Getting back to normal...

The Christmas cactus has lost it's blooms... and my home sweet home is finally getting back to normal.

I'm not sure why, but this past holiday season really did slow me down.  I don't know if it was the usual holiday happenings or the curve ball of changes that has been thrown my way for 2012...  Or maybe it was just the 400 pieces of these pecan bars that I ate that did me in....

No matter, I'm getting back on track.  Christmas is finally packed away in the basement, in 19 or so bins and counting.  The normal has been brought out of the closet and dusted off... put back in it's spot.

The decks are cleared again, both mentally and in reality... after all, there's a wedding in just 8 months 7 months and 7 days (are you sick of me mentioning this yet?).  I've got a new notebook on order, one to use for planning... and list making.  I'm an expert list maker... just ask my husband.  I may not get everything accomplished off my list but it will be in a pretty notebook or two.

And speaking of list making and notebooks, well the 2012 garden journal is under way as well.  The seed catalogs have been arriving in the mail like clockwork so the selecting and ordering can begin... Soon I will fill up my front porch with little seedlings of impatiens and wave petunias, a virtual little sea of green will sprout just like last year.  And of course, I'll be planting extra lime green and white zinnias for the big day in August.

And what on this chilly January day do I have to remind me of the blooms that are soon to come?  Well my little, beat up and straggly lemon tree is in bloom again on the front porch.

The lemons that were started last year are ready to pick... I've got a crop of ten beauties this year!

Perhaps enough for a glass of lemonade and a quite evening... you know, a little bit of sunshine in a glass.  Who says it can only be enjoyed in the summer.... and after all, I need to perfect my homemade lemonade recipe for August's big day.

I could enjoy it here on the porch, but it is a bit chilly this evening.  Believe it or not we've had blue skies here in Washington, which for us usually means cold temperatures....

And beautiful sunsets...

Looking forward to the long weekend, list making and maybe a little bit of that sunshine in a glass.... and if the weather forecast is right, even a bit of snow.