Filed under animal paintings, Stephane Alsac
Yahoo Movies UK
We are done, in more ways than one. I’m doing puns and poems this morning because I don’t have any energy to do much else after our work yesterday.
We spent an hour in the driveway, chainsawing and hauling, before lunch, rested a bit, and then did another three hours after lunch before finally clearing enough that we could drive up and down the driveway again. It looks a bit like a war zone, but it’s workable. We’ll try to neaten things up some other time, but today we’re resting. We left one larger branch simply moving the end of it to the side of the driveway. The break is up too high for us to get to it, and the blade in the chainsaw desperately needs replacing now.
We’ll do that, buy more night lights, and replenish groceries later today.
The ‘Determined-Man/Energizer-Bunny’ syndrome enveloped my husband yesterday afternoon, and he was determined to finish. We did, but he was almost unable to get into the truck to ride back up. I went up and down the driveway four times yesterday afternoon (650+ feet up the STEEP driveway) until I had to sit on a boulder beside the driveway and gasp for breath awhile before continuing. The power cords wouldn’t reach, so I had to make the last trip up and down again. Even with FOUR 100-foot cords strung together, it was barely enough. (We used an outdoor plug at the top to do all we could from the top down, then switched to an outdoor plug at the bottom to work our way up.)
We did a quick and dirty job of it, since the chainsaw blade was trying to give up, but we did it. I talked to my husband again about the fact that we are getting older and need to modify our activities more to deal with that. He agreed, but I don’t trust the agreement to last the next time…
He is taking a much-needed nap now, and we are determinedly putting nothing on the agenda today.
The really encouraging news is that we’re due for possible ice storms next week….
Filed under Challenges
The Guardian
Ian-Watts-FineArtAmerica
Just Fun Facts – Photo by wall.alphabetcoders.com
Filed under snow people
Kooy Brothers
My husband went outside around 3pm yesterday, immediately went to get the chainsaw and 100 foot cord. I talked to him about calling tree people to clear the driveway, but he wasn’t having any. I told him I thought this might be too much for us. He said, “Go on inside. I can handle this.” Yeah. Right.
We ended up doing three sessions – a total of 2 hours – stopping when it started to get dark. He chainsawed and I tugged, hauled, rolled, or picked up and tossed what he cut. We cleared about 1/4 of the driveway, more or less. We’ll do more today – and tomorrow – and – until we finally make it to the bottom of the driveway. It’s still pretty snow-packed, being long, steep, and on the north side of our property. It will be the last snow to melt.
Amber, our 95-pound yellow lab, had a GREAT time while we were outside. She thought it was the BEST game. She ran around, leaping and laughing, cavorting around like a crazed thing, making circles around the whole area. When we came in, she hit her bed, only rousing when it was time for dinner.
Thankfully, the most important reason to get to the bottom of the driveway – other than the fact that if we had an emergency, we couldn’t get OUT and no one else could get UP the driveway – is that we have 4 days of mail in the mailbox. We also have some good chances for ice and snow again in the coming week, so it would be NICE if we could get out and get some supplies before Mother Nature socks us in again.
Here’s hoping we can get some good sessions today.
Filed under Challenges, character-building exercises
I love Bethany’s work. Her talent simply oozes out wherever her focus lands. She’s a lovely person, as well. Here is her latest –
Filed under Bethany Kerr, drawings
eBaum’s World
Fox Weather – Getty Images
Russia Beyond
Sia-Snowman
Filed under snow people
The Random Vibes
_______________
There is a lot of melting going on, but our driveway will be the last. It still looks like a ski slope. My husband hasn’t seen it yet, and I have to admit I’m dreading it when he does. The branches hanging down are HUGE and definitely too much for the two of us. If I were by myself, I would be calling tree people to come and give me estimates when the driveway is clear, and just wait it out as to getting to town again. I just looked at the forecast and that looks pretty grim – rain this weekend following by ‘wintry mix’ next week. Right now, though, it’s sunny and 33 degrees, with a high of 58 expected. One day at a time.
