Always Too Late!

Here at year-end, WonderMom and I are preparing for Christmas, of course, but also for our annual retreat to the Valley of the Sun. And again, we have remained in the Plains of Winter too long. We, along with a few! other midwesterners, are ice bound. Last night's ice storm pretty much shut down a whole lot of the area. The world remains ice coated 24 hours later, with the promise of new snow to hide it from us (sigh!). Here are a couple of photos of the more attractive? aspects of the weather.

Weird Icicle!

Winter's Beauty!

     

This guy figured no one would be outside to see him. I got lucky and was able to sneak up to about 50 feet from him to get these shots. It didn't take him long to leave the area, with a flash of his white tail.

Well, I thought I'd give you a wrap up of 2008, from my POV. If you're not interested, this is a good place to stop reading. I'll see you at Westward Ho & Back over the next 3 months.

2008 has been a mixed year for us, some good, some not so good.
The good:
Pleasant summer weather - no 95 degree days with 95% humidity;
A great visit from Shimmy and her family in July;
A good crop of spring flowers and summer tomatoes;
A well done remodel of the bathroom;
Many visits from/with the local grandkids;
A great visit with Socket and his family down in tarheel territory;
WonderMom's first venture into competative quilting!;
And finally, an election that ended favorably.

The not so good:
Socket lost a part of his right index finger in an industrial accident;
We lost our winter gardener, house sitter, and good friend in AZ.;
The financial world tanked and we all lost money one way or another;
W's still in office!. Talk about staying too long!

So all in all, the good outnumbered the not so good. WonderMom and I are still in good health and looking forward to a warm winter and a good 2009. Hope your year was a good one, your holidays are happy and spent with good friends or family, and your 2009 is a good one.

We'll be heading west in a few days, and I'll be blogging at Westward Ho & Back if you're still interested.