A Heartfelt Thanks

Monday already? This weekend sure went fast! We started on Friday night with the Girl Scout Father/Daughter Dance, had some sadness on Saturday,and had a peaceful Sunday which helped to heal our broken hearts. I want to thank everyone who commented and emailed me about the loss of Patches.Your words meant the world to me--truly! I found great comfort in them and the fact that you took the time to comment at all. Thank you. I know little Patches is feeling good now. It was a shock to have such joy at having her only to lose her so soon.Sometimes life just has some twists and turns in the road.

This may  make you giggle~~My husband and Caitlin went to the dance on Friday night and all the parents were asked to supply a snack of some type for the table. Some volunteered cookies, another volunteered to supply juice, etc.  Now the Father/Daughter Dance is just that--Dads and daughters. No Moms allowed! Not even us leaders so we are leaving this dance up to the Dads..need I say more :) ?  ........We sent in a vegetable tray with veggie dip and my husband brought it back home afterwards. I was so surprised. It had veggies, dip, little sausage and cheese. Why didn't they eat our veggies???? Guess what? Men do not think to open things like the plastic that was covering the dip...so the veggies never got touched. They couldn't dip if it was sealed!  How silly of me. We should have known, right? If you don't open it for them, and it doesn't open by itself MAGICALLY then the only food that will get eaten is the one that was opened and out for the taking and requires no work....the cheese and sausages! They were already open and accessible. I can only imagine how many men glanced at the veggies, saw the dip was sealed and passed on it and just grabbed a cheese! Oh boy! I just had to laugh!

Yesterday (Sunday), we decided to take a ride further out east on the north fork. I had gone to church and then my husband had an estimate to give on a Spring project. Afterwards, we felt a  ride to one of our favorite parts of Long Island, the east end....the real END so to speak would be good for us all. We live in the eastern part of Long Island in Suffolk County but this is another 45 minutes further east and you literally are on the edge of Long Island and can see Connecticut! What is good about Commack, where I live, is that you can drive a little over an hour west and hit NYC or you can drive 45 minutes the other way and be on the end near either Montauk on the south fork or Orient on the north. I am a north fork lover. It's country rather than the south fork which has the famous Hamptons which although beautiful is just not what I prefer. I feel WAY more at home in country! I prefer the east! My husband and I and the kids enjoy our car rides. How beautiful the towns are even in the winter when nothing is growing. It was what we needed to heal this weekend. The beauty of the farms and the water. When we visit here around Mother's Day to buy our plants and flowers, the towns are vibrant, colorful  and busy. Farm stand after farm stand selling everything from vegetables to pies to plants and flowers line the main road. But today, just the peacefulness of the Winter.

Our favorite restaurant for lunch is closed from Thanksgiving till St.Patrick's Day...all is quiet. Just a sign that says" Merry Christmas! See you in March! "

A long road down to the ferry and the "end". A breathtaking view.

The end of Long Island--watch it! The first step is a doozy!

Waiting for Spring

Resting for Winter

Vineyards now  replace defunct  potato and cabbage farms. Thank goodness for that! The county does not allow new home developments to be built on former farms. Long Island soil is perfect for grapes and there are many vineyards. The vineyards are quite beautiful. There are still lovely farms selling vegetables too. We passed a a farm we visit where we always pet the cows and see the chickens and bunnies. See you in the Spring.... We then make a u-turn  at the end of the island....here is the sign you see. Had I kept going off the end of the island, I could have swam to Connecticut and visited cousin Joanne in Brookfield....maybe another day....

Welcome back from the edge!

All these sights restore me back to ME. The silence of it all. The stillness.

The country roads, the late afternoon shadows, smoke from a chimney circling in the air on a brisk Sunday afternoon... the hope of what is to come in the new year ahead of us. These things that give me the serenity I need. Have a beautiful day!