Three weeks ago, I wrote a list of projects I wouldn't mind completing this year. So far, I've pruned two fruit trees, sowed some wildflower seeds in the backyard, and have begun organizing photos to scan. I like to think that I've brought my blood pressure down. We'll see what the doc says on Friday.  I've added another item to my list: finish painting all the electrical wall plates in the house. At the moment, I'm working on the wall plates in the kitchen. So fun!  

  Plop, plop, plop, plop, plop . . . . "It's raining." I said to the Husband. "It is? It is! The streets are wet." A few minutes later, no more plop sound. That was a couple of hours ago. It's still raining. Simply more gently. I don't even think it's raining until I happen to glance out a window. Last week we had our first winter storm. Have I said that before? By the second morning, the little red wagon was overflowing with water. Amazing! I heard a weather guy say that we made up to 40-something percent of the normal annual average just in that first storm. A few more storms like that and we may not have a drought year. Hoping for the best.

"Let's make valentines for our friends," I said. "Okay," he said. Have we started? No. #1 Am I becoming Mama? As I pulled out the pit from the avocado, I noticed that it had sprouted. It gave out vibes like it wanted to grow, to become a tree.  Our avocado tree began bearing fruit about 10 years ago, more or less. Mama planted seeds throughout the backyard and many (if not all!) of them sprouted. After Mama's Spirit soared into the Universe, I pulled out over 20 avocado plants in the yard, including a couple growing among the roses. Ouch! Yeah, I saved the avocado pit. It's nesting on top of a potted plant on the kitchen counter. If it grows, it grows. It's time for Mosaic Monday , a weekly meme hosted by Angela of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf . It's a cool meme and blog to visit.

  Questions about animals is the topic on this week's Sunday Stealing , hosted by Bev Sykes. 1. What is your favorite animal and why? I don't have a favorite animal. 2. Are people animals? What separates humans from animals? Humans are a species of primates, a subgroup of mammals. Wearing clothes and handling technological tools and machines are two things that separate us from other animals. 3. Which animal is the most dangerous? Any animal that carries a deadly transmittable disease. 4. What should you do if a bear approaches you? Hope for the best. 5. Do you like dogs? Why do people call the dog, man’s best friend? Yes, I like dogs. They're probably thought of as man's best friend because they don't place any crazy demands nor stress on their human owners. 6. Do you enjoy going to the zoo? Some people consider zoos to be cruel environments for animals. What do you think? I haven't been to a zoo in decades, and I doubt I will ever visit one again. I didn&#

The full moon was up in the sky when the sun rose this morning. Click. Delightful! This was the second month in a row the moon stayed up to watch the sunrise. And, by good fortune, I saw it both times.  In some cultures, the January full moon is called the Wolf Moon because the wolves would howl in hunger during this season. We have no wolves here, but we did hear some amazing howling winds during our recent first winter storm.

Happiness Delight Gladness Blissful Glee Cheer Pleasure Good-spirits Jollity Good Will Wonder Contentment Satisfaction Thursday 13 is the meme today. Come check out other bloggers with me.

Meet Mssr. Monsieur.  He revealed himself last night. His story?  Mssr. says all we need to know is that he likes turtlenecks and monochrome outfits. And, some time ago, his passion was tippy-toeing the tightrope and dancing the limbo. Sometimes at the same time.  Mssr. Monsieur agrees to tell us more should he come this way again.