we all talk about the weather? It is that safe topic of conversation between strangers. The clerk at the store, "Will we ever see the sun again?" "Feels more like winter out there than Spring huh?" And of course come August we will likely hear " What a scorchah huh?" Yes, the weather is something we all like to talk about and often complain about because it's just never quite perfect enough for us. Living in the Valley of the Sun for so many years in Arizona we prayed for rain. If and when it finally  rained we didn't know what to do. Our windshield wipers were typically beat up from over exposure to the scorching sun. The accumulated dust that washed off of roofs, houses and driveways made for pretty messy puddles but we didn't care, we'd play in it anyway. Or at least let our kids play in it. Those were rare occasions that always brought refreshment to our thirsty souls.  Here in New England it's just the op...