WillThink4Wine

Welcome Aria!

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:00:00 +0000

A Mother's Love
by Maggie Lee Scott of Liquid Ice Musing ©2009

Filled with excitement
In different ways
Waiting and counting
Two hundred plus days

So many questions
About what to do
Having a child
Was something new

When my daughter was born
I knew from the start
This bundle of joy
Had captured my heart

The cut of the umbilical cord
Left our bodies free
To be bound by a love
Lasting to eternity

Nothing else equals
On this planet earth
The miracle from heaven
Of a mother giving birth

Welcome Baby Aria! Congratulations Danielle & Mike! I can't wait to see you all!

Moving Day

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:02:00 +0000

I have been kicking this around for some time, and I have decided to move back to my dot com web site and back to WordPress. Here's a screen shot of today's post on the new digs. I hope you'll continue to come visit at my new home on the web!

Further, I have decided not to import my blogger blog. A fresh start. I want to focus more on photography. I want to learn more and improve.

Enjoy the today's trip around the sun! I know I will!

One Word

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:21:00 +0000

vintage photographs
my grandmother on the beach
-where does the time go?

badly broken heart
eternal, yet temporal
-time heals everything

due date, come and gone
the sweetest thing she may be
-still, we have to wait!

great grandparent’s joy
the legacy continues
-time forever new

I have this Circa 1932 photograph of my Nana Jo thanks of the magic of today’s technology! One of my cousins scanned it and put it up on FaceBook. I adore it! Thank you, April! Delighted, I immediately wrote another haiku and replaced the photo I had planned to use with this.

I miss you, Nana. You would be overjoyed with the impending birth of Baby Aria, and oh, how she would have loved her Great-Great Nana Jo!

This week’s OSI prompt of “One Word” was suggested by Wayfaring Wanderer.

Back in a Hot Flash!

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Do you like Maxine? I love Maxine. Maxine always makes me laugh. I worked in the corporate world for a long time and actually knew a few Maxines! What a riot!

There are a very few things I miss about working in that kind of environment, and some of the people is one of them.

Coincidently, one of the things I miss least… the other people. hahaha!

Did you know Maxine blogs?

I want to thank all of you who took the time to go over and comment on my niece’s blog post/college journalism class assignment. You Rock! If you didn’t happen to stop by yesterday and would like to help a hard working college student make an A on her assignment, take a look at yesterday’s post for the link!

Today I have an amazing amount of laundry to do as well as some shopping. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

LATSOF – Pecan Trees Leafing Out

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Happy Spring!

My Pecan Trees are leafing out, and if you look carefully, you can also see the male pollen – the dreaded tassels! The tassels fall and get everywhere! If you are foolish enough (or lazy enough!) to let them just sit there, they stain the concrete a rather nasty color and are none too kind to the paint on your car, so my Dad will be constantly blowing them into a pile to throw away once they start to fall.

Soon I’ll be hearing the lovely rustling of the leaves! I just love my Pecan Trees during this time of year.

In other news… I have a favor to ask. My niece needs 30+ comments on a blog post for an actual grade in a journalism class in college! We think the more comments she gets, the better her grade! (Stranger than fiction?)

Holly writes:

"Basically, the "assignment" was to write a blog entry & try to get as many comments on it as possible...We have to get 30+ comments to do well on this "assignment"... Everybody go comment on Kumar joining the White House, and I will bake you all a funfetti cake during finals week."

So, if you have a moment...

Happy Friday, Y'all. Oh, and be sure to stop by Tisha's for more Looking at the Sky on Friday posts!

Dodge Ball

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Some of my neighbors had a visit from their grandchildren last weekend. Her daughter and son-in-law are in the Air Force, stationed in the panhandle of Florida. She’s always so excited to see her grandbabies! The baby is in that swing-a-ma-thingy on the far right.

It was a lovely Spring evening after supper. What better time for a rousing game of Dodge Ball?!

