Worries and Reruns

Sometimes things go smoothly in life, and sometimes you hit bumps. Right now I'm in a bumpy patch with concerns about my elderly parents.  Consequently, when I sit down to write a post, I have a hard time concentrating. It seems as if the worries flood out my other thoughts. So then and again, when I'm having a hard time thinking, I will be rerunning some of my posts that make me smile. It will be good therapy for me while I learn productive ways to channel my worries. I hope you enjoy them too.

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 As you probably know, we have four cats that provide endless entertainment for us. I did a post a year and a half ago about our cat, Lucy, and her antics. Here's a link.

A Day in the Life of Lucy

One of Lucy's midday games. See what other fun things she did this day.

A Second Look--January 2, 2013

We've had a couple of small snowfalls recently but they haven't seemed to affect the wildlife any. I continue to see birds, squirrels and deer from the windows. (Have I mentioned that I don't like to go out in cold weather much?)

Here's what I saw this week during a Second Look.

Snow from three days ago.

Remnants of the snow.

Finch and titmouse

 

Grapevine

Bird skull (3-4" long). I think I found another piece of it a couple of weeks ago.

White tailed deer

White breasted nuthatch and red bellied woodpecker

Nest, catbird?

Happy New Year

“Again time elapsed.”
― Carolyn Keene, The Secret of the Old Clock

or How did it get to be 2013 already?

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Note:
--I'm sure many of you recognize the quote above was made by the beloved teenage sleuth, Nancy Drew. The Secret of the Old Clock was one of the first Nancy Drew books I read.
--The picture is of a watch that Theo was cleaning.

Thankful Sunday--December 30, 2012

I am thankful for a simple green salad.

With all of the delicious, but rich, food I've been eating this holiday season, I am happy for a simple green salad.

Christmas Sales

or I Had Self Control (this time).

We usually travel after Christmas to visit family, but this year we stayed put. Do you know what that meant? I was able to take advantage of post Christmas sales. I got up early Wednesday morning hoping to get a good deal on a few Christmas things we were getting low on. I left the house with a certain excitement at the prospect of finding some really good bargins. The first store was crowded, but the selection was good. I found some suitable wrapping paper and a couple of other things we could use. I also managed to remember to buy the toothpaste that we were almost out of. However there was no Christmas stationery we needed, so onto the next store.

By this time, I was starting to get pressed for time since I had to be at work soon. Also, it had started to snow and I didn't want to be out on slippery roads. I hurried into the store and went straight for the cards and stationery. I found some paper that would work and proceeded to the checkout. While waiting in line, I noticed what the woman in front of me was buying. She had several rolls of aluminum foil, many boxes of zip lock bags, and lots of Goldfish among other things. She said she was a teacher and could use all of these things in her classroom and they were all 50% off. Another thrill of excitement swept over me. Should go back and try to find more of the practical items she was buying and be a little late for work and risk the roads? Or should I stick with what I had? What to do? What to do?

I'm proud to say that I have a plan for each of these items.

In the end, I stayed in line and just bought what I had in hand. I reasoned that we had foil and bags at home and didn't need anymore right now. And if I went back to find them, I would certainly buy something I didn't need but looked good. Then, where would be the savings? But, boy, I did miss the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of the capture I would have had if I'd gone back.

 

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But Wait, There's More:

--Most of my decision not to go back was based on my favorite way to save money—stay out of the stores.

--The roads were slick when I left the store. I slipped a couple of times, but luckily I was not held up by any fender benders.

--We don't use much wrapping paper around here as we reuse a lot of gift bags. The family joke is that we look for a bag that already has the right tag on it from years past. However, we like to have some paper on hand for special gifts.