DIY Value Picture
I’ve told you that the core group of Lunch Bunch is Kay, Linda, Linda’s daughter, Patty, and me. Honorary members are Kay’s husband and mine. Others are also happily welcomed whenever they can come. I had to contact everyone yesterday that we wouldn’t be there today due to being snowed in. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to go NEXT week, either, due to coming weather and/or JUST the driveway blockage. The good news is that Patty has become a grandmother again this past week, making Linda a great-grandmother again! Both Linda and Kay are quite rich in family. It’s wonderful to be able to help them celebrate each new addition.
I hope Friday is a nice one for you, followed by a fabulous weekend.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under animal paintings, Louise H. Art
mocha.org
I wish our place looked as pretty as this, but we ARE as snow-covered.
We will be this way until further notice, although the melting has started just a bit. There is a good 8 inches on the deck cover, for example.
The public power was restored overnight. We were on the generator all of yesterday, with only a couple of short periods of public power before it would go off again. The poor power guys have been at work steadily now for three days trying to get power back to everyone. We went to bed around 1:30 this morning and still had no power. It was really nice to see we have some this morning.
Our generator has done a fantastic job during the past three days, but it deserves a good long rest now. It is propane powered and it’s really a luxury not to have to worry that we’ll run out of fuel for it right in the middle of a rough patch of weather. We’ve gone through a LOT of firewood, our only source of heat the past three days. When we built the house about 36 years ago, we insisted that we get a real wood-burning fireplace that was efficient, with doors on the front and a blower built in, so that we could use it as a source of heat when needed. It’s gotten a workout, too. It’s really nice to be able to start the day without having to build a fire, though.
Soon my husband will decide to walk around outside, and then he’ll see that we’ll have to chain-saw our way to the bottom of the driveway and the street before we can go anywhere, even after all the snow is gone. We are both to the point where we’re a bit long in the tooth for heavy work, particularly when the weather is really cold or hot. My husband uses the chain saw and I’m the ‘tugger/hauler’ of the stuff he cuts, moving the pieces off to the side of the driveway. A little bit of work like this goes a LONG way.
The problem is that no one can get UP the driveway, either, so we can’t really hire anyone to come help us. I’m hoping that we can do it a little at a time. We have supplies enough to last quite awhile and that if it takes us a week to get it done, it won’t make a bit of difference. My husband is like the Energizer Bunny, though, not wanting to stop until he almost collapses. We may have to have a ‘discussion’ about how much we do at each session….
It would be nice if the power stays on today, and we can simply enjoy it for awhile.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
The snow has stopped. We have 6-8 inches on the ground, the most I’ve seen in the 36 years we’ve lived here. It’s 36 degrees F. now. We had no public power from 4pm until midnight yesterday. I was downstairs reading when it went out again around 2am. We are still without public power. Thank goodness we have a generator and a wood-burning fireplace.
We tried to plan ahead when we built, having some backups for cases like these. We have a gas stove rather than an all-electric home. We have a well. We have a propane-powered generator wired so it turns on automatically when it senses there is no public power. Because of this, we have power and a fire in the fireplace because the generator does not cover heat and air conditioning. So we are good, even though we’re snowed in until further notice.
I just went outside to take a couple of pics. We have BIG branches lying across the driveway. I HOPE we don’t have any TREES there, but I couldn’t see well. So even when the snow melts, we’ll have to chain-saw a bunch of stuff before we can drive down our driveway. In this pic, you can see snow-covered power lines across the pic.
The snow almost covers the brick planters.
If you look carefully, this is the top of the driveway. You can see some BIG branches that have broken off and are hanging down across the driveway. I got depressed looking at it, so just came back in without investigating further. I’m purposely not mentioning it to my husband. He FELL bringing the firewood in last night, landing on his back. He’s okay, but I want him to rest, instead of trying to tackle this problem.
The snow is pretty, but now that we’ve had a chance to look at it and say that, hopefully we can get power and heat back with safety for the good men working right now to make that happen, and that the snow will melt away, becoming only a fond memory.
