My friends are little lamps to me, their radiance warms and cheers my way, and all my pathway, dark and lone, is brightened by their rays.

Well, we made it through January, didn't we? It certainly went fast, as all the months seem to do these days, at least for me. The weather made it a little tougher to get through this year. I've heard some say they didn't think the weather was so bad, and others, like me, thought it was pretty cold and the snow has stayed on for a long, long, time. I've heard tales of lots of ice mishaps with broken arms and sprained body parts. Thankfully, that doesn't include my falling down, as I have mastered the "ice shuffle" walk pretty well. Now the latest weather forecast is predicting more snow in our area. Thankfully, February is a short month and seems to go even faster than January. It seems at this time of the year we are all just trying to pass the time to get to the "eternal spring" that will soon be here. My parents mail is full of "gardening" magazines along with seed catalogs and soon the "plant" catalogs will be arriving. I want to touch on something coming up in a few days, February 6th, to be exact. My parents fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. It just seems like yesterday our whole family had an open house for them at Railside Golf Course to celebrate their 50th. I mentioned to them the other day, when I was visiting about their impending anniversary and my dad said, "so what? It's our 55th, no biggie." Well, I beg to differ, Dear Father, it is a "biggie". My husband and I plan to take them out to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate this milestone. I personally think every year after the 50th anniversary should be celebrated, because these days alot of couples just don't make it that far. That is a long time to be married. I think my parents deserve to celebrate the event and should be very proud of their accomplishment. Now my folks are just like everybody else's. They are both retired and don't get out of the house much in the winter. I try to stop up with Jack at least once a week to "liven" things up a bit and he definitely does that. They added a little miniature greyhound dog to their family a few years back named "Belle" and she flits around like a little flea when we come in. This dog has tons of energy and loves to lick and love on Jack. I think she's been good for them, although she does not like to go outside when it's cold, at all. This dog is so tiny and thin, she must freeze when they take her outside. They got her a sweater to wear outside, but when you ask her to put it on, she runs and hides, guess the sweater isn't going over too well. Dogs and clothes just don't seem to go along too well. Mikko has gotten a little more used to the cold and we haven't had to don the booties and coat as of late. Another interesting thing I have come to enjoy as a pastime to get through this winter is the Facebook program on my computer. Now if you don't know what Facebook is, well, you must be living under a rock. Some of my friends from High School talked me into getting on Facebook this past summer. My daughter has been on it for quite some time, but I didn't really understand what it was, so I took the plunge and I am enjoying it, alot. Yes, I spend some time on the computer with Facebook everyday and I have read that "they" were concerned about people spending time on Facebook instead of spending time with people and that it actually disconnects people. I disagree, I have re-connected with High School buddies that I hadn't spoken to in years and I get to keep up with important events in their lives, births of babies, weddings, engagements, deaths, illnesses, important milestones in peoples lives. Some say it's being nosey, but I disagree. A person can put what information they want out there and there are applications where you can talk "privately" to someone that isn't on the "open" page of Facebook. Personally I think it is marvelous. Can some use it the wrong way? Yes, they can. I don't like to talk about "controversial" subjects, like politics, but some like to, that is their prerogative to do so. Can you give away too much of your personal information? Yes, I think you can. But, there are steps you can take to insure your privacy and the privacy of your family, you just have to take the time to get those "personal settings" done correctly. There is alot to learn about Facebook and how it operates. But, for those who like to stay updated and connected with friends and family, it is quite the tool for that. I would suggest to parents who have children on Facebook that they monitor what they are putting "out" there for others to see and I personally don't think I would let a child under the age of 12 on there at all and if they are over 12, then you need to have access to what they are writing and putting on there. Anyway, this fifty-four year old is having fun with it and it makes the days of winter go faster, indeed. I had to share some fun news on Facebook, so I guess I will also share it along on my blog, too. A few weeks ago, our son Frank and Daughter-in-law, Casey found out that they are going to have a little Daughter in early June. So, Grandma is thinking " pink and frilly", that's exactly what I put on Facebook, to see if anybody was paying attention, some got it right off. Now we are thinking baby girl clothes and I recently dug into the old "cedar" chest and got out all the baby girl things I had saved from when Ashley was a baby. I did some "soaking" and washing of things and was amazed at what good condition everything was in. Some of the items are hand-made, crocheted and knitted baby blankets, sweaters, booties, and caps that my Grandma Greenlee had made and my Mother had made several items too. These things are so precious to me and I am thrilled that another generation of my family will be wearing them, soon. We are planning a Baby Shower in early May for Casey and we will be getting busy with that, soon. We also have another big event coming our way, and soon. Our daughter Ashley and son-in-law Jimmy, recently sold their house and will be moving soon into a much larger and spacious home. They outgrew their cute little bungalow very quickly after little Jack arrived and little Jack is getting bigger and bigger, every day. He has hit the stage where he is repeating everything he hears you say, so we all "watch" what we say, very carefully, these days. My little grandson will be getting a toddler, "big boy" bed, as Grandma calls it, when they move into their new home. Grandma went shopping and got him a new bedspread set and a couple of cute pictures to match recently. Of course, it has pictures of trucks and cars on it. We are so into trucks and cars these days. While cleaning out a closet the other day, I came upon a case full of old Matchbox and Hot Wheel cars that belonged to Frank when he was little, that had been passed down from my brothers. We went through the case and most are dated on the bottom. Some go back to the late 60's and early 70's. I believe their might be some "antiques" in the box. Anyway, Jack has been having so much fun playing with these, everyday we go through them and he finds a new car or truck to delight him. Another hand-me-down that another generation will be using. And the new little granddaughter will find lots of treasures awaiting her too, as I saved all of "Aunt Ashley's" barbie doll paraphernalia, too. Someday, little one, someday... so I look forward to the spring and to new events coming soon to our family, yes spring will soon be here!