Life's simple pleasures are the best! For instance, while this lively game played out I was sitting on the patio with MotherDear and Dad. We were enjoying a glass of wine and watching them play and listening to them cheer and giggle. Sublime.

Gandalf and Grayson enjoyed the game, too!

PS. My niece needs 30+ comments on a blog post for an actual grade in a journalism class in college! We think the more comments she gets, the better her grade! (Stranger than fiction?)

Holly writes: "Basically, the "assignment" was to write a blog entry & try to get as many comments on it as possible...We have to get 30+ comments to do well on this "assignment"... Everybody go comment on Kumar joining the White House, and I will bake you all a funfetti cake during finals week."

So, if you have a moment...

Harmony

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000

“Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left.” - Aldo Leopold

Stanley Sees Stars

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Hey, Trav! This post is for you, my friend!

April MacIntyre is one of my cousins. Our mothers are sisters. As children we lived close to each other in Massachusetts, but nowadays April resides happily in California as a freelance writer and editor for Monsters and Critics, a UK-based entertainment website. She gets to hang out with all kinds of Hollywood celebrities. Doogie Howser is my personal favorite, so far!

My cousin Michelle, the daughter of my mother and April’s mother’s other sister (did you follow that?), had her daughter send April a Flat Stanley for her class. Yesterday April took Stanley on the adventure of a his flat little lifetime! April took Stanley to the makeup trailer of Dancing with the Stars!

Flat Stanley thought Trav would enjoy a few behind the scene photos!

View Full Album

I think Flat Stanley had a blast!

Harmony

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:04:00 +0000

“Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left.” - Aldo Leopold

Yes, Virginia, there are still Good Neighbors

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:25:00 +0000

My city’s little local paper has had a lot of bad news in over the last ten days. We had a deluge of rain, about 10-14 inches of rain over two days, causing rivers to overflow. Many areas that have never flooded were under water. Many homes and businesses had 6 feet of water inside them!

There were many city and county services lost, including my own internet service at my office at the Swamp. A minor inconvenience to me compared to many folks close to the river. I was able to work from home for a week. These folks have to rebuild their homes.

Yesterday’s Headline was Inside the clean-up, A day in the life after the flood. I won’t reprint it all here, but I provided the link for those who care to read some Good News for a change! It is full of good things. Things like neighbors whose names they didn’t know just showing up, youth groups in boots asking “where can we help?”. Chik-Fil-A delivering food in a backhoe, bank Presidents putting out sandbags, a truck rental company just dropping off trucks and leaving them…

Wow. Kindness, compassion and love for others DOES still exist. And it’s a wonderful thing!

Happy Easter!

Live Water

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:24:00 +0000

true living waters
anticipating her birth
-baby Aria

Baby Aria is due on 04/17/09, but if Aria were to come earlier there are a good many people waiting to rejoice in her arrival! Her proud and excited parents, my nephew Mike and his beautiful wife Danielle, have officially declared that Baby Watch 2009 has begun! Woo Hoo!

Aria will be my sister Lynda and BIL Rick’s first grandbaby. And my Grandniece, of course. Let’s not forget about that!

I will admit that I was completely stumped as to what I would do with this prompt. And then I had an “a-ha” moment, an epiphany! This week’s OSI prompt of “Live Water” was suggested by Sue Greer-Pitt of Sunflower Roots. Many thanks, Sue. 9 cats? Really? And I thought life was exciting with just my 2 Gray Boys!

LATSOF – Over the Yellow House

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:59:00 +0000

This has been quite a week! The flooding rains started a week ago Thursday and ran through early Saturday. We got somewhere between 10-14 inches, depending upon what part of the county you were in. I know that I got at least 10 inches because it filled, and overflowed, the little reflecting pool in my garden. So for this weeks’ Looking at the Sky on Friday I decided to show you a few of the skies over my house this week. I don’t have any of the actual raining, because, well it was pouring! Oh, and the last photo in the bottom right? That's the tiny new leaves just beginning to sprout on my pecan trees. They'll be in glorious full leaf within a few weeks! I can't wait for the color, the shade and the sounds of the leaves rustling in the trees again.

