Wednesday, January 19, 2022

SHARING A FEW…

rambles here. I have enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles.  I am sharing the ones I have done on my iPad.  I like the photos/illustrations and have been saving them. Each one only had 440 pieces, but they have given me many happy hours.  I have put these together during the past year. 
It has snowed again but not as much as last time, or as much as others have had.  About 3 inches.  Gregg went out to shovel the driveway.  The other day we were wondering where all the young teenagers had gone.  We always used to have them knocking on our door, but no one came the last time.  
As my dear other half was about to start, a young man appeared on one of those electric scooters with a shovel in one hand (the snow plow came through early this morning and the roads were clear pretty much).  He asked if he could do the driveway for us.  He turned up just at the right time.  When asked how much he said as much as you think it is worth.   He was paid with grateful thanks, and he did a great job!
We had a family member stay with us for a few days.  Enjoyed our visit very much.  I am looking forward to doing more of that with family and friends as the year progresses.  Keeping fingers crossed!
I left the Christmas decorations up longer than usual because of this visit, and today was the day to start taking them down.  I am not rushing into it as I do enjoy looking at them.  The place is starting to look a bit bare. 
I do an inventory of each ornament that I pack away, as I misplaced a couple of boxes (down in the basement somewhere no doubt), and I want to make sure I remember where I put them for next time.
I made macaroni and cheese for dinner.  Not sure what is going to be a side, roasted carrots and we have a bag of Bok Choy in the fridge that always makes a nice quick sauté.  It might seem a lot of pasta considering I shared the one this past Monday, but we had that meal a couple of weeks ago.
I am about to start reading a book by Jane Goodall with Phillip Berman, called Reason for Hope.   I greatly admire the lady and have done since I was young.  I shared her last name before I was married, and as a teenager I wished we were related.  We weren't!  I read everything I could about her work with chimpanzees.  My love of animals and wildlife in general, has been part of me since I could barely walk.  We were always surrounded by cats and dogs and rabbits, which started me on that journey.  
When I was old enough I rode into town to the library on my bicycle, and filled my basket with books, some fiction, some non-fiction, all to do with nature around the world, including Africa. 
 Our family almost ended up in Africa at one point in my life, when my dad was offered a job with the police force over there.  It didn't come to pass because my mother would not agree to the move, but my particular fork in the road took me here instead, and I have been blessed a hundredfold.  In my second lifetime I hope I will get to Africa. 
In our genealogy search Gregg found that two generations ago I had relatives who traveled to that country as missionaries.  I remember a family member, a cousin my mother had introduced as our family historian way back in my childhood.  He told us a tale about them, and I remember being enthralled.  Years later, long after I was married, I remembered this when we were talking.  It was long before Gregg thought about genealogy.  One day about a year ago he said didn’t you tell me you had missionaries in your family?  He had found them. Mom’s cousin?  I wish I could talk to him now.  
And I may be repeating myself here, but according to No. 5 in my previous post, that’s okay.  I am just taking a trip down memory lane again, and I always enjoy doing that. 

Thanks for indulging me in my latest trip. 
Have a wonderful day! 




38 comments:

  1. I really like all the puzzles you chose. I would think the second one was the easiest to work. We usually get shovelers coming to the door, but not even ONE this time!! We are hoping a kindly neighbor will come and shovel us out.

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    1. Thanks Ginny, you are right about that second photo, and the lined artwork with the sun's rays was surprisingly easy to me. I was wondering how you faired today? Our snow came as rain. I hope if you got the snow your way, you found someone to shovel for you.

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  2. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed rambling with you.
    One of my brothers loves jigsaws but I have never been able to get into them.

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    1. Happy you did Sue :) I've always loved jigsaw puzzles. I still have some in a box unopened that I need to get to. One of these days!

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  3. These are some really nice puzzles.
    There was a guy who came to my door yesterday asking if he could shovel for $20. I told him I have someone who plows. It wasn't like my driveway even needed shoveled that much. I think the days of kids going around with shovels is long gone. I like the answer that one gave your husband. He's a good businessman and I bet he'll make lots of money that way.

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    1. Thank you Ann :) Yes, I thought that young man had good business acumen for one so young.

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  4. Great puzzles added to your rambles today!! I would love to go to Africa for a photo safari

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    1. Thanks Anni :) And I have always wanted to go on a photo safari.

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  5. Hello,
    I am thankful hubby and I can still get out there and shovel. We do have a neighbor that helps by plowing our driveway with his tractor. I would love to visit Africa, going on a safari would be cool. Beautiful collection of images. Take care, have a happy day!

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    1. Good that you can Eileen, unfortunately I am of no help and more of a hindrance in that department these days. That's great your neighbor helps with your driveway. I hope you get your wish and go on safari one day. Thank you and you take care and have a great Friday and weekend :)

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  6. reading your post and many others today and the comments here on this post, I have to say I LOVE living in Florida...we do on occasion have to shovel dirt but that stopped when Beau stopped running after the ball. these puzlles are gorgeous. where do you find this type to do on your tablet.

