A Noisy but Delightful Visitor

This little guy is beating his brains out on a tree in the park across the street. He is a downy woodpecker and there are quite a few around this area. I hear and see them every day and though they are noisy, they are delightful. It doesn't bother me one bit that they drum on the tree at the end of the driveway or fly about chirping on a sunny winter day.

I love birds and we put suet feeders out for them in the winter months. The first one we attached to a shrub at the back of the house. The next morning we found it on the ground, squashed flat as a pancake and the suet missing. Raccoons! So, the other day when I was at Home De*pot, I picked up another one and filled it with suet. Hubby attached it to the awning of the front window out of reach of squirrels and raccoons.

We also have blue jays, cardinals, red polls and a variety of other birds in the neighborhood and I never tire of seeing and hearing them at any time of day. Birds bring color and nature's music into our yards during the dreary winter months.

In other matters, Mom has been having some problems again with UTIs and spent one afternoon at the hospital and one at the walk-in clinic. She is now on her second round of antibiotics. These ones seem to be working well.

Hubby had the flu last week and he was really sick. I'm not sure how, but I avoided it. I felt a little queasy for a day or two but nothing major. I slept quite a bit and that seemed to do the trick. We are both doing okay right now. Hubby seems to have fully recovered.

Happy New Year!!!

To all my friends and acquaintances, I send you these wishes for a Happy New Year!

May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy! May the problems you had, forget your home address! In simple words may 2011 be the best year of your life! Happy New Year!

And this shall be a sign...You will find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
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We had a quiet day here today. There was just hubby and I. We cooked a small turkey with all the trimmings and it was delicious. Then we watched Christmas movies and Old Dogs on tv. We enjoyed Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief and just lazed around.

Last night, we went to Michelle's for Christmas Eve dinner. Roast beef and all that goes with it was the menu. Then they laid out a spread of cheese, crackers, pickles and Christmas treats. We opened gifts and had a great time. This year most of the gifts were just token gifts, as this has been a hard year for us all. Somehow it was better because the focus was on enjoying each other's company and not on gifts. Barry's parents and my mother joined in the celebration. The boys got hoodies and a book from hubby and I. No expensive games or gaming systems.

Hubby and I got a gift card for Swiss Chal*et from Barry, Michelle and the boys. But Christmas isn't over for us. We will have another celebration at Mom's on New Year's Day. That is when she has hers so everyone can enjoy Christmas with their immediate family. She's done this for several years.

I hope that all my blogging friends and acquaintances had a wonderful Christmas. I would love to hear all about how you celebrated with your families and the traditions that have been handed down from one generation to another. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

New Kitchen Floor

Some of you may remember that last spring, just before I had my heart attack that we put in a new kitchen ceiling. Since I wanted the kitchen to be red and white with a black and white kitchen floor, we painted the metal strips between the ceiling tiles a dark red.

Below is a photo of the floor that we've worn out over the last 18 years. It wasn't new when we bought the house and over the years, it lost the pattern. I never did like the parquay looking tiles much. It made the kitchen way too dark. There are only two windows in that room and one of them faces the porch, so not much light comes in there. The other is a north window, so not much light from there either. We needed something to make the room brighter.

The new floor was delayed until December 16th, which didn't make me real happy. The flooring company forgot to order it and then told me it wouldn't be laid before Christmas. That got my backbone up a little because it was originally to be laid during the second week of December. Because all of the appliances would have to be moved into the living room, I was unable to do any decorating until the floor was down.

On December 16th, last Thursday, the men arrived an hour late. He told me that instead of taking up all the old flooring, as they'd said they would be, they were going to put mahogany sheeting over the existing floor. See the mahogany sheeting above.

It took them until 4pm to get everything done, but above, a photo of the new floor.

Here is another. This one is the opposite way of the room. It looks great and is bright and makes the room more inviting. The yellow cast is from the overhead flourescent light. I'm hoping that can eventually go as well.

I know we kind of did things backwards here because we still have to paint and paper, but since the floor ended up being a gift, I can't complain. I absolutely love it but in case you are considering a black and white floor, be aware it is high maintenance. I sweep it a couple of times a day and we have to wash it at least every other day and some times every day. However, I'm happy that after 20 years I finally have the floor that I've wanted for so long.