Hello friends,  I had almost forgotten to post this today, until I saw someone else post.  This week has been different than most, filled with lazy, cold days and puttering around the house.  Today I got in and organized part of my sewing room and hope to start a new project soon.  We had plans to spend tomorrow evening with the family, but decided to stay home and have a quiet night instead.  Our game night will be postponed until another evening in January.  Well, 2020 was definitely a different year; one thing for sure is that I'm so thankful for taking the trip to go to Road to California with my best friend, purchasing a new, to me, Chevy Tahoe and then finding a trailer to go with it.  We had so many fun trips with the trailer this last summer, especially due to the horrid virus hitting our country.  Thankfully, we avoided it~but we certainly missed seeing our friends.  Our trip to Estes Park in January was such a hit for the whole family and the trip to South Dakota was the highlight of the fall for us.  Some dear friends moved out from California and they have a trailer, so we are hoping for many more trips with them this coming year.  In the works are Utah, South Dakota again and maybe even Montana.  Hubby and I had to cancel three trips this year~one to Hawaii that we rescheduled a second time and cancelled and also a cruise to Alaska.  Hubby is determined we'll get back to the Islands this coming year, but time will tell.  

I pray that you have a healthy and contented New Year and that the virus will slow down, if not completely vanish.  A girl can hope, can't she.  Blessings to you!

Noreen

Merry Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Last week the entire family joined together and attended a Winterfest Celebration here in our town. There were jump houses, slides, games and ice skating. Hubby and I needed a photo for our Christmas photo scavenger hunt and this was the perfect place.

   It was so cold, but all of our grands ice skated, while my girls and I put our feet up on a ledge of a fire pit to try to stay warm.

This week will be relaxed and joyous.  May your week be joyous and healthy and your Christmas be blessed!

Noreen

The Love of Puppies

Happy Thursday to you! In a week it will be Christmas eve, how exciting is that! I wanted to share pictures of our granddog Copper's puppies. This was such a small litter, only four but one was still born. They are so much bigger than the previous pups in both her litters, probably because of the number of puppies. In her first litter she had seven and the second litter she had eight. 

This first girl is the biggest and her markings are so pretty.  Our daughter said this litter is easier and won't be as messy when they get older, however the attachment to the puppies will be greater.

I stood up to grab another pup and Miss Lily jumped up and made herself at home on my coat. It's hard to believe she is twelve.  She loves her nana; of course Hunter wasn't happy I'd been with her and he wasn't there.

Copper had two girls and a boy; the second girl is the smallest and to be honest unless I look at the markings on her tummy I can't tell either apart. 

 All three puppies are sold already and phone calls had to be made to the others who wanted a puppy. The vet thought there would be five, from the ultrasound photo.  There are some disappointed folks out there. Copper's puppies are highly sought after.  I get to see them at least once or twice a week and even have a few hours of puppy sitting duty, which I absolutely love.

I am headed to one daughter's house for our weekly lunch.

Have a great day.

Noreen

The Joy of Giving

 Hello there,  How are you today?  Even during a Pandemic and crazy things happening in our country, it feels so good to be able to get out and give to others.  Yesterday I purchased a couple of loaves a Cinnamon Bread at a local bakery and delivered them to the doorstep of two girlfriends homes.  Both ladies had been on my heart and I just wanted to let them know I was thinking of them.  It felt so good.  The bakery didn't have any bread that was gluten free, so I passed but may go back on Thursday. Today I ran a birthday gift to a dear friend; I was able to catch up with her a bit and it was wonderful.

May your days be merry and bright.

Noreen

To The Mountains

Hello friends, I hope this finds you healthy and at peace during this busy time of year. Hubby and I got all our shopping and wrapping done, so yesterday we grabbed our friends and headed up to Estes/ Rocky Mountain National Park. We got a late start, so packed our lunch and headed to Bear Lake to hike. We had planned to go on Friday, but snow is predicted and would make the walk/hike a bit more challenging. It was perfect weather up in the park; we had our lunches and then walked around the lake. Look at the blue sky. It's a short walk, but great exercise!

 You can tell it was pretty chilly, but fun none the less.  After the hike, we drove back into town and walked the Main Street stopping to browse in a couple of stores, masks on of course.  

We so enjoy our friends being out here and ready at a moments notice to go with us.  Today I went grocery shopping and baked some pumpkin muffins.  Our daughter's Standard Poodle is probably going to whelp this afternoon or tomorrow.  So excited to see just how many puppies are in this litter; she got really big since last week and we are all putting in our guess.  Most of us think she'll have 8.  I'm sure I'll be sharing.

