Outside My Window ~ 11.7.10

Outside My Window…is blue skies and sunshine ~ a beautiful day in the neighborhood albeit a windy one.  The temperature at 11:00 a.m. is 49ºF with winds at about 17mph, gusting up to 25mph which makes it feel like 43ºF outside.  A bit nippy for sure!  This may be our coldest day yet this season.  Our forecast high is 53ºF with windy conditions expected all day long and a low tonight of 36ºF.  We are a little below our average with these temperatures.  Right now it appears that the week will be just as beautiful but because of the chilly temperatures at night, I have brought all the plants inside that will come in for the season.  I will probably be saying farewell to the morning glories and zinnias for the year in the not too distant future, if not tonight. 

I am thankful…for my wonderful neighbor, Steve.  We have been neighbors for the last 16 years and I have to admit, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to live right next door to me.  He has helped me and my daughters out more times than I can count right now….and often volunteers to do chores that he knows I would probably not rather do ~ like clean the gutters each fall.  I never have to ask…each fall after my tree in the backyard has lost all of its leaves, Steve will come over and tell me to open my back gate so he can clean the gutters.  I of course oblige and we chat as he is up on the ladder cleaning gutters and me on mother earth.  I’m not a fan of being on a ladder digging yuck out of gutters….but thankfully Steve doesn’t mind. 

From my kitchen…was pizza for lunch….dinner is still a mystery.  I haven’t had much of an appetite in the evenings lately.  I could understand that if it was during the summer ~ my appetite will diminish some in the summer.  I think I will make a pot of chili….and probably some brown rice to add to it later.  Tomorrow we can have some leftover chili with hot dogs….or Cailin can have the chili cheese fries she loves so.  We went shopping yesterday at MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk, Virginia.  A large mall that has several stores we don’t have at our local mall….the trip over takes about 30 minutes if traffic is moving well.  We had dinner at a place called Johnny Rockets ~ a hamburger joint fashioned after the malt shops from the late 50’s and early 60’s.  We ordered a side of chili cheese fries with our meal….I told Cailin I could feel my arteries plugging up with each bite I took but lord they were tasty!!  🙂

I am creating…chaos!  Chaos in the house….chaos in my life…chaos!  I decided this weekend I would rearrange the living room in preparation for the Christmas tree that will be put up the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I am limited as to how I can arrange my home to begin with so when Christmas comes around, I have to get creative.   But for some reason, I never seem to do the rearranging prior to the weekend I want to put the tree up.  It clicked this year….why not do the rearranging and the deep cleaning that always needs to be done when you rearrange furniture before that weekend arrives.  Then all I have to do is put up the tree and enjoy….no hassle, no worries…just tree decorating goodness and relaxing time afterwards.  I’m in the process of my rearrange…with a bit more to go but I should be done in plenty of time.  But in the mean time, chaos.  🙂

The chaos in my life….I’m prone to take on too many projects at one time.  I have all these ideas running through my head and I start a lot of them and end up with things half or partially done.  Well, I have done it again and it is driving me crazy!  I’m making a list ~ yes, another thing to do but one that will be a benefit ~ of all the items I have going on right now that need finishing.  Just what I can come up in my head is more than I would like to admit…it is embarrassingly long.  I’m going after this list much like a business plan and assigning dates for completion.  One item is a major task but many are just little ones.  

I am hoping…the above said list will do the trick. I honestly think if I set deadlines that I will be successful….as long as I don’t start something new until said list is complete. 

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….the clicking of the keyboard as I type….wind chimes singing their beautiful songs to me.

Around the house…chaos ~ see above.  🙂

Plans for the week include…reigning in chaos!  OK, seriously ~ finish the furniture rearrange and subsequent deep cleaning in the front room to the point where I will only have to move one piece of furniture to put up the tree…..and hopefully completing a few little projects here and there. 

One of my favorite things…is waking up on the really first cold day of the season and walking outside the enjoy the fresh, crisp, cold air.  There is something about experiencing seasonal temperature changes….when you walk outside and you can smell as well as feel the change in the air.  I know living in a tropical paradise could be lovely but I would miss the changing seasons.

A picture I’d like to share with you…I stepping into the vault today…these images were taken a year ago today at Lions Bridge.  I have brought them out of the vault and given them another look. 

The twin lions guard the entrance and exit to Lions Bridge…..a bridge which is actually a dam that forms Lake Maury on the banks of the James River in Newport News.  The statues were designed by Anna Hyatt Huntington as well as another prominent statue which overlooks the Lions Bridge.  Not to far from where this image was taken is one I took on the banks of the James River….

Both of these images were taken with my Canon Power Shot.