- Sunshine
- Buds on trees
- Green green green!
- Tree lined sidewalks
- Bird song
- Warm afternoons, cool evenings
- Rainy days for snuggling
- Farmers preparing
- Light
- Fresh air
- Damp earth
- Sprouts
- Daffodils
- Easter Sunday
- Sandals
- Light sweaters
- Bright skys
Category Archives: Nature
Things I Am Thankful For
- My family
- My friends who are like family
- Adorable grandbabies
- My new condo
- Sunsets
- Ocean waves
- Vacations
- Ice cream
- Sparkly swimming pools
- Whitening toothpaste
- Fall colors
- Holidays
- Clean diagnoses
- Safe transportation
- Clean water
- Opportunities
- Mentors
- The smell of new books
- The smell of old books
- Bonfires
- The susurrus of wind through trees
- The Boundary Waters
- Beaches
- Laundry in my home
- YouTube tutorials
October
- My dad’s birthday
- Cold nights
- Bon fires
- Brilliant foilage
- Hoodies
- Tall boots
- Crunchy leaves
- Costumes
- Kids laughing
Hot Hot Hot
- Hot tamales
- Hot to trot
- Hot hands
- Hot mess
- Hottentot
- Dr. McHotty
- Hot Lips Houlihan
- Hot Topic
- Hot to the touch
- Hot water
- Hot stuff
- Hot dog
- Flaming Hot Cheetos
- Hot n Spicy chicken sandwich
- Hot car
- Hot summer nights
Reasons This Winter Needs to Be Over
- The Midwest has set multiple records for snow
- My ice scraper has been used more than it should be
- I have trash I haven’t taken out because it’s been too cold
- Polar Vortex
- Free days should be spent outside
- Mountains of snow in parking lots
- Parking spaces hidden under snow
- Municipalities running out of road salt
- Warm days are better
Things I Would Rather Be Doing (Assuming the Weather Was Nice Enough for Weather Dependent Activities)
- Reading a good book
- Visiting family
- Watching Survivor
- Sitting around a campfire
- Making s’mores
- Eating s’mores
- Walking in the sunshine along the river
- Wilderness camping
- Writing & editing a novel
- Binge-watching home shows like Flip or Flop, Love It or List It, Desert Flippers
- Getting a pedicure
- Getting a massage
- Decorating a Christmas tree
- Planning parties
- Eating stuffed crust pizza
Things I Love About Late Summer
- Cooler nights
- Fresh sweet corn
- Sleeping with windows open
- The first red leaves
- Late night thunderstorms
- The drone of cicadas in the late afternoon
- Still wearing flip flops
- Boots and sweaters at the stores
- Back to school supplies
- Clearance sales on cute tops
- Grapes
- Planning for fall & winter holidays
- Bonfires
- Going to sleep with bonfire smoke in my hair
- Fields polka-dotted with hay
- Thick green ravines dripping with heavy air
Possible Activities for While My Family is Visiting From Out of Town
- Vanderveer Park
- Swim at the Y
- Bettendorf Family Museum
- Putnam/IMAX
- Channel Cat water taxi
- Red White & Boom
- ComedySportz
- LeClaire (American Pickers, Happy Joes, shops)
- Steel Plow shakes
- Blackhawk State Park
- Game Night
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
- Thunderstorms
- Beaches
- Book stores
- The Legend of Zelda
- Warm sunshine
- Cabins in the mountains
- Fresh oranges
- Dinner with family and/or friends
- Reality TV
- Office supplies
- Sharpies
- Unlimited data on my cell phone
- Caramel
- Walking along the river
- My birthday (in a couple weeks!)
- Traveling
- Laughing so hard my stomach hurts
Places I Visited On My Road Trip of Awesomeness Earlier This Summer
- Mount Rushmore
- Wall Drug (Wall, South Dakota)
- Gillette, Wyoming
- Missoula, Montana (including dinner with 2 college roommates)
- Spokane, Washington
- Idaho (a gas station somewhere along I-90)
- Columbia River Gorge
- Horsetail & Multnomah Falls (Hood River, Oregon)
- Portland, Oregon
- Crescent City, California
- Redwoods National Forest
- A beach somewhere along the California coast
- Trinidad Bay & Memorial Lighthouse (Trinidad, California)
- Redding, California
- Reno, Nevada (visit with the Lewis family)
- Virginia City, Nevada
- Lake Tahoe Overlook
- Bonneville Salt Flats (Utah)
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Casa Bonita (Denver, Colorado, with another college friend)
- State Capitol Building, Lincoln, Nebraska
- Huxley, Iowa (Aunt & Uncle’s house)