I drove over to the office yesterday and unfortunately, the internet was still not working. My provider has restored cable TV though. Nice. That doesn’t help me conduct business, people!

Seriously, their main origination spot was under 6 feet of water. The rivers only crested Thursday so there was only so much they could do. Actually, there was really nothing they could do other than assess and prepare for when the water receded. I’m hopeful it will be resolved over the weekend so I can get back to business as usual. And of course, I miss Feather, my geese and The Swamp!

I hadn’t realized that some of you work/worked from home! In yesterday’s comments some of you mentioned some of the benefits of working from home that you enjoyed, such as working in your jammies! Perhaps I should try that! hahaha!

Happy Friday, Y'all! Oh, and be sure to stop by Tisha's for more Looking at the Sky on Friday posts!

Working from home, day 3

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:55:00 +0000

Well, yesterday was my third day working from home. It was a good day for business, but I hope I can return to working at the office soon. According to this morning’s papers, most services have been restored but it did not specifically say my internet service has been restored. So the first order of business this morning will be to take a drive over to the office and see for myself. Being the eternal optimist, I will load up all my files and bring them with me, just in case the internet is up and running again. :-D

I will say one thing for working from home, during the lulls it was nice to go outside on the patio with the Gray Boys. I took some cute photos of Gandalf yesterday with my cell phone as well as a few of one of the squirrels.

Believe it or not I had to work late last night! I took a phone call from a customer in Seattle just before 5:00pm and didn’t finish up with him until nearly 6:40pm when all was said and done. Good thing I didn’t have a long drive home, huh?

My wine didn’t mind waiting for me!

Have a wonderful day y’all!

Watching the ball game with my Dad

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:11:00 +0000

One of the down sides to living in Georgia is that we can’t get our favorite sports team’s games. We love the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots!

With all the technology nowadays, I must say, this drives me nuts. I thought I had it figured out last year. My satellite company had a sports package and I ordered it. Me and my Dad got all comfy, turned on NESN, the sports channel in New England, watched the pre-game show and Voila! As soon as the game was set to begin, it was blacked out. We could get everything on that channel BUT THE GAMES! Are you kidding me?

Fast forward to this week. I have found something I think may actually remedy the problem, thanks to one of my old high school chums I found on FaceBook. He told me about a gizmo called SlingBox that allowed him to watch the Red Sox win the World Series while he was on a cruise! Right on his laptop! How cool is that? I’m looking into it, so if any of you has any experience I would love to hear about it. I also want to be sure it’s legal. Just saying.

So the day before yesterday was Baseball Season Opening Day! The Red Sox were set to play Tampa Bay in Boston. We were excited because the game was going to be on some channel we can actually get! There are more than 100 games when you count pre-season, regular season and World Series games. We only get to see maybe 15-20 with our satellite company. I think it is because Major League Baseball won’t negotiate with the satellite companies. Well anyway, the game was postponed due to rain and the game would only be televised on NESN. Once again we would not be able to watch it! Rats!

So I broke down and went to MLB.TV and ordered their baseball package in High Definition. Yesterday afternoon at 4:00, I pointed my browser to MLB.TV. Then a miracle occurred - Me and my Dad watched the game together!

Finally.

The Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 5-3 on my computer in High Def! Woo Hoo! It was awesome!

They’re playing again tonight, too. But we’ll be able to watch it on the TV. In the comfy chairs. Do you think it will ever be not about the money and all about the ball game again?

Spaghetti Pie

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Isn’t that shrub purrty? I wish I knew its name. I have several growing in my yard.

Anyone who knows me knows I love pasta and all foods Italian! And this one sounds quick and easy as well as cheesy and yummy. That reminds me… I haven’t made Pastichio in quite a while!

