Merry Christmas

Each year is different now at Christmastime. Our lives change as we get older and the kids are grown and have their own lives to live. I do miss spending time with them but I understand that's how life is. I also am getting older and all those things I used to craft, sew, bake etc. at Christmas just seem too hard to do anymore, at least at the rate I used to do them. I also work six days a week so not much time to do much and as I get older not as much energy once I get home in the evening. I can get done the basics but the extra stuff just doesn't seem to get done anymore.
I am still glad I am healthy enough to work to support myself. I do not lack for anything. Of course there are always those things I would like -  but not necessary and I am content and appreciate the things I do have. There are so many more who have less than me even though I work in an area where most people have more than me, it's all about perspective and knowing what I really need and what is all fluff. I seem to appreciate more simple things. Life seems so much better when we approach life with a spirit of gratefulness.
This made me smile this morning, someone actually took the time to hang wreaths on the signs in our neighborhood.

I know it's not much but it made me smile...

Enjoy your Christmas! And know that if it's different this year it's OK  :-)

Still not much of a blogger...

So it's been four months...I can't imagine blogging every day unless I stayed home all day.
I've gotten more things done in my house. I don't know that they will ever end really, I get too many ideas and some of the things I want to do will take time mostly because they also need money to accomplish them. learning to save for things you want is a good thing.

Well I wanted to make a place to sit outside that wasn't on a slope besides the upstairs stone patio where the fire pit sits (that I still have a hard time starting). So I hired a young man going off to college at the end of the summer to dig up some rocks I had tried to dig up to put down sand then pavers to make a small paver patio outside the dining room where my grill also sits. I have a small cafe table and 2 chairs that will fit there nicely. That was "Plan A". But as he tried to dig up the area he kept hitting rock after rock. I suspected there was a stone patio in place already that had been overgrown with grass and weeds and had sunk down where they couldn't be seen anymore. Well, apparently I was right. This young man had to return the next day to finish the job. I looked up a few ideas online, not sure how to still get a patio without digging up all these stones and came up with "Plan B", pea gravel. I picked up a few bags before the young man came to finish the job to see what it would look like. I completed the patio after he had taken off all the overgrowth. It took several trips to HD to collect the pea gravel in my little car and lots of dragging 40lb bags across the front lawn to the patio area, but I did it! I am pleased with the results and have sat out there a number of times to enjoy my yard. Here's some pics!

You can see the former stone patio in this picture and the beginning of the pea gravel

Finished! (Except for the patch painting I did to the house)

Not much of a blogger...

I guess blogging is not for me. I spend way too much time on the computer at work to come home and spend MORE time on the computer. Oh well. Lots going on in my life right now. I'm getting ready to leave for a mission trip to Germany, Poland then 2 days of sight seeing in London.

I am slowly getting a handle on the yard but not quite there yet. Some things are harder to do than others and I will probably need a pro to help with those things.
I planted a small garden this year. I will probably add another box as it is a container garden and only grow those things next year that do well this year. So far the tomatoes, peppers, herbs and possibly eggplant look good. Cukes - maybe. Winter squash not so much but I will wait and see what happens. I replaced the summer squash and it seems to be doing fine.

Earlier this Spring

I bought my own weed whacker and probably could go out and use it every day. I've let one area I used to mow, grow in as I never used it and thought why mow it, I can only do so much. The wild raspberries look like they will be coming in soon and the few blackberry plants behind my house are starting to ripen - not really enough to do anything with.

We've had a few fire pit lightings - I need to practice more :-)

Hummers are visiting and emptying the feeders on a regular basis, and plans for a paver patio are in my head. I'll deal with it when I get back from the mission trip. I also have plans to get some gravel for my driveway/parking pad with some pavers added to edge it. I would like to get a new floor in the bathroom in the fall and before the holidays and then some beadboarding in there as well.

Masonry work and possibly a liner for the main fireplace will have to wait but I may get a price quote for something to shoot for next year.

So much to do but I am enjoying it. I feel blessed.