I know, I know. I change blogs too often. Sorry about that. I was going to have two separate blogs. I was going to keep this one for family related things, things to do with M and the like, and the other one I was going to blog other things, like my interest in gardening, photography, cooking, etc. However, several people made comments to me that they would rather just have one blog to read. So I am going to TRY to smoosh it all into one blog, the new one... IF I find that it gets too chaotic over there, then I shall post family/M related stuff here and the other stuff over there, as I intended. If you do not already have the URL and would like it, please drop me an email at jen dot henderson at gmail dot com. Thanks...

This next week is shaping up to be a busy one! Today so far I have cleaned the bath, made the beds, gathered the laundry and started a load, made breakfast, snuggled with a Pea, watched Spongebob, straightened the living room, put a ton of toys away....and now I am blogging! I still have to vacuum, damp mop the floors, shower, and get out of here to meet someone in town for some REALLY cool pink lights (for M's room!) that I snagged off of a local 'flea market' Facebook page, and then it is off to civilization to get the Pea school clothes! Then, this evening, we have to meet her teacher between 5:30 and 7:30. I am both excited and nauseated about this. LOL. I mean, I am SO excited for my little girl to start this part...

I am officially the mom of a 5 year old. Happy Birthday Pea. We love you so very much!! I cannot wait to see what unfolds before you as you start kindergarten this year! You are an amazing little girl and it is really an honor being your parents... Love, Mommy and Dadd...

HAHAHAA... Early bed time FAIL for sure. M is in her room, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Living is the WORST thing in the WHOLE WORLD!!!" And then she mumbles that, "This was to be my best day EVER.. now it is RUINED!" Drama much? Time to cut back on the Spongebob, me thinks. RO...

This is the week to try to settle into a routine. M goes back to school on the 21st. We have been letting her stay up pretty late these last few weeks. It has been nice having her up and around with us, out playing in the yard til dark and having fires and stuff. It is time though to get back to 'normal', and that means a 7:30 bed time. I started last night. Bed time was 8 p.m. She resisted a bit, but it was not too bad. She did not get a bath, and she totally should have LOL! So tonight, I have to have dinner ready by 5, the kitchen cleaned up shortly thereafter, a bath for the pea, and her in bed by 8 tonight. Then, tomorrow night, we can do the same and aim for 7:55 p.m. I figure if I can up it by 5 minutes each...

In three days, my baby will turn 5 years old. *cries* She is an amazing kid. She is a bit lippy at times, stubborn as all Hell, and a bit feisty too. But she is smart, she has an amazing imagination, and she is lovable. I could go on and on, there are just not enough words to describe her. She is wonderful and we love her so very much. I am quite proud of the kid she is. She whines too much and is a bit of a drama queen (see stubbornness listed above lol) but when she hugs me for no reason and tells me that she loves me? *sigh* She starts Kindergarten on the 21st. We have her 5 year check up on the 18th. We get to meet her new teacher and see her new school here in the next week. Lots going on! For her birthday, my mom...

This is about the coolest thing I have seen in FOREVER. WANT. ...

Life in Terra Alta is good so far. I have the windows and doors open. It is about 75 degrees out today. Breezy. Wonderful. The air smells like hay. The clouds are all puffy. Some one is mowing their yard. T just lit the grill. M is outside playing. I am taking just a moment to blog and then I am OUTSIDE for the evening. Right this very moment, life is most awesome. Except that I miss my mom and wish that she were here with us......

Ok, so. I posted on Facebook the other day about it being my moms last day here. My cousin's kid must have seen it, because a bit later my mom's phone rings. It was my cousin, apologizing. She said we could keep the washer and dryer, but the fridge belonged to her daughter and they wanted it back. Understandable. Fine. She told my mom that she was sorry, that she just had not remembered saying we could take the stuff, but that the fridge was never hers to give away and she had forgotten about it. Whatever. So, cousin's kid came with her hubby and nephew to get the fridge. She came with them. She came in the house, mom showed her around sorta. She said hi to me and said for me to visit whenever I am down that way and that...

