My 2012 New Years Resolutions

Did you catch that?  These are my 2012 resolutions.  You see I think people have it all backwards.  Why do they set themselves up for failure?  Setting all sorts of goals and resolutions that most people forget about in 30-45 days? 

Nope this year I my resolutions are coming at the end of the year.

1. Maintain my weight!  Yeah, I succeeded. 
2. Finish the East garden and walk-way.
3. Start a new job. 
4. Pay off my student loan.
5. Start paying extra on the home loan.
6. Sell 11 doberman puppies to loving and caring homes.


Born 2/16/2012 Litter 2

7. Pass my MS Dynamics AX2012 certifications for Finance and Trade & Logistics
8. Take my sister to a Twins game


8/30/2012 Twins Game

Awesome! I succeeded in all of them!  And two of them would not even have been on the list last January 1st.  I had no intentions of starting a new job which required professional certifications.  It feels so good to be successful!

In all seriousness, way too much of the time we do set unreasonable goals for ourselves.  Then we get down on ourselves for not making the goals.  If you choose to set a New Years resolution for yourself, think it through and make sure that you have a plan so that you can be successful.  Set up a friend who is willing to encourage you and hold you accountable. If something happens that you fall short, forgive yourself. 

Always look to the positive things in life.  Because there is an amazing thing that happens.  When you look for something, you have a tendency to find it.  Happy New Years!  May God Bless you throughout 2013!

Tree Frost

I love waking up on a sunny winter morning and see that the trees frosted over in the night.  The newly formed frosts glitters in the sunshine on a sunny winter day.  It provides the stark beauty of the contrasting darkness of the dormant tree and the white of the winter snow off-set by the beauty of the deep blue from the sky behind.  For as much beauty as it provides, it also means a colder day.


Frost on the Trees

These are the branches the times that playing with photography is so fun.  Looking through the trees to the trees behind, the frost allows the contrast needed to show the depth of field.  The thing I love most about this style of photography is the lesson that it teaches.  If you focus on what is right in front of you, that is all you will see.  But when you look beyond the obvious, more beauty abounds.  Some people can't see the forest through the trees.  Some people can't see the trees through the forest.  See and recognize both.  For only in doing so can you see the whole picture.

Frosty Branches

The gentle breeze of the they day whisps through the branches gently loosens the frost sending it to the ground like a gentle snowfall.  The newly fallen frost glistens as it lightly dusts the ground freshening up the browning snow.  It also covers the bunnies activities allowing me to see if he is still active in the yard.


Frost Fallen on the Ground

I still have it!

Lighting wasn't the best for this picture. It has been about two years since I've colored anyone's hair. I let my cosmetology license go to a dormant status when I went back into accounting work.  

My sister at Christmas was complaining about her four inches of regrowth.  She was ready to have the red brown back in her hair. From a family of red-heads she is one of the special ones that takes red well.  It goes well with her complexion and holds well in her hair. 


Beautiful Reds and Blonde's

She wanted a few blonde highlights (noticeable) to offset the red brown so we had some fun. It is nice at this time of year to get your hair refreshed.  Just because you are stuck inside because cold weather is no reason not to have some spark in your life!


Why Mess up a good color?

Personally, I don't color my hair.  I have 3-4 tones of light brown to blonde with more grays mixed in each year. But the all mix well so why should I mess up a good thing? 



A Penny for your thought

for that is all I have left in my hand as I pulled away from Burger King with my breakfast in hand.  (Flash back)
As I was pulling up to the drive thru, I checked my wallet and pulled out $10.00 for my breakfast. I enjoy the croissant breakfast sandwiches with an extra egg - it fills me up for the morning. 
The thought passed through my mind, "buy the person behind you breakfast." I looked in the rear view mirror and no one was there.  I looked at the bill in my hand and decided that IF someone pulled up behind me and their order was less than the change I received that I would pay for it.
As the last car in front of me pulled out the car behind me placed his order.  When the gal opened the window to collect my money I asked her, "How much was the order behind me?"
I knew mine was $3.73 which left $6.27 available. "I need to collect yours then I will be able to see that." At first she had a cautiously curious look.  She placed the $6.27 in my hand which I left in my hand palm up between the car and the payment window while she pulled up his order.  "$6.26"
There was a sparkle in her eye when I handed my change back to her and she placed a penny back in my hand.  "Wish him a Merry Christmas for me." Sure it was after Christmas but I felt this was a God thing.  He spoke to me.  I did the human thing and put a box around him.  God proved that he could work inside my box...so can I trust him to work without my boxes/limitations?



