Its a cloudy cool Thursday morning. Only a hint of sunshine is peeking through and I heard that it will get squeezed out fairly quickly today. But, what the heck. We have had a wonderfully blessed January week of sunshine and 50° temperatures. I got no complaints if it drops back to "normal" for awhile. Just keep the snow on the North Pole please. The polar bears need it and I don't.

Today Ms. Kate and I are taking a day for a "Date-day". We have a free room at the local casino and hotel, "The Tropicana", so we are going to take advantage of it and have "downtown" date, or would you call it a "night on the town". It might seem a bit silly to stay in a hotel that is only four miles from the house; but on the other hand, we firmly believe that couples need a bit of silly in their relationships and in their lives, and we always have had. Married couples should never stop courting and dating one another. And when life comes to an end; the list of "I'm glad we did" should be miles longer than the list of "I wish we had". This was brought home once again to me just this morning as I learned that an old friend lost his wife to cancer last evening. She has had stage three and four cancer for several years now and God blessed them with a few extra years together. But we never know what an hour from now will hold for our lives. My prayers are with him this morning, but I celebrate the love they had for each other.

On a brighter note, I had a woodpecker out on the bark butter feeder this morning that was "kicking butt". A bunch of starlings came in and tried to eat off of the same feeder and the woodpecker took them all on by pecking at their heads and wings until they gave up. The yard and feeders are full of cardinals again this morning. I also have lots of junkos and finches and sparrows. A half dozen doves walk around on the ground cleaning up after the other birds that throw seed on the ground. I guess I should go out and refill all of the feeders again this morning. The squirrels are rapidly depleting the supply that is out there. Even though we are taking off for the day, my critters still need to have a place to come and eat. I'm sure I'll receive thank you notes from them.

My coffee cup is empty and I reckon Ms. Kate's is too. Time for refills and getting on to other stuff. I got a hot date waiting!

Have a blessed an joyful day. Stop what you are doing and do something silly today. It will give you a shot of youthful vigor back in your bones.