Joy to you!

Noreen

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

 Good morning to you and Happy December!  I find it hard to believe that I haven't been here as much as I hoped to lately. I will say that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with family and then had a granddaughter's birthday party on Saturday.  Sunday I came down with a nasty UTI and have been staying home as much as possible, other than to see my doctor.

We are almost totally done with presents and wrapping them-I've got two more left to wrap and this morning we are going to my favorite coffee house to get gift cards for some of the grands-who also love the place.

I haven't been in front of my machine in weeks and that's ok.  I have been, until Sunday, walking almost daily and doing some miles on the treadmill at night while watching t.v.

May your days be Merry and Bright!

Noreen

From Our Home to Yours Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                  

We are blessed to live in a Country where we have the freedom to worship, freedom of speech and the freedom to live life as we choose.  May your day be filled with contentment and gratitude for all the blessings we have.

Noreen

Fun Times With Fun Friends

Hello Friends! This weekend we had our dear friends stay with us; they moved here in September and this weekend they needed to be out of their home. We took them up to Estes for the day and loved showing them around. We walked around Sprague Lake and stopped for photos.  We have known them for 39 yrs and they are such a great couple; we are so thankful they are now living about 15 minutes from us.

This is their new dog, a red fox Lab and 7 months old.  She spent a month with a trainer and is so well behaved for such  a young pup.

Here is their other dog, he is a Havenese.  Hunter and Milo get along so well and it was easy to have our friends and the dogs with us.  The guys played Cribbage and worked on some projects and we had some retail therapy.  

 They left about an hour ago and it is so nice to know that they are so close in proximity.

I hope you had a great weekend and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Hugs,

Noreen

My Favorite Destinations

Happy Wednesday to you! Today hubby and I took a "spur of the moment" drive up to one of my all time favorite spots-Estes Park. I wanted to get up there to help support some of the business that had to close for several days or a week due to the wildfires. It was a gorgeous day and so delightful!  Views from the Canyon on the drive.

This store is one of my all time favorite stores; I was able to purchase some Christmas presents.

Another fun store; I didn't get anything there because hubby said we'd be back after we take a short trip in December.

We had a great lunch as Poppy's Grill and even brought back half of each of our dishes for lunch tomorrow.

 Today was a perfect day!  So thankful the mountains are so close to us.

Hugs,

Noreen

 Although I have been off of the internet more than usual, it is because I'm spending much time in prayer over our great nation and our destiny.  May His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Noreen

Happy November

Hello and Happy November to you. It's hard to believe it's been two weeks since I sat down here; I've no excuse really, other than working on a charity quilt and also making this cute Patchabilities runner.

 

We had a fair amount of snow last week and it certainly helped with the fires. I'm sad to say one friend lost their family cabin in Grand Lake and are heartbroken. I have another friend whose condo was spared there and a third friend who had a trailer there that I haven't heard about yet. Our skies are finally blue and smoke free, though the news says the fires are still smoldering.   Some of our closest friends(of 39 years) moved out to Colorado to live with their daughter's family and because they are so close in proximity, we've been getting to see them weekly.  They also have a travel trailer and we are already looking at trips for next spring and summer.  Hunter is sitting next to their Havanese, Milo; Hunter enjoys him because he is smaller and they play well together.  

Last week my big brother turned 80; it is so hard to believe.  He is so active, rides his bikes miles every day and although retired, he was just sworn into the Planning Commission for his city.  The quality of this photo, taken two years ago isn't very good, but I wanted to pay tribute to what an incredible example he has been to the family.

My brother and sister of my heart live in Northern California and we weren't able to celebrate with them.  However, we tried to make his day as festive as if we were there.  We knew they'd have some sort of celebration on the street and they did; it was called Champagne and Cupcakes, everyone wore a mask unless they were eating or drinking.  We sent out some banners, party hats, a t-shirt, a mug and had a birthday cake delivered on his big day.  Then our grandson put together a video for him of the entire family wishing him a Happy Birthday and telling him what they love about him; interspersed with the interviews were photos from his life and some of his favorite songs.  This is one of the photos included. At a scheduled time we all got together and face timed him to sing Happy Birthday.  He was so moved and it touched us all as well.  

We are sure hoping that Covid leaves this next year so we will be able to have them out here or go visit.

The months are flying by quickly, even though many of us are spending more time at home.  

