Welcome to Tumbleweed Tidings End of the Month Musings for February, 2018. I know February is a short month, but this year it really went by quickly!  Part of that may be that we were on vacation for almost the first two weeks, and then came Valentine’s, and so on. But I still had time to pull together a few things that have been happening here in Tumbleweed Land that crossed my mind, along with some favorite photos from the month.

Hawaii called: My husband Jim and I, along with good friends, flew to Hawaii the end of January for almost two weeks. As I have talked about on this blog before, we lived on Oahu for 6 ½ years from 2001-2008, and the Hawaiian Islands hold a special place in our hearts. We try to visit every couple of years, and it is always like greeting an old friend, with the familiar places and faces of our former friends and neighbors. We were able to visit our longtime friend and neighbor Armin, who is now 94 and resides in an assisted living facility in Honolulu. He is a retired World Religion Professor, and as neighbors, he and my hubby would occasionally sit on the lanai on Sunday afternoons and solve all of the world’s problems over a glass of Scotch.  We had such a great visit, and we treasured the hours we spent with him in the gardens and sharing lunch in the dining room.

Water Bottle: I have a confession to make. I don’t drink enough water!  So while in Hawaii, I finally saw a reusable water bottle that I just love. It is metal, and is narrow enough to fit my small hands. But what really grabbed my attention was the design and wording on the outside. There are pictures of painted pineapples and it says Live a Pineapple Life, surrounded by the words Stand Tall, Wear a Crown, and Be Sweet on the Inside. Just the vibe and life goals I was looking for, and hopefully, just the thing to keep me better hydrated!  In the picture, I also included some of the “treasures” I found while beachcombing this trip.

Valentine’s Day: As suggested in my blog entitled Let’s Dine in For Valentine’s, we did just that. After dining on some pretty amazing meals in Hawaii, we were ready to stay home for a quiet evening. We shared a lovely meal, had a glass of wine, and lit a candle. Jim surprised me with vibrant pink roses and a lovely card. I got him his favorite, an Amazon gift card, which he promptly turned into a belt sander. It’s almost magical how fast that happened:]  Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine’s Day this year, marking the beginning of the Lenten season for us and other Christians around the world.  Sadly, it was also the day of the terrible school shooting in Florida.

The bathroom rug: I finally found a runner I like for one of the guest bathrooms. I used to have a black and burgundy rug in there, but it made the room feel heavy, so I took it out a couple of years ago. The tile floor actually looked clean and calm with nothing on it, but in the winter, it is cold underfoot…probably because I rarely wear shoes in the house. I have been casually keeping an eye out for something, and while at Home Depot the other day, I found the perfect one. It is fresh and contemporary, and has all of the colors of the bathroom in it.  Although it appears a little blotchy in my photos, it really isn’t, and changes colors nicely with the light. Small item, big improvement!

Let’s Go to the Movies: First, The Greatest Showman.  We have now seen this movie three times, so clearly, we can’t get enough. I also bought the CD with a gift card from Christmas, so I can have it in the car nonstop. Wow! If you haven’t seen this biopic musical about P.T. Barnum, do not wait another minute. Hugh Jackman, Zak Efron, Michelle Williams, and the rest of the cast knock this right out of the circus tent. And it’s rated PG, so grab the kids and go. Today.  We also saw The Darkest Hour, about Winston Churchill.  It was outstanding, and I would recommend seeing Dunkirk first, then The Darkest Hour for the best perspective.

Thar She Blows:  I know there are those of you who think I came up with the name Tumbleweed Tidings for my blog because it was catchy and had a nice ring to it.  While that may be true, the real reason I came up with it is that we really have tumbleweeds careening down the highways around here on a regular basis. Needless to say, this is not our favorite thing about the Tri Cities. Last weekend, we had one of our infamous wind storms with gusts up to 70 mph.  And while I love it here, I hope this makes you appreciate where you live just a little bit more:)

Lastly, the picture above popped up on my newsfeed today from one year ago.  It was taken in downtown Carmel, California, while we were on vacation there with friends.  It is a bronze of an older couple sitting on a park bench, and she is holding a heart in her hand.  I loved it then, I love it now, and think it perfectly captures the spirit of February.

As the first harbingers of spring appear here in the Tri Cities, we are seeing more sunshine and some hope of warmer temps. And just like the daffodils that are coming up in the front flower beds, I am bursting with ideas for Spring blog topics. I hope you’ll stay with me for the ride!

Good tidings,
Diane