Quick Trip

We always said that when our sons were grown and I was no longer working outside the home, I would travel with my husband when he had to go out of town for business. For the most part we have been able to do that. Funny thing is, now that I am able to travel with him, he doesn't really travel all that much.

When my husband travels for business, I am on my own for the day. I'm pretty comfortable with that but if I'm unfamiliar with the area I will do a little research before we leave and make a tentative plan for my days.

Last week we made a quick trip to DC. I had decided before we left that I wanted to check out the Gardens. The Smithsonian has eleven gardens according to one of the employees...who knew? My favorite has always been the Haupt Garden behind the Castle. In another couple of weeks these trees will be filled with pink magnolia flowers, it will be gorgeous.

It was still a little early for many of the flowers but there were some blooms and buds, a promise of better things to come. After I checked out a couple of Gardens I walked around and took photos. It was cool but comfortable.

Husband and I generally make a plan to meet up for dinner after work. This particular time we ended up traveling on the same train, of course I didn't know it until he came up behind me as I was trying to put my ticket thru the turnstile. (which I was having great difficulty doing) He thought it might be fun to come up from behind and startle me...it was. We both got a giggle out of it, amazed that we both managed to get on the same train together (we were coming from two different lines)

Before we headed home we had dinner at a wonderful little neighborhood fish restaurant close to where a certain musician lives. Our youngest son, was able to join us for dinner  the night we arrived and left, don't you love it when things work out like that?

        What are some areas of interest where you live, and do you have any favorite destinations?

Spring Has Sprung

I think I started to notice things change when we moved the time ahead. That extra hour of daylight seemed to lift my spirits....then the flowers started blooming. Oh my, that really did it. Even though our temperatures are still fairly cool, it feels like winter is over....Spring has sprung and here's the proof.

My DIL says that one the stores in her town is celebrating spring by taking the chains off the tires of their cart returns...it's not flowers but an encouraging sign none the less. (photo courtesy of my DIL)

                                 
                                         What signs of spring are you seeing where you live?

Thoughts on Getting Older

Are you the type of person that keeps journals, or scrapbooks?  I used to do both on a regular basis. I still journal but haven't done scrapbooking in a very long time.  Everything is digital now, I seldom print any of my photos.

During the height of my scrapbooking days I celebrated my 50th birthday. Like every good scrapbooker, I documented the occasion with photo pages, and thoughts and well wishes from family and friends.

I thought it would be fun to see the thoughts I had when I turned 50.

Things I wrote

*I am surprised at how quickly 50 arrived
*I don't feel 50
*Realizing I am now middle aged
*Lot's of changes on the horizon, soon to be Empty Nester's
*Family and friends so kind and generous in remembering my birthday
*Realizing just how blessed I am to have the people in my life that I do

Fast forward ten years.... lots of water under that bridge...and so many changes I never saw coming, that's right I am now 60

My thoughts today

*I am still pretty amazed at how quickly time passes
*There are days when I feel every bit of 60, or what I think 60 should feel like and other days when I don't
*I wonder if I am I still considered middle aged or did I cross over into old age. By definition if I was in the middle of my life span, I would have to live to be 120 to still be considered middle aged....right? Guess I am old..lol
*When I turned 50 I knew changes were on the horizon. The year I turned 50 one son married and another graduated high school and went away to college.
Looking ahead into my 60's, the future is not as clear, there maybe a move to a smaller home, or maybe not, maybe retirement, maybe caring for family...there are so many variables. One thing I learned in my 50's is that life can change in a moment ....but I also learned that I can be sure that God will faithfully guide our steps whatever the path.
*And I am continuing to be blessed with the people God has put in my life..and have been overwhelmed by the kindness I was shown by so many friends in celebrating this birthday...it was truly special.

We spent my birthday simply, doing the things I enjoy doing. My husband had asked if I wanted a party (he asked because I don't like surprises) Because all family was out of state I told him no, I just wanted a day out with him and a quiet dinner someplace nice. We went to Williamsburg, did a little shopping and took some photos out by the river, it was perfect. The only *almost* wrinkle was when I talked about going to a different restaurant then we had planned.... at the last minute. You should have seen the look on my husbands face...He told me that we were not changing our plans....little did I know he had arranged to have flowers waiting for me at our table.

60 doesn't feel any different than 59....it really is JUST a number. If you were to ask me what age I would want to be if I had a choice, I wouldn't pick any other age...no do-overs please! Yes, I would love more energy, and the aches and pains can be challenging.....but at this age I have a history of seeing God's faithfulness in all kinds of situations. It gives me faith for the future....no matter what that may look like.

How did you do with your most recent "milestone" birthday? Did you handle it well?

Fruit basket was from my little Frontier Family, it was a perfect ending to a perfect celebration.

Around Town

I know that this may not look like much to some folks, but it made me pretty excited. Can you guess what's got me smiling?

I had to actually stop and take photos of these stacks of plastic Adirondack chairs...I loved all the colors but more importantly, all these newly delivered items are  a sure sign that spring is right around the corner.

We still have piles of this stuff in most all of the parking lots around town. I used to think they were piles of snow but my DIL told me this stuff is called "SNIRT".  

SNOW+DIRT=SNIRT...so now you know. Hopefully this will all be gone by the weekend. Are you seeing any signs of spring around where you live?

February Moments

 When gathering the photos for this month, I found the recurring theme was definitely snow. I had more snow photos than anything else. Snow was also the main topic of conversation between anyone I came into contact with, for awhile, even complete strangers. It disrupted schedules and routines and slowed us down quite a bit. I passed the time indoors cooking and trying new recipes....my husband was the happy recipient

February is also a month of celebrations for us and this year we had some surprises (I might add at a time I needed it the most...I saw this as God's kindness, in my life) I started out the month a little bit down, I was really missing my little Frontier Family, they wouldn't be around to celebrate with us this year and I wasn't going to have any little hands helping me make heart shaped sugar cookies. Photo below was taken a couple of years ago.

I still made the cookies, one decorated batch for us and one undecorated batch for them (with supplies to decorate shipped to them in their monthly "Happy Box" ) Making the cookies was therapeutic for me and was thoroughly enjoyed by my husband...again...the happy recipient of the decorated cookies. 

The surprise we had this month, was some unexpected visits from our youngest son. He had a job in town...for three weekends in a row!!! (one of the weekends just happened to fall on Valentines Day and Hubby's birthday) It has been a blessing to be able to spend some time with him, and the timing could not have been better. He will be back again this weekend...and we get t go to another concert!

I could go on about the rest of of month, but photos paint a much better picture. Did you all make any February memories?