So we are almost unpacked. I have a few things to move around tomorrow, and then it is time to get into my office to rip down the wall paper. SO looking forward to that. NOT. Everything is finding a place. I love this house. I feel so at home here. The hood is so nice and quiet! I have to re-pot some plants tomorrow too, before they keel over on me. I also want to get the tiki torches into their respective places. We have a cheap little grill for now. It is better than nothing, but sobering in regard to what we used to have. *sigh* I am hoping to get the office in order this week. By the weekend I hope to have pics to post here. We still have to organize the garage as well. Then? I hope to get out with my camera to...

I have been quite busy lately. I miss blogging. ;) We are all moved into the new house. It is wonderful in ways that I cannot even describe. Our first few nights here, and it just felt like home. Even with boxes and crap all over the place!! It is so nice and quiet here. I love the house... We got M's room painted and her new bed in place. I have some touch up to do, and some finishing touches to do and her room is done. I am not doing anything with our bedroom, as I like it the way it is. Mom's room is ok the way it is too...for now. The living room will have to wait (want to replace the ceiling and put up new molding) and the kitchen is loverly. The wallpaper where the fireplace is, and down the hall, has got to go....

I looked out the window just now, and I can see the big dipper. It must be an illusion, because It looks enormous. I know that I am a few thousand feet above sea level now, but I cannot comprehend that it makes that much of a difference!! It is huge compared to what it looked like when I would be sitting out by our pool... interesting.. and with that, I am off to dream land. More to come tomorr...

Closing on the new house tomorrow at 4. This makes me feel as if I am going to hurl. Oy. We put the offer in at the beginning of June. This has taken forever. There has been much hoop jumping, and paper work like you would not believe. We did not have to go through this with our last house. It was easy peasy. Of course, that explains the whole mortgage crisis, right? Just give a house to any one! They made us fight for this one! We still have to pack M's playroom. We have been putting it off so as to avoid the meltdown of the century. That will be done tonight. The kitchen will be done tomorrow, and then I am scootching everything on the porch OVER, to make room for what is down stairs. We move Saturday. I pick up...

It has been one of those days. I mean, it has not been dreadful or anything. I just had the day planned out a certain way in my head, and it went NOTHING like that. LOL. We still managed to get a TON done. It has not been too terribly hot today. All of the bedrooms and clothes have been packed up. We have one more closet to do, the kitchen, and then to gather all of the crap that accumulated in the apartment downstairs and the root cellar, PLUS all of M's things out in the yard. Aaaaalmost done. We found out today that closing may not be Thursday, but either Friday or Saturday. NOT good. ARGH. But, there is nothing that I can do about it, so gotta let it roll! Off to have dinner.. another picture post coming hopefully...

Since my family here does not really want any part of us, I have made sure that we have had a fantastic summer regardless. Because no matter how much I try to play it off and act like I don't care, it stings pretty badly. They have cookouts and...

I have missed the FL sunsets. A lot. Being tucked in the valley here, the sun goes down behind the mountain around 5, and sunset is not until much, much later. Kind of a bummer, so the other day, my friend J and I went off in search of a sunset....

There are a lot of old and abandoned houses around here. Each time T and I go to the VA Hospital in Clarksburg, we pass this one place, and I always say, "I HAVE to stop and shoot this place!" I finally did, but was only able to fire off 2 or...

My kidlet is going to be 5 exactly one month from today. *sigh* She is such a fantastic kid. I love how people respond to her. She is such a ... light. Does that make sense? We will be moving at the end of the month. For those of you that don't know, we got a house in an nearby town. Thanks to my mom, we will have a wonderful new start. I am hoping to really set roots down in this place. We will start going to church. M will start kindergarten. Next spring, I am planting a garden. I want to get some fruit trees.. an apple tree, a peach tree, and a cherry tree. I also want a gorgeous red maple for the front yard. I want to fence in the yard, and have blackberry, raspberry and blueberries growing along side the garage....

Everyone always says, “Just write for you, and no one else! It does not matter if people don’t read; you are not doing it for them.” Ok, partly true. However, the fact that I have been at this since 2000, and I literally have 3 readers really sucks. OUCH. People always tell me that I am a fantastic writer. Really? Then where in the hell is everyone? I must be boring as HELL. I swear. There is really no point to this for me anymore. I mean, I like having the outlet. I like to blog. But, with no one really reading and having pretty much NO interaction with people, it just doesn’t do it for me. *sigh* Okay, okay. Enough whining. We all know that I am not going anywhere. Apparently, I am a sucker for punishment. LOL. Now,...

