The 'Good', BAD and UGLY of 2013... Here are some of the GOOD THINGS....

I discovered a person who does kitten fostering with a web cam.  This is Foster Dad John (you can search those words and find him)... this little charmer was able to learn how to 'give a high 5'...  I love black and white Tuxedo Cats.

I discovered that my little town does have a bakery.  I can only go there on Saturdays due to their limited hours.  My favorite bread is on the bottom:  Whole Wheat bread with full sized olives mixed in the dough.  Oh MY! 

Yes, this is a photo of snow... but, the 'GOOD' is that it only snowed 2 times and for only 2-3 inches at a time!!  So, to me... after living in Germany in a place that snowed for months on end and never melted off of the ground until April/May... this was a VERY GOOD THING! 

When spring arrived... I discovered that my yard was full of flowers!

I discovered that the "FISH MAN" came to my town on Wednesday nights!  He has an assortment of cooked fish items.

I discovered a small craft/yarn store in a nearby town.  *Only about 3 miles or less away from my rental house.

I've never seen this flower growing this big in a FLOWER POT in my life!

Wisteria blooming across the street from my rental house.   Such a beautiful sight to see even if the blooming season is so short.

Various tulips blooming at school.  My students and I stopped, on our way to/from recess and going to/from other classes, to see the changes to the plants as they went through their various growing stages.  I think it helped them treat the flowers (and maybe other flowers?) with respect.   Not all children did this-- we'd see other children pulling off the flowers... and doing other destructive things to them.  When my students would get upset about this- I told my students that that is why we 'admire' flowers growing-- so, that we get to see their beauty for a longer period of time.   I think that making an effort to stop and watch/explain the various flower stages did give my students an appreciation of the flowers more than if I hadn't done this???

Our school went on a field trip to the SOAVE Castle just about 20 minutes from our school. 

I discovered a huge discount yarn store.  (I did a blog entry about this-- with clearer photos!)

A good friend came over to see me the first week that school was out in June (she's teaching in England now- we had taught at the same school in South Korea.)   We went here and there and she wanted to go to Venice.  However, my injured knee couldn't do all that walking or the steps going up/down all the bridges over the canals.   So, I suggested that we take the water taxi to Murano Island instead.   This is where the 'glass blowing' is performed.  She had a great time, plenty to see/buy and I didn't have to walk up/down stairs.   A win-win for all.  This is a boat selling vegetables.

I had surgery on my knee.  I finally had plenty of time to knit.  This is a sweater that I knitted for myself.  I don't have a photo of the completed item.

Yes, a knitted wool hat in summer.  Hey, you have to knit when you have the time for it.  I knitted this for a friend's birthday. 

This is "Dovie" my friend's neighbor's cat.  She likes to stay at my friend's house and visit her cat friend instead of living at her own house. 

This is "TOM THE CAT" and he is a great cat.   He and Dovie are friends.  However, he is the 'cat in charge' because he knows that my friend's house is his home.   Tom looks very serious in this photo- but, he is a sweetie and loves to be petted and brushed.

I knitted dishcloths for my friend's aunt who drove me to physical therapy sessions.  I would knit these mostly at physical therapy while I had the ice pack and/or the heat on my knee.  The other times-- you were too busy moving around to do any knitting.  Others, just played on their cell phones during the 'waiting' times (the ice and heat part of the therapy) and I knitted instead.   Wonder who had something to show for their waiting? 

I knitted this hat for my friend's mother.  Once school started up (my friend is also a teacher) her mother would drive me to my doctor appointments.   Soft yarn in a beautiful color- much  nicer than the photo shows too.

I have realized for years that I tend to KNIT FOR OTHERS.   So, I am trying to make an effort to knit things for myself at least 'once in awhile.'   Here is a pair of socks 'fresh off the needles'... if you look you can still see a pattern stitch marker by my ankle.  This is some Regia sock yarn that I had purchased in Germany.  The yarn makes the patterns/stripes as you knit it. 

Another pair of socks.  This yarn also did the striping as I knitted it.  This yarn is from knitpicks.   I didn't like this yarn as well- it doesn't seem like it is going to hold up as well as the Regia sock yarn will.  The socks are a little big for me too.   You can see that my leg is still VERY SWOLLEN from the surgery.  : (

I went on a base trip to the Christmas Market in Innsbruck, Austria.   It was fun to finally get to do something fun.  Even though it was a small market, my knee hurt very much from the walking. 

This was in a window store display.  I wish that they were selling this- I would have bought one like it.

More of the Christmas Market.  I also went to Bolzano, Italy to that Christmas Market.  I took the train.  This was a charming town right in the mountains.  I'd like to go back and visit another time.

My friends from Germany (where I used to live) came down to spend a few days of Christmas break with me.  It was fun to have company and to be able to cook something besides 'one dish' meals that I end up eating the left-overs for several days.  I didn't put a real tree up- my living room is too small.  However, I did put my metal Christmas tree up with a variety of ornaments hanging on it.  It was a good 'stand-in' tree.   

Can you see how fuzzy my photos are lately?  My camera isn't doing very well.  I guess over the years- it has been dropped too many times.   The last good photos are of the cats (shh, don't tell anyone but they were taken last summer- not this summer) and the last good photos taken in 2013 were of the tulips.   

So, I will eventually have to buy a new camera.  It has lasted for about 8 years or more.  It has not had a cushioned life at all.  My cold fingers have dropped it many times, to the pavement, streets, etc.,  while taking photos over the years.   Some photos are so unfocused and in poor quality that I can't even use them on my blog.