A Penny for your thoughts

It is official!

My novella, Second-Hand Tuxedo, is now available on-line at Barnes and Noble as well as on-line at Amazon.  So if you have a Nook or Kindle, check it out.


oops it flipped :^)

I have been working hard nights and weekends on the next Novella, The Man I Was.  I am still hoping to be able to publish this Spring.  It is going to be a difficult mark to hit.

The second picture is Duchess, showing off her baby bump. 



Duchess' showing off puppy bump

I know; Dobermans are so skinny that until they hit about ten days before giving birth it is hard to see.  She is just over five weeks from a nine week pregnancy.  Amazing, huh?  That those beautiful little puppies are fully developed in nine short weeks!



Okay, admit it!

Duchess

I love these young ladies.  Duchess with her floppy ears often stays the night at my house.


My Jenny

My Jenny, still a wild puppy with her long legs that she periodically trips over.  Look at those innocent eyes.  HOW could SHE do anything wrong?  (She loves to chew the carpeting.)



A perfect Doberman Gift

See the rips?

They are very spoiled.  They both got identical Christmas gifts (they are as jealous of human children).  I slightly ripped the packages so that they would be able to see the treats and would be enticed to rip them open.


Will this fit in my hiding place?

 My Jenny, tried first to hide her present and then went back after her mother's.  She is so sneaky.  But we watched them closely and made sure that no pup caused a fight by taking the others treat.  I didn't get many photos taken because we were busy un-hiding presents and putting them back in front of them.  I think My Jenny thought she got about 8-10 gifts. 



Stealing Mama's gift?

So yes, I admit it.  I help Dale raise two spoiled rotten Dobermans.

My Jenny - "Go ahead - make my day!"

Go ahead - make my day

My Jenny is a ten-month old full sized Doberman Pinschiner.  She is still growing.  I hung back a ways to be able to take pictures of the sunset over the lake as well as photos of the girls.  The temperature was a balmy 1 degree above zero so I wrapped my scarf around my head like a scarf.  I was wearing my dress jacket and in the dusk, I must not have looked like myself.  My Jenny came racing towards me when suddenly she stopped and took this stance as if she was saying, "Go ahead - make my day!"


Mach-10 Doberman

I love her sillhouette.  Although it is difficult to capture it because she is usually going mack-10. 


Catch me if you can!

Always on the run, young My Jenny rarely walks anywhere.  We try hard to take her places that she can run free instead of walking on a leash.  Even minutes before sunset at a balmy 1 degree above zero, she is running full blast.  In case you were wondering, it was a fight to get her into the car.  She wanted to stay longer and run when the rest of us were cold and ready to go home for the evening. 

Merry Christmas (Happy Birthday Jesus!)

Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season.  We celebrate today as his birthday but at the same time we celebrate his entire life.  For the true reason for the season was that heaven came down, became a man and eventually became the blood sacrifice needed to cover our sins once and for all.  His death was horrendous but it didn't end there.  Three days later he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. Salvation through grace and mercy is the biggest gift of all.  If you haven't opened up God's gift it is just a prayer away.  (Prayer is just talking with God.  The same way that you would talk to me.)

So what should you pray? Something like this, "Heavenly Father, Forgive me of my sins.  I believe that Jesus is your son.  That he was born, lived and died on the cross for my sins.  I receive your gift of salvation.  Please guide me as I lead my past sins behind me.  Thank-you Jesus."

Make a joyful noise unto to Lord!

Let the Trumpet sound his jubilee!

Hey Jesus, Happy Birthday! Churches around the world today are having special celebrations for your birthday.  Hopefully the celebrations that we have prepared will honor you today and throughout the year.  We love you.

Bee Yourself

Could you look at three phases of your life and tie them together in a totally different way?  Here is an example of a person that has had to look at three different phases of her life and represent them in a connected but let's say unusual way. 

First in your youth it is similar to being in a bee hive.  Children are nurtured in the home and school environments. A lot of little bees packed together in the hive as they learn and prepare for their journey ahead.


Bee Hive

When the bees finally leave the hive environment, they become worker bees, busy bees and they strive to bee all that they can bee. 



