Month: January 2021

Our crazy retirement challenge

We challenged ourselves when Jack retired last March at age 65.3 to try and live off ONLY Social Security.

With the Covid Pandemic, we could not go anywhere so our retirement trips were put on hold.

We did not want to draw money on our retirement accounts we wanted to prove to ourselves we could do this challenge for one year.

Allow extra padding in savings for emergencies. You have to be prepared for anything and everything.

Remember to pay off all your debt before you retire you should never go into retirement with any debt.

My dad told us one time a lot of people withdraw money out of their accounts early and pay penalties this is a big mistake. I think my dad would be very proud of us for completing this crazy retirement challenge we have almost made it to our one year mark.

The retirement money you saved all your life is yours how much money you leave behind and who you leave it to is also your decision.

Do what you want to do whether it’s investing in a weekend home, building a new home, remodeling an existing home, buying some property, or traveling.

Life is about having peace of mind and taking deep breaths it’s about living comfortably in your older years and it’s about taking lots of pictures along the way.

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Sunrise in Texas

Good morning everyone from Manvel, Texas.

I love the colors of sunrises they are all so different. The tree silhouettes give the pictures another layer to look at. I took this picture last week and forgot about it.

The beauty of a sunrise is there every morning you just have to get up to see it.

The current sunrise in Manvel, Texas is 7:13 a.m. since my normal wake up time is 4:00 a.m. I am always ready to photograph them but I only photograph the ones with lots of colors or with fog.

A sunrise is a great way to start your day and get inspiration for what you want to accomplish that day.

Life is good!

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Three little Dachshunds

Three and a half weeks old and when they see people here they come for some attention wagging their tails.

I love that their colors are all so different. Our daughter has studied genetics and understands this a lot more than I do. The colors of the mom and dad produce the colors you end up with. I think her combination seems to be working out well because all these colors are beautiful.

I think our grandkids have spoiled these little cuties. Yesterday they were holding them wrapped in towels while they were watching tv. The towels were in case they happened to pee on them lol.

Little puppies can put a smile on anyone’s face..

2

DIY Birdfeeder

I love do it yourself ideas and when I saw this on Pinterest I knew I needed a few of these new bird feeders.

I had found a starburst vine wreath on clearance and paid about $2.00 for it. I took off the flowers but you could leave them on there if you wanted. I added twine across the bottom and then placed a terra cotta saucer on top of the wreath. When doing this make sure the wreath is smaller than the saucer because you do not want it to fall through. You really do not want to glue it in place because you need to be able to dump it.

I added twine and a S hook to hang it with and VOILA another bird feeder. I found another smaller grapevine wreath on clearance that will be for one more of these. I am obsessed with birdhouses and birdfeeders.

We hung it up one evening and the next day I saw a mockingbird and the chickadees eating from it. This feeder has chicken scratch feed and black oiled sunflower seeds mixed together. When you have a variety of different seeds or nuggets you will attract more types of birds.

I often see the doves, red birds, blue jays, mockingbirds, wrens, woodpeckers and chickadees eating this seed mixture.

The sounds of nature are so relaxing and every morning the birds serenade as the sun rises and continue to sing or whistle throughout the day.

Taking care of the wildlife is what LIFE is all about.

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The blooming paperwhites

It is that time of year again when you look out into the yard and see these beautiful bundles of white flowers.

These paperwhites belonged to my great-grandmother Moore and my grandmother gave me these bulbs over 30 years ago. We have moved them and separated them numerous times and shared them with a few family members. They are in several locations in our yard for us to enjoy.

It is so nice to have something out of my great grandmothers yards planted in my yard.

When it’s cold and there is not much blooming these are a joy to see pop out of the ground. Paperwhites are a bulb type flower that grows in clusters but the bulbs tend to grow deep.

When photographing paperwhites you need to use a macro lens to show off how delicate these blooms truly are. These flowers need the perfect lighting to show off their beauty to much sun blows out the white of the blooms so it is better to take pics early a.m. or on an overcast day.

Fine art, photography and paperwhites all go hand in hand.

2

Squirly is back

This time Squirly helped hisself into enlarging one of my gourd birdhouses.

I made these a few years ago and had a great time painting them.

The hole is huge and I am sure he was trying to make it so he could fit in there. Maybe he just wanted a napping place. I expect at any time he will have a rubber stamp and start stamping everything with “Squirly was here”.

Wildlife can always put a smile on your face just stop and take notice what wildlife is in your own backyard.

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Chickadee

These little chickadees love this new food I ordered from Chewy.

C & S Bluebird Nuggets Wild Bird Food it was a 8# box for $9.77.

I was hoping to attract the bluebirds to eat it but the chickadees love it too. I just filled it back up again this morning.

We currently have 2 feeders in the front yard, 3 on the side, and 4 in the backyard. I mix chicken scratch and black oiled sunflower seeds for the feeders. It is important to use different types of feeders to attract more kinds of birds.

The joy of watching the birds and squirrels at the feeders brings nature into our backyard and I get to photograph it in return. It is a win-win situation for us all. LIFE IS GOOD!

6

Kalanchoe

I love Kalanchoe and currently have 4 colors of it planted in a large container.

There is a red, dark pink, pastel yellow and a yellow orange color. I think there are about 12 plants total.

These are from last spring they need to be cut back after blooming this year because they are somewhat leggy. You can take the cuttings and root new plants.

Kalanchoe is a thick leaf succulent that can be grown indoors or outdoors. This time of year it is easy to find them at the garden centers.

3

Raindrops and Roses

I love the smell of a good rain.

There is something about raindrops on rose petals the depth of the drops with the bright color of the rose and the definition between the two. It is all about the details.

If you have a good macro lens and a bright colored rose give this a try after a rain.

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