I bought this painting for my birthday. Isn't  it darling? It was showcased in the recent children's art exhibition at our local art gallery.  The painting is based on the Pete the Cat books. Guess what books I'll be searching for when I go to the library. This cute painting was done by a class of transitional kindergarten (TK) students in Sunnyslope School, which is a couple of blocks from our house. That's where I went for fourth and fifth grades over 50 years ago. My gosh! The note attached to the painting says that the students used their thumbprints to create the flowers that Pete the Cat is enjoying.  So sweet.

Back in 1990 (or 1991), when I was in my mid-30s, I decided to reclaim Christmas. To celebrate it. To enjoy it. Without commercialism. But, with meaning. With joy. With fun. For years, until that moment, Christmas was something I went through. Ho, ho, humbug, ho, ho. Not totally. I enjoyed singing Christmas carols and I liked the sparkle-sparkle of the Christmas lights. And, I loved giving presents. So, you see, I wasn't a complete loss into grumpiness or miserableness around Christmas-time. I simply thought the spirit of Christmas was lost beneath all the excessive Buy! Buy! Buy! I don't recall exactly when the light bulb went over my head, but it did, thank goodness. I didn't have to be depressed about Christmas being commercial. Bingo! The first thing I did was make a fireplace to hang up Christmas socks and pin Christmas cards around. See the white sock? A yellow pterodactyl sat on top of the  sock. I put the space heater in front of the fireplace, so the Fir

My day 83 ride with Tilda-Hilda was yesterday. It was my birthday ride, from our house to my favorite coffee shop just over 13 miles away. Whoo-hoo! Starting off! We've done longer rides, but this is the first time I've ever pedaled Tilda-Hilda to San Juan Bautista, which I've been wanting to do for three years. I was hoping to accomplish my goal this past August, but my knees got all whiny and worrisome. For about four months, we mostly pedaled around our neighborhood and it wasn't until the end of November that I ventured out and about. Although I only worked up to a few miles per trip, I decided last week to simply do this ride on my birthday, if the weather is good (no rain nor thick fog) and my knees are in good order. Looking back from whence we came: The highway we crossed at the end of the field. I admit I was a bit scared leading to yesterday, although I have often driven the path I would be taking. I would be crossing a highway, which worried

I'm writing this yesterday. Not caring about proper grammar. Because today is my birthday. Giggle.  This old lady is a young 6-2. Ha! If the weather and my body cooperated,  and I didn't chicken out, Tilda-Hilda and I have begun my new adventure around the sun by pedaling our way over to San Juan Bautista for breakfast. The Husband shall have driven over and met us there. And, together we shall have figured how to tie Tilda-Hilda into the trunk for our trip back home. Knock on wood . Until later, dear friends.

After a rain, a temporary shallow puddle develops on our patio. I like to call it our cement pond. The cool thing about this cement pond is the reflection I can see in it.  That's what I saw this morning.

I love the way the leaves cover our front yard this year. This may be the first year the yellow-and-red blanket is is thick.  The photos show how it looked today.  The Husband raked the leaves the day before yesterday.  While the Husband raked, I put up a few Christmas decorations around the yard to cheer up the Mama as she looked out the window as she ate her breakfast.  This time I did more than add red bows to the tree. See the green bough on the fence? That's new, thanks to the Godmother. She was downsizing her Christmas stuff, so she gave me the bough and a bunch of cool ornaments. The Autumn leaves and the holiday decorations in the front yard are a few of the things that perked me up this week. How about you? I'm linking up with the lovely Jenny Matlock's Warm Heart Wednesday . Click here to join the meme and/or read more warming posts.

While I was at the dentist this morning, the tech guy came to fix our Internet connection. I didn't realize he would need to go in our office. Otherwise, I would've stuffed the dirty laundry further into its basket, which is in the hallway outside the office and picked up my bra off the office chair. Or, if I was home, I would've run up the stairs before him and quickly put the unsightly out of sight. The Husband said he apologized for the mess. "That's OK," the tech guy said. "Is it that time of year?" "No," the Husband said. "That's who we are." The Husband was nice. It's really who I am. We both wondered what the tech guy meant by 'the time of year'. Will I be better about the clutter, piles, and things tossed around the office, the hallway, the stairs, and our other spaces? I doubt it.  I'm going outside to rake some leaves.