Worker Bee

Then there is the time that she realizes that SHE IS the Queen Bee.  She runs her house.  She raises her children.  She has the life experiences that co-workers respect and come to her for advice and guidance.  In her new world, she provides the love and honey that makes life sweeter for everyone around. 


Queen Bee

Bee all that you can be.  Did you know that scientists have proven that bees can NOT fly.  Their body is too big and their wings are too small.  But no one have ever told the bees so they fly anyways.  Don't let someone tell you that you can't do something.  You can accomplish whatever you set your mind to doing.  So choose wisely and make a positive impact on the world. 

Walking on the water...

Sven and Ollie never understood what the big deal was about Jesus walking on the water.  They walked on the water 4-5 months out of the year.

 


Walking on the Water

Although the lakes freeze over and a many people, walk, ride four-wheelers and eventually drive on the frozen lakes in the winter, it is still has its risks. The dogs don't mind running out on the lake at least where there is snow.

 




Perfect place to run - a frozen lake

They stopped just short of the area that is sheer ice despite the fact that Dale was out there calling them. Does that mean dogs are smarter than humans?  I guess sometimes they do seem to be a bit smarter.  In case you didn’t know they train us humans very well.  Currently Dale and I are trained to let them outside for potty breaks, give them a treat when they come in and toss the tennis ball when dropped in our lap just to name a few things. 



Intelligence Test? - Evening walk on the lake.

 
My sister was sharing with me the other day that her husband was excited that their son wanted to go ice fishing.  The guys felt it should be a family affair.  Despite living in Minnesota all her life and knowing that it can be safe to walk on the water (when there are adequate inches of ice.)

The guidelines for new clear ice are:

Less than 2” stay off

4” ice fishing (foot traffic)

5” Snowmobile or ATV

8”-12” Car or small pickup

12”-15” Medium truck




12/21/2012 Ice House City by Richmond, Minnesota

 

The difficult part is that two people can be standing fairly close and one person has 4” of ice under him and the other only has 2”.  If it snows, the ice forms more slowly as snow acts like an insulator. 

 

As long as the wind stays down, it is amazingly warm feeling out on the ice.  Well, maybe not warm but tolerable as long as you are dressed appropriately, good boots, snow-pants, good coat, mittens, hat and scarf.

Dobie of the hill!

As you were a child, did you ever play king of the hill on the mounds of snow left after a storm?  I remember many more and much larger snow drifts in the past.  They were so fun to play on. 
Granted when I walk back into the schools I went to as a child I think to myself, "It seemed much bigger then."  Age, experience, and physical growth all change our perspective. 



Playing Dobie of the Hill!

The snow hit here a week ago, and we have had several days of sunshine. The piles of snow created by plows pushing it out of the way are slightly more compacted and perfect for king of the hill. 
Our Dobermans figured out very quickly that this heavily compacted snow was perfect for playing their games.  My Jenny came creeping over the hill and stared down her mother with the look that says "I dare you to get me!"



I dare you to get me!

Duchess took the dare and stood proud as "Dobie of the Hill".



Dobie of the Hill! - Duchess is Queen.

“It’s the end of the world as we know it.”

A New Day

For every end there is a new beginning.  Today is the winter Solstice or the day when for one area of the earth there is no day and in another area of the world there is no night.  Yet it is just the day when humans use to mark the first day of the new season; winter. The most wonderful part of this season is that the days begin getting longer!  I always look forward to the longer days.  It is difficult to have the short days with sunlight.

Winter Solstice

Although winter is not my favorite season for some people it is their favorite season.  I can see the beauty in the season.  What other seasons do crystals of frozen water reflect the sunshine looking like diamonds sparkled across the lawn? It is a time of rest for the land and the trees for they too need a time of rest. 

Star Crossed

We are blessed today to have actual sunshine.  There are many more cloudy days than sunny days at this time of year.  As much as we look forward to the sunny days, they do mean colder weather; weather that would please ole’ Jack Frost. 

Today is a new beginning.  The world is not coming to an end.  Let us look ahead to the future and continue with hope and love to conquer each new day that comes our way!  There is a silver lining to every storm cloud.  We are always given multiple ways to look at things.  It is our choice and although there are times it is difficult we must always remember to look for the positive side.  We do have a tendency to find what we are looking for.  See the diamonds in the snow and enjoy the beauty of today.

