Nature's Beauty

Hey, all!  I hope everyone had a good weekend.  It was cold and raining off and on here.  But the snow and ice are gone now.

Besides keeping up with all the usual things around the house, I've worked on a couple extra projects.  The closet upstairs definitely needed attention and cleaning out.  So did the large wooden chests up there.  Since Golfer was not playing this weekend, he helped and we got a lot done.  One goal for me was to get to the large box of pictures stored in the closet up there.

I worked on sorting pictures all of yesterday afternoon.  I can not believe how many duplicates we had and or how many pictures of people and places we did not recognize.  :)  Keep in mind that we inherited some of these pictures.  So now that the initial sorting is done, I will go through some of them again and get them organized into scrapbooks or scanned.

Speaking of pictures..... our friend, Rick Hopson, the photographer who took our family pictures at Christmas, takes absolutely beautiful nature pictures.  This recent one that he posted is just too beautiful to not share.  Snowy owls are rare in our area and Rick and his photographer buddy were lucky enough to see this one.  They had heard there had been a sighting at the shore and they took off to look for him.

I have to admit, he makes me think of Harry Potter.  Isn't he beautiful??!!

And this picture makes me smile every time I look at it....

So, if you ever need a photographer, look for Rick!  He did a great job with our family pictures, too.  Not so easy working with our group ranging in age from seven months, a wiggly three-year-old and up to 60+ years.  :)  

Stay safe, people!

A Helpful Momentary Heat Wave

It was 73 here yesterday!  That helped a lot with melting the snow and ice.  There are still dirty piles around in parking lots and along the roads where plowing was done, but the yard and house are clear now.  Of course, the yard is very wet and soggy, but the danger of ice falling off the roof onto us is gone!

Here's a recap of our week....We started out snowbound, but Golfer had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning, so he ventured out and returned safely home.  Also on Tuesday, we had the plumber here fixing the leaky pipe in the wall in the garage.  Wednesday we had our annual visit from the Culligan Man; no problems there.  Thursday, our photographer friend, Rick, brought our pictures.  They turned out great!  Then later our handyman, Steve, came by to check on some things around our house, and he'll be back later today to discuss.  Right now we're waiting on the Zoo Pro man to return for the next treatment in our attic to "remove" the creature that's been up there.

Of course there has also been all the usual stuff, cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.  One afternoon was spent cleaning up the garage after the plumber was done.  We had a lot of water to mop up!  I finally got out to do errands yesterday and get to the Commissary.  We've made it to the "Y" a couple times.  It's been packed with children due to the schools being closed, but schools finally reopened yesterday.

The girls and families are doing well.  Little Miss E just got her third tooth!  Still drooling and not sleeping well, so maybe another is on the way, too!

New people moved into the house across the street from us.  They have dogs and one is a barker.  Our Angus has always liked to spend a lot of time looking out the front windows, usually watching birds in the shrubs in front of our porch.  This morning I saw him staring straight ahead, all crouched down and wiggly.  He was staring at the barker across the street who was staring back at him from their front window.  Life is an adventure.

Stay safe!

Just Another Update and Some Wishful Thinking

Well.  It is still cold.  The temperature did not get above freezing today so we are still covered in snow and ice.  Maybe tomorrow.  Sigh.  Wednesday is predicted to be in 60's!

Golfer did go out and got half of the driveway cleaned off.  He did the side that is behind Spock, the RDX.  Spock has front wheel drive if we need to go anywhere.  The snow is heavy and it is covering thick ice in some spots.  Golfer also cleaned off the sidewalk as much as possible.  The ice is much thicker there where icicles have dripped, even in freezing weather.  Salt has been put down.

Speaking of icicles... here's an example of what we have.

Picture taken from the office window

I knocked as many down as I could out front, but the patio and deck are so deep in snow I haven't been out there yet.

I was taking a bag of trash out to our dumpster which is stored inside the garage this morning.  And I walked into a big puddle!  I came back in, got my coat because it was freezing cold out there, got a flashlight, and told Golfer what I was doing.  He came out to see, too.  We have water leaking at the water heater that is located in the corner of the garage.  It's not that old.  We have a maintenance contract with Smith & Keene on all our heating, A/C, generator, and plumbing.  I called right away.  This contract gives us preferential service scheduling and pricing.  The soonest they can get here is tomorrow.  They are over-loaded with service calls.  So tomorrow morning we will be moving things out of the way and hopefully, eventually, cleaning and drying things out there.  And possibly getting another water heater.  Sigh.

I started a project this afternoon.  We have stacks and boxes of old pictures.  I started sorting and cleaning out.  Here's a question that no one can answer:  WHY DON'T WE ALL LABEL PICTURES WE TAKE?  I admit I am as guilty as anyone.  So anyway, the project is started.   Be ready Nurse J and Bikini, some will be heading your way!

