My bird feeders overlooking the lake, before it froze, full of migrating geese covered in snow.

I’ve come to realize that no matter how long you’ve lived where there’s snow, you never quite get used to it.  Every time you spoke with someone this winter, the topic of conversation was how cold and bad the winter was…..But now, we’re gearing up for everyone to hopefully start complaining about how hot and humid it is!!!

I had an abundance of male and female cardinals at the feeder this year. Every morning I feed them shelled peanuts, which all the birds and squirrels enjoyed.

I decided it was time to retire my beloved Nikon semi-automatic camera that I’ve had for many years.   So, in the fall, I purchased a new digital camera.  One thing I wanted to do was to hike into Green Lakes on a sunny, (good luck with that one) snowy day and take a picture of the snow against the forest of tree trunks for my dear friend, Lenora to paint.  Then in December, as fate would have it, I broke my toe really bad.  I missed a couple of steps into our garage while racing around getting ready to go to New York City for a little Christmas sight seeing trip.  Laid up with an open toed shoe for months, I spent some time photographing the birds that visited my feeder daily.  Out of this arose my New Year’s Resolution…..Mindfulness.  I do things slower now and realize that things CAN wait.

My new master bath with heated floors, new vanities, tile and wallpaper from Thibaut.

Wall to wall carpet replaced with hardwood steps and a wall to wall carpet cut and bound into a runner from Masland Carpets.

Over the winter, I worked on a lot of exciting decorating projects.  One project was remodeling my master bath and staircase. Another one was for a client which, should be completed by mid to late summer.  I hope to get them both professionally photographed and into my profile at Houzz.com along with other projects I’ve been working on.  My master bath project included heated floors, new vanities, tile, wallpaper and a walk-in shower with frameless doors. The staircase that leads to my office was originally wall to wall carpet.  I had the carpet ripped up and new hardwood floors installed.  The finishing touch, a beautiful wall to wall carpet cut and bound into a runner.

In January, I was voted by the Houzz.com  professional staff as “Best of Houzz 2015 for Service.”  If you visit their website and view my profile, you will see the emblem.

I had a “moment” of sheer excitement in January as well, when I received notification from the publisher of a National Kitchen Magazine called, The Art of Kitchen & Bath Design/Kitchens by Professional Designers, that a kitchen remodeling project I had submitted, was accepted and would be published in their March edition.  I was awaiting a proof when I received an email from the publisher notifying me that “After 25 years of publication, the internet information age and its rapid expansion, has had a major effect on all print media retail sales making it prohibitive to continue printing.”  My “moment” of sheer excitement flashed before my eyes…..I had been featured in the magazine in 2009 when a kitchen designer submitted photographs of a kitchen he designed and I had assisted the client with the kitchen selections and I had also created the custom window treatments.  I’d been meaning to submit photographs since then and I finally did……and so it goes.  I will keep trying with other magazines and will keep you posted.

The beach on Singer Island in the early morning light awaiting beach goers.

My husband and I, along with my sister and her husband, were able to get away for 10 days to Florida where we had 80 degrees and sunshine.  After wearing an open toed shoe for three months,  I could finally wear sneakers on my foot with the broken toe.  I felt like a new woman but I also felt like I had to teach myself how to walk again!  The doctor’s orders were to not walk without my sneakers on the sand.  There’s nothing like the feel of that warm sand massaging your bare feet.  Not wanting to regress,  I begrudgingly heeded the doctor’s orders.

Freezing, Sami poses with blankets around her on the new Master Bedroom bed by Somerset Bay.

Finally able to walk again, I recently meandered along our lake path with just a trace of snow left. It’s almost metaphoric as I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Sami poses again on the living room sofa for me as I try out my new digital camera.

Once again, I’m realizing that the winters don’t last forever although when you’re in the midst of it it certainly seems like it does.  I am out enjoying my stress relieving walks again and taking photos with my new camera.  The snow scene will have to wait until next year.  Soon we will all be out enjoying the warmer weather.  I will change the timers on my lights, clean the fireplace out and my husband, Rick and I will put up the much anticipated screen room for the cats and us…but mostly for the cats who will then realize as well that winters don’t last forever……