One brave bunny



A dog with eight legs?

There is a wild bunny that has made my yard it's winter home.  It is either a very brave bunny or a very stupid bunny.  I have seen it just a few times. Usually moving at lightening speed away from the chasing dog. 


A good place for a bunny to hide

As I usually have one of the two doberman with me if it is in the yard there is a chase. At first I thought it was making it's den under the decorative bridge in the yard.



What is that bump in the snow?

Then as I pulled up in front of the house after dark I noticed that there was an unusual drift.  As I glanced towards the drift I noticed that there was an abundance of paw prints.  From inside the porch I could see the possible entrance.



Bunny Den Entrance

The bunny periodically makes a statement and leaves a turd on the doorstep of the house. 


Is this a message, bunny dear?

But that could be because it sees Duchess coming out the door and I think maybe it has had the s*** scared out of it a few times (literally). 


Who scared the bunny?

I try to look for bunny before I open the door but there are too many shadows in the yard.



The parties have begun

It is the busy time of year.  Amidst the political mess and the tramas we instill upon ourselves STESS!  Work parties, friend parties, time with family and buying the perfect gifts. 



Gift Opening

A Christmas party is the perfect place to say "Thank-you" to people that you would like to honor for working so hard during the previous year. It is always fun to surprise someone with a special thank-you.


 

Christmas Party?

I've heard the average American gains 5-10 pounds over Christmas.  Luckily this party used a smaller square plate and even at that I walked away feeling quite full.  A larger size chicken wing, a meat ball, stuffing, potatoes, wild rice, jello "salad" and 3 different green bean casseroles.  (Did I hit a hot spot for you calling a jello dish a salad?  Sorry, I grew up surrounded by Lutheran's and Jello Salad it was! - Jello with Fruit and coolwhip.)




Christmas Potluck

Did I forget to mention the dessert table?  So much food to choose from and at this table we dare NOT try a bite of everything.  We really need to do the difficult thing and make a choice, or two or three.....



Dessert Table

 Don't party too much but do have a good time and enjoy the company of those around you.  Six days until Christmas.

How to Conquer a Nation....

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation...
One is by sword...
The other is by debt."
John Adams 1826

Fiscal Cliff:  President Obama ordered the cabinet to cut $100,000,000.00 ($100 million) from the $3,500,000,000,000.00 ($3.5 trillion) federal budget.  To put that in realistic term for a person (typical retirement income) living on a $2,000 per month budget they would need to cut six cents ($0.06) what would you cut?  For the year $24,000 of budget would need to cut $0.72 or less that a candy bar. 

Here goes my soapbox speech.  For a start what we need to do is investigate the welfare and disability systems for abuse.  There is an apartment complex in my small town that is an income subsidized housing complex (rent is calculated depending on your income.)  Nearly everyone there is either on welfare or disability. 

There are those people that should get welfare assistance or disability pay.  But there are those that abuse it.  One person in town bought a new TV and used vehicle but had their electrical turned off.  (Bill is about $25 a month.)  Now they will go to the county assistance and get assistance to pay to get the electrical reconnected.  Are they getting good use of the new TV?

You also need to understand this town is about 5 blocks wide by 8 blocks long.  They only need to walk 4 blocks to get to the downtown area which is only about two blocks long.  Considering many of the people are on disability because of excessive weight…hurrah to the one I’ve seen who pushes her walker and sits down when she needs to rest.  A few others should take her example.  The grocery store delivers orders every Friday for the bigger, weekly purchases.

Then when I go shopping in a larger town nearby and I get behind the obviously not the same family groups of people that have thrown all their groceries together and are paying on 2-3 EBT cards (the electronic food stamp cards.)  Is it healthy food?  NO WAY!  They have chips, candy, pop, toss in the oven/pre-cooked meals and everyone in the group overweight.  I’ve talked to a few checkout clerks and there is a tremendous amount of abuse of the system.  Buying and selling of cards.  Letting friends use the cards.  These cards are like credit cards.   Come on people let’s do the difficult thing and review the use and abuse.  It is time to stop people from abusing the system “entitlements!”  There are those who are using the assistance properly and need it as a stepping stone in life.  If nothing is done, those are the people that will eventually lose their benefits.

Cold is a relative thing ya know...

It's can't snow if it is TOO COLD.