Filed under Seasons
I went out again to see if I could capture the feeling of being inside a snow globe this afternoon. I have to admit it’s a really PRETTY snow. It didn’t surprise me that soon after I wrote the last post, the pest spray guy’s company called to tell me they would need to reschedule. :0)
Filed under Seasons
mitgirl-stock.adobe.com
Big, sloppy, wet snowflakes are raining down on us now.
It just changed to snow about half an hour ago. Since it’s supposed to snow until 6am or so tomorrow, we may get an impressive amount for Arkansas.
I’m always frustrated trying to get pics of the snow. I can never catch the ‘feeling’ of the big sloppy flakes.
Our driveway should still be fine right now, but probably won’t be as evening approaches. The pest control spray man is due any minute now, but I would be super surprised if he comes. I’m expecting a call from his office asking to reschedule.
The local schools are closing early – right about now – and the buses should be able to get everyone home safely, and then home themselves. I wouldn’t be surprised if school is remote tomorrow.
I’m going to see if I can find some creative snow creatures on the net. I love seeing what people come up with. I hope you’re enjoying your day!
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Josephine Neuse – University of Illinois Extension
I have a wonderful square foot garden that my husband and I created several years ago to enable me to enjoy gardening even as I get “more mature” and less able to get down and up again from my hands and knees and do heavy lifting.
We built SIX 4′ x4′ wooden ‘tables’ up on top of iron supports. We surrounded the six tables with fencing, then added chicken wire around the bottom to keep small critters out. We threaded neon tape through the fencing to make it VISABLE to the deer who come through from time to time. We added a screen door so there is a definite ‘inside-the-garden’ and ‘outside.
The tables are about my chest height and filled with “Mel’s Mix,” a soil substitute mixture of peat moss, vermiculite, and at least three different kinds of compost. We filled the boxes with the mix, after making the mixture in a used cement mixer. That’s the heaviest part of the gardening I do now. :0)
We marked the ‘squares’ of the square foot garden using wire criss-crossed over the tops of the boxes. We mounted a sprinkler head in the center of each box, tied together with hose, for daily irrigation.
We used to have a greenhouse that we built from a kit on the other side of our property, but since we couldn’t afford air conditioning and heating for it, it was truly a dream and wasn’t really useful to our efforts. We finally took it down when it was heavily damaged by a storm a few years ago. Now I buy plants from town.
I can just walk into my garden area, taking my spreadsheet diagram of where I want to plant things, move a bit of soft Mel’s Mix, and plant. My plan enables me to rotate my plants, avoiding disease and increasing yield. I also have not followed what I COULD do with my square foot garden, and spread my plants out a bunch for easier care.
Right now I have the boxes weeded and covered with weed cloth held in place by bricks. We’ve had several big storms and so far, the cloths are staying in place. That will hopefully enable me to plant without a lot of weeding first in the spring. :0)
I’m going to concentrate on lettuces, since I plan for us to eat a lot of salad, growing several kinds. My husband likes me to plant head lettuce, so I do, if we can find the plants. Otherwise, I try to plant three or four different kinds. I also want to plant a lot of spinach so I can use it in our salads, plus freeze some. I’ll grown radishes, sweet onions, and of course, I’ll use the two brick planters on the other side of the house for tomatoes. I’m at the dreaming stage now, so I’ll peruse lots of veggie magazines to see what else I might plant.
I WISH I were a good cook. I love the idea of growing herbs and spices, but I don’t tend to USE the fresh stuff much. I buy a bunch or two at the store, use a bit and end up tossing the rest when I haven’t used it fast enough. Maybe I’ll try a couple of the ones I use most often, trying to grow them in the kitchen, rather than in the garden….
It’s FUN to dream – especially while we’re expecting snow any minute here.
The Indian Express
Filed under Dreams, Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
I’m totally in awe of this woman’s talent. She arranges PEBBLES on a flat space and makes you FEEL. And, not only does she do that, bringing it to an art form, but mixes media, painting details and backgrounds to make each one a true work of art. Mind-boggling.
Filed under Erzsebet Szilajka, Stone/Pebble Art
Filed under animal paintings, Jennifer Gennari Art
Depending on which weather source I look at, a ‘wintry mix’ will start here in half an hour or so, changing to heavy snow at about sunset and then continuing through tomorrow morning. Have I told you that I much prefer LOOKING at other people’s snow, rather than being in it myself?
