A New Year of Gratitude

Hello, my Dear Friends, I want to thank you

for your kind words on the loss of our little Ling Ling. 

Your kindness is like a warm hug

and sweet solace for a bruised heart. 

I am so grateful for your sweet friendship. 

xoxo

We've had a lovely snowfall

to bring in the New Year 

and bring peace to our hearts. 

The dogs couldn't wait to go out and play! 

Of course they love snow - they are American Eskimo dogs! 

You can see the many footprints they have already made

from running and jumping, and eating the snow!

I am always thankful that these loyal protectors
and companions are always by my side. 

The mountains are completely hidden in the falling snow.

The lilac tree makes beautiful lace etchings
outside the living room window. 

Let's put on our warm woollies and take a walk 

in this winter wonderland, shall we? 

We'll leave sweet Maggie snuggled on the bed.
She's been missing her best friend
so we have been treating her
with extra gentleness and kindness.

The first thing we must do is check the hummingbird

feeders. When it is very cold, I have a heated 

feeder that I plug in for them, although they prefer

their usual feeding stations, so I must defrost them all. 

They are very territorial!

Little flocks of Dark-Eyed Junco's are searching 

for seed, so we must fill the feeders while we are out.

There are still plenty of maple seeds clinging to the trees 

for the squirrels. 

There's a quiet hush in the forest as we walk 

among the ghostly trees. 

This ancient cedar stump has ax marks from 

the turn of the last century, and is finally falling apart. 

You can imagine how old this tree must have been 

when it was cut down - perhaps 500 years old or older.
It makes me sad.....

We frequently see deer and elk here - mostly at night. 

Ramblin' Man's tool shed is nestled between holly and cedar.
Can you see Kai in the snow?
(He is on the right - you can see his ears poking up)

The shed was painted red years ago, 

and I would like to change it back

and put a country fence around it :) 

I found this charming plate last year and it reminded

me of our little shed. 

I found 11 more of these vintage
'Welcome Home' dessert plates

 just before Christmas, at 'Replacements.com'. 

I was so excited to find them and now I have 

enough to set the table for the holidays, 

stacked on my white dinner plates. 

A little gift to me :)

The holly by the shed looks so beautiful in the snow. 

I keep the bird feeder up here

where the birds can hide from predators

 among the dense holly branches.
They will eat all the berries by spring.

We like to sit here on warm summer days in the shade of the cedar tree.

Summer seems so far away today!

All snuggled in......
Maggie is on the bed behind
the lower window.
The upper windows are in the loft,
which we have been working on,
but which has been put on hold
due to life's many responsibilities....
This will be our future bedroom
and the lower level will be our library:)
Most of my many books are in storage right now.
Hopefully this summer it will be done.
Something to look forward to.

Whitey Bear loves burying his face in the snow!

Surveying his tundra......
This is the site of Ramblin' Man's new tool-shed,
which he hopes to have built this year.
His old shed will then be mine.
I can't wait! I really need my own she-shed!
He is retiring in just 3 more years.
No more Rambling for the Ramblin' Man after that,
so he needs a place to putter and I need a garden shed.

'Nana's Tree' looks so pretty in the snow.
We haven't planted it yet, but we have decided
on the perfect spot.

Ramblin' Man's company vehicle
 that we nicknamed 'the land yacht' :)
(Ford Flex)
for which we are very grateful.

You can see the hard working
 wood-stove chimney
on the house.

We are very grateful for our wood-stove this time of year.
Even though we have electric heat,
the wood-stove brings us a coziness and warmth
during these bitterly cold days and nights.

Late afternoon sunshine glows on bare tree-tops......

and on snowy mountain tops.

Time to go inside and get cozy!
Thank you for coming along on this winter walk with me,

Dear Friends!

Today I am linking with:

Saturday's Critters

It's a Small Town Life - Thankful Thursday

Please - Won't you join in? 

Loving Ling Ling

Hello, Dear Friends, it is with a heavy heart 

that I tell you that Sorrow has knocked upon 

our door once again, and we have lost 

our sweet Siamese, Ling Ling. 

We had been treating her for what we thought

was an inner-ear infection, 

when it became clear over the New Year's holiday

that it was much more serious. 

She had become increasingly disoriented
over the last two weeks- 

 stumbling and circling, 

eventually this past weekend, unable to get up at all.

We gave up New Year's plans to stay by her side

and a very compassionate, local Veterinarian,

Dr. Robin Gardner, and her dear husband, 

drove all the way out to our home 

 to assess the situation, but it was determined that 

our dear Ling Ling had a possible neurological event,
and was ready to cross that Rainbow Bridge. 

So, on a cold and snowy night, held 

tightly in my arms, we said goodbye 

to our sweet Ling Ling and summoned 

the Angels to assist her on her way. 

Ling Ling came into our lives under sad circumstances,

but brought so much love and joy along with her. 

She was my Parent's beloved cat, 

and when my Mother passed away in 2011, 

she came here to live with us. 

I wrote a short story about her for my
Newspaper column back in 2011, and due to scheduling changes,
it was never published, but I will share it
with you now.

Loving Ling Ling

When my Father finally had to go to live in the nursing home after battling Alzheimer’s disease for years, my Mother was left alone to live in the home that she and my Father had built together. They were married for 58 years and rarely spent a night apart. The Siamese cat that my Father loved became my Mother’s comfort and loyal companion. Even though Mom had five daughters willing to help, she wanted to remain independent as long as possible. When I would arrive to help her clean the house, or to take her to Dr. appointments, visits to my Father, or errands, I would always find her sitting in her special chair, her faithful companion in her lap.  She confided in me that if it wasn’t for Ling Ling, she didn’t know how she would have made it through the long, lonely nights without my Dad.