I've been pretty serious the last few days so here is a light-hearted post.  Step back and have yourself a laugh.  It is healthy and it is contagious.  The following is from an e-mail that is floating around the internet.  As it is in the 20-30's here and I often find myself running to and from the car or half a block to the grocery store in jeans and a sweatshirt, I have to laugh.  ;^)  

At 65 degrees, Arizonans turn on the heat. Minnesotans plant gardens.

At 60,Californians shiver uncontrollably. Minnesotans sunbathe.

At 50, Italian & English cars won't start. Minnesotans drive with the windows down.

At 40, Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats Minnesotans throw on a flannel shirt.

At 35, New York landlords finally turn up the heat. Minnesotans have the last cookout before it gets cold.

At 20, People in Miami all die. Minnesotans close their windows.

At 0, Californians fly away to Mexico. Minnesotans get out their winter coats.

At 10 below zero, Hollywood disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Minnesota are selling cookies door to door.

At 20 below, Washington DC runs out of hot air. (Ya think? Nah.). Minnesotans let their dogs sleep indoors.

At 30 below, Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Minnesotans get upset because they can't start their snowmobile.

At 40 below, ALL atomic motion stops. Minnesotans start saying..."Cold enough for ya, eh?"

At 50 below, hell freezes over. Minnesota public schools will open 2 hours late.

We live in a Nation driven by fear...

I heard a radio announcer say earlier this week. Expanding on some of the examples given on the radio...... We are afraid of going gray, of losing our hair, of gaining too much weight, of being seen without make up, or wearing the wrong things together. The media; television, radio, magazines and newspapers all encourage people to look different and be different from whom they actually are.

Don't lose your hair! Buy this product.
Want to be thin? Buy our product. (It has 20 million side effects that could kill you but you will be thin.)

Watch TV ads for just a couple of days with a different viewpoint. Ask yourself, does this commercial in one way or another take advantage of or create a fear in me so that I am inclined to purchase their product?

Fear/anxiety seems to drive us even if unintentionally. Jesus said to the disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.....which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?"

Yet we allow the doubts of the TV commercials to invade our thoughts and cause more fear and anxiety. I think it is time that we just say "NO!" (to more than just drugs.)

Even with the terrible and tragic news of this past week we need to make sure that we keep all of life into perspective.  We could allow the fear and anxiety to paralyze us or we could give those feelings to Jesus and pray over the situations. 

http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/children-car-accidents-the-alarming-statistics-695796.html  According to this article published in 2008 on any given day nearly 700 children are harmed due to accidents on our roadways.  Of the 250,000 kids injured each year approximately 2,000 die from their injuries.  Talk about keeping our children safe from guns?  What about cars?  What about child abductors and molesters? What about parents that do drugs and excessive alcohol and abuse their children? 

I feel sorry for parents as they try to take on this seemingly daunting task. Faith is Jesus and keeping those children wrapped in prayer every second of the day is the only way to have a chance of success.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

These young kids in the choir sang many Christmas songs but they did not sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas!" Instead they sang the Christmas story to go along with a 9 minute video that they produced with the help of their Youth director and his wife.  

Christmas Choir 1

It is interesting to see how some songs the kids are "just trying to get through it"


Are we there yet?

and other songs they sing the song with so much feeling that it just warms the heart. 


Praising the birth of the King (Jesus)!

Jesus said (Luke 18:16) Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

So what does that mean?  ..."to receive the kingdom of God like a small child?"  What are the attributes of children that stick close in your mind?

• Trusting
• Loving/caring/sensitive
• Openly asking questions, "Why?"
• Open hearts and minds to receive the knowledge given to them

Those attributes that life steals from us as we age and see the "real" life.  Yet Jesus asks us to take a step backward and recognize the faith of a child and to connect with that side of our lives to reclaim the innocence of a child.  

This is a wonderful yet difficult time of year, Christmas time.  A religious celebration that has been commercialize to such a degree that it has added significant stress to our lives.  Buying gifts; bigger, better, there goes the budget! Oh, BOY! 

Maybe it is time to take a step back.  Make home-made gifts or give gifts of time.  Take the time to step out of the topsy-turvy activity created by commercialism and spend some quality time with the ones you love. 

God's answer to the tragedy

Psalm 37:1-6 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!  For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like a green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Himand He will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Freewill means that there is going to be people who choose evil over good.  As we follow God we should not fret about their misdeeds. 

