Foggy, Cloudy and Rainy

Today would have been a good day to sleep in. It was dark and drizzly when I dragged my behind out of bed at 7:30 to let the dog out. I was too lazy to walk him besides it was raining. Today I was determined to start my New Year's Resolution. 2017 would be the year to start decluttering my house. We have lived in this house for 23 years and have accumulated a lot of stuff. There is even more clutter since we just sold our weekend place and moved a lot of belongings back here. I figure I have an entire year to reach my goal so I will approach it a little at a time. I also wanted to start putting away what few Christmas decorations we had around the house. Our decorations were sparse this year because most of the boxes were up in the attic. After Jim's nerve surgery on his arm he was in no condition to climb up on a ladder and hand me multiple boxes of ornaments, snowmen, lights and garlands. I used simple decorations with a lot of electric candles that came on at dark and the house looked beautiful and simple. It will make for an easier clean up.

Recently I hung two bird feeders on our Japanese maple tree in the front yard. I refuse to hang bird feeders in the backyard because they attract squirrels which drives Boo crazy and he runs back and barks too much. The front yard is more manageable. Squirrels still cross the front stoop and try to get at the feeders while Boo sits inside the front door and watches them. Occasionally he will get very frustrated and start barking. This afternoon, while it was still drizzling, I let him out the garage and he ran around tracking the scent of an animal. After about 5 minutes I looked in the backyard and did not see him. When I looked out the front door I found him at the side of the house entangled in some of the Christmas lights from the front bushes. He could not move they were wrapped tightly around his neck and back legs. I had to snap a picture of my mischievous boy before I freed him from his tangled mess. There is never a dull moment when Boo is around.

Jim worked a long day today. He tolerates work well but occasionally will come home early when he is really tired. Tonight was low key for the two of us. I made homemade pizza's and we sat on the couch both on our computers with a beautiful fire glowing in the fireplace. Hopefully tomorrow I will be a little more productive.