Well February sure turned out to be a month of family time! Lots and lots of trips to visit and lots of visitors here. There was barely a moment to catch our breath! But what fun and what memories! Our first long week end was spent taking two precious grands up to Chrissy's farm for their first farm experience! They had the greatest time! Being on a farm is pure heaven for children. There was sliding down the hayloft, playing in the fort, horseback riding, four wheeling, hot tubbing, and lots of exploring. While there we also celebrated Elizabeth's birthday.... Continue reading

January certainly did slip by quickly. It was a very busy month here at Serenity Cottage. Many memories were made, including lots of family time. Chrissy and the grands came for a nice long visit. We had a grand time visiting favorite places, shopping til we dropped, cooking up yummy goodies, and the added joy of taking little Frankie with us to visit the Harley store. Olive is by far one of our favorite places to eat! Frankie loved those Harleys! We could hardly keep him off them. But then again, Jimmy seemed to want to try them all out... Continue reading

When the weather turns so cold and bleak, I find myself becoming much more introspective. Darkness creeping in so early forces me to stay inside more and that gives me lots of time to just think while knitting or crafting away. Funny how our minds never really stop working but are always adrift taking us here and there often as fleeting and skittish as a butterfly. With all this mind time I have been contemplating on how God always seems to bring us the right people/circumstances/events in our lives at a time when we are generally ready to take the... Continue reading

I really love this! It is much better than making resolutions. But that being said it is time to do a yearly check up on how my last years resolutions played out. My 2012 goal was to obtain a balance between work and life. It was my year to spend time engaged in pursuits outside of work that I enjoyed; friends, family, and getting back to the gym. I not only met all those goals but had the added sweetness of ending the year engaged to a wonderful man and looking forward to what lies ahead for us. So what... Continue reading

What a wonderful Christmas season this has been here at Serenity Cottage! Having that someone special by my side has just made life so much sweeter. Jimmy and I have settled into such a cosy life that suits us both to a T. Gotta just love that! The Christmas season found us busy with lots of shopping for special little ones. Between us we have 14 precious grandchildren!! A week before Christmas we made a trip to deliver packages to Erica and grands. When we arrived there was no tree! We knew we must immediately take care of that and... Continue reading

Welcome to Serenity Cottage... I absolutely love decorating for the holidays. A festive house is a happy house in my world. I have however scaled down considerably as the years have gone by. I used to take down all my decor and replace it with holiday decor. There was a time when the girls were young that I would put up 5 trees all with a different theme. I have since passed that torch, and those decorations, on to my girls....along with all the holiday cooking of plum puddings, fruitcakes, and cookies... Last year I did not put up a... Continue reading

After and 6 month hiatus I am finally back to blogland! It is amazing just what can happen in 6 months. How about a quick photo recap. Lots and lots of family time!!! It was six sweet months with lots of busy activity at home and at work. But the biggest news of the year is this gorgeous blue diamond engagement ring on my finger... Yeah I know I always went on about how deliciously, deliriously, decidedly, and delightfully happy I was as a single gal. And I sure was, until the universe had other plans and threw this crazy... Continue reading

In May I headed to Nevada to welcome a new precious grand daughter to the world. Emilee joined her big sister and gave me an even dozen grand children. It that crazy awesome or what?! Here is just the most adorable picture of Bella and her new sister Emilee. Bella is just so delighted with her!! And Emilee is just the sweetest baby EVER! Her momma tells me that Emilee is a very happy baby. By the looks of this picture I would most certainly agree. The day of the arrival we had to have some big sister wear. So... Continue reading

Wow has three weeks really gone by already? So much is always a going on around here and I try to enjoy every bit of it. A great deal of positive is churning around in my life. With the advent of spring and near perfect weather, Bliss has been getting lots of use. Riding is becoming a habit once again and my mental health is the better for it. Last week end I was able to put in some serious miles. Headed out and on the way back stopped at one of my favorite places, Whitman Mission. Here is a... Continue reading

