January Memories

Though it has been a month of many social interactions (special times spent with friends and family) the pictures in my January file are mostly of the scenic variety.  So let me share a few January sunsets and snow pic's and I'll fill in the rest with words.

Oh...and here's a photo of the two eagles that have spent many hours keeping watch from a tree on our 'back forty' this month. They have been dubbed Peter and Paul...though maybe they are Peter and Pauline.

We started the month with a lot of snow and ice. First the ice.  Then lots of snow and wind.  Then more ice.

Our city keeps priority roads and walkways cleared.  Clearly, getting into the local leisure centre is not a priority.  The ice coated the branches for days and was really quite pretty.

Sunsets reflected off the ice-coated snow were amazing!

For the record...I have a photo of one of the January gatherings around a table!  We helped a friend ease into old-age by celebrating her milestone birthday with brunch at a lovely little bistro.  We have shared many meaningful times together (some happy and some sad) as part of the same 'life group'.  But when there is a reason to celebrate...we do that well!

I also have a good reason to celebrate in January, though this year it did not feel so much like a 'happy' birthday. Who has the flu on their birthday? I slept most of the day away...and was good to go the next day. I am now travelling down 'Highway 66' as my BIL reminded me. I look forward to what the new year has in store for me.  I enjoyed several birthday lunches and dinners, flowers, cards and well-wishes. Maggie and Lucy even prepared a scavenger hunt for me.  I had my cake and ate it too!

The snow slowly disappeared...revealing bright green fields beneath.

Because of all the snow and ice events over Christmas and New Years, we postponed a family Christmas gathering for a few weeks.  That turned out to be a good thing, as my brother and sister-in-law from Iowa, my sister from Texas and two of my nephew were able to join us for our re-scheduled Christmas party in January. We met in the party room on the 18th floor of the apartment where Dad and Marge live and enjoyed a great view of Abbotsford from there.

We had a lovely time together...nieces, nephews, uncles and aunts, cousins and grandparents. It's good to gather!  And the sunset that night was amazing!

The Vedder River...a great place to walk whatever the season.  And to fish (apparently)!

We have had a whole lot of rain here these past few days. The ditches are overflowing and the fields are full of ponds.

The ducks are happy! They are having a party out in our fields these days and not in any hurry to be moving along.

I, on the other hand, am quite ready to see if the sun is shining brighter somewhere else. We'll see.