Mom’s health began to decline soon after Dad’s move to the nursing home. She had heart disease and diabetes and it was clear that both diseases were taking its toll on my frail 75 year old Mother. After a series of hospital stays due to her progressive heart condition, it was decided that she should be moved to a nursing home for some rehabilitation and to stabilize her condition. She was able to move into the same room as my Dad, something she was looking forward to, as she missed him so. But she worried about her precious kitty, and it was decided that I would take Ling Ling home with me and my husband during her stay.

Ling Ling would be joining a full house, as I already had two cats, two dogs and one cockatiel. At first, she was frightened and wouldn’t come downstairs. For weeks she stayed upstairs in the bedrooms of our empty nest. We let her be, as we had so much on our minds, attending to my Mother’s rapidly declining health, my Father’s Alzheimer’s and the many decisions and heart ache of facing the possibility that my parents would never come home again.  I had many heartfelt conversations with my Mother during that time and it was then that she made me promise that I would take care of her beloved Ling Ling, should she not be able to come home again.

After being in the nursing home for several weeks, it was clear that my Mother would need heart  surgery. After the surgery, she desperately wanted to come home. So it was agreed, we would bring her home and divide her care among all of us. Her precious cat was brought back home to bring her comfort. But after only one week, my Dear Mother passed away in the home she loved, her beloved Ling Ling by her side.

After that terrible day, I went back to my parent’s empty house to bring Ling Ling home with me. My heart was broken and so was hers.

During the next few weeks, Ling Ling and I sought each other out. I knew how much this small bundle of fur was grieving. I could see it in her sad blue eyes and drooping tail. We had suffered the loss of someone we loved very much. Through our grief, we formed a close bond. I could see why my Mother loved her so. She was gentle and sweet, with loving, knowing eyes. I could feel my Mother looking down with happiness whenever we were together. And like my Mother and my Father before her, I fell in love with this sweet little bundle of comfort.

It has been a year now, since my Mother’s passing. Our grief has softened around the edges a little bit. Ling Ling is part of the family now. But she will always hold a special place in my heart, because we share in common, a love like no other. 

xoxo

Now we say goodbye to this special little soul
who brought so much comfort and joy into our lives.

I know my dear Parents are there to meet her
at the Rainbow Bridge.

We will miss you, dear Ling Ling.

We loved you so.
xoxo

Home Sweet Home

Hello, Dear Friends, in my last post I promised 

to share some photos of my son, Dustin and wife, Jen's 

home remodel. 

Dustin is my youngest and he married Jen in 

2014. Together they bought a 'fixer-upper', built

in the 1980's that had never been updated. 

Over the last two years they have worked and saved 

to remodel their dream home and although they are 

not completely finished (are homes ever really done?), 

I wanted to share with you their most recent project, 

the downstairs, especially the kitchen! 

Here, their fur-baby, Lucky relaxes by the fireplace, 

which was just updated with a new mantel. 

They are faithful Seahawks' fans and invited friends and family

over for their annual Seahawks' party and to see 

the results of their hard work in home improvement. 

Of course the house sported Seahawks' colored 

Christmas lights, too! :)

Here is the 'before and after' of the kitchen. 

Quite a difference, don't you think? 

Let's take a closer look........

So light and bright now! 

No more black appliances......

*****

"Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;

Home-keeping hearts are happiest"

- Henry W. Longfellow -

Jen is an excellent cook (and Dustin has a few

signature dishes of his own), so a serious stove 

was first on the list. 

Marble subway tiles and quartz counters are 

easy to keep clean. 

*****

"I do not understand how anyone can live without

one small place of enchantment to turn to"

- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings -

*****

"Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,

A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest"

- Robert Montgomery -

Floating shelves and new windows keep things airy and light. 

These were the old windows. 

A deep farmhouse sink is handy for large pots and pans. 

A floating island is perfect for serving, 

food prep and unloading groceries. 

The flooring is new and matches the beams overhead. 

This was the old flooring......very nice, but 

the new floor looks so beautiful. All the trim 

was replaced, too. 

A built-in coffee maker keeps counters 

free from clutter. 

This area in-between the kitchen and dining area

 was changed, too.......

(Photo from DIL, Erica's baby shower in 2015)

Now it looks like this, with a built-in wine cooler

and fridge. 

They collect snowmen :)

Love these.....

The buffet in its new place beside the table. 

You can see the new French door at the end

of the table.

The wine cooler and bar area is just to the right.
They also added recessed lighting in the ceiling. 

Jen's artwork :)

The wall between the dining area and living room was 

opened up and framed in with rustic timbers.

On their list - a new dining set.
This one is from Dustin's bachelor days :)

A new bench by the door. 

Cuteness! 

The new mantel. 

A stocking for Lucky, too :)
They white-washed the old red brick. 

This was the old mantel. 

(During my DIL, Erica's baby shower in 2015)

*****

"Happiness grows at our own firesides, 

and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens"

- Douglas Jerrold -

New window and trim. 

All the windows were original to the house

and were no longer energy efficient. 

Of course, this is a Seahawks' party, so everyone is

appropriately dressed, including this little '12th man' - 

baby grandson, Gavin.  

Right down to the booties which he 

is busily kicking off! 

Uncle Dustin built a kid's fort in the garage,

which Grandpa and little Ethan are checking out. 

He's such a fun Uncle!
There's even Christmas lights draped over it!

Time to eat! 

Homemade chili, meatballs, corn muffins, and lots of nibbles! 

xoxo

So glad you could join our party! 

xoxo

An Irish Blessing for the New Year
*****
May you always have walls for winds,
a roof for the rain,
tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you,
those you love near you,
and all that your heart might desire.
*****
Happy New Year,
Dear Friends!
xoxo