Barren Branches

Wishing you all a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My Side of the World

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Dancing Ladies

With the year coming to an end, I'm presenting to you my dancing ladies in many different colors.  They occupied the shell at a department store, and was a joy to see.  Festive and cheery!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and ready to bring in a prosperous New Year: for those without a job; get a job, for those who are sick, get well, and for those who are lonely, find companion.

Happy Mellow Yellow!

Joy to the World

Have a wonderful time with your family, everyone!

Sledding With the Family

Content by Mitch Osborne

The first snow of the winter is my favorite weather. I love when I wake up and see snow covering the ground and trees. Everything looks so magical when it snows. My kids are usually hoping for a snow day from school even if it is just a dusting. If it is a snow day, we get the sleds out of the garage. I make my infamous hot chocolate and put it in a thermos. We load everything up in the car and head to our local sledding hill. The kids will usually sled until they are either way too cold or tired. Once we are done we load everything and everybody back up into the car. As the car warms up, we have our hot chocolate with marshmallows. On the way home we talk about how much fun we had and our favorite parts of the day. Once we get back home, we sit down and enjoy the rest of the evening together in front of our fireplace watching family shows on HD DVR Packages.

Yellow Bromeliad Plant

There is something wonderful about seeing blooming flowers in the winter. This bromeliad flower was in full bloom, and the colors were vibrant to see.

Bromeliad came in many different colors such as yellow, pink, red, and orange with either deep or light hues.  They were quite a show to see when outside was gray, and miserable.

The Conservatory in Detroit has many bromeliad plants also, but I found these at Home Depot while out shopping for Christmas presents. I didn't get anything done, but happy with these flowers.

Get a dose of sun shine at Mellow Yellow, and visit other entries at Macro Monday!

Changes

There is day like this: blue and clear sky, with just a touch of sun light! When you look up, way up, you just want to reach the sky.

And if you stand under the tree branches, you still see blue sky and white cloud coming out to play. 

Then there is day like this: nothing but gray!  Depend on how you want to perceive it, it could be gloomy and depressing, or it could be an amazing artwork from nature going through changes!

See other pictures at Sky Watch and enjoy your weekend!

Skiing in Northern Michigan

Thanks for the article from Laura Ryan

The best part of winter in Northern Michigan is the awesome skiing that is available. While many people get ready to hibernate for the winter months, my family gets prepared to hit the slopes. Our favorite ski resorts are Crystal Mountain and Shanty Creek resort. These two ski resorts are close to our house and provide my husband, children, and myself with hours of enjoyment.

Most of our weekends consists of a regular routine. Saturday morning we wake up, eat breakfast, get our snow gear on, set our home security alarm (Indianapolis ADT SECURITY online offer), and then head for the slopes. Skiing is such an awesome activity to do with your family because it provides you with a lot of fun and also exersise. My children also love to go skiing with their friends. Going downhill skiing really gives you a sense of freedom and is a great stress release. There is no doubt that if skiing was not a part of my life, I too would probably dread the winter months and hibernate in my house. There is nothing better than being less than an hour from at least three ski resorts everyday of the winter. When the snow begins to fall and you start to feel down, do what our family does and escape to the ski resorts. You will learn to love the winter months.

Smoking Cold

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Yellow Flowers

Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.
Ansel Adams

To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not.
Akhenaton

When I can look life in the eyes, grown calm and very coldly wise, life will have given me the truth, and taken in exchange - my youth.
Sara Teasdale

Get a dose of sun shine at Mellow Yellow, and visit other entries at Macro Monday!

Have a great new week...

Evening Sky Watch

I chase the evening sky as though I have nothing to do.  Lucky for me, this amazing sky was right in the back of my son's middle school.

This was a perfect spot to see sunrise and sunset when the sun decided to come out to play. I sat here long enough to see the changes taking place from one minute to the next.

We had many gray days here in Metro Detroit, so when the sun comes out, it's such a treat!

See other pictures at Sky Watch and enjoy your weekend! 

TV Stand For the Corner

Like many people, holiday seems to bring on the urge for me to redecorate or re-organize my home for companies.  My current project is to find a tv stand to fit into the corner of our living room since the Christmas tree took up a bit of space in this area.

Actually, my living room can only accommodate the TV in a corner, so it would be a permanent feature for my home, and I want something that is decent enough to sit there every day. My particular preference is a stand that also has storage compartments to hide all the DVDs, tapes, and electronic gadget clutters.

It is funny how at a certain time in our life we find the need to tighten up or cleaning up our nest, and the need to improve with better things. It is in our human nature, I suppose! Sometimes changing things up can also lift our moods, and make us feel better.  I'm at that stage now with my quest for a new TV stand.

I'm not rushing to make a final decision just yet, but it goes on my wish list for now. I found many different styles, and designs that I like, so making a commitment to buy is not going to be easy. Speak to me; am I the only one that feels like re-decorating at this time of the year?

I Can See Canada

See more entries at Outdoor Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday!