THROUGH MY WINDOWS

Hi there friends, hope you had a wonderful Easter and are enjoying good health. I have to put that last bit  in because retired folk love being idle or busy but we mostly pray for good health. Now, I am not over the hill yet but I must say the little aches and discomforts that go along with aging can be most annoying. Anyway,,,,look at this picture I took this morning while walking the dogs around the property in the rain: the silver lining in an otherwise dreary day... Our magnolia trees are blossoming now and are a welcome sight. I stood there daydreaming about the beauty of Spring while the dogs couldn't figure out why I wasn't moving. Come on Mom, let's get moving!  As you can see we have a lot of work ahead of us as we rake up the leaves that didn't get scooped up in the Fall.  The lovely daffodil. Oh, my, I do love their colors. They are all over the neighborhood and certainly help to put a spring in our step.  I took the winter wreath

Hi there! I'm so sorry that I have been absent for a couple of months!! If you follow me on Facebook (Susan Zarzycki) you will know already that my Dad had a bad fall the first of December, a day before his 89th birthday, and ended up in the hospital and is now in the Island Nursing Home. You will also know from reading past posts of this blog that I post more about my time on an Island in Maine where I grew up than I do about my home town of Bethlehem, PA. We do live in a pretty spot here in the mountains but it just can't compare to the scenery on the Island. A shame I didn't appreciate "my" Island when I lived there for 21 years altogether. I married a Canadian and we lived in Quebec for several years, in Ontario for several years but in the end we moved kit and cabootle to the Island and then in 1980 moved to Pennsylvania. A lot has happened in all those years both good and bad, but by far my greatest accomplishment would be my two children and the legacy ca

November boat trip on Lake Nockamixon Hi there dear friends! Fall has become a bit of a let down I'm sorry to say. No more shuffling through fresh fallen leaves. Splashes of color no longer greet me when I gaze out of the dining room bay window as I drink my morning tea. The birds aren't trilling happily from tree tops but are sounding rather frantic as they crowd the feeders trying to fortify their little bodies against the cold nights and whatever else Mother Nature might blow or rain or snow at them.  We have had very bleak, rainy days of late. The wind and rain has stripped the trees of any color they were holding onto. No sun to be seen for days now..... But wait!  Something magical is happening this morning. The sun is making her appearance! Will wonders never cease! Wonderful sunshine pushing  beams through the windows and warming not only the rooms but lifting our spirits as well.  In my case, just a smidgen. The truth is, dear readers,

Hello to you! Hope all is well in your corner of the world. Here in Bethlehem it is getting more seasonally casual at our house. Roger is off work for the Winter months and has just about finished with the business of doing the leaves gathering and putting away the patio furniture as well as all the large pots that he grows his tomatoes in. He was pretty proud of his red skinned potato patch (all 3x3 ft of it). He stuck a few potato buds in in May and stirred the dirt once in awhile. Unbelievably the potatoes ended up being so huge that one potato could feed 4 people! He harvested a basket full of these beauties so we will be eating from his bounty for awhile. I had company for awhile-the granddogs came to stay while my daughter, her hubby, and the two grandsons were vacationing in Florida. It was wild at times around here with 4 cats and 4 dogs. The eldest dog, Shyanne,  is deaf and nearly blind. Sometimes she is like Mr. Mague from the old cartoons on Saturday mornings

HOOKY LOVE Hi there, It's a rainy and windy day here so I am glad that I took the time yesterday to photograph my snowflake throws that I started some months ago but put aside for the summer. Last week I marathon hooked until they were finished. I haven't blocked or pressed so this is the way they came off the hooks but I am happy with them and I think they will add a colorful flavor to my Christmas decorating.  If your are interested in the pattern I took it from a great blog called....Betsy Makes. It is under her posting done last November. I made mine using a size H hook and Caron Simply Soft Party yarn. It has the shimmer or glittery silver threads spun into the yarn to make the snow flakes pop.      I added my own finishing ideas with joining and the borders. The green has a ruffle and the red has a row of bpdc and fpdc as well as a small ruffle.  Hope you like and thanks for stopping by. 

Hi out there in blogland! It's Fall here in eastern PA, (USA). However, most of these pictures were taken on a trip to Maine and the colors there were just beautiful.  I took a trip to Bar Harbor and walked along West St where the old mansions are. The Harbor was buzzing. Schooners, a cruise ship, whale watching boats, light house tour boats and nature tours via the ocean were just a few on offer. The restaurants were very picturesque and there were inns and hotels and B&B's everywhere. It was late in the season but the tour buses were coming and going. I walked up and down hills until I couldn't take another step. It was exciting but I don't often go there. Once every 5 years is enough for me. The park (Acadia) was the same. I actually had intended to go to the park only but I didn't like the long lines on the "Loop" so I turned around and decided to do the Waterfront in Bar Harbor instead.  In