Where Did 2013 Go?

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights. 
                                                                                     ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

My mother told me many years ago, "the older you get, the faster time seems to go".  It seems just like yesterday that Mr. Cottage and I spent New Year's Eve with our Happy Hour group in Florida.  I sure miss all of them and even other friends as I look out our window and watch the snow coming down...

My friend, Kelly...

And Kelly's husband, Jim...

And the place where we stayed for 8 winters...

This was the year I painted my first animal, entirely on my own, and even taught a class on how to paint a fox...

After returning home, we got our house on the market, decluttered and finally sold our house of 43 years.  Then the movers came and took our belongings to storage and we had a huge estate sale.  Talk about major change!  We ended up downsizing to a nice condo...

I participated in a couple of local art shows...

And we are finally settling in and enjoying all the birds and nature around our new home...

Mr. Cottage and I celebrated our 45 wedding anniversary and our eldest son retired from the military, after 20 years along with so many other changes.  So good bye 2013 and hello 2014!