I wish you health and happiness!

Hugs,

Noreen  

From Smokey Colorado

Hello and Happy Thursday! Many of you may be aware of the enormous wildfire that is still raging here in northern Colorado. Tuesday night our winds picked up and so did the fire; yesterday while getting dogfood for Hunter, I was shocked to see just how far the fire has progressed. From the parking lot in Loveland I snapped these photos; let me tell you this was an unreal scene. Not only was it in some towns close to Estes Park, it was headed for the town of Estes and the famous Stanley Hotel.

In the thirteen years that we've lived here, we've never seen anything like this.  There has been wildfires, but generally they are up in the Rockies and not as visible as this fire is.  As of yesterday, the fire only had to cover 4,000 more acres and it would be the largest wildfire Colorado has ever seen.  

Our fairgrounds is housing not only the command center for the fire, but also evacuees and animals.

It is so sad!  Thankfully our weather has cooled off and snow is predicted for Sunday; the snow about three weeks ago helped quite a lot, but it's needed again.  Our air quality is so bad that on certain days it is just not safe to spend time outdoors.

I keep saying our Colorado is experiencing what California has experienced over the last three years. 

I hope you have had a great week.

Hugs,

Noreen
 

Fall At My Home

Happy Friday to you! Fall is definitely here in Northern Colorado and one of my top must haves for the season is Mums. This cute wall hanging was my latest Patchabilities project and I love it.

We have five Burning Bushes in our back yard and this year they've been so brilliant.  Love them.

Our huge Locust tree in the back yard, just starting to change colors.

I lost about four Mums last year with our weird weather, so of course needed some new ones for the front walkway.  Although red would have  been my first choice of color, the purple have been so beautiful. This one will be planted in the front yard when it is at the end of its bloom.

This beauty will be planted in the back yard; I just love these plants. I always liked them, but it wasn't until we traveled in Massachusetts, this is a plant that I immediately get when autumn weather arrives.  In northern California they lined our brick stairs to the front door.  New England has a way of decorating their front yards and porches for the season, which is forever imprinted on my heart.   

Our sky is still so smokey and hazy; it is hard to be out. I'm thankful we got a treadmill so that I can get my miles in daily.  Most of the time I aim for four miles, between walking Hunter and using the treadmill at night. Yesterday I only got in a little over one mile, but today I've already done one mile on the treadmill and will do at least 2-3 more tonight.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs,

Noreen
 

Looking Back

Happy Fall to you! We have lots of golden Aspens here with some Flaming Maples, but I always love the brillant colors of New England. Three years ago we joined our best friends and spent time touring Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachutes. Here are just of a few of those photos; looking at them again is really making me want to go back.

With the new blogger format, I've yet to figure out how to enlarge our photos-ugh!  Just seeing them again makes me happy.  In today's world, we need all the joy we can handle.

Have a day filled with smiles.

Noreen
 

A Fun Adventure

Hello and Happy Tuesday! Yesterday hubby and I went on a drive, mainly to see the colors and we had a fun adventure! We took a couple of roads we'd not been on before and it was so refreshing. WE love barns and of course stopped to get photos of this one and all of the sudden hubby says "there's a moose". He was huge and very fast.

We continued on to a new to us Recreational Area and saw some pretty colors.

The lake we went to was at the Tundra level and it was gorgeous.  There are about 5 lakes in this area, but it was just too cold to hike; we plan on going back next summer.

 After this, we headed to Estes and enjoyed our picnic lunch in the park and walked through town.  We always try to support the shops there, especially since they have taken a hit from Covid-though there were a good amount of tourists.

I love the autumn season and colors changing, so know we'll head back up there soon.

Have a great day!

Noreen

To The Mountains We Must Go

Happy Tuesday to you. I know we just got back home last Thursday, but I talked hubby into going up to Rocky Mountain National Park today and was lucky enough to get reservations for entrance to the park. With Covid, they have limited the number of people allowed each day; while I've never heard of a National Park doing this, these are different times. We packed a lunch and headed to the mountains, hoping to see some Elk and walk a couple of trails. The elk were grazing in the meadows and not up close like during the rutting season. However, when we went to walk around of one of favorite lakes, we spotted these Rainbow Trout in the streams. We are not fisherpeople, but still appreicateed their beauty(and taste when we eat trout at restaurants).

 It was a quick trip, we were back home within four hours~but for this mountain girl, it satisfied the need.

Hope you have a great afternoon.

Noreen