I saw this recipe over at Michelle’s blog, Rambling Woods. If you love nature, particularly birds, you must visit her beautiful photo blog. Miss Bee, you probably don’t want to go there! :-D

Spaghetti Pie

Bake 25 minutes Makes 6 main dish servings

½ pound spaghetti
2 large eggs
1 container (15 oz.) part-skim ricotta cheese
¾ c. plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1-cup marinara sauce
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain
Preheat oven to 350’
Grease 9-inch glass pie plate
In a large bowl, with fork, beat eggs
Stir in ricotta, ¾ cup of Parmesan, and marinara sauce until blended
Add spaghetti to ricotta mixture and stir until well coated
Transfer spaghetti mixture to prepared pie plate
Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 Tbsp. Parmesan
Bake pie 25 minutes
Remove and let stand 10 minutes for easier serving
Cut into wedges and serve

I’ll be taking this recipe out for a test run soon. I’ll let you know how I liked it!

Have a great day y’all!

Working from Home - Day 2

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:32:00 +0000

Yesterday was my first day working from home. So far, I don’t like it so much. I feel displaced. Nothing is where it’s supposed to be. I’m a creature of habit remember? Or Obsessive-Compulsive! hahaha!

I miss my office desk, which is much more comfortable and, of course, much bigger. I decided to forward my office phone to my cell phone so I wouldn’t inconvenience my mother. I kind of wish I hadn’t done that. I may change that today. Then there’s the whole “mother coming in several times asking if I’m busy” thing. I know this is just temporary, but if I ever decided to work from home on a permanent basis, I already have a pretty good idea of what I’d have to do to make it feasible and productive.

The first quote I tried to print yesterday jammed the carriage in my printer and after clearing it just kept on jamming. I decided to run out at lunch time and pick up a new printer at Sam’s. My friends/neighbors have been down with a cold so I called them to see if they needed anything at the store. As luck would have it, they were driving to Sam’s Club! What about that, huh?! They picked up my new printer so I didn’t have to go out. I’ll hook it up later, because I finally got the old printer’s carriage un-jammed, at least for the time being.

Trying to work with two cats sitting on your papers and demanding attention while you’re on the phone with a customer is not as much fun as some would think! Actually, since it was a very nice day for a change, Gandalf and Grayson were outside for a bit during the morning. They are only allowed outside when I am home, so they both reveled in that! They love mornings outside better than almost anything. After going around sniffing everything, they each selected a patio chair and stretched out. Then they both came in and took their long afternoon naps. My cats have it very good, I can tell you!

Gandalf managed to catch one of the baby squirrels yesterday. Don’t worry, he didn’t hurt him. Dad watched the little fella scurry back up into the Hidey Hole in the tree. I keep telling those baby squirrels NOT to come down out of the tree until they are either faster than the boys or smarter. Being both faster AND smarter would be better. Staying up in the tree would be best!

Today's Flooding Update: The local paper’s headline today is Dealing with a deluge. This is a photo taken from the story, depicting Hwy 84 by the Alapaha River. In this particular area, the water is not over the highway anymore, but it’s still very high. We’re not out of this yet. Rats.

All in all, I hope they get the internet back up at the office soon!

Is it actually a nice day today?

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Wow. It is actually sunny and 70 degrees here! No rain! Woo Hoo!

Of course now they are forecasting the temperatures to get really cold again for two days, but I'm grateful for no rain. The front page is still full of news and updates on the flooding. I didn’t read much of it today. I’d rather think of bunnies and sunshine and cats!

So far, my septic seems OK, although the septic tank guy still has to come back one day this week to finish pumping it. I may even be brave enough to try a load of laundry tomorrow if this keeps up.

I'm working from home today since the internet will be out indefinitely at the office. Mediacom, my internet provider, says there's nothing they can even try to do until the water recedes. I feel bad for the 18,000 people that have no internet, cable TV or phone service. At least I can work from home, with just a few minor adjustments that I had to make.

