Gloomy Days of Winter

Gray cast skies today.  Why does winter have to be so gloomy?  It's bad enough that it's cold outside but to see everything gray and dead looking is just depressing.  My new mantra is ... Spring will be here soon ... Spring will be here soon, and it will be.  But, until it arrives, I have the opportunity to do the things I never have time for during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

• Cleaning out the attic ... a job I have put off for years but has needed to be done.  Oh my it is a mess.  We live in a two story house so it's a walk in attic and I have a tendency to store junk, ten years of junk actually.  So this is a big job and most of this should have been thrown away years ago.  Note to self:  Get rid of junk, don't store it!
• Cleaning out closets ... how many of us collect clothes thinking we'll wear them again someday?  Or maybe they were favorites at one time but basically have been replaced by other favorites.  I think I'm a shopaholic.  My closets are crammed full and I don't wear a tenth of what's in them.  I hate trying on in the store so I buy, bring home, stick in closet and when I finally try it on ... I really don't like the garment.  Time to donate or discard.  Note to self:  Take time to try on clothes in the store and save yourself a lot of money!
• Clean out from under sinks, kitchen and bathrooms.  I don't know if you're like me but I have every cleaner known to man under my kitchen sink and again I only use a handful of things.  Time to toss all the others and get real when I'm shopping. Note to self:  Quit buying crap you don't use!
• Finish painting the upstairs hallway!  Oh man this one stings ... it's been halfway painted for a few years now.  It should have already been done but basically out of sight out of mind.  This has to be done before I start any new home renovation projects.
• Finish putting up crown molding in downstairs hallway.  Ouch!  This one is not out of sight so it needs to be done first.  
• Strip carpet from stairs and do wooden stairway.  Oh my, this will be my reward for getting the last two projects done.  I've wanted to do this for quite some time.  I hate carpeted stairwells.  We have two cats so constantly vacuuming the stairs and that's one of their favorite places to play.  
• Redo cabinets in kitchen and paint kitchen.  Again, something I will enjoy.  

Well, as you can see, I have lots to keep me busy plus I have just gotten a new camera that I'm learning to use.  So these next 5 or 6 weeks should fly by.  I also have returned to my sewing machines and have started several projects there.  So there's really not a lot of time to absorb the gloom of winter since I'm going to have to hustle to get ready to welcome Spring.  Can't wait to open windows and let the fresh air in and hear the birds sing.  I want my house all clean and fresh and ready for it as well.  

I've been going out a few times a week taking pictures and I'm going to attach a few to this post that I think are note worthy.  My husband, Gary, and I went to Oxley Nature Center in Tulsa and took several of the trails while I played with my camera.  It was one of those rare warm, sunny winter days. It had followed a really bad freezing few weeks so it was nice to get out and feel the sun on my face.  It had been several years (probably over 20) since we had been to the Nature Center in the winter so it was like discovering it all over again.  Enjoy the pictures.  

This was the marsh area.  An area we avoid in the summer because of the mosquitos 

This was the lake area, this is always a beautiful area no matter what time of year.