First snow...

My cute patio lights with their first "snow hats"

Would you believe it...

...I actually made cards.  Three family birthdays...three cards.

 And another beautiful sunset...after awhile the pictures look pretty much alike, but when you're actually there, they're all very different.

April Adventure

This was my "go somewhere I've never been before" trip for April.  This is a Colorado state park about an hour from my house.  Not someplace to go back to...pretty barren.  But there are several small ponds and lots of people there...I'm guessing fishermen.

 The sky was beautiful.  Took a hike, kept looking for great pictures...nope.

 This character was the most interesting thing I saw...at a museum in historic Longmont.

Spring evening at City Park...

Warmer than usual spring brings more people out for evenings in the park.  And what a variety...four youngsters with a hacky sack, three teenagers tossing a football, several kites drifting on the wind, at the water's edge, a girl with a guitar and a guy with a bongo drum...and I swear the ducks were joining in...a guy with a wide yellow rubber band tied between two trees improving his tightrope walking skills, several families dining al fresco, walkers, runners and lots of fisherman.  I walk over to watch the sunset and with the sky full of clouds it promised to be glorious...nope...daylight just quietly faded away.

Walk to the art gallery...

This small gallery in Old Town Fort Collins has a new show every month...all feature local artists.  This month's theme is transportation and I just love this little covered wagon...all in metal...very vintage!

I have said it before...I HATE to walk, even though I know it's really important that I get the exercise.  So last week I decided to try walking at sunset...oh, wow...it was so calming, so quiet, so pretty.  I've been every night since then...I think I'm hooked! 

Bookmarks for kids

Once a week I read to some pre-school kids.  The nonprofit I work through...Fort Collins Read Aloud...has a goal of getting at least one book into the hands of every child.  So today each boy and girl is getting their own book.  That gift seems to call out for a bookmark, so I made these.  Very excited for today's session.

Sometimes it's not a card...

It's an expensive tote bag from Walmart.  Find six fabrics you like together...measure, cut, gather, hot glue and, voila, you have a summer purse.  Not sure I can see myself actually carrying it...we'll see!!

Cold!!

My daily(?) walk goes around the lake at City Park.  Snow, ice and freezing water...how do these geese do it?  I can see why things made with down keep you warm.

Dawn

The most amazing sunrise I've ever seen!!  I woke up to an orange bedroom...I thought there must be a neighborhood fire...no, this is what I saw when I opened my patio curtains...spectacular.

Birthday surprise

Look at what my brother sent me for my birthday...a model train!!  I mentioned last summer that I thought having a model train layout would be fun and this appeared on my doorstep yesterday.  It's an O gauge and it's a Santa Fe...cool because my Grandpa Brooks worked for Santa Fe for years.  There's the engine and six cars...now to build the layout...should be fun!

Lots of snow

These chairs are my snow barometers...I'll never understand how that snow stays in those perfect squares on the seats, but I love that I can look out and see how much snow we got.

Senior Show

Our trio (sadly we didn't get Carol in the picture) danced to Glenn Miller's Little Brown Jug and dressed in the red, white and blue in keeping with the show's USO theme.  This may be our last appearance...the choreographer...me...is running out of ideas.

Farm Day

Buying a share in a local organic farm CSA gives me very fresh produce...and introduces me to new vegies.  They have been unable to hire enough farmhands so asked for volunteers.  I volunteered...why???  I was soooooo exhausted after four hours of picking tomatoes it took two glasses of wine, a long soak in the tub and a nap for me to recuperate.

Cabinet update

Love my kitchen but it's a little narrow and I decided that putting glass in some of the doors would help...and it did.  Thanks to my brother, Edward, for doing the update.

Small town living...

I joined a local CSA...the vegetable shares are just too much for me, but I'm getting a 1/2 egg share and a bread share. And the pickup site is close enough that I can ride my bike...LOVE living in a small town.