Most of you know that at one point, T and I had not one, but two Nissan trucks. We LOVED them. Seriously. I loved my truck. And I loved his even more. I never 'got' when people would get all stupid over cars. But, well, I do that over old Nova's, 69 Camaro SS's and Nissan Frontiers. LOL. Anyway, I venture over to Nissan's website every now and then to drool over new Frontiers and Xterras.. and today I came upon this... It is a long read.. so to sum it up short and sweet? That man's last name is Nissan. He has been using his name forever and a day in his business dealings (companies owned etc.) and it started back when Nissan vehicles were known as Datsun. Nissan Motor has gone after this poor man, relentlessly, for YEARS....

Ok, I guess I can vent this here cause I think there are like 3 of you reading this still... First, let me say that I DO believe that she is guilty. Second? I did not even watch the trial, just heard what was going on in the news. I was NOT SHOCKED by the jury's decision. I think they acted accordingly. Before you scream at me, just wait. I will explain in a moment. Third? I am REALLY finding it hard to keep my mouth shut on Facebook. The things people are saying!! Eeee man. I mean, I guess I sort of understand, as right now people are being ruled by emotion. But COME ON people!! There are rules and laws and you cannot convict someone just because you feel that she is a douche with no soul!! All of these comments that...

I love history. I am not a huge buff or anything, but sometimes I find myself wanting to know more about a certain time or event. I read lots, whenever I can, until the desire is satiated. I live in an area that is rich in Civil War history. I find...

Today is a rough day. This is a rough week. But instead of wallowing in sorrow, I am going to savor. I am going to savor the memories I have of two people that I loved very much, who are no longer here... Both of them would smack in the skull for doing anything less than that. :) I came here with something to say, and now it's gone. LOL. Hate it when that happens. I have a lot to do today. First up is a shower, and some laundry. Then food. THEN I gotta run to Kingwood to handle some things. Then back home to study! Hoping today is a great day.. Posted a note in FB, and feel silly posting it here as well. Damn you Facebook! *shakes fist* Ok, I gotta get moving.. to my 4 readers, lol, have a GREAT DAY.. SAVOR ...

That has been running through my mind over and over again. Last night, I went to bed feeling so much better about life. It was as if a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. Both of my sister's husbands are battling life threatening issues. One has cancer, the other is in end-stage liver failure. A blogger friend of mine is currently battling breast cancer (amazingly, might I add), and well, it just seems to be everywhere. My moms cousin was killed in an auto accident last week. She had gone out for a nice dinner with her husband, and some guy was texting his mother and hit them head on. J died a short while later at the hospital, her husband laid up in the hospital with a ton of horrible injuries. The bottom line?...

I was looking for bloggers from West Virginia. I did not really find any. But I DID find this post. I had read a few of her other posts. But the one I just linked to? Made me sob, uncontrollably, to the point that I felt sick. I am so tired of feeling sorry for myself. I am so tired of NOT LIVING. I left her a comment and thanked her for the post. I mean, it MOVED me in a way that I do not think a blog post has ever done before. I have to run for now, go spend some time with my kid and get her fed and ready for tball.. but I plan to link to her and follow her and hope that she continues to blog. What an amazing woman... And I have a new motto.. It is NEVER too early to start savoring. ...

I love taking pictures. I like capturing memories. Most of my photos are not very good, but that was never my aim. Until now. For years I have had a high-falutin' expensive camera and I never really learned to use it the way that it was meant to be used. What a shame, really. That is going to change. Lately, I feel life slipping from my grip. I am merely a bystander. I don't like feeling like this. I have been trying for years to lose weight. I have failed. I started school HOW long ago? And I failed. I gave up, or I was too depressed.. I had wanted to be a certain kind of parent. Am I that parent? NO. And I am TIRED of it all. So, it was time to give myself a good, old-fashioned attitude adjustment. I was toying with...

I am itching to go camping. So, I think that on Thursday evening, I am going to dig out the tent, and set it up in the yard to let it air out. Then, Friday night we can take the Pea and camp out in the yard and have a fire and stuff. Then.. the following weekend, I wanna camp for real, at a campground. There is one near here, but no one seems to know much about it. I am hoping I can scoot over there to check it out. That will be my birthday weekend. Meh. My Pop died on my birthday in 1997. He died right here in what is now the Pea's playroom. I had been here the week before, spending time with him and the family. I left just three days before he passed. It was awful. I had just started a new job and I could not come back...