It is amazing how many people are envious of wrongdoers.  This portion of scripture differentiates between good/bad and right/wrong.  People can be good and make wrong choices. Going too far into debt is a wrong choice that many of us easily fall into.  When we see people with nice things, we may become envious of what they have.   Then as time passes we realize that they are to deep in debt and losing those nice things to bankrucy or foreclosure. (Faded like grass/herbs)

Delighting in the LORD means to keep him front and center!  WWJD - what would Jesus do? What does the bible say about what we are thinking about doing? Does it bring glory to God?

Lift the families affected by evildoer in prayer, surround them in love and comfort.  Let God's light and righteousness shine through you.

My heart and prayers go out to the families in Conneticut

11 days away from Christmas and dealing with the unexpected tragedy of a school shooting.  26 innocent people have lost their lives so far.  I am sick of hearing new reporters wonder what can be done to stop the violence.  Take back America! 

Put God back in the schools. Let me be clear that I do NOT mean religion.  I mean GOD the Father and creator of all things. Teach his 10 commandments: 1 God put him first and don't use his name as a swear word, remember the Sabbath & keep it holy (working 7 days a week make one weak), honor your parents (teachers and authority figures), don't kill, don't have sex out of marriage, cheat, lie about your neighbor, or crave any of your neighbors things.  Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  (This would take care of bullying too!)

If children were really raised to live with those ethics and the adults that cared for those kids honored those teachings, we'd be living in heaven on earth. 

The other part of the story is reducing violence on TV.  There is so much violence on TV that kids see and get numb to seeing people shot and killed.  Then they see the person in a commercial or on another show and somewhere in their mind guns no longer kill people dead.  It is just entertainment. 

The Secret of Success

Great people are great because they never stop trying to prove it... The interpretation of that sentence is that great people achieve success because of hard work. Sure, once in awhile they fail but they don't stop there.  As my Father would say, they pull themselves up by the boot-straps and get on with life.

Growing up a summer camp that I attended taught us "good, better, best, never ever rest 'til your good gets better and your better gets best".  My parents taught us a similar lesson.  They taught us a work ethic that included being self sufficient.  Even if it meant flipping burgers after you were used to a higher paying job.  They also taught, save then buy.  All of us kids started working in our early teens; babysitting or mowing lawn. 

An unrelated topic.... sometimes the little things that make a big difference.  I can use my lavender hand lotion when ever and as much as I would like.  YEAH!  There was one lotion or cologne that used to litterally take my breath away. I would turn a fan on with hopes of moving enough air to breath comfortably.  I can't say what it will be like when I travel; but no issues in the home office.

Save my house!

The house began to rattle was it a passing train or a small earth quake?  I didn't hear a whistle and the shaking grew. There was a sound getting closer and closer.  Oh NO! Was that a bulldozer coming at my house?  I was upstairs in my office on Monday morning.  There are no windows on the West side of the house and still the noise on the other side of the brick wall grew louder as if it was ready to crash into the house. 

I stood by the South facing  window and watched with anticipation.  There it was coming out of the alley with it's big wide tracks. The trail groomer for the snowmobile trail that goes down the alley and across the park in front of my house.  Fresh powder being pressed down and leveled off so that it makes a prime snowmobiling trail.  I actually started hearing snowmobiles early last Sunday morning!



After Trail Groomer flew by

Seeing the trail groomer I wondered, this trail goes all the way to Hutchinson does he go all the way?  I never see him come by here heading the other way so how does he get home?  What a TOY!



Close up of groomed trail

What does it say about our society when they groom the snowmobile trails better than they clean our city streets?  There is no parking from 2:30 AM - 6 AM from November 1st until May 1st.  I am not sure why because they NEVER clean the roads during that time.  I can't figure them out.  

They stopped clearing the road.

I am working from my in-home office this week.  No the left panel isn't an open door,  There are baskets that hang on the outside when the workspace is up and on the inside if I were to put the left panel down.  I am starting to form a list of items needed:  new chair, stand for laptop/screen, water cooler (hot/cold), extension cord with surge protector and multiple outlets.

 



My home office

I have a "window" view.  A friend of mine made me this beautiful snowflake last year for Christmas and it looks so beautiful hanging in the window.  I am always amazed at what the camera sees.   I look straight through the screens and here just behind the snowflake you can almost see the weave.

 

Snowflake in the Window