Monday, January 1, 2007

Rainy New Year

It appears that we have rung in a wet New Year. Just looking at the overview forecast for the next week we have rain on tap for at least three days of the next seven days (of course that depends on how accurate the weather forecasters are....).

I did take the opportunity of the rain to record some wonderful rainy sounds from various places around the house, so they don't all sound the same. Wonderful sleeping sounds. Last night before midnight I also caught the sound of distant firecrackers going off. It seems we had a few neighbors a bit anxious to ring in the New Year.

We have had a river of water flowing across our backyard into Debbie's. The backyard is mushy and I do believe that we could have about 6-12 inches of water in the low area that flows into Debbie's French drain. The girls did make it out to potty in the two breaks that we have had in the rain, and here I thought that it was going to clear up. Only to have a fresh downpour begin.

I received a delightful surprise in my email this morning. Two new photos of Faith! What a welcome surprise. She is growing up so much. The photo in front of the tree appears to have been taken on Christmas morning - I could say she was a little pouty, but overwhelmed is probably more like it. This Christmas morning stuff is all brand new to her. She is however quite beautifully dressed to celebrate the day, just as all little Christmas Princesses should be.

The second photo is of her in a wagon taken on her 11 month birthday. It won't be long now before she is a whole year old. My the year has flown and she has grown so much. I am guessing that she received the wagon as a Christmas gift, this will give her a new mode of transportation other than in a stroller.

I have Christmas gifts here at the house for Miss Faith from several of her extended relatives. I've passed on this to Danielle, so I hope that they will drop by soon to pick them up before the contents are outgrown either from size or age.

News in from Dean at work, "Happy New Year! Boy I tell you this place is a ghost town big time." I guess it is like every place else, other than a retail location, the time between Christmas and the day after New Year is absolutely no time in which to get anything done. Because everyone has bailed out to spend time with their families and do all that after Christmas sale shopping. That is the economics of the end of the year - trying to do anything non-retail is just about pointless.

I took Miss Lilly out this morning for her usual stroll and noticed that we had two cardinals sitting in the mimosa tree. I was able to get Lilly back into the house and back out with a camera before they left the area. I do believe that they have taken up residence in the big shrub next to the end of the house. I was able to catch sight of two of them in the bush flitting about. It appears that one is a juvenile and the other an adult and the adult kept flying out to the birch tree to distract me from getting a better look in the shrub. The older cardinal did manage to sit still long enough for me to get one picture, definitely not as good as mom could do, but not too bad considering the weather conditions and type of camera that I have.

I've been hanging out with the girls this morning in front of the fire. I've finally warmed up. It's nearly noon and Sean is still out like a light, he stayed up late last night to see in the New Year, and to play AC with a group of friends.

Walter reports that the creek behind his apartment is flowing so fast that it appears to have whitewater rapids. He said that it reminds him of the day that he had Lilly over stay with him while we were out. As we were talking on the phone, he said that the flow of water had a sudden rush - apparently something upstream broke loose, probably it burst through some piled up leaves or brush.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Hmm...It is one of those annual rituals that we all do, but where to actually begin? I personally can not resolve to do anything that will change another person, as the only person that I can change is myself; nor can I resolve to make any changes to myself that are only designed to make 'someone else' happy - as that would be the same as the previous. Thus with that said...my working list is beginning to swirl around in my head and a few ideas are beginning to gel:
  • Pray more regularly
  • Be involved with the church choir
  • Exercise more
  • Work more towards mastering PhotoShop
Walt has informed me that he only has one resolution this year and that is to begin singing with the church choir. He will be joining us for practice this coming Sunday. He has a wonderful voice and will be a great addition.

LG said laughingly that her New Year's resolutions are, "not get drunk and not to smoke a cigarette or cigar", and as these are activities that she has refrained from for over 82 years, she doesn't expect to begin anytime soon. I agree with her that these are surely resolutions that she can keep without any difficulty.

I worked on my desktop for January. This morning and this is what I came up with for the month. This gave me some PhotoShop practice and something constructive to do on such a rainy afternoon.

Dean came home about three hours early and was able to get a mini-nap in at least while it was raining. Not much else went on here this evening, just dinner and more nothing. So much for an exciting New Year's Day.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "Praise does wonders for our sense of hearing." - Arnold Glasgow

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