Yesterday was icky. I slept awful the night before, and after getting M on the bus yesterday I immediately crawled back into bed. T dragged me out of bed around 11:30. I ate, went to study, gave in around 3 as I could no longer concentrate, and spent some time with the pea playing games. Momma made dinner. I ate, watched Days and a recorded Law & Order LA and went to bed. I was asleep before 9:30. I woke up this morning at 5:30 feeling MUCH better. I wanted to get in a full day of studying, but must run some errands. We are out of a ton of things, the most important of which being toilet paper. :) Today is also my Nanny's birthday. I am going to clip some of her blooming Irises, and take them up to the cemetery. My...

Nikki Sixx posted this on Facebook today... Four Agreements that I try to live by: 1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love. 2. Don’t Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering. 3. Don’t Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings,...

We had a few REAL nice days lately. It was GREAT to get outside. Then I got sick with strep. Awesome. Ugh. T ended up mowing the yard by himself and a few days later I raked up the mess. It felt so good to get moving and spend some time outside!...

I will never forget his face. One day back in 2001, T and I were out doing yard work. We were renting a small house in an okay hood near Busch Gardens. If the wind was blowing in the right direction, you could hear the screams of the people on the coasters. It was a small little house. I had blogged pictures way back when of the ugly blue tiled kitchen, that our landlord graciously agreed to upgrade for us, if we ripped out the old ugliness. Which we gladly did! Anyway, we were out doing yard work. T had gone in to get us something cold to drink and I was mowing. This guy pulls up in an old Blazer and asks me about trimming some trees that were weighing on our power lines. He gave me a business card, from a tree trimming...

I have looked forward to this moment for a very long time. The day when my kid comes through the door from school, with a hand-crafted gift for me, for Mother's Day. Today, my kid walked in the door, and told me that the gift she made was not for me. It was for Grammy. She said that it was a gift for someone special and that she did not want to give it to me. My heart.just.BROKE. I love my mom. And she is AWESOME with M and I love the bond that they have. But god DAMN if that did not make me feel like dying. That kid is my HEART. I know that she is barely 5, and does not understand the severity of her words... but still. She knows enough.. she knows that it was made for someone special, and that person is not her mommy....

Hi. *waves* This is probably going to be random and scattered, but, well, nothing new there, right? LOL We picked up my mom last week at Pittsburgh Airport. M cried when she saw her. It was so sweet. My mom asked her why she was crying and M replied with, "Oh Grammy..these are tears of JOY.." Haha. My kid is SO dramatic. It has been so nice having mom around. I missed her. And I did not even realize HOW MUCH until she was actually here. The weather has been wondermous. Cool evenings, warm days, foggy mornings perfect for sitting out on the porch with a steaming cuppa joe. I love sleeping with the windows open. I listen to the river as I drift off most nights. The birds start around 4:30 though, f**kers. So, I am...

Lots of changes on the horizon. Some good, some bad. I have a LOT on my mind, yet cannot really put it all out there yet. If you know what I am talking about, then.. sshhh. LOL. I am thinking I need a private blog. This one is listed on facebook and even though no one really reads it, there are certain people there that I just do not want in my bidness. Going to be removing a lot of 'friends' on FB here really soon. I have enough drama in my life. I simply do not need more. *sigh* I will TRY to get together a decent blog post here so...

My desire to blog, that is. Meh. I just have too much to say. I do not know where to start. I will try though, and hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a rambling MESS. As you know, I struggle with keeping my chin up. I try SO hard. I know that I have so much to be thankful for. Like: My Mom. My M. My T. The fact that my family agreed to us coming here instead of selling this place. I can get out of bed each day. I can see, smell, hear, taste, and feel, both literally and with my head and my heart. I definitely battle some depression, but I believe that it is situational and not clinical. I definitely have some anxiety, but nothing that cannot be handled by some quiet, alone time. I have all of my parts and they all work,...

