A Book Review and A New Friend

Hi everyone.  What kind of week are you having?  My week is going to be busy; I still have a lot to do before next Friday (graduation day), but I want to keep up with my blog, even if I just write a few things over the next week and a half.

Writing this blog has been such a good thing for me; it has challenged and motivated me to learn new things, and it's definitely broadened my horizons.  One of the best things I've experienced is meeting so many nice people with similar interests, and I've even gotten to meet a few of you in person.

The most recent example of that is my new friend, Judy McFadden.  Meeting Judy was definitely one of those serendipitous occasions that happen to us from time to time in life.

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that we have a Scottish Terrorist Terrier named MacDuff, whose picture is on my sidebar.  MacDuff is the third Scottie I've had in my lifetime and the second one for my husband and I.  Some time back, I started a board on my Pinterest account called "Love Scotties."  I honestly can't remember where I saw this book now, but I came across it online back in the winter and pinned it to my board.  The book is called, "Life With McDuff -- Lessons Learned from a Therapy Dog."  

A Busy Month Ahead

I may have to take some breaks from blogging during the next three or four weeks.  We have a lot going on here at the hacienda.  :)  I have a sewing class and project to finish.  Our teacher has kindly offered to let us make up a class because we've had to miss a few due to sickness and a concert at our son's university.

The big event in our lives right now is that our son is about to graduate from college in just about three and a half weeks.

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Spring -- Here At Last!

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 "Spring Morning"

Where am I going?  I don't quite know.
Down to the stream where the king-cups grow--
Up on the hill where the pine-trees blow--
Anywhere, anywhere.  I don't know.

Where am I going?  The clouds sail by,
Little ones, baby ones, over the sky.
 Where am I going?  The shadows pass,
Little ones, baby ones, over the grass.

If you were a cloud, and sailed up there
You'd sail on water as blue as air,
And you'd see me here in the fields and say:
"Doesn't the sky look green today?"

Where am I going?  The high rooks call:
"It's awful fun to be born at all."
Where am I going?  The ring-doves coo:
"We do have beautiful things to do."

If you were a bird, and lived on high,
You'd lean on the wind when the wind came by,
You'd say to the wind when it took you away:
"That's where I wanted to go today!"

Where am I going?  I don't quite know,
What does it matter where people go?
Down to the wood where the blue-bells grow--
Anywhere, anywhere, I don't know.
~A. A. Milne, "When We Were Very Young"


 "The first day of Spring is one thing, the first Spring day another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month." ~Henry Van Dyke 

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." ~Proverb

Sky

How often do we find ourselves looking at the sky -- how many times in a day, a week, a lifetime?  The sky just draws our eye up and out.  In all of its many moods, it seems to fascinate us.

 Highlands, North Carolina

Updates To Our Living Room

Hi everyone!  I want to share some recent updates we've made in our living room.  I showed some pictures of our living room back in February, with a few snowmen here and there. The snowmen are packed away for another year, and I've replaced them with some rabbits.  I have a fondness for rabbits -- you can tell I don't have a vegetable garden.  :)

The bigger changes I wanted to share are what we've done around our piano, including new window treatments.  For years, I displayed about four or five accessories on top of our piano.  A treasured plate from my sister, a baby picture of our son, a Royal Doulton vase, and a few other items adorned that spot. 

I don't have a picture of the piano as it was at that time.  There was nothing wrong with the way it was, but at some point, I just wanted a change.  I decided the room needed a touch of silver.  I had lots of good black and white family photos, and so I set about getting silver frames for them to be displayed on the piano.

In addition, I wanted to hang something different on the wall above the piano.  This is what I had there for 16 years.  This picture was taken at Christmas, so I had ceramic Christmas carolers on the piano, but you can see the swag that hung on the wall at the time.

All Creatures Great and Small

Monday night is not normally a TV night at our house.  Mr. Forest Manor and I usually watch our regular shows on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and maybe some sort of sports on the weekend.  But this Monday evening, I decided I wanted to watch an episode of "All Creatures Great and Small."  We have six seasons on DVD, and we watched all of them several years ago, and haven't watched them since.  I got out the Season One DVD, and we watched the second and third episodes again.  We thoroughly enjoyed them, and that's when I decided it was time for me to write a post about this show.

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