You Probably Heard.....

 We won the Super Bowl! The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29 -13 to win the title of NFL Champions in a game that, despite the final score, was tense until into the fourth quarter. 

Jill joined us for the game and brought nachos. We added a few things and snacked and watched, and Jill did a lot of pacing. She is a season ticket holder and had attended the last three season and playoff games. They were close and tense. The Seahawks scored four field goals before the Patriots scored, well into the second half. We were nervous until we had a 15 point lead. The Hawks got that and held it. 

The Seattle Times headline said "Redemption", because New England beat us in the 2014 Super Bowl with an interception in the end zone in the last  seconds, which left Seattle fans shocked. This was pay back. But for many of us it was just a good, hard fought game with a good ending. There will be a parade in Seattle on Wednesday to celebrate. If it is anything like the victory parade we had in 2013 there may be a million people there. Not me though. 

Those of you who watched have your own opinions of the half time show and the commercials, which are always debated.

I don't know much about Bad Bunny, but I thought the show was very well done, a good representation of ordinary life in Puerto Rico.

My favorite commercial was Budweiser's featuring a Clydesdale and Eagle. Like Bad Bunny's theme, it demonstrated love. That's good with me, and needed these days.

An now it's won and done. Celebrating will continue. It's good for our city and region. 

And I have the Olympics to watch!

How Should I Spend My Time?

 I'm way behind schedule today, but it's my self imposed schedule, so I guess I can blow it if I chose. 

Thursdays are good days because my PT routine is short, we have no usual commitments, and we often get up late, because we can. 

We were finally getting going when I remembered we have a 12 Man flag buried away. Tom found it and we had to get it up on the gate at the end of our driveway, where there is a chance someone besides us will see it. 

As you can see it's another blue sky day. It's Super Bowl weekend, the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl, and we count ourselves among the 12th Man contingent. 

Now Tom is outside doing more winter pruning. He is getting a lot more done than I am.

I finally got into that tub of fabrics last week and along with some I had left in my scrap bin, and some my sister gave me, I had sorted to color coordinate. I was nervous about actually sewing anything because it has been two years since I even touched my sewing machine. 

Years ago I found on-line quilt block patterns and instructions from Generations. I went back to them to relearn how to do Weathervane. It was slow going, but I did it!

With my next block I'll use more contrast, but playing with color is the fun of it all. 

I was going to be well into my next block by now, but  I still haven't started yet. I'll give it an hour before lunch time, but after lunch I have to go for a walk in the sunshine. 4:00 is when I usually quit, sit, and work my on line puzzles and catch up on emails and Facebook. Then there's dinner to prepare. 

See what I mean about spending my time?

 

Monday, Not Monday

Monday is usually housecleaning and laundry day, but we did that Sunday, because I had an appointment Monday in the city. It was a pre-op check up for finger surgery that I have scheduled for later in the month, to have a ganglion cyst removed from a finger. Small stuff compared to my usual chopping up. 

Getting into Seattle in the morning can be a hassle, but fortunately the traffic was light so we had plenty of time to make make mistakes in navigating the under connectivity of the medical center to find the right office. I got a walk in. :-) 

When we got back home the rain had stopped so I took a stroll around the garden.

It's Groundhog's Day and the report from Punxsutawney Phil is that winter will continue. Not so much here in the PNW.

Hellebores and snowdrops in bloom. 

Weighted down by raindrops. 

Moss coats trees. 

Yes, roses. We still have not had a deep freeze. 

Bejeweled primroses. 

Winter blooming cyclamen. 

Then I finally got into that bin of fabrics we brought home almost two weeks ago. I did some sorting and color coordinating. Some, like the Christmas fabrics, will just get stored away. For the rest, I'll just see what evolves. Tomorrow I'll get out cutting tools and sewing machine and go on line to refamiliarize myself with some quilt blocks how to. 

And now I see that I need to turn the page on the one calendar we still have hanging in the house, on the bulletin board right over the computer.

It's February, and more importantly, it's Super Bowl week!

A Day In The Life

 I often can't remember what I did once a day has passed and we've moved on to the next. I know that Monday was laundry and house work and roasting a chicken, which means that Tuesday was leftovers for dinner. Since we took some things to Goodwill on Wednesday, Tuesday must have been when I cleaned out some storage bins.

Wednesday I remember. Yes, we went to Goodwill to drop off stuff, and then to Home Depot to look for some house plants to replace my tired ones. Then we went to Costco to buy some things we needed, and a few we didn't need. Yep, that's how it is with Costco. 

In the afternoon we spent an hour and a half out on the street corner, waving at cars and appreciating their honks and thumbs up.

It was raining lightly, but we have rain gear, and we felt compelled to be there with the local Indivisible group to take a stand against what ICE is doing in Minnesota and across our country. We were glad to be counted among  the "resisters". 

Thank goodness for Thursday. With no appointments or obligations, we slept late, spent time reading our phones and catching up on good and bad news, and did a little puttering.

I planted my new windowsill plants in the kitchen, all little Haworthias to go with those that were still OK.

I threw out the old scraggly Pothos and planted up the new one I bought yesterday.

Now it's almost 1:00, lunch time around here. I'll read the newspaper and maybe listen again to Bruce Springsteen's new protest song, "Streets of Minneapolis". Google it if you want to know.

 

Won and Done

 One more to go.

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams yesterday in a very tight and tense game to move on in two weeks to meet the New England Patriots in the San Francisco Bay Area in the Super Bowl.

