Is it Spring?!

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.  ~Doug Larson

I think spring is beginning to come around here, though we had threats of snow last weekend that was just a light dusting....but today is to be 70 degrees!! We have some VERY confused plants and ducks around my house!!  Romance is in the air as they are prepare, thinking its time, but it's still only February, and we never really had winter except for a day or two here and there! I showed you pics of my crocuses that popped out last week in the snow, now my dwarf iris are beginning to bloom!!

The purple Crocus are blooming now, soon to be followed by daffodils, I certainly hope that spring is here! I really need to get the gardens cleaned out so they can all push their way through!! That was to be item # 1 on my todo list when I retired, but I think I will have to start sooner!!

Lily continues to be the light of our lives!! Her Daddy even lets her help with his work!! I can't believe this, he usually makes her stay away when he's working on his laptop!! :)

She's snoozing here!!

See, I'm helping Daddy!!

I so wish I could have been part of the 'Sanibel Stoop' world record that went on last week on Sanibel!! I understand that there were 700 people who participated, it would have been so neat to be part of it!! Several of my blogging buddies got together while there and each talked about it on their blog, Capt. Brian from Capt. Brian's Observations on the Water, Karen from The Essential Beachcomber, and Pam from I Love Shelling. They were setting a Guiness Book of World record for the 75th annual Shellabration Shell Fair and Show that will begin March 1st.  That is one of those things on my 'bucket list' of things to do.  Of course I won't make the 75th, but I sure hope to make it one year!! Check out all the links....they will sure to become your favorites.... as you see they are mine!! (listed on the right of my blog)

40 Days till Retirement!!

::Hugs::

Cheri

I'm Just Sayin'....

"...Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair!!" ~Zac Brown Band "Knee Deep"

Listen Carefully to the words....Most of it fits me to a tee!!  Just ask somebody...anybody!!

Gonna put the the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away

Had sweet love but I lost it
She got too close so I fought her
Now I'm lost in the world trying to find me a better way

Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so highAnd I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Wrote a note said be back in a minute
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody gonna miss me anyway

Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishing my condition ain't ever gonna go away

Cause now im knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

This champagne shore washing over me
It's a sweet sweet life living by the salty sea
One day you could be as lost as me
Change you're geography
Maybe you might be

Knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

Come on in the water it's nice
Find yourself a little slice
Grab a backpack of lies
You never know until you try
When you lose yourself
You find the key to paradise

::Hugs::

Cheri

Headin' Down the Road to Retirement!!

"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore"~Christopher Columbus"


We had a surprise here last night....a blast of cold air and snow!! It all happened it just a few minutes!  The temperature went from 41 to 33 in about 30 minutes and big black clouds passed overhead....then thunder then BOOM....snow!!  We rarely get snow around here, and haven't really had much of a winter thus far so this was really a surprise!  The wind came with the storm and again around 3:00 am we had a little more snow!! Nothing like up North, but still SNOW!! The daffodils and crocus' have been blooming around here due to the confusing temperature changes, 40 one day, 70 the next!!

Crocus' this morning...peeking from under the snow!

Just as it hit...it was quite a blast!

It Covered things very quickly!

See it's already melted quite a bit this morning....and blown away too!! 40 MPH winds tend to clear it up!

I mentioned in my last post that I had some news! As most of you know, I am a Govt. employee and have been for over 32 years! Work has not been something I have happy with for a long time, due mostly to people with lack of initiative, and people not caring like they used to.  Well, due to the rules of retirement from there, I was not old enough and there was no early out authority approved for the last year or so.....well yep, you guessed it!! NASA offered a VERA..(Voluntary Early Retirement Authority) the end of November!!!! Hubby and I came home that evening, and crunched the numbers, and my last day as a Government employee is April 3!!!! I will officially be RETIRED!!!  Hubby has 46 years under is belt and is still going to work for a while longer as he loves his job and the people he works with and they are in the middle of a big project....but he can telecommute most of the time, so trips to Sanibel can happen!!! :)  In fact, he is communicating with someone on Sanibel about possibly getting a rental year round on the island!! Hopefully we can work that out, how awesome would that be??  

Meanwhile I am slowly closing out things at work, "my job" has already been posted and people have applied, and the interview process will start in the next couple of weeks.  They can do it all the way down to hiring someone, but have to do that AFTER I'm gone!!  One of my co-workers bought this sign for me to update with how many Days I have left....as of today it is actually 51 I think!! The retirement paperwork and process is definitely convoluted and frustrating but I am plodding through it trying to make sure it all works out!