Years ago, in middle school, there was this gal that I thought was my friend. Her name is Suzanne. She invited a bunch of us over for a sleep-over. I think there were 5 or 6 of us girls there, and it started off fun enough. Keep in mind that most of these girls were very confident. I was not. I was picked on for being fat (which i was not!) and I was picked on for being a tomboy (which I was, and I have no shame for that.) and I thought these girls were my FRIENDS. Suzanne had a brother named Mikey. He was a cutie. They thought it would be funny to try to get me to believe that Mikey liked me. I did not believe it. Towards the end of the night, after HOURS of them goading me, I started to think that MAYBE it could be true. Just...

I had wanted to get the apartment cleaned for when mom gets here, so that we can paint and stuffs. Of course, the hot water tank for down there took a crap the other day. The bottom is all rusted out and it was spewing water all over the basement. Thankfully, there is a drain right beside the tanks! My mom called my cousin about getting a new one, but I have yet to hear anything. I need hot water to clean!! Ugh. My cousins hubby was also going to fix the concrete stairs outside, and now that is not happening either. FRUSTRATED. The stairs are a huge hazard. They are crumbling and very dangerous. :( I can see buds on a lot of the trees. And my river looks oh so inviting, even if it IS still very cold outside. I NEED to...

It was 18 degrees outside when I took M out to get the bus this morning. This kinda sucks. LOL. This is the hardest thing for me. I want my FL weather. I REALLY do. I am struggling SO hard with whether or not I want to stay here. Part of me REALLY does love it here. Spring and summer have so much potential here. But then I think of winter and having to face it again. Ugh. I love the snow. I love watching it fall. I love going for walks in it. I love how it makes everything so beautiful. But then, it gets melty and gray and it makes a huge mess. The bleakness of winter pokes through again and well.. *sigh* The truth of the matter is this.. I cannot afford to live anywhere else. Even when I get a job, it will not be enough...

That is the day! We get mom at the airport on the 17th. I cannot wait. We are not telling M. We want to surprise her! :) I have a lot of work to do before then! Between school and cleaning up down stairs, Ima gonna be BUSY. Oy. ...

Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a memory will pop into my head. A memory from my old life. Today it was just a simple memory, yet it brought me to my knees. I walked to the sink to do the few dishes that were soaking, and as I looked up and out the window, this memory of standing in front of my sink, looking out at T lighting the tiki torches around the pool flooded my brain. The pets were in various places around the pool, watching T. M was in her playroom. Her little hands were planted firmly on the glass of the slider, watching her daddy. We were getting ready for yet another night outside in the glorious FL weather. Steaks at the ready, grill heating up, bathing suits on... It literally brought me to my knees....

I got an e-card from my mom the other day that simply stated: "HAPPY RETIREMENT TO ME!! AS OF 4/15 WEST BYGOD HERE I COME LOVE YA!!!!!" It made me cry. Actually, I think sob is a better word for it. I miss my mom so much! I hope she can be happy here. She is about to become a true snowbird! She will spend winter in FL. Which means no having her here on Christmas. We may have to figure something out in regards to that, because I really want her around for Christmas. *sigh* So, I have to hurry hurry with school and I have to deep clean the apartment, so that when she gets here, we can paint and get carpeting. The place needs new windows desperately. Anyway, I cannot wait. She made my YEAR with that email. ...

Sometimes, I have a hard time letting go. I do not really hold grudges, per se, but sometimes I just cannot let go. As the saying goes, "I don't have issues, I have volumes!" So true. For instance, I just came across the photos of a gal on Flickr that I used to know, and by know I mean that we used to read and comment on each other's blogs. I had posted about how complete my life was on a Valentine's Day many moons ago, and she commented on my blog all nasty-like. She said that she was tired of me blathering on about my happy, wonderful life and that she was ugly, unhappy, alone, and would never find someone to love her. I went to her blog to comment and ask, "WTF?" When I went over there, she had written a whole post...

Loving that my girl likes being outside! On the way to the store yesterday, she was noticing all of the little water falls that pop up all over the place when we have heavy rain. So I decided to stop where I knew there was a bigger one so she could...

I went to bed early last night, and had the most crazy, fantastic dream I think I have ever had. Of course, I remember very little of it now. I remember waking in the middle of the night thinking "Whoah! That was insane!! MUST remember that!!", before I drifted off back to sleep. Upon awaking, I remembered very little. I DO remember that it consisted of me and T going to the ISS. Without a shuttle. LOL. We were in these pod-like things that got launched into space using a futuristic slingshot. It was WILD. It was FUN. When we got near the space station, the CANADARM reached out with these tentacle-like appendages and pulled us in. Clearly, I watch too much NASA and too many sci-fi movies. Haha. I wish that I could remember...