The past few weeks I have been crazy busy with work. It has been all good, well actually great with lots of big things in store for me professionally. But it does take its toll on my personal time. So my crafting has suffered tremendously. I have managed to get in a small bit of knitting time but that has been about it. Still plugging away at this: Wingspan and so simple I should have finished it by now...sigh... I did have some fabulous grand time. Check out these faces: Little miss serious with little miss dimples:-). Smiley... I just... Continue reading

Yes, that is what I have woken up to twice now since April has arrived. Not that it has stuck to the ground, but seriously snow? The showers, snow and rain, have been pretty steady for a week. All that rain is greening up the earth and adding color. Here is my view as I enter work. Breathtaking! Even in the rain it is beautiful. Look at that gorgeous carpet of pink "snow." I could not resist posting this picture. I am so stinkin lucky to work in such beautiful surroundings!! But then every one knows I love what I... Continue reading

And it was not the type of bug you want to be bit by, it was the flu bug. I have not had the flu since I can remember. I was a bit slow on realizing that I was sick and that a fever was the body's signal to take it easy. So on the first day I still did my usual gym workout, went in to work, and walked the gurlz. It was so beautiful. How could I resist?! I paid for it big time when the fever doubled in intensity and I was sick a bed for an... Continue reading

I had this self commitment that I was going to blog weekly but it seems that the weeks always get away from me! I have had the most wonderful birthday month ever. On my birthday I arrived at work to a shower of floral deliveries and the sweetest cards ever from staff and residents. I also got wine and gift certificates. And that was all just from work. I really felt so special and my heart did a sigh. I do love my staff and residents and this was so touching!! Back at home were more gifties and goodies. One... Continue reading

Tomorrow marks another year older for me. I am now closer to the mid 50s mark than 50. I never really think about age and have always had to stop and figure in my head to know just how old I am turning. All through my 40s I kept thinking I was a year older than I was and my kids would always correct me. Now in my 50s I think I will start thinking I am a year (or maybe two) younger. Perhaps no one will notice. I do find that since crossing the line into the 50s I... Continue reading

Oh but I was happy to see the end of February this year. It may be the shortest month of the year, but it certainly feels the longest. February started with this: Ice on top of ice and snow. It was so hard packed I could walk on it without breaking through. Provided I could stay upright it was so slick. After a small break in the weather, thankfully just in time for my move to the new house, it once again gave us more of this: Now I anxiously await the arrival of spring! I see new growth peeking... Continue reading

After an absolutely beautiful day yesterday the wind picked up and has not stopped yet. It is lashing at my windows and whipping around my house. This type of a windy day is rather unsettling and wild. Parts of town have lost power as the wind continues to beat us about. I attempted to take the gurlz out to the nature walk but was firmly sent back to the car amid a whirlwind of dust and leaves. Very much a Winnie the Poohish Blustery Day. I did, however, get out to do a bit of shopping. Here is one of... Continue reading

Well I have been in the house for a few weeks now and absolutely love it. But will the work of moving in ever stop!! My poor movers, two days to get it all in and placed. Of course I think I will be two months putting it together! Oh but the house, it is such a feel good, happy house! My first day to return to this home after working, I opened the door and the house literally wrapped its arms around me! It feels so good to put down roots again. While my little rental cottage was just... Continue reading

I am a very introspective person and so I always greet a New Year as a time of great reflection upon the past year. I enjoy checking off those things that I accomplished and making a new list of what still needs work. Being a dreamer by nature, this also serves as my reality check. In reflecting back on 2011, I have to say it is in the top of best years yet. I surpassed numerous professional goals, had deep and satisfying personal growth, found myself in a very comfortable financial position, and developed rich personal relationships. Heck yeah, a... Continue reading

How did the last month slip by so fast? It was an extremely busy month with many changes and activities. And now we are running into the Christmas season..... The biggest change was a heartbreaker! My baby girl and partner in crime, Becca, and my precious Bella moved off to Nevada. While I am so happy for them and this amazing opportunity, my heart has had a harder time accepting and recovering. But they are very happily settled into a nice home and Becca can now be a SAHM and wait for baby number two! I have already figured out... Continue reading