I'm in An Irish State of Mind

It's past St. Paddy's Day, but with to coming spring and a lack of green but lots of sunshine I have been craving almost anything green!  And honestly, as many places I've seen decked out in Spring green none does it as wonderfully as Ireland.  The main reason is the multitude of greens that come with the climate that is spring in the land of St. Patrick and shamrocks.

Ireland has been known for it's love of people, its history, and of course it's music but it is also know for the intense greens that permeates any scene or picture you see of this lovely country. But it not simply the green of that makes the Irish special but the MANY shades that we think of if Ireland comes to mind, but the multitudes of the color that comes to mind when envisioning this fabulous nation!  After all Ireland is truly known for its forty shades of green because of the song by Johnny Cash, but long before the song the land of almost constant misty rain was know as the Emerald Isle.  Personally I feel there are at many thousands of shades rather than a mere forty shades of the fabulous color green there and the Irish are certainly known for the wearing of the national color in celebration of the good saint in the month of March.  But for me the landscape is an important part symbol of this fabulous land.

So when you contemplate the land of greens, remember that the colors and many shades that inhabit the heart and soul of the country stand for more than spring as it does also here in our home.

It stands for hope in all its shades as well.





And whether it is be a wet spring green,
or a vibrant emerald green that reminds
you of the Isle of Green, it is fabulous to
see and feel it where ever you are in the spring time.

 Have a grand spring!!!

Saturday, mid-November 2010

Conversations are good.  I certainly missed my written ones when my computer was causing trouble for so long.

I really enjoyed the weather here and staying at home and out of the rain this Saturday!  I got some sewing and mending done as well as that ever present laundry.  We had lovely 60 degree weather all week and now we are heading into winter.  I've been following a storm that's dropping snow all over Minnesota, Wisconsin and other deserving states.  I think it is heading our way by the end of the week from what the weather predictors have said.  Ah, well...it is November.

Today we had a slow steady rain, and with it came a wind that gently tumbled most of the remaining leaves off many of the trees around here.  I still have a a tree that has way too many leaves on it and after cleaning up a pile of the fallen ones yesterday my poor husband felt almost defeated by the growing piles that have taken their place on our lawn and by the back door.  The dogs remained indoors since their run has only one dog house and they crowd in it in the rainy weather...not much room for either of them especially now since we piled in the straw-filled burlap sacks just a few days ago in preparation for the winter months.

I have to share how much I'm enjoying playing with my new techie toys these days.  I also love the calendar on my Touch since it has an alarm on it to remind me of important events.  That's for the terribly forgetful person in our household - ah, that would be me!  I hope this new handheld will keep me on track since my Palm was dying and I kept losing power after only 4 hours.  (When you do that you lose ALL the info, and that can be a yucky experience!)

Life continues to be good for us here in West Michigan. I  enjoyed two of the grandkids all day yesterday.  One granddaughter shopped with me during the day which made for a fun time, and my oldest was here for 5 hours from the afternoon and on into the evening.  We got to plan for our coming trip in the Spring of 2011.  I'll share more about that in future posts, we're certainly excited about!  :-)

The Betweens Time

It's been raining here for what seems to be forever. Three inches in the past 24 hours, and this autumn seems to have become centered on the assault of that cooler weather along with the persistent deluges of recent days. The colors that were just beginning to peak on our wind driven leaves but now much has been washed off most of the area trees and all that is left dangling the tree branches are a few of those the plain and sometimes pale leaves of yellows and browns.

Of course the later days of October seem to often drive the colors from our West Michigan fall days, but I had been hoping for a longer and more protracted season since I love the fall so much. But it just wasn't to be.

So as we are entering that season prior to winter that seems to be a buffer zone of grays and browns where the cold winds and unlimited rain prevail. I have to say I am hoping for the beginnings of that season of no color and landscapes that haunt us with a white covering and shapes that better reflect the moon's surface rather than our own homeland, earth.

Soon. Very soon. After all, it is almost November.

Rain Memories

Cool temperatures, good coffee, and great friends make for an incredibly beautiful day. Today, it was warm and sunny and though I was running all over today, I enjoyed the feel of sunshine everywhere I turned. The golden yellow trickled down the trees and splattered across the lawn and drive this morning and made the grass into lovely white and lemon puddles.

I was sorry to see the day go. It folded up into the tiniest of packages that can be tucked away in a breast pocket to share the colors and beauty for a long rainy day.