Could it possible be.....?

This morning,  looking over the fresh, unmarked snow from last night's snowfall  .... 

only to see, going down the street ....

could they be Santa's 

or Pere Noel 

 or  Father Winter's ... 

 Could it possibly be?

It's the time of year for  child-like faith and belief Holly 

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

DH and I like going to the zoo ... most any zoo ...

took a day trip over to the Stuttgart Zoo the other day ..

I didn't plan well, my camera battery died almost immediately ..

oh well ... just another reason to go back

... as if I "needed" a reason to go back to a zoo....

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo .... how 'bout you, you, you?

Do you enjoy visiting the animals in a zoo?

Holly

European Snow Storm

https://rumble.com/v2zhbf-massive-snowflakes-captured-in-slow-motion-hd.htm

Really cool video of snowfall in Slovakia ... buildings in our village are generally stand-alone, but the peaceful feeling is the same.

Enjoy!
Holly

Icy fruits ..

Yesterday's snowfall was light enough to just make things pretty ... not like the three or four or eight feet of snow falling in the US Northeast region as part of Storm Juno 2015.

It's our lava table (a fond reminder of our life in Sicily) shows off the dusting ... it really does seem like granulated sugar has been sprinkled over it ...

Love the granada (pomegranate) ~   

Holly

Boston Blizzard 2015

Comments from the Youtube.com posting:

Published on Jan 28, 2015

A time lapse of the 2015 Boston blizzard from 3 pm on January 26 to 8 am on January 28, 2015.

The video was created from 5,000 images, recorded at 30-second intervals on a GoPro.

The snowlapse was recorded on a roof in Back Bay Boston. For reference, the tall building on the far left is the Hancock Tower. The building in the distance in the middle is the Westin Copley Plaza and the illuminated "The" is from the roof of The Lenox Hotel.

Impressive to watch the snow level rise as time goes by ... sometimes I wished I lived in the in New England or the Mid-Atlantic states, just because of all the wonderful historical and cultural opportunities ... then I see something like this and think... maybe I'd rather not.   Holly

It's snowy ... it's not ... it's .. winter in Germany

 Started snowing a few days ago ...

 

Then it cleared up and the snow all melted away ... but ....

Yesterday ... it snowed again... a little

Well .. since it was only a little, it looked pretty and didn't take long to clear the walkways in compliance with German law ...

Our sun from Thailand sports a new hair style in his place under the tree....

A light dusting on one of our potted plants on the terrace ..... while the needles of our rosemary bush on the slope caught some flakes as well...

Definitely winter in southern Germany!

What is it like in your corner of the world?

Holly

Say what?

 DH and I saw these at the Deutsches Technical Museum in Munich recently ... 

just have to wonder who would use "Dummy" guides for these ... 

Holly

Farewell 2014 ... Hello 2015

I wish all of you and yours all the 

joy and happiness

 your hearts desire in 2015.

Hooray for the start of new year ~

Another chance for all things 

to become right!

Happy New Year!

Holly

At the market

At the farmer's market the other day ... one of the vendors was selling these ...

Wished I'd gotten a bunch for the house ...

next time.

Is there a favorite item at the market you like getting for your home?

Holly

most influential person ... thought-provoking

I found this on a dear friend's Pinterest page today ,,, I found it incredibly moving.

No matter your faith ~ or none at all ~ this could be part of anyone's life ...

and it isn't limited to only women of the world ... 

many men are belong as well ...

The World Does Not Know Her Name 

I realize how blessed I have been by so many people whose aid or help 

I took for granted ... how small of me ... and how great of them.

Doesn't matter your faith ... looking back, many of those who helped me

were of faiths vastly different from my own. 

Wishing all of you a Happy 2015!

 

Holly

Cat-sitting Harley

I'm kitty-sitting Harley again while his pet human is in Berlin with family for the weekend ...

He has grown a lot in the last few months ... 
Harley keeps wrapping and weaving himself around my legs ...

Love having a cat in the house again ... even though he keeps trying to run out the door every time it is open ...

Holly  

Finished my other major organizing project -- Hurray!!

 Taking advantage of DH's deployment to get some projects done that are inconvenient to do while he is around ... so much easier to be able to pull apart a room or and and leave everything out for a day or two (or four ... snicker) while sorting, purging and re-arranging into a more user-friendly layout.

This is the after photographs of my latest project ... our pantry 

(still have to finish the bottle shelf) ...

                                         This is what I started with ... ick!

With a new year starting soon ~ is there a project you want to start on?    
                                                                      Holly

Last year's Christmas gift from my son

Don't think I ever shared one of the great gifts my son gave me last Christmas ... 

