Random shows of fall

The final frost was a little late in coming. I took a few shots of the most determined flowers.
The morning before we blew out the sprinklers they ran one more time. It was chilly to say the least and the ice coated everything, like a magical icy wonderland.

If you can't tell these are Johnny Jump-ups. Yellow Daisies

Petunias, obviously before the ice

the Yellow Daisies in their glory

Roses

Cosmos

Apple (I know not a flower)

Gillardia

Cosmos waving in the late afternoon sun

Maple tree that put on a it's own performance

Mother Nature was generous this fall with her colors

October quickly fades into November. . .

I can't believe how quickly this last two months have gone by. It seems all I ever have time for anymore is homework and more homework. I am not a great writer and the English class I am taking requires a fair amount, not to mention the reading. I love to read, but reading and analyzing is not so easy. I can say I am a more open minded reader.

Now for the second Sunday out my back door.

In October the trees were doing some serious changing. The first serious frost was slow in coming so there were still some flowers blooming. I am not posting any of them although I took plenty of pictures. November was a definite change. Winter has arrived, cold, windy and just not nice at all.

The poor tree is making a desperate attempt to hang on to a few final leaves. Sadly no matter how hard it tries it will not succeed.

My reading book goal is behind, my indexing goal is behind, my house is a mess, my life is out of control. I need to get back to the homework.

Second Sunday, Second Sunday. . . .

I don't have a problem taking a picture out my backdoor, I just have a problem taking time to post them. Thus I am doing two months in one. I admire those who do it daily, weekly or monthly. Blogging just isn't one of my finer qualities.
The second Sunday in August we had a brief but forceful rainstorm and I just happened to catch it. It's times like this I wish I had a really nice camera. The branches are right next to the house so staying dry was easy. We haven't had a lot of rain since the first of July, this is typical for our area.
Lots of sunshine helped the garden to grow. We have enjoyed strawberries, raspberries, peas, potatoes, onions, summer squash, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, corn, peppers, tomatillos, and of course zucchini. Some meals are determined by what's ripe that day. Love those meals. This has also meant doing a little canning. I don't necessarily love the work, but totally love the sound of bottles sealing and looking at the newly bottled food lined up on the shelf. So rewarding.
The flowers have done their share of blooming. Just once I will catch the perfect shot.

We were even lucky to have a butterfly stop by for a visit. One of those better camera wishful moments for sure, especially since butterflies are not great about posing.

We gave a few train rides. One of the riders found the apple trees, which are a long ways from being ripe. He tried them out anyway. This is his pucker up and eat a green apple look which was as cute as his 'feel my muscles' pose. Luckily the season for train rides is slowing down. Only one or two more rides to give.

One of the perks of living where we do is the sunsets. There is usually enough dust and clouds in the air for mother nature to be very creative. This one night the sky was particularly yellowish with a rainbow trying make itself known. Spectacular for sure.

Amongst all the happy positives, we must throw in a little sadness as we said good-bye to Patches. She ran across the road at the wrong time. She will be missed. Her personality was so fun as she picked on the dog, took naps in the window sill, followed us around in the yard as she practiced her stalking technique, brought us in live mice and birds for presents, and begged to be held like a baby and petted. Ten months is just to0 short of a life. We buried her by the train, close to where we found her as a kitten one bitter winter night.

Then rolls in September with football. Some days we will have 2 different flag football games and a regular grid kid game going on in the field behind the house. If it happens to be night then we can work late in the yard by the light of the fields. This is my favorite sport for them to play out there. The parents and fans really get involved.

If you look closely you will notice some definite yellow, fall in only a week away so it is inevitable that they trees should start turning. This particular tree is the last to bloom and the first to shed. Next month the picture will show it bare. :(

As for the rest of my goals in life, I have over 30 books checked off. Did a lot of reading this summer. One series in particular, "the immortal Nicholas Flamel" by Michael Scott caught my interest. I shared it with Patrick and we devoured them. I have also been reading the "Alcatraz" series by Brandon Sanderson. He has a great interpretation of librarians. A lot of what I read is designed for jr and sr high school students. I need to be able to recommend or at least know what they are looking for in a book.

As for my indexing, sadly it is getting behind. All the easy stuff is done, requiring me to work on the more challenging stuff, which obviously takes longer. I have about 1625 names to do to meet my goal of 5000.

