Outside My Window ~ 11.1.2009

Outside My Window…is a cloudy and windy morning.  Right now it is 59F with winds at about 17 mph.  We are at our high temp for the day right now.  It was cloudy and 80F yesterday.  Welcome to Virginia weather.  On the weather channel I noticed there is another low off the coast of North Carolina which means rain today and probably tonight….and the rain has arrived as well as the wind.  The rest of the week will be in the 60’s during the day, low 40’s at night.  The new image above was taken outside my patio doors actually…..I had not closed my blinds last night and caught this just minutes after waking up this morning at around 8:00. 

I am thinking…this is my 100^th post for my blog today.  When I started earlier this year, I wasn’t sure what I was getting in to and if it would be something I would enjoy and follow through with.  So far, I have done pretty well, and met some very nice people……some near, some far.  I always enjoy the comments and I especially enjoy visiting your spaces as well.  Thanks for making this ride fun!!    🙂

I am thankful for…the internet and with it, the ability to reconnect with old friends I haven’t spoken too in many years.  Recently, my best friend from high school and I have been back in touch after far too many years.  It is great to reconnect and remember so many good times with someone who was a big part of my youth.  The memories that have come rushing back with each correspondence are taking me back in time.  I wonder why we never realize how fabulous we were until we have gotten much older. 

From the kitchen…is blackberry sage iced tea at the moment.  I made some eggs with eggs from a co-worker earlier this morning.  He asked me earlier last week if I wanted some free roaming, organic chicken eggs….of course I did!!  All I had to do was bring in some empty cartons and he is filling them up. He said they are producing more eggs than he and his wife can eat or give away.  I received my first two dozen on Friday, all cleaned up and in perfect order.  They are about the size of a large egg you purchase from your local grocery store.  After I found out about his chickens, I also ‘invited myself’ up to his place one day so I can take some photos of his chickens and roosters.

I am creating…my Christmas gifts for family this year……processing photos I have taken recently.  I went with John McFarlane (Associate Director for Grounds at the College of William and Mary) on a ride around campus earlier this week to look at the changing colors.  Because of his position, he knows all the cool trees to see on campus!   🙂

I am going…to take my oldest shopping later this afternoon for some work clothes.  She has discovered comfort is priority when working.  Grocery shopping must also happen if we want to continue to eat. 

I am reading…finishing up East of Eden.  Whether I move on to something else right away after this depends on my mood at the time.

I am hoping…that while I enjoy the cooler temperatures, I’m not so fond of the combination of cold wind and rain.  My hope is either the wind dies down some or we lose the rain while I’m out and about.

I am hearing…the washing machine and dryer; wind chimes singing quite loudly outside.  It is pretty windy today.

Around the house…is a coffee table that needs to have the clutter removed from it, a pile of laundry waiting its turn, dishes need washing….normal stuff.

Plans for the week include…a dentist appointment for Cailin, working from home one day this week, shuttling Alanna back and forth to work.  It will be nice when she gets her official license in December and can drive on her own.  We will also start car shopping for her very soon, but not sure if that will happen this week or not.

One of my favorite things…is spending time with my daughters.  I realize that soon they will both be off living their own lives and afternoons like today will not happen often.  I’m enjoying them while I can.

A picture I’d like to share with you…is a scene from Lake Matoaka I took earlier this week on my tour of the grounds with John McFarlane.  Lake Matoaka is part of the College of William and Mary.  A brief history from the college web site is “Some time between 1700 and 1750 this original section of college property was sold to a private landowner who soon dammed the main creek (now known as College Creek) to create a mill pond. The mill was located just south of the current dam on Jamestown Road. Presumably, grain shipped to College Landing could be transported upstream to the mill, with milled flour transported downstream.  Over the next two centuries, the mill went through multiple private ownerships before being destroyed. It wasn’t until the 1920s that the College re-acquired the mill pond and surrounding College Woods. At that time, the pond was re-named Matoaka–after Chief Powhatan’s daughter whose nickname was Pocahontas.”  In the 1980’s the Lake was closed to the public for fishing and swimming because of pollution concerns.  Although the threats to humans today, the lake still remains closed to the public because of liability concerns.  But it still takes an awesome photo…..