We will go drive down in about half an hour to hopefully retrieve mail and re-tether our then-empty trash can to the pole beside the driveway. I had traction problems yesterday trying to roll the can down the 25 feet to where we leave the can to be emptied, skidding on the gravel. My husband said he would do this next time. I don’t think I’ll have near as much trouble pulling it back UP the driveway and tethering it. I also bought some waterproof boots with thick tread on the bottom at Walmart yesterday. I’m wearing them now and will try them out on the driveway gravel in a few minutes.
Amazingly, our pest control company called yesterday wanting to come out and spray this afternoon. We agreed that they would call and reschedule if the weather does what is forecast. The schools are letting out early this afternoon, so we’re all pretty sure we’re going to get snowed in.
We are safe and warm, have plenty of food and water, prepared to stay up on top of our ridge line until further notice. Our generator is supposed to do its weekly test run later today. Hopefully, we won’t actually need it for power.
I hope that you are happy, safe, and warm where you are today, and that you do something fun.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Arctic Bear
Bastet Study 1
Bastet Study 2
Hare Head Study 2
Macaque and Infant
Sacred-Langur-1
Filed under ceramics, Clay Art, Nichola Theakston Ceramics
uploaded by J Stroman on Twitter
uploaded by Rita Moller on Twitter
uploaded by Twinkelijntje
Women Earth sculpture – Marie-Frederique Bey – 1stdibs.com
Filed under sculpture
Pond5
This is not ‘Earth-shaking’ news, I guess, but the customer service/subscriptions department of Hot Rod Magazine is terrific. The kind lady, Barbara Yarde, Customer Service, not only answered my email, but did EXACTLY what I needed – combining the duplicate subscriptions, giving me a new expiration date, and stopping the ‘late notice’ bill that keeps coming. ALMOST makes me want to renew early! :0)
RTE
Our driveway doesn’t look this nice, but you get a good idea of what we’ll be facing – hopefully, with no trees or large branches lying across it – Wednesday morning. We’re supposed to get 5 inches of slushy snow overnight tomorrow, with rain starting tomorrow afternoon and then changing to snow. We’re using today to get prepared, resupplied, etc. so if we’re stuck up here for awhile, we can simply enjoy being snug and cozy.
Wired
I am back in the land of the living today, feeling much better and stronger than I did yesterday. The only leftover is that my chest and back hurt from my ‘activities’ two nights ago. I actually laughed (carefully) when it hurt my back to blow my nose this morning. :0)
I hope that if the weather is threatening you, that you are prepared to ride it out well, and that you have a really nice day today.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Pixabay
I am feeling less than stellar today after being ill most of the night. I wish you a wonderful Sunday and will try to talk again tomorrow.
Filed under taking care of yourself
litbm
While working at the computer the other day, I started to drink some coffee and found my cup was empty. I took my cup and went to the kitchen. I stopped to pee, then went on to the kitchen. Went back to retrieve my cup from the counter in the bathroom.
Noticed a bunch of dog hair on the floor (imagine that!) and grabbed my battery-powered portable vacuum to get that up. I emptied out the canister and returned the unit to the wall-mounted battery charger thingie. I went back to the office and sat down. Realized I hadn’t gotten my coffee, so went back to the kitchen.
I got out chili mac leftovers for dinner and put out plates and spoons for our lunch. I felt hungry as I hadn’t had anything for breakfast yet, so got out a banana, peeled it, put it on a plate and brought it back to the office. Sat down and figured out I still hadn’t gotten my coffee.
Went back to the kitchen, got my cup, filled it, and put it in the microwave to heat it up. Let Abby, our cat, out. Checked to make sure the dishwasher had been emptied, and put the few things on the counter inside, wiped the counter. Went back to the office.
Went back to the kitchen to retrieve my coffee from the microwave and brought it back to the office. When I decided I was going to try to “move more,” this really wasn’t what I had in mind…
Filed under aging
Filed under animal paintings, Jennifer Gennari Art
creativeartworksblog 