My mother wonders why I don't work from home everyday, because I certainly could. True, it would save me thousands a year. However, I really do prefer leaving the house to work. I'm afraid I might become lackadaisical, and before you know it, I'd be working in my relaxing clothes and slippers! Ha!

Don’t you love these sweet bunnies, kittens and puppies? One of my cousins emailed all the photos in an email warning about Easter Identity Theft. I decided to put them all in a collage to warn you. So Beware! :]

Hope your day is fabulous!

Overcome by the waters

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Overcome by the waters

Major flooding closes roads and bridges.

LOWNDES COUNTY — Major flooding continued in Lowndes County and surrounding counties Saturday, leading officials to evacuate entire neighborhoods and Gov. Sonny Perdue to declare a state of emergency for the region.

That’s the headline and first paragraph of the lead story in today’s paper. And here’s a link to the photo gallery. More rain is predicted by the National Weather Service, but they are encouraging residents to remain calm as they do not expect the additional rain to have a major impact on area flooding.

The Septic Tank guy was here most of the day yesterday and he will be coming back again one day next week. While he was pumping my tank he blew a pump gasket. It took him and his grandson over an hour to put all that waste back INTO my tank that was still in the hoses running from his truck to my tank. Good Grief. Yesterday was really a No Fun Day here at the Yellow House in the Deep South. I just hope he got enough out that I will not have toxic waste in my tub again before he returns to finish the job.

In other news… my internet is still out at my office.

Mediacom services — which include telephone, Internet and cable — were out to more than 18,000 customers due to the heavy rains and flooding. Sally Bloom, company spokesperson, said that the “head end” or primary transmission point in Valdosta, which is located near Sugar Creek, is under six feet of water and the water is still rising.

“We are bringing in additional equipment as quickly as we can, and we will be working around the clock to resolve this, but there isn’t much we can do until the water recedes,” Bloom said.

So, today I will drive to the office and forward the phone to my house phone, or cell phone, because I will have to work from home until they get the internet back up. I’ll also have to break the news to Feather, my office kitty. She will miss me something awful! Thank goodness I have DSL at home - I never thought that was a good thing before! Ha!

My mother remarked yesterday that I have such a great attitude about things and that she thought it was wonderful that I could laugh about it. Really? ‘Cause I thought I was pretty crabilated about it, especially when ‘stuff’ came up through my tub drain, when I pointed out to the septic tank guy that his pump was smoking and then again when I wrote that check! But, hey -you may as well laugh about it, right? I mean, truly, there’s lots worse stuff going on every minute of every day all over the world.

So, today is Bingo with the Biddies and Forward my Business Phone Day here! Hope your day is lovely!

Listening

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:34:00 +0000

the songs of nature
squirrels chitter, bullfrogs croak
are you listening?
geese honk, mourning doves coo-ooo
a symphony at the swamp

Thanks to April Wine for this week’s OSI prompt, “listening”.

Photo Hunt: Stripes

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:10:00 +0000

Well today’s Photo Hunt Prompt is Stripes and of course the first thing I thought of was these stripes! This is my flag at The Swamp. My friend Mike just replaced it for me and properly disposed of the old one. Mike’s a true American Hero and a Purple Heart Recipient. This man seriously loves our Flag, as do I!

And because it’s been so rainy, I also included a photo of sunshine and shadow Stripes on the lawn, also taken at The Swamp. The latest update I heard yesterday on rain totals for my area was about 14 inches. Holy Moly, that’s a lot of rain in 2 days. It wasn’t even a hurricane or anything. Just saying.

And finally, what’s a day without the Gray Boys?! I loved this shot. There’s Stripes created by the shadows on the grill cover, on Gandalf and Grayson as well as on the grass. They are sniffing each other’s faces - so cute! They do this about 20 times a day. You know, just in case one of them sniffed something good that the other one didn’t!