There are so many places around here that I simply cannot wait to take my family too. Blackwater Falls State Park is one of those places. It is pretty no matter the season. Here it is in August: And here it is in February: We are nature lovers,...

So, after spending WAY too much time this morning in photochop, only to realize that I just simply no longer have the design mojo, I opted for this template. Cute, no? I was tired of the dark grayishness. We have enough of the gloom with the weather. :) I slept with the window open last night. I was nice. This morning, it started snowing and it has yet to stop. I am not sure how much we are supposed to get. My weather thingy on my phone said little accumulation, and the Pittsburgh station said 3 to 4 inches. Oy. It IS pretty and I really don't mind it all that much. But when Mother Nature starts peppering your weeks with gorgeous, sunny, 60 degree days and then goes the way of the nut bin with this stuff again? Meh. Makes...

M has allergic rhinitis... or.. allergies. Both of her ears are good to go, but she is to take Zyrtec in the morning if needed, Benadryl at night, and we have to saline flush her nose at night. THAT is going to be fun. Oy. I also have a nasal spray for her if she needs it. We need to get her a warm-air humidifier for her room too. Not sure how we are gonna do that though. *sigh* Since moving here, T has slept upstairs in the bedroom, and I sleep on the couch. He has severe sleep apnea, and while he uses a CPAP machine, it is not working very well for him at the moment. He needs a sleep study and we have to go to Pittsburg for that, over night. Again, no money to get a hotel and stuffs. So.. not sure when that is gonna happen....

So, I am not so good at keeping up with the old blog. Sorry. I had recently scanned a bunch of photos. And then T's step-mom sent us a TON of his baby pictures. Oy. Good LORD he was cute. *sigh* I am not gonna lie. I want another baby. Now, before...

I have spent some time recently going through old photos. I came to the realization that I am missing a HUGE box of photos and mementos from about the time I was 11, til I was about 15 or 16. I am crushed. I believe the box was left behind at our...

Meh. I have tried to write up a post about 3 times and it just turns out to be a whine-fest. Truth is? I have become a jealous, bitter person. I see the happiness around me and I am pissed off that I no longer have that. I am tired of struggling. I am tired of fighting for it. He will never be happy. WE will never be happy. Thinking it is time to move on, yet when I put it out there and tell him that, he looks broken. I HATE that. Because I DO love him very much. Just tired of feeling like the only reason he is here is because he has nowhere else. Happy Effing Valentine's Day to me. This used to be such a nice, special day. Pffft See? STILL turned out to be a whiny post. Sorry 'bout th...

Years ago when I lived here as a kid, there was a row of blackberry and raspberry bushes along the cemetery, on the backside of a neighbors fence. They had the biggest, tastiest berries EVER. My friend L and I used to pick them and take them home. My mom would make jams, pies, muffins, etc. We would eat and eat and eat them, until we were ready to bust. So, just now, on a Facebook page for our little town, a few of us were messaging back and forth about stealing fruits and veggies outta gardens when we were kids, and my friend D says "just do not plant anything in the cemetery!" An aside? We are all going to get together this spring to try to give the cemetery some love, as it is in major disrepair. Okay, so back to D's...

There is someone from Fernandina Beach, FL that keeps hitting my Year In Review post, that really large post with all of the photos. That is, um, kind of unnerving. Just sayin'. The other day, for whatever reason, I looked to see if the cr@ck whore was on Facebook. She is. UGH. I do not know why I do that to myself. I do not know how that woman lives with herself. I, at times, do not know how I live with MY self. I love WV. I love this house. My mom forked over a lot of money to get us here. Now, the house has to be sold and my mom wants to buy it for me. And I am not sure that I want her to do that. I do not know if it is just the winter blues, or the guilt I feel over needing her to support us til we got on our feet,...

I know that most of you who read here, follow me on Facebook. Which is why this place tends to get ignored. There is more interaction on Facebook. That is why blogging kind of irritates me. Yes, I blog for me. But knowing there are people reading......