One picture in particular spoke to me.  I have said and thought this a million times, I'm ready for warm weather and sunshine.  I found this picture of my Mom and an unknown friend.  Mom liked the sunshine, too!

Mom is in the dark suit.  Quite the "looker"!  Miss you, Mom.

Stay safe, people!

Weather Update

It finally stopped snowing last night.  This morning the sun is out so bright  I almost need my sunglasses here inside the house.  The official snowfall count is 11".  It is 19 degrees out and not expected to get above freezing temperatures until maybe Tuesday.  Every newscast announces "stay in, don't go out".  And yet, on the last report, there had been almost one hundred accidents.  For those of you in areas that get heavy snowfall more often, part of the problem here is a shortage of plows and equipment.  The only plowing or clearing done is on the interstate and the main roads, never on any residential streets.

IT Guy and BeyB got home last night, so that is one less worry.  I really doubt that BeyB's new classes are going to start tomorrow, but it's great they are home.

So, here we are.  I made pancakes for breakfast.  Golfer watched a movie.  I read the paper online.  I am just about caught up with my magazine reading and am going to pick a new book to start.

Stay warm and stay safe!

What the Heck?!?!?!

We are currently in the midst of Winter Storm Helena.  Go away, Helena!  Haven't been in a good blizzard since Colorado!  The snow started last night, soon after we returned home from having dinner at BJ's Brewhouse.  We went out because we knew we wouldn't be leaving the house for a few days.  Dinner was delicious!

It is still snowing.  It's 23 degrees with a wind chill of 13, and it is windy.  Golfer went out and measured right in front of the garage door and it was 6" deep.  Looks deeper in other areas, but we aren't venturing out to measure.  Most things are closed, authorities are telling us to stay in and off the roads.

It has been a busy week.  Sadly, IT Guy's Dad passed away after being in the ICU in Illinois since Christmas.  He was a nice man and will be missed.  IT Guy and BeyB drove to Illinois in time to get to see him.  They are not back home yet.  Golfer and I have been helping Nurse J with the little ones while she worked and other things.  So we've had some hugs and cuddles and play time.

There was a little flurry (hahaha) of getting ready for the storm and I got the pantry and fridge in shape and ready, made sure we had food and kitty litter for the boys, filled the bird feeder, and put gas in the car.  In case you are wondering why the gas in the car is important, if the power goes out, you can't pump gas.  Of course, with all the snow and being told to stay in, we aren't going anywhere, but you just never know if you might have an emergency.  That same policy holds for getting cash on hand from the ATM.

Our generator tests itself weekly and it is ready if needed.

One of the newscasters made a comment about wondering why people go buy milk, eggs, bread, etc before a storm.  She said the fridge wouldn't work if the power went out.  True, but hard boiled eggs last longer and could be boiled before the storm starts.  Or cooked on a grill.  For Winter storms...DUH!  It's cold outside, set things outside or in the garage.  They'll stay cold!  I remember one time many years ago, my sister lived in a second floor apartment.  Her refrigerator quit working during Winter.  She did not have a large cooler, so she just set things out on the roof in a box.  When we wanted to make a sandwich, we just opened the window and brought things in.  As soon as the repairman fixed it, everything was moved inside, back to normal.  Remember, where there is a will, there's a way.

We've been catching up on some recorded shows and have some good books to read.  I'm getting ready to start a pot of chili.  Stay in and stay safe!

Here are some snowy pictures.....

Angus and Finnigan on guard against the white invaders falling from the sky; Cecil was not worried and was napping.

Getting deep!

Still coming down

Getting Back to Normal

Officially today is a holiday.  Here, it is Monday, omelette day.  (I don't cook breakfast every day) All the usual morning things, plus some, have been done.  It is about 50 outside and raining, puddles everywhere.  As far as I know, the girls and families are well.  Life is good.

This picture has shown up on Facebook several times and it "speaks" to me.  So I am sharing.

Have a good day and stay safe!

Happy 2017!

I hope everyone is well and happy!

Golfer and I are having a quiet day at home today.  We had breakfast - oatmeal and cinnamon rolls -  watched a movie, read the paper.  He had some time on the computer.  I cleaned out some cabinets and cleaned some things out.  He's watching football now.

I looked out the window a little bit ago and saw a robin!  Either he's late to leave, early to arrive, or just a hardy little soul that is staying here year round.  So I went out and filled the bird feeder.  I wasn't fast enough to take a picture myself, so this is a file photo.


It's sunny and in the mid-50's today.  We had a little rain earlier but things have dried off and it really isn't bad out now.  Enjoy your day and stay safe!