Friday at Our House

When putting away Christmas... I felt so bad this year. We love the Christmas tree with the lights sparkling. At night, we sit with just the tree lit.....enjoying the dark room with just the Christmas lights on. So, when the day came to put it all away I felt sad. We had a little tree in our breakfast nook this year. It was really enjoyed. I loved having meals with this little tree all lit up.My friend, Nancy, has a tree in her living room, that she leaves up all year. She changes the color of the lights and has a snowman tree, valentine tree etc. We were talking one day and I told her that I just might leave my little one up for a while. A few years ago, I made some valentines to put on some branches on my dining room table  Click on this link to see what I did.   http://balisha-neverenoughtime.blogspot.com/2010/02/valentine-art-project.html I knew that I had saved these valentines, but where? I searched everywhere and then found them in my old valentine box that candy came in. I got the valentines and went upstairs and decorated the little tree.I took the string of multi colored lights off and left just the clear ones. Next year I'm going to look for strings of several colors, if I leave this tree up. It's in the living room now...bringing a little color into our house. I need something for the top...trying to dream up something to make this weekend.
The birds are scurrying around looking for seed. The usuals have been here already this morning. I've noticed that many more woodpeckers have been visiting. The red bellied and the downy both were here yesterday. I got a notice from my website that shows bird migration...to be looking for robins. It's fun to track the robins as they make their way back here each year.This weekend is ushering in some bitter cold weather. I'll be sure to get some more seed out and also suet. I can hardly keep suet in the feeder this year. The sparrows are eating it as soon as I fill the feeder.
This time of year always makes me think of plants and the gardening season to come. I get that familiar gardening itch with all the seed catalogs coming in. I got a beauty from David Austen roses the other day. I have to hold my hands to keep from ordering.Every year I order and then have to wait while others are buying their plants earlier. I hope I will be able to get into the garden this year. It seems that each year something has to be changed...slowing down or eliminating altogether.Getting ready for gardening is kind of like getting ready for a sport. Exercise is slowly introduced to our body, so we can get conditioned for the new year. When my former husband used to hunt pheasants... years ago...he started getting ready for it a month or so ahead. There's a lot of walking in hunting and he would start walking in our neighborhood, so it wouldn't be such a shock to his body...and he could keep up with the younger guys that he went with. The last couple of years I did pretty much the same thing. I haven't walked for a while, I've been waiting to get my back feeling better. When it's better, (there's that positive thinking) I will be out there walking around my house and back to the woods several times a day. I do some exercises with a DVD and that helps me get some get  up and go. I just have to push  myself or I'll  find  myself just sitting in a chair vegetating.
This morning I have to tidy up around the house, fill the feeders, do some laundry, and let Roomba take over the vacuuming. I love this little gadget as much as I did the first day. My baseboards have never been so clean. Today is the day we eat out, so no dinner to fix.
Have a nice day everyone..
Balisha