The Sun Rises Again

It has been cloudy for most of the time since we have been here.  These were the dark gray clouds that made you just want to go back to bed and stay there until spring.  It has also been chilly and rainy.  Not the kind of weather we came down here for.  But, yesterday afternoon the sun came out and it warmed up some.  The coming week is suppose to be sunny with highs in the 60's.  I can get out on the deck and get my tan started with that kind of weather.  The picture below is taken from our condo.  The sun is just coming up.  All of the trees in the picture are Pecan trees.  The squirrels were out this morning picking pecans.  There are still some on the trees.  It looks like it will be a great day!

There was some frost this morning, but it will be warming up quickly.  Hope you have a great day!

Patrick

MERRY CHRISTMAS

To all the folks that read our blog, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a terrific year  for 2013.

The following picture is a sunrise shot that I took in 2008.  It is still a very good depiction of what our backyard looks like this year.  Glad to say we will soon be away from all this and where it is warm and sunny.

Patrick and Pat

Anderson Day

The annual Anderson get together for Christmas was held today and we had a very good crowd of 33 people.  Twelve of these were teenagers or younger including two babies.  It was a very nice group that had a good time and plenty to eat.

This first picture is part of the group watching the Viking football game before dinner.

The next two pictures are of the layout of food and the start of the crowd to fill their plates.

The next two pictures are of niece Lynda and her husband, Herb and Pat's brother, Jerry. The second one is Jerry from the front.

The next picture is an after dinner shot of niece, Deb, and her husband, Jim (a/k/a J.B.), Pat's sister, Joanne, Pat, and sister-in-law, Elva, having coffee.

It was a good day!

Patrick

Just a Day

It's hard to believe that yesterday our yard was green and the streets were dry.  Today is a different story. 

The birds were having a hard time finding food in the feeders as the feeders were full of snow.  I went out with the broom and cleaned them off but it's only been a couple hours and they're covered again.

 

I don't think we'll be using our gazebo any time soon either.

 

It's a good day to watch football.  I hope the Vikings win too!

Ish!

That's what Patrick says whenever it snows.  This is what we saw this morning out the front and back of our house.

 The birds don't mind a little snow on their roof tops.

 There were a few crab apples left on the tree.

 This is out the loft window - looks more like a cotton tree than snow.

The river is still open.

We're feeling optimistic that it will warm up enough this afternoon to melt all of this. 

 

Passing Through

We thought the migrating birds were all gone but this morning there were several different ones getting some "fuel" for their voyage.

 

 

Patrick created this feeder by adding a platform for the finches to stand on instead of balancing on the small pegs.  We didn't think it would get used until next year, but it got broken in early.

Evidently, it works for birds other than finches.

That Time of Year

It's that time of year where the birds are migrating south and stopping here along their way for something to eat.  There have been a few of the Pileated Woodpeckers lately.

But yesterday before we left for breakfast, Patrick looked out the kitchen window just to see what was happening.  He wasn't expecting to see this wild turkey.  I guess they need to eat too!

Now, we just need to keep the other birds from hitting our windows; so far no casualties.

New Normal

As we mature, the term "new normal" keeps cropping up.  I think it pertains to adapting to changes in our way of living.  That's what I have to learn now with our new flooring that was completed yesterday.  These are my new tools that I have to "adapt" to using now for cleaning: 

We were told by the flooring company that steam mops should not be used on laminate floors.  That wasn't what I wanted to hear but can understand their reasoning.  My steam mop has been retired to the basement but I can't quite give it up completely yet.

 

It's all worth whatever changes I have to go through to have the new floors done and looking like this now.

 

In place of this:

We're hoping there aren't any more unexpected surprises, we've had enough excitement for one year.  I think we've adapted to our new normal too.

Summer's Over

It wasn't the best summer we have had, but we did get in a few pontoon trips.  This past Monday we pulled the pontoon out and got it ready for winter storage.  The picture below was taken after we had it all cleaned up and ready to go to storage.

The dock guys will be coming today or tomorrow to take out the dock and boat lift.  We will be all set for winter then, but probably not ready!

Patrick

Construction Zone

About six weeks ago we noticed the hardwood floors in our kitchen were warping in front of our kitchen sink and dishwasher.  We checked the ceiling in the bedroom below the kitchen, but didn't see anything leaking.  On a Sunday night about 3 weeks ago, our dishwasher died.  

Fortunately, the service person could come out Monday morning.  When he pulled the dishwasher apart, he discovered several - really more than several - cups of water in the bottom of the dishwasher.  A hose connection came apart.  This time, it did make it to bedroom below and one of the ceiling tiles was soaked and laying on the ledge.

After a few weeks of dealing with our insurance company, picking out and arranging for new flooring to get installed, the project began on Monday.

Behind this plastic is the stairs to the loft and step to the family/living room.  We had to wade through it daily; not fun or easy.

This is the dining room after the carpeting was pulled up and new padding put down.  

 Kitchen dining area after hardwood pulled up and new padding installed.

 New floor in dining room.

 

 Entryway

The only problem the installers encountered was when they pulled up the hardwood in front of the sink and dishwasher.  The sub floor was too wet to install the new floor.  We are living under some primitive conditions for the next couple weeks; waiting for the flooring to completely dry and the installer's schedule to open up enough to come back and finish the job.

   

We are very happy with our new look and will be happier when it's all done.