It's been a busy week and I'm way behind . .

It's been a very busy week both at work and at home. I did play with some pictures this week but didn't get time to post them until tonight. Last night we made our weekly trip to Menard's to take advantage of items on sale for the Garage/Studio project. Last night we placed the order for the interior doors and flooring for the studio and a countertop for the changing room vanity. The weather is finally starting to improve a little so we can try to get out to start clearing and marking off the corners for the building. If we are lucky this weekend we will get some air in the Bobcat tire and get the battery charged so as soon as the ground dries out enough, I can start clearing the area. Yes, I drive a Bobcat skid steer loader. One of these days I want to drive my son's semi (without the trailer).

Below is just an assortment of some pictures taken in the last week, hope you enjoy them.

38 Weeks and Counting . . .

My daughter is about 38 weeks and counting so she and Matt came down for some more pictures while there was still time to get them. I wanted to get some with the big sisters in them but they were with their dad this weekend, maybe we'll get a chance next weekend. I can't wait to take some newborn pictures in a few weeks. Angie really didn't want her face to show but I posted one anyway. At least I didn't post the one with the REALLY goofy look on her face. (Sorry, Ang, Love ya)

Fire and Ice, Take 2

Last week I tried the fire and ice but wasn't very happy with the results. Today we had some more sloppy snow which results in plenty of icicles. I went out twice to "harvest" the crop to try this again, so here are the results. Not too bad but nothing spectacular either. With any luck, this will be the last of the icicles I see this winter. Come on spring!!!!

A wider crop of the same shot.

Funky Little Purple Thing

I was looking for something to take a picture of that would lighten the mood from yesterday's blog and spotted this funky little purple thing that is sort of a ball but it has an opening. When I first brought it home, my 12 year old grandson decided to put it on his head as a skull cap. You can imagine what that looked like. I have it stretched over a small basketball for the picture but it is extremely soft and stretchy. After the week I had at work I needed a goofy picture for the day to de-stress.

Someday, I'll pick up my brushes again . . .

It's been a very long time since I painted this picture for my best friend. One of these days when I find time, I'll pick up my brushes again. I think my problem is I want to do so many things that there is not enough time to fit them all in. You know that thing called WORK, it just keeps getting in my way and taking up all of my time.

The only reason I have this painting back is my friend suddenly died 2 years ago from a brain aneurysm at age 44. Both Tina and her husband Marty were very close friends for about 25 years (I used to work with both of them). I knew they were meant for each other before they did. Tragically about 6 months after Tina died, Marty was killed in a motorcycle accident. I think of them almost daily but they are together again. So now with this painting hanging in my hallway, I think of them with fond memories.

Prints, Plans and PERMIT

Yes, we finally have our building permit. We had been ordering some of the building materials as they went on sale to save as much as possible on the Garage/Studio project. Everything we had ordered to date could have been cancelled if the permit was not approved, that is, nothing that had to be special ordered. Now that we have the permit in hand, we placed the last large order with all of the special items, such as the 36 foot trusses at about $200 each. No turning back now, not that I would want to. LOL All I ask for is some decent weather in April and the help of a few friends.

Fire and Ice

I have wanted to try this for a while but it didn't turn out like I thought it might (or had hoped). I started saving icicles a few weeks ago and decided to try it tonight. Not much to say about it, maybe if we get more icicles, I'll try it again.

One Month to go . . . .

My daughter is at the 8 month point in her pregnancy and today (Saturday) was the Baby Shower hosted by the other Gamma (this is her first grandbaby) and my son-in-law's cousin. Check out the Diaper "cake" used for a centerpiece. I thought this was a really cute idea. Each diaper was rolled and held together by a pink and white bead bracelet for the guests to take home.

The theme for the nursery is "Baby Looney Toons" thus the design on the cake.

One of the party games was "Bobbing for Nipples" and the only person game to try this was the Daddy-to-be, my SIL Matt. If you can't tell, he's a huge Steeler's fan.

Here is my daughter, Angie, opening the gifts for the baby. She has 2 other daughters but the youngest is over 8 so she had gotten rid of all of her old baby stuff and is starting from scratch.

Just a footnote - I started this post last night, then was suddenly hit with some kind of stomach bug and here I am finishing it 24 hours later. I am feeling somewhat better, but not where I would like to be.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Come again another day. I know others are in the same boat as me right now (wishing we had a boat!). After a few 50-60° days, the snow melts, the ground is saturated, then we get hit with rain, rain and more rain today. Now the wind has kicked up. Fun, fun, fun. Here are pictures I took as I was leaving work. The first one is usually grass between my employer and the candy factory next door. The second one is our back parking lot with several inches of standing (and rising water). I called my husband before I left work and found out the sump pump had quit working and we had several inches of water under the house. So off to my favorite store (Menards for those who don't remember) to buy a new pump. It's plugged in and most of the water is gone now.

I was expecting my road to be flooded when I got home and I was close. The water runs from the field across the road in front of my neighbor's house and was half covering the road 3 hours ago. That spot and several others between my drive and the highway will probably be completely covered in the morning. Could be an interesting drive to work tomorrow. Maybe I need pontoons for my Jeep. I'd better get there a little early, I suspect parking places will be at a premium in the morning.

Antique Plate and Cup, circa early 1900's

The daily challenge in one of my other groups for today was "Antique" so I took a picture of a china plate and cup that is the only thing that my MIL had that belonged to her mother, Catherine. My MIL didn't have the chance to know her mother very well since she died when my MIL was about 10 years old. My husband was an only child and now both of his parents have passed so we have custody of the china pieces that sit front and center in my china hutch. The picture in the background is a copy of Catherine's Nursing graduation picture from somewhere in the 1930's (I think). The pieces are Takito China from somewhere around 1900.

I'm Ready for Spring

I didn't get a picture taken today so I pulled out one I took last summer. Our temperature was in the mid 50's today and tomorrow it's supposed to hit 60°. I am so ready for Spring. What do you say we forget what the groundhog said and start spring now. Anyone want to join me?

Trying Something New

As I sit at my computer, I look out the window and see a full moon looking back. Last night I tried several different lens to try to get a nice close-up of the moon but still don't have the results I am looking for. Tonight, I thought I would try something a little different - shooting through my telescope. To get any sort of clarity, I used the eyepiece with the widest view but when trying to align my P & S with the eyepiece, I would only get part of the moon. To get the picture below, it joined 4 different pictures and cloned the "seams" to make it a single picture. This is still not the photo I am looking for but since I took the time to shoot the pictures, join them, blend it and save it, I figured I might as well post it.