I have to share a little thing that happened with Gandalf and Grayson last night that tickled me to no end! Now first I need to remind y’all that I am a creature of habit, something the Gray Boys have learned quite well. And second, the Gray Boys are Not Allowed Outside unless I am home. And third, I always let them Outside through the back patio door. OK, so being reminded of those three things…

I had to go to the grocery store on the way home from the office last night. I went with my friend Allen. We couldn’t carry it all into the house in one trip so I left the front door wide open, ‘cause we were going right back out. We grabbed the rest of the bags and headed back to the front door and then I saw it. The two of them were standing in the doorway looking outside, then at each other and then at the front porch, and back again at each other. They seemed to be saying “Should we go Outside?” “I don’t know, it’s the wrong door. What do you think?” “I don’t know, Mom’s there. I might be OK. What do you think?”. It cracked me up. And so when I reached the door, I said “Who wants to go Outside?”, like I always do, and they both turned around and ran to the back door! Too funny! I wish I had a photo, but my arms were full of grocery bags!

Have a wonderful day, y’all!

PS. I lost my internet at the office yesterday - ALL DAY! I couldn't make it around to visit everyone yesterday. It was still out when I left. They said it was caused by the flooding. But my DSL at home was OK... Sometimes, I miss the big city. Something always seems to be Not Working here at the Yellow House in the Deep South. ::sigh::

PSS. Another Update: I'm waiting for the septic tank guy to get here to pump my tank. There is stuff in my tub that shouldn't be there. Ever. Apparently the 14+ inches of rain in 2 days was much more than my septic tank could take. I'm having all kinds of fun this week!

LATSOF - Sunrise over the Pecan Orchard

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I took these from my patio Monday morning. It was a glorious sunrise over my Pecan Orchard!

That was before the monsoons came to visit!

Oh my gosh, we've had tons of rain in the last few days - about 10 inches I think. I took this from the patio at the office yesterday afternoon. One of my geese came up and asked for his afternoon bread and I watched the water rolling off of his back (literally) for about 10 minutes! :]

The Swamp and the creek have overrun their banks. Yikes. No blue in these skies!

Yesterday I was delighted to find out that Miss Bee could see my photos again on her Mac! Woo Hoo! It was my first post composed with WLW and photos I had uploaded to Flickr! I'm hoping for 2 days in a row today!

First we thought it was a Firefox recent update issue, then perhaps a WLW issue, or a combination of the two. So I started composing in WLW and uploading my photos to Picasa, but she still couldn't see the photos. Next I composed with Blogger with uploaded Picasa photos with the same results. Sheesh!

What really puzzles me is that when I composed in Blogger and used Picasa uploaded photos Miss Bee still couldn't see them, even though Picasa and Blogger are "buddies" now. Picasa and Flickr aren't so different. They use a similar html coding, so I have no clue what the issue is?!

What I was really happy to discover is WLW was not the problem after all. Yay! Because I love WLW! Miss Bee, do you remember last year at lunch it was you and Charlie that suggested I try it?

I know most of you are going "la la la la la" reading all that, but I need to blog it mostly for my own recollection purposes, because I'll forget the sequence! But hey... Google and Picasa, if you're reading this out there on the RSS waves, you have a glitch for Mac users! Just saying.

Happy Friday, Y'all. Oh, and be sure to stop by Tisha's for more Looking at the Sky on Friday posts!

UPDATE: Just read the front page of the paper and they've closed all the schools in the county due to flooding. We had severe drought last year and now flooding. It's crazy, askeery stuff.

Thinkin' on Thursday

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:49:00 +0000

I'm thinkin' it's a pill to pill a cat - especially when you have to pill 2 cats - 2 pills each! Oh, my! Let me tell ya, that was all kinds of fun. I never knew Grayson could drool so good. Not to worry, it's nothing serious. I found the rice-like tell tale-signs of tapeworm on Gandalf and treated them both, just for good measure.

