end of year musings

Here we are, the last day of 2017. 

How was this year for you?

 When I went back through my blog, planner and photographs from 2017, there were a lot of things that made me smile, and of course, other things I'd rather forget.

 Finally getting some work done in our house - the pass-thru between the living room and kitchen, the wainscoting torn off the kitchen walls and the kitchen repainted, having a mantle built around the fireplace, and new windows put in the house - were positive changes for Comfy House. Hopefully in 2018, we can have a little work done outside.

As for myself, I went to my first Blackhawk's game, tried my hand at painting on canvas, took a level one Reiki course, and got accepted into the Wayfair Homemaker/Featured Blogger program. I also had knee surgery (menisectomy) in March and then five months of physical therapy, so I'm glad that's behind me.

 I wonder how my fur babies will do in 2018. Zippo's my old guy (darker kitty, in front) who has glaucoma, cataracts and thyroid disease. He's also mostly deaf and a little senile. He'll be 19 in May, so every day with him is especially treasured. Clementine (middle) was recently diagnosed with kidney failure. She's under the care of three different vets - regular, internal medicine, and a dermatologist - so we're doing the best we can with her care. The internal medicine vet said she could live a couple more years. Like with Zippo, we just don't know though. 

Life is uncertain, but it can also be beautiful.

 My exciting New Year's Eve has consisted of my car almost breaking down...

 I left to run a couple of errands. On the way to the stores, I was stopping at a friend's house for a short visit. Half a mile up the road, my car started sputtering, like it was about to die. It was happening while driving and while at a stop. Then the check engine light went on. By the time I got to my friend's house (only a mile away), my car smelled like burning rubber. I was able to drive it a couple more miles to the shop that always works on our cars, while my friend followed behind me and then drove me home. So much for errands! My car is a 2001 Honda Accord, so yes, it's old. I've never had any problems with it until now, so I guess I've been lucky. I'm just glad this didn't happen two days ago when I was out and about, almost an hour away from home and during a snowstorm.

Brian will be home from work soon. We'll have pizza and wine and watch a little TV until Brian falls asleep. He's entitled - he just finished working three 12-hour shifts. And he gets up at 3:15 a.m. I'll probably just go to bed at my usual time - 11:00 -11:30. I'll make sure to warm up my bed with the heated mattress pad beforehand though: our weather has been frigidly cold.Tonight the wind chills are supposed to be anywhere from -20F to -35F. Glad we're staying home.

Thank you for reading my blog, your kind comments, and your friendship. See you in the New Year!

miscellaneous monday ~ let's chat

 Good afternoon from steamy Illinois! It's in the 90's today and will be more of

the same tomorrow. Temps will be falling by this weekend into the 60's and 70's.

I love summer, but I'm pretty tired of the extreme heat and am looking forward

to cooler weather. Most of my outdoor plants are still hanging in there with

all this warmth and sun ~ and the herb garden is bursting! I cut down all my

basil the other day and made a big batch of pesto.

Tiger lilies, which are so prolific in early summer, are now scraggly and wasting

away. My bike looks pretty silly amongst the dead lilies now. Brian will need

to hang it back up in the garage.

 Brian and I usually take a mile walk around the neighborhood after dinner.

I've always loved this neighbor's front yard gardens. I go much more for for

 the cottage look than the perfectly structured, orderly look. The woman who 

lives here is an artist - can you tell?

We walked past another neighbor's house that re-did their front porch.

I not only love the railings, but I'm really impressed with how they incorporated

a couple of planter boxes along the side of the porch. The owner of this house

did all this work himself. Wonder if he's for hire?

Sometimes a girl just needs a little pick-me-up. Something pretty that doesn't

cost much. JC Penney had sent me a $10 coupon for my birthday, so I picked

out this bracelet that was on clearance, plus a pair of earrings (not pictured).

Even better when things are free!

I love to paint my toenails in vivid colors during the sandal wearing months...

this bright green color in a mini bottle made me smile. Cover Girl has a bunch

of new, pretty colors for only $2.99.

I saw a knitted mug cozy on etsy and really wanted one - but I don't knit!

So I posted the etsy picture on my Facebook page and asked who would

like to knit me one - and an acquaintance of mine said she would. 

Isn't it pretty? It keeps your coffee or tea warm longer, too. And feels so

good in your hands.

 Tim's old Honda bit the dust last month. He put so much time and money

into this car, trying to fix everything himself - but in the end, it wasn't enough.

We had no choice but to sell it for parts only. One of Brian's coworkers

bought the car today and came and towed it away. Buh-bye little Honda.

Tim is still carless, so it's a good thing he lives close to school and work.

He walks to both - and he lives in an area where there's a bus system -

so that's always an option.

 Tomorrow is the day we're going to IKEA to get the bookcases for the 

downstairs family room. We decided on.....the WHITE! Thanks for all

who commented on my post about whether to get the white or black 

bookcases. I think the black would be overwhelming and too dark in the

basement, especially with a lot of other black furniture. Someone also 

mentioned seeing a lot of dust on black furniture, and she is right. I'm

constantly having to take a microfiber cloth to the black ladder bookcase

in my living room - it shows so much dust and cat hair.

Here's the bookcase system we've decided on...

 Doubt if this will even hold all my books, though we're also going

to get a shorter piece to go along a smaller wall. And we don't have

a truck, so we'll have to have all this delivered. Hope it doesn't take

long! I'm excited to get my books out of storage and all set up again.

 What's going on in your corner of the world? How's the weather

where you live? Are you done gardening for the season? Have you

bought anything just for yourself lately? Let's chat!