Tried hanging it on the door ... 

but the adhesive hook we put on the door keeps pulling free and crashing to the floor ...

Since I don't want this damaged or destroyed ..we display it in our entryway ...

Isn't it terrific??  

I just love it!!

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful son!!

Holly

 

Snowy days ..

Recent weather ...

Our table and terrace ...

                              Enjoy!   Holly

Maybe this should be our tree ...

 

 

 

Success! Empty Spaces!

Look!  Open space!

Hooray!  Have got the armoire and the side boy purged out and re-arranged.  Have released so many things from our home ... and I have to wonder why I acquired many of them.  Feels great to have reduced a wee bit of my clutter ...
 it's almost a physical feeling of lightness ...

Now I want to find other things I can release from our lives ... and our home ...

Holly

 Check out all the open space!  Now to keep from re-filling it!

Cleaning and organizing

DH is deployed right now ... 
so I've been working on some 
long-overdue cleaning and 
purging.  Miss him bunches ... 
but when he's home, I can't empty
 cupboards and bins and leave 
the contents scattered about
while going through the piles 
to keep the items we want and donate or toss what no longer fits in our lives.

Over the last week, I've been going through the three main storage places in our home ... an armoire, a side buffet and a curtained off section of a dead-end hallway.  Should have taken pictures before I started ... but oh well... all three were PACKED TO THE GILLS!!

 

 Almost done with all the piles ... only a couple items left to deal with ... tomorrow I'll post what the armoire and side boy look like now.

DH will be so surprised (at least I think he will) when he comes home and sees there is actually some empty space in the three storage areas!  I sold a lot of it at fire-sale prices ... the space and having the unwanted items (most are still in like new condition) go away was more important than getting a lot of money for them.   What went away was my stuff ... I know better than to get rid of anything of DH's without his approval.

Are there any projects you have been working on lately?  I have several others I have been working on ... but this one has been a priority for me.   

Holly

Have you ever put Christmas trees outside your windows?

I've seen lots of trees that are placed so that they can easily be seen through the windows ... but I don't recall ever seeing trees hung outside a window.   DH and I saw this recently in a nearby town ... the owner was still hanging and decorating them while we were shopping in the street below.

The branches on the side closest to the window are trimmed off and used elsewhere.

So much fun to see how other people do things ... not just Christmas, but all through the year ...  

People are people ... and we can all learn from one another.    Holly

 

first snow of the season

First snow of the year fell yesterday ... 

 

 

 

Winter is here ...

 

... the last of the Christmas gifts are ready to go out!

Christmas cards have all been mailed ... most of the gifts have also gone out.  
It's a nice benefit to DH's deployment ~ many things were done well ahead of schedule. 

Of course, I haven't decorated our home this year ... other than putting out the Advent calendar and our Moravian Star.  

These are the last two gifts to go out ... the two relatives these are going to don't read my blog (and my son already has his gift) ... so I can share this with you.   
 
It's my simple version of this pin:  
  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/571746115165549284/

Was hoping to get a box from the local pizza place ...
 but that's didn't work out (rats!).

Will express-mail them tomorrow when I go grocery shopping ... then I will be done!!

Now I can just relax and enjoy the season
     ... and watch the snow fall....

Holly

Getting a jump start on New Year projects

My dear husband is currently deployed ... so I am home, alone and while I am getting out a bit to enjoy the German Christmas season ... for the most part, I am working on projects and purging out my clutter (and I seem to still have quite a bit even with all the de-cluttering and purging I have done over the last two years).

While roaming around the web today, I ran across this link ...  

 http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/List-Things-Dispose-24575006

A lot of times I don't know quite where to start .. or I have a limited amount of time (15 minutes, half-hour,  maybe even just five) and while I want to do something productive, am stymied how best to spend that time ... this link has a great list of things to toss, purge, donate or otherwise exile from my home so I don't have to try and come up with ideas (if I don't already have "stuff" screaming "let me GO!!").  
 
I will be adding this list into my Home "Flight Control" binder (that is a long-term work in progress ... but I hope it will be finalized by early next year so I can have it printed off.
Yes ... I am old-school enough to prefer a "printed on paper" list of routine, home maintenance tasks and suggestions.  Having a known maintenance cycle of projects and upkeep will let me take care of most things preventatively ... love that concept!!

Here's to chipping away at the clutter and my projects .... would love to hear your ideas for keeping your life in control.  Please share what works for you.

Back into the dimly, dark corners to see what I can find!!   
Holly