Warm Sunny Weekend Equals Weary Back and Muscles

FINALLY. . .beautiful weather in Arkansas. Thursday and Friday were gorgeous days with temperatures reaching into the 50s. It seemed like a major heat wave after so much snow and blistering cold. I had a renewed energy and plans for the weekend.

When I got in Friday afternoon from school, I began immediately on my weekend house cleaning chores to get the inside tidy and the dust out. That left Saturday open for other chores and spending the day outside. I was not disappointed; the day dawned with sunshine and as the day progressed the temps crept on into the 60s. Collin and I were outside most of the day either working in his shop or as in my case, cleaning the yard. Armed with snippers, rake, and wheel barrow, I went to work pruning and racking the leaves from all the flower beds and the foundation of the house. In the late afternoon, our neighbor saw us out working and came over with his lawnmower to help bag the leaves.

Well, my yard looks great for February, but by day's end, my back was screaming "ABUSE, ABUSE!" Thank goodness for a Jacuzzi tub and lots of hot water. You should see all the jonquils though; they are ready to burst into yellow. I can hardly wait. I'm expecting this. . .
just any day now.

Marcia

Season of Love

Last week turned into to another one of those busy blurs. Tuesday, we stayed home for day number 7 of snow, so Wednesday, when it was back to school, I hit the ground running. For all the things that were on my Monday/Tuesday to-do list, I still managed to accomplish everything by Friday.

As Valentine's Day fell on the weekend, Sunday, to be exact, Collin, my forever sweetheart, and I celebrated several days. Friday night, we had haircuts at 5:30 and we planned to eat at Shortie Small's after we finished. It was getting so late that we were starved and we thought our meal was fabulous. We both ordered a steak with cheesy fries.

Saturday morning we were up early and on the road by 8:00 to Little Rock for the day. We traveled with Dennis and Regina to an RV show which was housed in the State House Convention Center. We had a great time touring camper/trailers/motor homes all day. Since we love camping and are quite the enthusiasts, it was exciting to see the newest models for the season even though we are very pleased with what we have. We had lunch at a very nice Mexican restaurant and headed home shortly after 6:00.

Sunday morning, we were up early and off to church. As the day came to a close I thought about how blessed we are and how much love we have every day--not just one time a year. I thought about all the different types and kinds of love we had shared over the weekend. I have the love of family, a wonderful husband and three children. I was fortunate to share time with both Collin and Bryan and took time to send Micah and Rhyne a note expressing my love. We have many wonderful friends at church and those we know from other avenues which fill our lives with happiness. We have parents to share special moments as we did Sunday at lunchtime, and we have the love of our heavenly Father as we worshipped Sunday with fellow believers.

Love does make the world go round and what a lonely place it would be without it.

Happy Valentine's,

Marcia

Winter Blast--Day Six At Home

Home again! Some 3 to 4 inches of snow fell during the night and we awakened this morning to yet another beautiful white blanket. It is a different snow from the last one--more like powder with less ice and the timber is gorgeous. The scenery looks like something you'd see on a postcard. They tell us that more is on the way. We may be out of school by July 4.

We've had a great weekend. Saturday, Collin and I drove with friends to Mountain Home. They needed to pick up a boat and pull it home. It was good to get out for the day even though this isn't the best time of the year for a scenic drive. We had lunch at Colton's; my selection was soup and salad. Warm soup hit the spot on a damp, cold day.

And then, the Super Bowl game. We came home from church, fixed up chicken strips and fries, and had our own private party. We have become Saints fans by default since we have a direct connection to New Orleans and we sat glued to the TV. I was worse than Collin; he sat with the computer in his lap multi-tasking, but I didn't want to miss a moment. We were so excited! Micah called almost the instant the game ended. She and Rhyne went out into the campus and driving around town to see all the celebration. Now, without a doubt, everyone knows "Who Dat" is.

Go Saints,

Marcia

Six Weeks of More Bad Weather

It's GROUNDHOG'S DAY. . . and in Punxsutawney (puhnk-suh-TAW-nee), PA, the traditional site of the scientific experiment, the groundhog did, indeed, see his shadow, and we can expect more of winter and no sign of early spring.

I had time to research this tidbit and include it today in my post since I am home, again, yet another day from school due to snow. Although it is wonderful now to be home on these cold, chilly days, I see a repeat of last year's makeup. I have a feeling I will not see a Memorial holiday as I will probably be in school that entire week to makeup the 5 snow days we have missed thus far this winter. And. . .it could get worse. What if we get more snow? Remember, the persimmon seeds are "spoon" shaped.

All that aside, I've been outside with the camera and I wanted to share a few snapshots. Snow is beautiful on the ground after a fresh fall. Collin thinks we probably got about 10 inches at our house.

We've also been bird watching again. Filling the feeders seems to be a continual task and it is just birds; the squirrels have disappeared. We have an unbelievable number of feathered friends who have taken shelter with us over the last 5 days and a number of new additions to the ones mentioned in an earlier post. A red-headed woodpecker has joined the clan. I have tried numerous time to catch a good picture of him, but alas, he is a tricky fellow and either gets on the back side of the feeder or flies away before I can catch him. If I get lucky, I'll post him later. He is a rather handsome fellow. We also have at least 4 doves who have come along as well. Yesterday, we actually saw 1 robin.

Take a peek at these two beauties. We have 2 couples of red birds. I have named them Fred and Wilma, Barney and Betty. We've seen all 4 of them at once, but again, they are not cooperative for the camera so I had to catch them individually.

Well, perhaps there will be more melting today and I'll back in school tomorrow.

Marcia