Baby, It's COLD Outside

Here it is, the First Friday of 2018.

Welcome to Friday Fave Fives!

I'm reporting in from a very COLD place where there is SNOW.

I am still visiting family, and it's COLD!   Being in this frigid weather, I am reminded to be thankful for things we often simply take for granted like:

1.  Hot drinks.  Sadly, my daughter's electric tea kettle died.  But, we were able to simply drive to the store and purchase another one.  Making a mug of tea is easy.  And helps keep me warm.

2.  Electric blankets.  Who knew?

3.  Hmmm, electricity.  To keep those appliances and blankets working.  Piped right into the house. Twenty-four hours a day.  Every day.

4.  Extra time with The (Not So) New Boy.  He has had late starts at school and now today school was cancelled due to 'weather' which I think means the COLD.  We braved the low temperatures one day and took a walk.  He decided he was my protector, using snowballs and icicles for defense.

5.  Warm clothes.  Wool socks.  Extra layers of clothes.  Boots.  I'm thankful I have these!

To all of you who live in this kind of weather all winter, you have my respect!

2017 in Review

It's January first.  But.  I'm still mentally in 2017 since I am visiting family 2500 miles away from home.  Anyway, I decided to look back through the photos I took and choose one for each month.  You know how it is...I couldn't choose just one!  So here are two (or maybe more) photos from January through December.  Mostly, I chose tried to choose one landscape and one micro photo. You can tell from the pictures where I was each month.  Enjoy!

JANUARY

At home where the jonquils were blooming.

FEBRUARY

Wait! What?? Snow?  Visiting Ohio.

Back home where the poppies are blooming.  In February.

And the Pacific Ocean quietly calls to me.

MARCH

Spring comes to Southern California

And PAL comes to the beach.

APRIL

The monarch butterflies grace our garden.

Poppies pop up everywhere.

And I travel again.

Ohio bike path

MAY
Back home

The neighborhood golf course

Santa Monica Mountains

The jacarandas were late to bloom.

JUNE

Ventura County beach

June Gloom in Southern California is a real thing.

CSUCI

JULY

A Northern California and Oregon road trip

AUGUST

New Mexico and Arizona

SEPTEMBER

Surfing and sunset

Even in SoCal, the leaves turn in autumn.  Sorta.

OCTOBER

Baltimore

Londontowne

San Francisco

Humboldt County

Ventura County

NOVEMBER

Santa Monica Mountains tower above our home.

An egret enjoys the neighborhood lake.

 monarch caterpillar

Late autumn in Maryland

DECEMBER

Annapolis

Passing national monuments is normal life in Washington, D.C.

See?  I just can't limit my favorites!