I am enrolled in two more classes up to BYU-I. I hope I can keep up, so far I am doing okay, but time will tell. One of them happens to be New Testament II. This is what I am teaching in SS. so hopefully this will help me be a better teacher, if I more fully understand what I am teaching.
High school is going strong. It is always fun to see what kind of adventures we will have with the incoming sophomores. They have new rules to learn. It's amazing the change they make when they realize we expect them to be responsible and act more grown up. Sadly I am already looking forward to my next break. I like sleeping in.

Each day is a new adventure.

Second Sunday

Yes, I know, it has been three months since I last posted, two missing first Sundays. I am going to make up for it. This was the second Sunday in May. The lawn is greening up, the trees have their first buds. Sadly the sky is gloomy. That was our spring, gloomy, wet, rainy, windy, basically miserable not much to look at. What you can't see in the picture is that despite all the clouds and rain we did have a few flowers.

The trees put forth their share of blossoms (does wonders for the spring allergies).

I read, continued with my class at college, ended the public school year (yeah for summer break) blew the dust off the lawn mower and started planting the garden.

This is the second Sunday in June, still not a lot of sunshine, which made for a slow growing garden. The trees leafed out more, the grass grew, the weeds grew and I read, studied, and planted more garden. Through the month the flowers began to open in their glory. One day I counted Lilies, Phlox, Rock Cress, Daisies, Lion's Bane(not sure the name is correct), Johnny Jump-ups, ornamental and real Strawberries, Lilacs, Gold basket, the last of the tulips, and of course dandelions to make up a plethora of colors. There were several others but I can't remember their names.

Just a sampling of the orange lilies and the daisies.

We had some beautiful sunsets, something we have a lot of around here in potato land. This one was on the Fourth of July.

Which brings us to today.

This is the view for the next couple of months. Branches of green with glimpses of life beyond.

Three nights out of the week beyond the green this is what can be seen, soccer players running in every direction. Some nights it looks as if a bag of skittles has been spilled across the playground with all the colors. We throw open the windows and listen to the cheers of the parents. It's one of the happiest sounds on earth. Can't help but love it.

I'm up to 24 books read, it's coming along slowly but surely. I have also indexed a total of 2790 names for the year. Not doing so good with the arbitrating. We also turned in about 20 names for temple work. Hopefully the summer will slow down, the garden will grow (picked the first strawberries yesterday) and we can get some serious playing done.

April - Second Sunday

It's that time again, the Second Sunday Shot. What does the world look like out our back door? If you notice, the snow is finally all melted. Not to say it's done snowing for the year, after all we awoke to a white earth just the other day. Of course it has melted, but more is expected. I have seen it snow every month of the year around here. The lawn is slowly starting to green up, the crocus have bloomed, sorta. Not a enough sun to get them to open up more than a brief moment here or two. The tulips and daffodils are starting to show buds. It's looking promising that spring is on its way. As for the rest of my life/goals: The only book I actually made it through was my textbook, Foundations of American History. I'm on schedule with my indexing, 1750 so far. Passed both my classes, one with a 100% the other 102%. Certainly can't complain about those grades.

I've registered for two more classes. New Testament and another English class. It should be good. I am looking forward to the next month.

