Happy Birthday!

It's my husband's birthday today. I am from June to January older than he is but now that we are the same I won't hear so much about being the old lady. It doesn't bother me, it's reality. The picture I am sharing here of him was taken on a day at Jackson Lake. We both love that lake and owned 3 different boats while we lived there to enjoy it with. It was always a good day on the lake.

Dinner, one of his favorites, is on the slow cooker. I will begin cake making soon. He has gotten texts from some family members already this morning. I'll see what else he wants to do to have a great day.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

Turtle or Just a Lump?

This piece of wood has a background. It was found on the shores of Jackson Lake. We all were reminded of a turtle when we saw it and it came home and now lives on a coffee table in a living room. It is a memory of a very nice time with family on the lake.

Do you have random things in your home that bring back memories or great times?

Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

Remembering August 27, 2016

I took this photo from our boat on Jackson Lake inside of Grand Teton National Park. The fire here had started in the backcountry of the park and burned its way to the shores of the lake. I will never forget the heat, the smell and the sounds of the fire moving through the brush and trees. This part of the fire was allowed to burn since it threatened no structures or people. 

This picture shows the same area the next year. It will take a long time for the trees to come back but in the meantime the wildflowers take advantage of the increased direct sunlight. The scars are definitely there amidst the beauty. I always loved going to that part of the lake when we had a boat. Not to be morbid but I have let my kids know it would please me to have my ashes scattered in the water there. That is unless I decide to turn myself into compost which seems like a more carbon neutral kind of thing to do. I dislike the idea of cemeteries and no one goes there anyway.

With my mother's passing it seems to be more important than ever to get my end of life planning done. The goal is to make it easy on those I will be leaving behind after all I am 68 years old now.

Do you think about these things? What planning have you done? 

  

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Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

Wordless Wednesday - A Day on Jackson Lake

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On the Shore of Jackson Lake

In early October my daughter and her family came for a visit. Like we have done so many times during other visits that day included a drive through Grand Teton National Park. 

We had high hopes for a chance of seeing the famous grizzly mom 399 and the 4 cubs she had this year. She is one awesome mom and if you want to know more about her just google grizzly 399. Photographers, famous and not, have built part of their careers documenting the life of this bear. Her movements are tracked in out local paper. Everyone cheers her each spring when she comes out of her den. All of this just to say we saw the crowd waiting for her lined up for maybe half a mile along both sides of the main park road but we did not see her this time.

We did take a moment to stop at Leeks Marina on Jackson Lake. I will admit that my pictures aren't so great but in my mind I see the glorious gold of fall against the deep green of the pine trees. You just get my sad attempts that give you a glimpse. The first two are of  islands that shelter the marina. The third shot with the lonely sailboat in it looks across the lake to Mount Moran.

If the Jim's retirement schedule goes as currently planned this day may have been the last time I see this lake that I have fallen in love with during our time living here. I will miss anchoring in Sergeant's Bay and spending the night and falling asleep to the sound of water that rocks the boat and the elk bugling in the distance. Good Times.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Remembering

I intended to do one of those Wordless Wednesday posts but I just had to tell you that these pictures are scenes from a wonderful day last summer boating on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton  National Park.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Labor Day Weekend

Hope all who read this had a great weekend and made some new fun memories. Jim actually had all three days off which in the hospital business is kind of rare. As I said in a previous post my son and daughter in law came to visit. We spent one day on the boat on Jackson Lake and another on a drive to Dubois, Wyoming for lunch.

Dubois has a great spot for lunch, the Nostalgia Bistro. I have linked the name for you to use for more information about location and menu. Just across the street and a few doors down is a great coffee shop that is worth your time. We all got drinks for the ride home there. For more about this great place click here.

The evenings were spent with card games like 5 Crowns and Cribbage. The cribbage board pictured shows one of my very few wins and the fact that I double skunked my daughter in law and that never happens. She plays cribbage very well. As a beginner I would jokingly accuse her of making up rules so that she would always win.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

A Summer of Eagles

I have always like watching birds. It is a joy to see them in the yard, cooing doves, frantic hummingbirds and cheerful songbirds. I don't always know their names but that doesn't change my happiness when I get to sit and watch.

Last summer on the lake it seems like everytime we went out on the water we saw eagles, more that any other year before. I loved it. Jackson Lake is home to many birds, pelicans, ducks, Canadian geese and of course eagles. The picture below is just one of many. I wish the pictures were better but it is hard from a boat and birds are not real cooperative when it comes to posing. 

Isn't he handsome? I think "he" anyway.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Reflections on Jackson Lake

In organizing my photos recently I keep coming across images that bring back so many memories. I plan to blog about lots more of them here mostly to create a record for myself but you (any readers) are welcome to come along.

