Windows Around the World

The First Time Ever I Saw a Horse...

We had a typically trying Thursday morning, the details don't really matter...so this afternoon, when we had the opportunity to take 6 month old Francesca to visit Arnold for her first ever sighting of a horse, we leapt at the chance.

I expected it to be something special, she adores the cats and Toby.



Neither Arnold, nor Francesca disappointed.



Francesca couldn't take her eyes off him, she studied him closely for a few minutes, then she wanted him.



Arnold reciprocated. He wanted to smell her toes; he playfully nibbled George's arms and performed a full repertoire of tricks to keep her attention.

It worked.

Another girl who LOVES horses!

We also introduced her to the 'horseless carriage' except this one does have a horses head ornament. She loved that too...

This girl could cost you serious money, Daddy...

Etsy Shop Open

http://www.etsy.com/shop/debbie55bailey?ref=si_shop is the address of my Etsy Shop. Check it out!

Fire in the Sky

While driving down an old logging road off the Arrowhead Trail one evening, I came across this opening that had a grouping of trees that stood out nicely against the sky. I was passing by right after the sun had gone down and the sky behind the trees was filled with this beautiful orange glow.

GRANDPEEP

Grandpeep checking in ageian. We're having some fun outside. I am investagating hony,s fleas thair is a bumb I found on her head. I am peting both of them and then I saw a squrrle in the tree. sam and honey saw it a muinit later. We're having a bunch of fun. See you later!

High winds, big waves, spectacular ice

Sunday's winds kept us off the water, but they didn't keep us away from the marine forecast. We were riveted by the prospect of 22-foot waves. What would they leave behind?

The marine forecast on Sunday promised some of the biggest waves we've heard about on southern Lake Michigan.

The biggest waves weren't forecast to hit the shores at Chicago, but Indiana looked like it was getting pounded.

The wind continued on Monday, causing hazardous road conditions. But on Tuesday, we set out to see what the waves had created at the beach near Portage, Indiana. It was like a sculpture park, with ice that looked in some places like wax and in others like glass. The combination of freezing spray and wind created icicles with odd twists hanging at unlikely angles from some surfaces, and draped over others.

The Portage Beach building was closed for the season.

The walkway on the break wall was coated in ice.

We were astonished to see two surfers paddling out to try to catch some waves.

The Good Company of Books

There was a good piece written in the now defunct Victoria Magazine by Michele Slung called The Good Company of Books. I tore it out and saved it in my BOOK FOLDER.
She quotes from Clarence Cook's "The House Beautiful" (1878), an influential work on domestic interior decoration. He says, "For lovers of books...a house without books is no house at all; and in a family where books make a great part of the pleasure of living, they must be where they can be got at without trouble, and what is of more importance, where they can share in the life about them and receive some touches of the humanity they supply and feed." I couldn't agree more. Here are some photos of our library this morning. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house. I just wish it was bigger. It's only 9x15 feet.
The row of books running around the top of the room is my biography section. All the books in the Victorian cabinet are religious/spiritual in nature with some literature textbooks thrown in.
The trunk in front of the loveseat is full of books waiting to be read. Only problem there is that one of the grandsons snapped it shut, and there's no key. I'll have to wait until my daddy comes to visit and get him to pick it. He's good at that.
The books on the small mission style table are photography or art books. All of my fiction is in my art studio. I completely ran out of room in the house. I'll show them to you later this week.
And what's a library without a kitty cat and a cozy throw to snuggle with?