I'm thinkin' we have more than enough water in the swamp, and if it doesn't stop raining soon... I took this yesterday morning, actually after the rain stopped. The water is right up to the back of the shed, and almost up to the detached garage. I hope the water has receded more by the time I get to the office this morning, because there's more rain in the forecast in the next few days. Yikes.

I'm thinking I'm going to try Flickr to post my pictures since Miss Bee can't see them when I use Picasa. This is my first post using Flickr. So tell me Bee, can you see these?

I hope you all have a lovely day!

Oh, I don't think so

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:44:00 +0000

So I just logged into my Facebook and saw some new Notifications...

Now that is one funny April Fools Joke! I wonder if Michelle is trying to get back at me for not voting for him? hahaha!

Has it stopped raining yet?

bsgretter@gmail.com (barb) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:43:00 +0000

From WillThink4Wine Photos

No. It has not. But after losing power last night about 7:45pm, it did finally come back on about 10:00pm - so I missed Idol. Of course my DVR didn't record it because... I had no power. Rats.

I'm back to composing my posts with Windows Live Writer. I just can't stand using blogger. It is not very friendly when trying to format anything. Drives me nuts.

The baby squirrels are getting bigger and braver! They've just started venturing out from their Hidey Hole in one of the Pecan Trees. I just hope they don't come down from the tree until they can outrun Gandalf and Grayson!

This morning Gandalf is not at all happy about his yard being so wet. He went out for about 2 minutes on the patio - under the gazebo - and came right back in the house and into my office just a-yelling at me about it! He's so funny! Grayson is just his usual mellow self. Go out, Stay in... whatever.

So this morning before work I will scoop litter and feed and water 7 kitties - I am cat-sitting for a friend. Then I'll drive to the office and toss bread for 4 geese and countless dozens of birds, and the feed and water 1 more kitty, Feather, my office kitty. All before work. And after work, I'll do it all over again! My life is so exciting, isn't it? :]

I hope your world is sunny and bright today!

It's cold as ice

gandalfandgrayson@gmail.com (Gandalf, Grayson and Whitey) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:48:00 +0000

Click to embiggen

I was watching Man Made, a show on National Geographic about ICEHOTEL in Sweden. It is a hotel that has to be rebuilt every winter. Once they build it, it only lasts about 4 months and then, it's reclaimed by the Torne River. They've built 19 so far. They are currently looking for designers of the 20th Ice Hotel for Winter 2009.

"The entire ICEHOTEL is on loan from the mighty Torne River and is a place where time stands still. When the spring comes and then finally the summer, the entire creation will once again become part of the rushing rapids coursing toward the sea."

Click to embiggen

For the stout and adventurous, you can choose between Cold Accommodations or Warm:

"Staying at ICEHOTEL is a must for the modern adventurer – an experience utterly unlike other hotel stays."

"At ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi you can choose between several different types of accommodation. The ideal is to combine one cold night in ICEHOTEL with several warm nights in our hotel rooms or hotel chalets. This in order to fully enjoy the ICEHOTEL experience."

Guess which one I'd be choosing! :]

Now moving from Sweden to nearby Norway... One of my favorite photography blogs is Ivar Ivrig, who lives in Trondheim, Norway. He currently has 411 Followers and goodness knows how many are subscribed to his feeds! I am one of Ivar's followers. I found him through the wildly popular Skywatch Friday and That's My World Tuesday photo memes. Some of the reasons I adore his blog are his photography, of course, and also the incredible lighting in that part of the world, the unique landscapes and fabulous colors of the arctic... all places and things that I will most likely never see. Just imagine seeing the aurora borealis or the midnight sun of Swedish summer... Ivar gives me beautiful glimpses into his extreme world. You should check him out!

Well, I've got to get ready to leave for the office, in my not so extreme world! Have a wonderful day, y'all!