A.B.C's of who I am

I stole this idea from my baby sis, who stole it from a friend, who got it from ????? It's a cute idea, as it makes you think about the fun side of who you are.
A: AGE - I am a lady and ladies never tell their age, but I will tell you this, I am not old enough for senior citizen rate, I get told I look younger than I am(I think most people are just being king) and only my hair dresser knows what color my hair really is.
B: BED - Queen, I like sleeping with my hubby, I like to cuddle and know that there is someone there. Sadly when I travel with my sisters, they vote not to sleep with me. It's not the cuddling it's the snoring.
C: CHORES YOU HATE - scrubbing toilets, sweeping and mopping floors (it shows), dishes on Sunday afternoons, and cleaning out the car
D: DOGS - yup, we have one, an old decrepit Pug. He has a couple of buddies that live with the renters downstairs. The three of them do a good job of leaving the back yard covered with their own special dog prizes. I'd like them a lot more if they'd learn to clean up after themselves.
E: ESSENTIAL TO START YOUR DAY - does getting out of bed count. hmmmm, how about a piece of toast while I think on it?
F: FAVORITE COLOR - most blues, some greens,
G: GOLD OR SILVER - Silver, but mostly because that describes the bulk of my jewelry
H: HEIGHT - I'm the shorty of the the sibs, 5'1 3/4" on a good day. I may be getting shorter now that I am not as young anymore
I: INSTRUMENTS I PLAY - Piano and not very well at that. I own one and try to do more than dust it by actually sitting down and pretend to play, but only when no one is around
J: JOB TITLE - Domestic Goddess, the rest of the time I work as a Media paraprofessional at the local high school
K: KIDS - Only one boy. I didn't use to think he was spoiled but now I know he really is, not of material things but his parents time.
L: LIVE - On the north edge of a town in Potato Land
M: MOM's NAME - Mom when there is just the two of us (or when I am with the sibs), Grandma when I am talking to our son and Mother when in a crowd.
N: NICKNAME - Ruthie, I guess
O: OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS - to have a baby, and to sit by my hubby when he had surgery
P: PET PEEVE - People who let their dog leave prizes on my lawn, parents who enable their kids to be bad or refuse to take responsibility for their poor parenting choices
Q: QUOTE FROM A MOVIE - "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" that Rhett Butler was alright.
R: RIGHT OR LEFT - Right handed
S: SIBLINGS - # 5 of 10, 5 sisters and 4 brothers, with 20 years from the oldest to the youngest, all perfect (NOT)
T: TIME YOU WAKE UP - depends on mother nature, preferable after 7 am but sadly the alarm clock is set for 6. I hit the snooze at least once.
U: UNDERWEAR - of course
W: WHAT MAKE YOU LATE - reading the newspaper, Facebook, untying my shoes, filling the dog's water dish, looking for my cell phone,
V: VEGETABLES YOU DISLIKE - hands down Green Beans, actually most beans
X: X-RAYS - the dentist takes them, and then when I was younger I had my shoulder x-rayed because I was being whiny that year, He could find anything
Y: YUMMY FOOD YOU Make - fresh salsa,
Z: ZOO ANIMAL - jelly fish, I could watch them float forever, they are so mesmerizing. These are not usually found at zoos but I still love them.

Second Sunday in March

I'm a little late posting this, it has been a busy week/month. The world out my back door is changing. I took this Sunday, but it has changed dramatically since I took these. Mother Nature has sent rain, snow, sunshine and wind which does a wonderful job of melting the snow. There are only the piles where we shoveled it off the driveway left.
The best part is the Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus and Alium are peeking out of the ground, signalling that spring is on its way.

As for my goals for the year, I have only read one more book, listened to one, but I caught up on my indexing (1100 names) only to get behind again. I also snuck in some Family History time, getting 5 names ready for temple work. I took 2 tests, went to St George with the sisters and worked a lot of extra hours. Did I mention how busy this last month has been? Hopefully this month will be better. It has to be, as I already have my Visiting and Home Teaching done.

Go me!

February Photo

What does it look like here in February? I took this picture this morning. It's starting to be lighter and lighter in the morning. Sadly, there is still too much snow to really enjoy the out side. Actually, today was the start of our winter wind that begins the thawing process. The temps were up into the 30's. It's looking up.
As for my other goals, I have indexed 830 names, right on target. I have read two books (The help, and Purple Heart) and listened to two (Harry Potter 7 and Hana's Suitcase), so far so good. I've been able to keep up with my Sunday School lessons. And best of all I am getting an an "A", having passed all my tests with 90's or better, in both of my classes. I love the learning. Hopefully I can keep it all up.

New Year Goals -- Photos

The new year means one should set new goals, you know like become successful, make a lot of money, lose a ton of weight, read more scriptures. These are actually not realistic goals for me. So maybe there are some I can keep or succeed at. What, you may ask could these be?

1. Continue with my education, it's only been 20 years since I was a serious student. I am on the way to pursuing that one, already enrolled in two classes at BYU-I.
2. Seriously study the New Testament, again already on the way to that one since I teach 14 year olds in Sunday School.
3. Read or listen to 50 books. A goal I had and met last year, and it was so worth it, I read 31 and listened to 20. I'll post the names as I read them.
4. Index 5000 names. That works out to 100 a week. Now that may seem like a lot but my sister has set a goal of 17000, that's alot. So far 122 names done.
5. Last but not least blog, not once a week because that just isn't an option, takes too much time, I need to study for my classes, but once a month at least. My baby sister has taken on a new idea which I love and am going to copy it. You take a picture once a month, preferably the first day of the month, but I'm too late for that so how about the second Sunday of every month. The picture needs to be of the same place each month, then watch the changes. I love the idea.

This is my view out my back door today at 7:30 am:

dark

cold

snowy

a light frost coating everything.

Pictures do not do it any justice but I love it anyway. It has a fairy tale feel to it.
Check back and see it change.