One of the things that I love most about this old place, is the river. I often refer to it as 'my river'.. I think this annoys some people, and it certainly amuses others. Anyway, I LOVE to spend time in, on, and around the river. I find it relaxing to go and sit in a quiet little spot, listening to it rush by. I am afraid of it on days like today. It is angry today. I am going to get out later to get some photos. I am looking forward to the summer. There is a nice little place to camp right down the road, and it is along the river. This place is so beautiful in the summer. I am counting the days. The bleakness of winter has worn itself out with me. I still love to watch the snow fall, and love when everything is blanketed...

All in all we ended up with about 10 inches or so, I would guess. This morning, we got another 3 or 4 inches. It is very beautiful. I do not mind it much, but I AM counting the days til spring. This place is so beautiful in the spring and summer....

It snowed a little bit today. ...

That would be M using her sled as a shovel. That child was determined to build a fort. I need to find one of those block igloo maker things so we can make a REAL fort the next time we get a good snow. *sigh* I love her. ...

Where do I begin? Ugh. These are the stairs leading down to where we park. Or, leading from where we park up to the house. :P In this photo, you can see the rock wall in major disarray, the gutter hanging off of the back of the house, the un-tilled...

These are some of our neighbors. They are a quiet bunch. Thankfully, we do not ever see them. *grin* This cemetery is very old, mostly Civil War era, although it is peppered with souls departed from later dates. What always struck me as odd about...

That is an icicle that is hanging off of the front porch roof. It goes all the way to the ground. I am starting to get concerned because it is causing the gutter a lot of stress. We tried to break it, whacking at it with random stuff before it...

I had really wanted to study today, but that did not happen. That frustrates me. I have to run to Kingwood today. Don't wanna. Gotta clean the apt. downstairs too. Wonder how long its been since those walls were washed? LOL. Pea is much better today. Cough is minimal. No fevers.. She is driving me crazy and mad that there was no school today. I am hoping that after I get her on the bus tomorrow, I can get downstairs and at least get the kitchen scrubbed down. Then, the next day I will do the bathroom, and so on. I will save the floors for last. Wednesday, Sears is coming out to give us an estimate on installing heating and AC. We won't be able to do anything for awhile, but we at least need to know what in the heck...

M woke me up at 4 a.m. this morning. She did not feel good. She had no fever, no cough, nada. I got her a drink and we snuggled on the couch. She fell back to sleep. I did for about 15 minutes, because then my neighbor was outside shoveling. He does this every time there is accumulation. He is well into his 80s, so it is impressive that he can get out there and do what he does. He has a HUGE driveway. He and his wife rarely go out. So WHY the need to shovel it at 4:30 a.m. is beyond me. What really sucks is when he breaks out the snowblower before 6 a.m. He also has an awful cough. He often sounds like he is going to heave a lung right there in the driveway. It is hard to listen to. Ugh. Anyway, M woke up again around...

The snow has been unrelenting. It sure is pretty though. M went out to play today. The two things that she REALLY wanted to do? Sled and build a fort. Neither of which she was able to do. She plunked her sled down, and promptly sank into the deep...

Ok, so I slacked for a few days. There is not much to photograph when you are stuck in the house. It started snowing again yesterday afternoon. T and I were in the next town over. We got home in just enough time to get M off of the bus. I had some...

Someone needs to teach this kid of mine what SLEEPING IN means. Seven a.m. and she was waking me up. Grrrr. The first two things she asked for was cake and to go outside and play in the snow, neither of which are going to happen until after lunch. LOL. There is a LOT of snow out there. I am only shoveling to the apartment downstairs and that is IT. It is still coming down hard. Sometimes, I cannot see the top of the mountain! I am hoping my neighbor comes by on his 4 wheeler to plow the sidewalk like he did the other day. That saved me some work! I can smell the cake. I hope that I can wait til after lunch! Hahaa!! I have some pics on my camera, but I just do not feel like dealing with it right now. I think I am gonna...

Wherever you are Daddy, I love you, and I miss you terribly. Happy Birthday! M and I are making a cake this afternoon in your hon...

Two pictures today. I needed to run to town today to get some things at Wally World. M was outside playing. I had been shoveling the back stairs (ugh) and the sun came out and there were big puffy clouds in the sky. So, I shoveled. And it damned...