Around here...

I had the greatest surprise on March 8th!

 My husband said he was going out for groceries and I was in the middle of important stuff(reading blogs)so I opted to stay home.
 Well,Rile wasn't gone a half hour when the winds were whipping so hard,our power went out! No more internet,phone or tv,so I grabbed a book to read and promptly fell asleep on the couch!(good book!LOL)
 I was awoken a couple hours later by the sound of the front door opening and my husband standing there still with the door wide open.
Chum gave a bark,waggled his tail like crazy and in walked my son,Lenny!!
 Lenny and Riley had worked out a secret plan to surprise me~I can tell you,they sure did! After blubbering all overLen,I finally let him into the house!
 We only had a few days as Len was on to Baltimore for work,but I savored every moment with him.
 Len let me dote on him and make his favorite foods as we played his favorite card games over and over(which I am now the reigning winner!) Phase 10 and UNO.

 Thanks for letting me share my happiness with you all!

 Next up is a piece of art I created for our grandson Brady. 
March 11th,Brady was in the play "Annie Jr." as the Dog Catcher!
 I knew right away that I had to make something special for him to remember this time,in case he finds he does not care to return to the stage! (he made a fuss about wearing the makeup) Anyway, I had made Len's favorite cookies,Butterforms,by request and cut some shapes into dog bones for Brady's project.
  

 

 

The circled area"dogs last seen here"is around where they live.

Handsome Star!

 Brady played a servant extra,as well as dog catcher.
I added a bit of video clip,if you have a minute;the show was great and Brady made us laugh so! heehee

 Here is the link to YouTube~I could not get the video uploaded here

 After the play we went back to the kid's house for Brady & Declan's birthday party. They both turned 11 on the 11th!

 Declan is on the left,Brady on the right.

 It was also a super mail week as I received a package from my sis Julie,whom had just returned from a vacation in Hawaii!
 Jules had told me all about these wonderful cookies they had while there and said she brought some home for me

But this is what I found when I opened them!  What a joker!
Really they did eat all but his little tin they brought back for someone else! Oops!
The cookies were delish and,now I know why she couldn't help herself! hahaa

 Julie also bought me this adorable sundress I can't wait to wear! 

Thanks so much my sweet sissy!

I Love you💕

 Sometime around Monday afternoon,March the 13th,the weather changed drastically!
 We had Blizzard 2017,full blown by Tuesday morning and it was crazy! New York state closed down government buildings and the Governor closed the Thruway for travel,visibility was 0!
 Up till then we had no snow to speak of and I was quite happy with that,now it worried me because my dear friend and art sister Sherie,was flying in from Chicago on Thursday!

 

Even Chum was feeling tired of the wind and snow!

 

  There is a deck under there somewhere!! (photo to the right)
 















Happy to say,by Thursday morning the sun was out in full force and melted down the snow and dried the roads clear-nothing short of a small miracle!
 Sherie's flight was on time,and it was a gorgeous sunny day!
more on Sherie's visit,on Monday morning's post!

Now finally,a few of our visiting bird photos and I'll let you go...
  First up is a Red Belly Woodpecker,no idea why they call him that because his head is redder than his belly. He/She is a fat one!

This beauty snacking on the Sumac is a Northern Flicker. I wish I had a better shot of the back of his head,because the red back there is in the shape of a heart-on all of them! So beautiful!

 

 

Thanks so much for hanging in there with me till the end today- hope you have enjoyed a bit of this and that from my neck of the woods!

Sending Love,

Jackie ")