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    1. I know you love living in Florida Sandra, that's wonderful! Send some of that warmth up to us okay? ;) These puzzles are already part of the jigsaw app, though I do admit, I buy a cache of them occasionally (same app).

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  7. Your puzzle photos are amazing. Glad that teenager came by with his shovel. I enjoyed your post memories today.

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    1. Thanks Christine, it's always fun to find a new one from the collection. I'm glad he arrived with his shovel too :)

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  8. It's good to have indoor interests and you have a variety of puzzles that you can do on your tablet. I'm glad someone came by who could help with the clearing of the snow. Our immediate neighbours look out for each other which helps us feel settled now. We're pleased to live where we do after a life of moving home quite a lot. I enjoyed hearing about your memories of your life's journey.

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    1. How nice that your neighbors help each other Linda :) and very nice to hear your move was a good one. I'm happy you enjoyed my memories. One thing I am grateful for is that I never get bored when I am stuck inside because of the weather. There always seems to be something to do.

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  9. Nice memories! Love your puzzles. They are cute.

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    1. Thank you Gigi, I am glad you enjoyed my post :)

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    1. Thanks William, they were a lot of fun to do :)

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  11. Memory lane is a wonderful place to visit from time to time, Denise. I enjoyed hearing about your trip. The puzzles are stunning! I still need to check them online. Jane Goodall's book surely sounds good--A Reason for Hope. The title alone sounds positive!

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    1. Thank you Martha Ellen, very happy you enjoyed. We need all the positives we can get don't we? :)

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  12. The face of that dog is the sweetest thing ever, and I do love that bird. Quite the puzzle! I'm getting ready to start one, too. And the Goodall book sounds like a winner. I heard her recently on NPR. She's quite a woman.

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    1. I agree, I loved it and I was drawn to putting that face together immediately :) Such an adorable pup! I would have loved to hear her on NPR, she has such a relaxing voice to listen to. Thanks Jeanie :)

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  13. Hi Denise, I know another English girl that loves doing Jigsaw Puzzles.
    I take a photo she likes and then I send it off to a company to make the puzzle.Lovely past time.

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    1. Hi Roy, what a great idea for puzzles, using one of your own photos. I love that! Great to see you, I'll be popping over to return the visit soon :)

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  14. My word, puzzles on your ipad. I'll have to check that out. I love the ones you did.

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    1. Thanks Yogi, they are fun to do and glad you enjoyed mine :)

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  15. I work a lot of on-line puzzles, too. And I have always loved animals, too.

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  16. After seeing these puzzles you've completed on your iPad, Denise, you have me thinking about looking for some. The beauty of doing them on the iPad is not needing a large workspace. We also kept our holiday decorations up longer then others we know because like yourselves we enjoyed them.

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    1. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do Dorothy :) The iPAD is a great place to do them. My decorations are slowly disappearing until next time.

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  17. Cute jigsaw puzzles, Denise. I haven't put one together in a long time, but many blog friends are putting them together right now during the cold Winter months. I really liked the hot drink with the red plaid blanket. Wow, you almost moved to Africa? Have always wanted to visit there. That's so nice that someone came and shoveled your snow. My son usually does our driveway, but I'm been out there myself a time or two. The sunflower puzzle is so soft and pretty. Have a good January week, Denise.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Thank you Sheri, that was a favorite of mine also, the mug and shawl. I can still remember vividly the conversation my dad had with us about the job, or perhaps it was the shocked look on my mother's face at the thought of moving so far away from home :) How sweet of your son to shovel your driveway, and I remember the days I used to get out there, can't do it anymore :( I always had fun doing it. You have a good January week also Sheri.

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  18. I should look into those puzzles! On the other hand, I don't know if my eyes can take any more time on the computer.

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    1. Now that made me smile Linda :) but all smiles aside, we do have to take care of eyes. I have a special pair of eye glasses that protects mine with the glare of the screen, but I also try to get off here, get up and do something else when I think about it. Now that's the challenge, lol!

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  19. Those are such great puzzles. How interesting to track those missionaries to Africa in your genealogy. I made the baked ziti recipe on Tuesday. It was delicious but oh my goodness, it's enough to feed an army. I'll make it again when our kids come over for dinner. We only had ground chicken in the house so we found a make your own Italian sausage recipe and mixed up the spices for the ground chicken. It turned out good. Happy Thursday to you.

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    1. Thanks Ellen, it was fun to find out my childhood memory was what I remembered, and glad you liked the puzzles. Thank you also for letting me know you made the recipe and we often feed an army around here, lol! I usually split it in half and freeze a meal for another day too. Making the chicken sausage sounds interesting. I hope you'll post the recipe sometime.

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