Favorite meal of the week:  Lasagna. Ever since I started using ground sausage in the sauce it has been crazy yummy.  I don’t know why I only make it once or twice a year but I suppose that keeps it special.

The orange tree (part 1):  We have one very prolific orange tree and it had become rather overgrown.  This year we picked all the oranges at once so my husband could trim the tree back (hopefully in time for it to make blossoms for oranges next year).  We wondered what to do with our bounty and learned we could donate it to a food bank.  I took 64 pounds of oranges to the Inter Faith Community food bank.  Made me very happy they didn’t go to waste!

The orange tree (part 2): I noticed a dove building a nest on the top of our fence sheltered by the overgrown branches of the orange tree. I was hoping to get it trimmed before they got too far along with their building but we were too late.  A completed nest with two eggs appeared over night. So most of the tree got trimmed back but we left a few sheltering branches for the mama bird.

Something I enjoyed:  Making Valentines.  I just made a few to keep my son company while he filled out his class valentines.  I loved choosing stickers and putting together a few cute little cards.

Something that made me happy:  My spouse fixed the cover over my “front porch” swing. The sun is already warm here and I appreciate the shade.

I love this quote, reminds me I can do anything through hard work:

“Genius, that power which dazzles mortal eyes,

Is oft but perseverance in disguise.”   — Henry Willard Austin