Biking

Someone told me today I could exercise more. That might help me keep this silly weight off. So I took the bike out tonight and headed down the Puddle Jumper. My first excursion and it was a gorgeous night to do it. I wished the whole way along that I'd brought the camera. Oh well. The air was filled with dozens of birds singing. I heard the brown thrush and even, I think, a purple martin, plus the usual of robins and finches and woodpeckers. The air smelled wonderful tonight. The plum trees on the side of the trail looked like mountainous fragrant snowdrifts. They were lovely! I checked for asparagus. I always think I'm going to remember where it's growing on the trail, but of course there was no way to tell now. I didn't have anything to carry it with anyway. Last year when I rode on the trail, I could do the hard part..up the hill to the golf course trail..without too much difficulty. Tonight I had to stop and catch my breath. not a good sign I think. Better to watch the horses off to the east. Town on the left, country on the right. Then when I swung aroung to head down the golf course trail, there was the balloon. The air is so still tonight, no wonder the balloon was up. Excellent. It was a great ride! I hope to make a habit of it on nights like these..well, every night hopefully!

Spring ... Again!

So you can tell that at last spring has arrived in Orange City. Tulip Festival is only a few weeks away but we are awash in tulip blooms. How many for tulip festival will depend on how warm it gets, but what does it matter? We get to enjoy them whenever they bloom. So here are just a few from my Sunday afternoon walk in the park. I swear I'd never get tired of taking pictures of tulips from every conceivable angle. Sorry. If you don't get a chance to make it to the Festival at least you can enjoy the tulips!

New Granddaughter

We traveled to Lincoln this week to meet our new Granddaughter. She was born Friday morning, so because of the weekend we were able to go down right away. I have to say, holding new babies is one of the most awesome experiences a person can have. How is it possible someone that little can be just, so, perfect! She let us hold her and love her up. I believe it's the start of a life-long relationship just exactly like that. And of course, we got to enjoy some one on one time with Jeremiah, too. He was a delight. We took him to IHop for pancakes, he rode in the truck with us for groceries, we watched Nemo together, read books and best of all, watched as he welcomed his new sister home. Yes. It was a fabulous fun weekend. I could go in for one of those more often. I don't think my kids are quite up for more of them though. These kind of weekends seem to take quite a bit out of those young'uns! Anyway, I know you've seen some of the pictures I've posted, but here are a few more!!

Easter Fun

Here's how we spent our Easter afternoon. Uncle Tom brought punching balloons, we played in the park, and we ate, drew, and read. The boys aren't crazy about Buster but they sure do like walking him. It's funny to watch. It was a great family time.

Why I need Grace

At our Bible Study last night we were contemplating the Grace and Mercy of God, among other things. (we touched on election, but we are studying Ephesians after all) Paul begins his gospels all with "Grace to you, and Peace...." That is, unmerited blessings to you, a marvelous deliverance free of charge, this is a foundation of your faith come drink at this wonderful fountain instead of digging up any old cistern. With that in mind, this video, posted by my sister in law, reminded me of how much we all need, no crave "GRACE". So this is for my bible study sisters, and you all....

Trash

Last fall I put together a game for the family to play while they were at our house over Thanksgiving weekend. They did have a lot of fun playing. It was one of those, "Run-around-OrangeCity" kind of games. It was very competitive too, which is par for the course, I guess. Anyway, everyone had fun I'm thinking.
I am back to walking outside these mornings. (I am listening to a James Herriott novel for anyone who's interested) So on my walk this morning, you won't believe what I found! Well, it wasn't a $100 bill as my husband once found, but it was part of that game I had designed for the Thanksgiving weekend. Yup. Still in it's waterproof plastic bag. Hung up on a sewer drain. Hard to tell where it came from. (I put them up all over town after all.) Though I know where it was supposed to send the finder to next. So here it is folks: ziplock baggies keep things pretty dry even with 50+ inches of snow on top of them. And sadly, I was responsible for contributing to the general trashiness of the melting snow. Please don't tell anyone. I picked it up and took it home and threw it away. So it can be added to the trash heap properly.

Our Floor project

Our floor project is progressing. As you can see our fireplace room is almost done. It will extend out into the little hallway and I'm sure that will slow Ron down a bit as there will be more cutting. And he has to rip out the floor that's there because it is about 1/4inch higher than the other floor. I never understood why the previous owners put down a vinal floor and had such beautiful walnut woodwork. To match I'm sure. The next owners of this house will probably look at what we've done (or not done) and shake there heads and wonder what we were thinking as well. Oh well. But we're pleased so far. Come visit. Seeing things in person is even better, don't you think!