"Just whistle while you work..." or rather, while you wait. & wait. & wait!! for.......

🎶SpRiNg, SpRiNg, SpRiNg.....🎶

While the oak trees are finally starting to sprout their leaves, we are still getting "Snow, snow, snow, snow snow...🎶") ⛄

Soooooo.....
I might as well whistle. Or sing! while I wait too!  It doesn't do anyone any good to grumble & complain,
 not me, or those who can hear me & to the Lord it is NOT a 'joyful noise',  just noise! So, even though we are supposed to get five inches more of the 'cold white stuff', (& it is very beautiful, thick & soft) I will take charge of my attitude & take myself to the 'Land of Happy', which for me, starts with a hot, cup of tea!

Ahhhh...perfect. I'll treat myself to a 'slide show' of pictures of a flower nursery that I recently went to purchase some spring flowers for planting.

WOW! Doesn't God's creativity blow your mind? & sight & olfactory senses?!? How did He think up so many colors?! & variation of colors?!? (As you can see, my color preferences lean to pinks, wines & burgundy variations.) Everything would be so bland & dull without color. I'm so glad He gave us color! Except for old black & white movies of course, which are my favorite. 

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Here's my final selection (until my next visit to the nursery!)

I always like to buy at least one rose bush each season.

That's when I first brought it home.

Completely unfolded. Lovely.......

& here are all my flowers that I brought home, still waiting to be planted too. But probably not for awhile yet..sigh...

Next day....

Upon looking out of the window first thing this morning & out of nowhere, I  began hearing the music from Narnia, the theme being "The Hundred Year Winter". It was ethereal. Then I realized that my daughter was playing the music from 'The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe'  on her phone. Whew!! A close one, a little trick of whimsey! Although right now it seems like it could have some validity! Especially since we got a foot of snow rather than the forecasted five inches.

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Quick! Off  to "The Land of Happy"! Which means a delicious, though modified version, of a 'Fajita Cheese Crisp'! My daughter made these for us once & we have been hooked ever since! Simply fry a flour tortilla until crisp (in coconut oil if you have it) then rub some real butter over the top of the crispy tortilla & salt with garlic salt. I sauteed  some onions & mushrooms in butter, (you can use your own creativity & taste buds here!) & spread it over the tortilla. I added some chopped chicken, from some leftover fried chicken, & cheddar cheese. I like monterey jack cheese the best, but I didn't have any so I improvised. Put it in the oven 350 degrees until the cheese is melted! It is so yum! Eat some carrots with it to neutralize all of the calories in the crisp. (Don't we wish!!😉)

It's kind of messy to eat, so it would be good to have a tray or table for your food. Add a glass of sparkling ice water with a slice of lemon & then take a mini-vacation to Mayberry to see what Andy, Barney & Opie are up to. & Voila! "The Land of Happy"!

A shorter-cut way to "The Land of Happy" is...

Oh boy! Who can resist a cheeseburger deluxe with raspberry lemonade! However, carrots will NOT neutralize the fat or calorie content. Sorry. 😁

🍔🍔🍔🍔🍔🍔🍔🍔🍔

Before this last snow, we were out in our yard & a rainbow dashed by & alighted on a tree

& posed to have his picture taken.

He flitted from place to place to give us many profile pictures.

Front view...

back view...

An adorable 'cock your head wouldn't you love to hug me' view. He was a true camera hound! & so photogenic!

After a few more poses & pictures, he flew right past me to regions unknown. I have never seen this genus of bird so was very blessed that he paid us this social call even if it was brief. He seemed to travel alone so maybe he was a scout of some kind. He left us with  cheerier hearts & with a thought that we had somehow had a visitation of some kind.

Our kitties are great entertainers & so loving & lovable & endearing, but sometimes can be downright frustrating! Like every morning when we try to make the beds.

Oliver, our blue-eyed charmer

Buttons the adorable

Lollipop the dreamer

They seem to have some kind of instinct, no matter how quiet I try to be, that is alerted when I am making a bed. In they run & plop! right on the bed daring to be moved. I usually let them have their own way. Satisfied that they are truly 'King' or 'Queen',  their dynasty secure,

they will eventually leave & go sleep somewhere else & I will then be able to complete my bed-making task. 

Uncharacteristic of cats, Oliver is being very self-effacing here.

Don't you love his humility? 😽

This weather does inspire me to get all of my inside spring cleaning done because with all of this extra moisture the outside work will be plenteous & demand extra attention like mowing,

( I attempted pushing this kind of mower when I was little but Daddy's muscles always won!)

& then there's garden work.

planting,

flowers, vegetables, trees & plants.

and pulling the numerous dandelion weeds, (& sometimes eating them! Great source for vitamins A, C, & K & even provide iron, calcium & magnesium. )

Hard but very satisfying & 'nurturing to the soul' work, bringing beauty to our world & food to our families.

Speaking of hard work, in my previous post I told about our galvanized wash tub we used for bathing when we were in our teens. We used the same wash tub for washing our laundry. We all took turns using a plunger to take the place of the agitator in a regular washing machine & plunger-ed our way to clean clothes! With seven people to plunger for, we developed some pretty 'Popeye'ish muscles. My younger sister recently told me that when she found out in later years what the plunger was really used for it traumatized her.

(She got over it eventually.) Who would have thought that the plunger could be so versatile. A multi-task tool for sure! 

Merry the Sheep has been feeling her oats today! She really wanted to go outside & play in the snow,

then, upon deciding it was too cold & wet, came back in to sow her oats!

One of her favorite games is 'Hide & Seek'.

Do you see her peeking out?

Here she is with friend, Bramblebeary Jr. & I agree, there really is no place like home. & no matter what the circumstances, season or weather,

".....when hearts are high the time will fly

so whistle while you 'wait' !" 🎶

Raintree perk of the day:

"But let patience have it's perfect work that you may be perfect & entire, lacking nothing...."   Count it all joy! & don't forget to whistle & sing! The welcome mat is out to the 'Land of Happy"!