Even for non-sports fans, the Super Bowl is kind of a big deal. We ARE sports fans!

Jill and Jake were there.

Before the game

                                           After the game

Tom and I were in our chairs, of course.

There are lots of happy people in the Seattle area and even the whole PNW today. Some are finding it hard to go back to work.

We are back to doing our Monday chores, but not at full speed. 

Sports are fun, and a good distraction in winter weather with rampant political turmoil.

Go Hawks!

Another Week Gone By

 It has been sunny and foggy here this week. Monday was indoor work, laundry and house cleaning. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I got outside for a walk, and both of us did some yard work, Tom more than me. 

On Friday I gave in and bought some flowers at the grocery store, and changed out most of the red and green. The candle came out of the candle wreath, the mat got turned over to the green side, and the red boots salt and pepper shakers got put away. Polar bears are still appropriate, especially for much of the country. Isaac gave me those several years ago. We are still experiencing sunny, or foggy, skies and temps mostly above freezing. 

This cartoon was in our Seattle Times today. Yes, we are football crazy right now, and, as always, proud of our "blueness". 

There was another apparently unjustified shooting in Minneapolis today. I hate to think of what will happen if armed militia are sent into our city. The force of resistance is strong with us. 

Tom and I attended a pleasant meeting of our garden club today, doing planning for the year ahead.  We cleared off a shelf of our garden books and took them to give away. What wasn't claimed was left for the local Friends of the Library.   Then 12 of us went out to lunch together.

After we got back home we indulged in some coffee and chocolate and caught up on some of the news. Then Tom did some work in the yard and I picked some sarcococca sprigs to refresh little bouquets in the house. They are so fragrant and make the house smell lovely. 

The garden is in winter mode but there is always some color interest.

Tom gathered more wood for our fireplace for this evening. We have been thoroughly enjoying the fruits of the wood chopping labor of last summer. 

In the winter garden the witch hazel is blooming.

And now the shadows are long as the winter sun nears the horizon. Tomorrow is a big day here.

GO HAWKS! 

A Good Weekend

 A week ago I got an email from a gardening friend I hadn't seen for quite a while. She asked if I was interested in fabrics she had stored that she wanted to give away. Since I want to start up a little sewing again I said "Yes". On Thursday we went to her house I game away with a tub full of beautiful fabrics. Now I have to get out my sewing gear and start some little projects. Since I seem to fill up my days already, I will have to be more disciplined.

Friday was breakfast out, grocery shopping, and a walk.

Saturday was such a clear, blue sky, sunshiny day, a good omen. I declared it a "find Joy" day. At noon we were at a small protest rally in a nearby suburban town. I wore my Seahawks gear and enjoyed being in the company of like minded people. 

Then of course there was the Seahawks playoff game at the stadium in Seattle. Jill and Jake were there.

We watched from our chairs.

Wow! Those San Francisco 49ers didn't stand a chance. Final score: 41-6. Next up, LA Rams, next Sunday. We'll be back in our places with sunshiny faces, even in Seattle rain.

 

Sunday we did our Monday work, laundry and housecleaning, since Monday would be busy.  Then I did a workout on my stationary bike, read the Sunday paper, and watched, sort of, more playoff football. 

Monday we actually had ice on the bird bath. Our weather has been mild so far this winter. 

I found a beautiful hardy cyclamen in bloom. More will be popping our soon.  

 I was up and out of the house early for me for a 9:00 dentist appointment, only to find out when I got there that it was cancelled.

Back home I did my PT and then checked on the crew outside. 

Jill and Jake came over to take down a dead tree and cut it up. I missed the big action, falling the tree and getting it out of the neighbor's yard. I was just happy that everyone was safe. Jill said it was fun!

At 1:00 today we had a visit from our financial advisor who reported that all is well. I went for a short walk. 

Finding my photos on my computer has been a challenge today, but at 4:00 the sun is still shining. The family is good. Sports fans in Seattle are buzzing and talking Super Bowl.

 

All is good. 

Reactions and Attractions

 

Our first Hellebore is opening! I wish they weren't so shy. You have to get down low to see their faces. So I did. 

I have pondered the reactions to the closing statement of my last post. There weren't many, and one was private. This is not a political blog, but in my comments on daily life, my strong feelings about what is going on in our nation do creep in. Most of us are of a like mind, but some are not. While I would like to know more about their thinking, this is not the forum for that. I honor all politely stated points of view, and appreciate those who have the courage of their convictions to go against the tide of the majority.

Sometimes rainbows help. 

On sunny days at just the right time we get them on our kitchen floor as sunlight streams through the beveled glass on our front door. 

I have been going for walks in the park, sometimes with Tom, sometimes alone. I play music from my phone through my hearing aids. It is peaceful. 

The catkins are lengthening on the wild hazelnut tree. 

Here in our maritime climate spring tries to push winter away early, but balmy temps now may bring a deep freeze to come. Like life, seasons here are uncertain. 

The snowdrops will soon be opening.

Tom has been using the dry weather to get work done in the garden.

On the hall tree the Seahawks gear is ready. I might wear some of it when we go to a local protest rally at noon on Saturday. We haven't been to one since before the holidays, and I need to go and be counted among the resistance. Then at 5:00 we will be settled in front on the TV for the playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Jill and Jake will be there in person. Just like in politics, we have family on both sides. 

Go Hawks!