I took this picture on our last day on the lake last summer. It was such a lovely day without wind so the water was like a mirror. The mountain straight ahead it Mt Moran which is just to the north of Grand Teton. At the base of Mt Moran is a small bay that is peaceful and stunning.That is true especially in the fall when the slopes are blazing with gold, orange and red.

That day it was just Jim and I taking the boat out one last time before taking it from the buoy we kept it on and hauling it home to be stored for the winter. It was a day of gratitude for the weather and for Jim's great recovery from his heart attack. Jackson Lake is a place very dear to me and if you ever get a chance to explore it do so and I think you will find yourself falling in love like I did.

Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park 2017

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Walking, Etsy Shop News and Photo of the Day

What's on my mind today?

Walking, walking and more walking. I find it settles me down and clears my mind. Over the past few days I have been trying different routes around town. I have taken in the site of Canadian geese at the Visitors Center on the north side of town. I have seen the first snow on Sleeping Indian and big horn sheep from the National Elk Refuge Road. I walked along Snow King and to downtown in a big loop. I haven't been carrying a camera with me. Maybe I should start doing that.

Shop News

Hats! I have wanted to get some hats into the shop for awhile and now I have started to do just that. I have started with a basic slouchy beanie because I love that way these look when you are wearing them.

I am also letting you know that for the first time ever I am running a coupon code for blog readers and twitter followers. From now through the 31st of October the code SHOPEARLY20 will save you 20% off your order at cozy.etsy.com. I will probably be closed most of November so I wanted to encourage any one who needs to get cozy to shop ahead of the holiday madness of December.

Photo of the Day

This one was taken a couple years ago. The place I took the photo at was the boat ramp at the Signal Mountain Marina on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. The view looks across the lake to Mt Moran. The day was a bit hazy but I love all the blue.

Til next time.

Todays Thoughts, Photos, Shop and End of Summer

What's On My Mind Today?

I must confess not a whole lot. I have been thinking about what summer was since we are now a week or so past Labor Day Weekend. The summer started in California going to Sea World and seeing family. This summer ended with a day on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. In between there were other family times here in Jackson and a cruise to Alaska. All of it good and I will share scenes in future posts.

I have come up with what I hope will be a new format that I can stick to. The headings tell it all. First "What's On My Mind Today?" which can be about nearly anything. Next is shop news and I hope to have new listings to share here soon. Last I decided to go through my pictures and choose a photo that catches my eye and share it. Any way we will see how this goes.

Shop News

 I choose a few items from my shop today to promote on twitter. These dishcloths we something I tweeted. I just love the cheerfulness of the colors in these. Just looking at the colors made me happy as I crocheted these.

I am also looking forward to seeing if we can get a nice group growing on the EtsyBloggers team. Got an Etsy shop? Got a blog? Join us!

Photo of the Day

Somewhere in Arizona

I will admit that after nearly 5 years in the Phoenix area I never really grew to love the harsh desert landscape. What helped was that in the central part of the state not far from Payson you could see views like this.

Til next time.

A Jackson Lake Weekend

This was a weekend of firsts for me. I drove a pickup with a trailer. I drove a boat. I drove a pickup with a trailer with a boat on it. We spent the night on the boat for the first time as well. It did not take much expertise on my part since I only drove the truck straight up the boat ramp. The boat driving was big giant circles in the middle of a wide open lake. I did try out reverserse on the boat. There was no docking or putting the boat on the trailer for me, those tasks are still Jim's job.

Our first and last stop on the Jackson Lake was Moran Bay using the Signal Mountain boat ramp for getting in and out of the water. It is a beautiful spot at the base of Mount Moran.

All around the lake you could see the gold of the coming fall. That is Mount Moran in the center. The gold hillside on the right is at the back end of the bay.

We had dinner, spent the night and had breakfast in Sergeant's Bay. Jim grilled steak and mushrooms for dinner. As the sun went down the stars came out and we could hear elk calling all around us. If you have never heard that sound google it. We were the only ones in that spot as the day ended. The reflections on the water were so breathtaking.

While waiting for those stars a couple of games of Phase 10 were played and we each won one of them.

Morning started with coffee of course and breakfast. As we were leaving Sergeant's Bay a couple deer came down to a grassy spot on the shoreline to have a morning meal too.

One more leisurely cruise around the lake where I drove the boat for awhile in big circles. We took in all the beauty of gold and green, blue water and gray stony mountains.

 

Saying goodbye to those mountains and the lake we got the boat all buttoned up for the ride home.

So those were my memories for this Monday. Do you have any memories to share?

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I sell - Zibbet
I blog - A Cozy Life and Group2020
I pin - cozyatoz
I socialize - on Google Plus and on Twitter .

Til next time-


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