So I have been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of things for the last few months!! I've always envied my Dad because he Retired from the Air Force at the age of 46 with 28 years of service, and has not officially 'been employed' since.  Don't be mistaken, he works....all the time!! That's just who he is!  And that is who I am also! I am 52 years old and have over 32 years of service...so it's really very similar!!

 I've looked into Culinary School, went on tours and open houses as there is a great one nearby, but the cost is ridiculous to pay for a hobby, plus I would have to be full time for the next 15 months!! NOT!! So I'm thinking of just enrolling in a nearby community college and taking a few classes....we'll see, that's just one idea!! 

A lot of thoughts I have had are due to a post that Kim of http://snugharborbay.blogspot.com/ posted on New Years Eve here. She and I have so very much in common in our lives and once again she has made me think.....I have thought and thought about what my word would be....and I think I have finally decided it will be LIVE. Live for today, Live like everyday is your last day, appreciate life, family and everything and everyone around you!! If you don't like where you are, or what you are doing, then change it!! My retirement is going to be doing things I WANT to do! I have been too long, just getting by with things the way they are, and I am not going to do that anymore....starting 51 days from today!  I don't have big monumental plans, but I am going to enjoy whatever it is I am doing, no matter how big or small!! 

It's very cool that my Daughter Jess, is sort of on a 'parallel' with me, she is counting down her days left until classwork is done in Vet School, and we will finish around the same time! She will then start Internships for her 4th year, and her life will begin again then!! She has gone with me to Culinary School and continues to remind me that I need to do what I want to do, and I'm listening Jess!! I have promised her I will do just that!!  My mind is just spinning with ideas, and I just can't wait to get started!!  I guess I have to change the sentence at the top of my blog to "ON the road of Retirement!"

51 days and counting!

::Hugs::

Cheri

Back to Bloggin'!!

No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth.  ~Robert Southey


Finally!! I have told myself over and over that I need to get back to my blog, but as you all probably know, there is always something else that needs to be done; and another week goes by!! I love to write here and share my feelings, opinions and ideas, but just haven't done it...."poor excuse is better than none!"


We had a good Christmas, busy as usual but good!  I can finally show what I made for everyone.....shell nightlights!! It's nothing you hadn't seen before, but they were lots of fun to do....I ended up making 50 nightlights, plus and additional 10 mice and 7 owls ! Here are some pics of the finished products. I should have taken some pics with the lights on!! I will do that and post them later!!

Night lights...

Everyone is different!

Had to stop in early November until I could go back down to Sanibel and get some more Dosinias (The white shell in the background)

I hope everyone enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed making them!

The mice....you have already seen some of these! They turn out very cute with their long curly rubber band tails!

These Owls were fairly complicated, everything had to fit just right....I had some blisters to prove it from the hot glue!

I need to start thinking about what I am going to make next Christmas!!...(and then head down to Sanibel again to gather some 'supplies'!! :)


Lily is growing and growing.....she came to us weighing 1 pound 1 oz....and now weighs a whopping 3 lbs!! That's triple her weight!!  She manages to keep us very busy teaching her who's boss and what is allowed and what isn't! I must say, she is good for the heart!! She is so sweet, but oh so busy! After all she's only 5 months old today!!  I'm not sure actually who is doing the teaching....her or us!! She has turned out to be such a joy to be around, but takes a lot of work!!  You'll notice in the pics her 'peach fuzz' has turned into a beautiful fawn colored coat, that feels just like velvet!!

She loves her toys!!

...and sleeping with Daddy!!

...hiding under the blankets!

She gets nervous riding in the car, so wrapping her up like a baby seems to really help!  We call it an Enchihuahua!!

...more snoozing with Daddy!

Peeking back at her Sissy on her way to see Nana in North Carolina...her first long road trip!

Cuddling with Sissy on the NC trip!

And  napping with Nana!! This is so funny because Nana doesn't particularly care for dogs, but I think Lily is winning her over!!

Here is the most recent pic of her taken day before yesterday, she no longer looks like a puppy....her legs are getting longer!! Notice that tail is a blur it wags so fast!!

Well, this post has turned out to be long enough....more updates soon, I promise!! 


BTW....I have some exciting news for next post!! :)


::Hugs::


Cheri