We’re due for possible severe storms this evening, so I went out to get some pictures, just in case, so I could share them with you.
This sweet bunch of flowers tries to bloom each year. Usually, we have a bad storm just at the time these need a bit of protection. I try to get a picture or two, because they don’t usually make it through the storm.
It raises my spirits to walk around the yard, seeing HOPE in the planters.
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, Seasons
And today we welcome Mal, Humphrey the emu, and May, 2021.
The fact that all of these gorgeous Australian firefighters are young enough to be my sons doesn’t diminish my ability to appreciate the ‘view’ in the least as I help them in their fund-raising efforts by buying their calendars each year. :0)
I hope that things will get better and better as we start a new month.
I just walked out to my raised bed, square foot garden to see if the recent storms pounded my sweet veggies into the ground. (We had bad storms particularly Wednesday evening with high winds, lots of close lightning that had me cringing at times with the loud bangs, and some hail. Thankfully, all seems to have come through fine. Pictures to follow, and I will do my second harvest.
Have a happy May Day!
I’ve been covering my veggie plants and tomato planters with sheets for 4 nights now, and so far, things seem to have come through the freezes all right. The Zucchini has had the most reaction. I’ve had to cut off several leaves from the plants. They blackened with the frosts and freezes. There is enough left of the plants that still looks good I think they will make it.
According to the weather website we are now past the freezes. This is really unusual here. Usually, our last frosts are April 5th, and that is even pretty late since I have been trying to grow things. We are supposed to get rain tonight and all day tomorrow.
I have the sheets spread out on the fencing around the garden, trying to dry it out during the day today so I can bag them up and put them away.
I HOPING that things will get back to normal for gardening soon.
Although the veggies seem to be doing all right, my elephant ear bulbs did not make it over wintered in the garage. I have finally given up on them and ordered more bulbs. I am hoping those will arrive soon so that I can get them into the ground.
I gathered my first harvest of the year recently, and we enjoyed a main meal salad last night, featuring our own spinach and lettuce! It’s been quite awhile since we were able to do that. I loved it!
Today is sunshine-y and pretty, but it’s still only 37 degrees outside now. This is the third night I’ve had to cover my veggie plants, hoping they won’t freeze in the uncharacteristically cold weather we’ve been having. I think after tonight, this cold wave will be finished and we can get back to normal. So far, so good. Fingers – and all other appendages – including my eyes – are crossed.
I finally gave up on my elephant ear bulbs that I tried to winter over in peat moss in my garage. They aren’t showing anything good. I have ordered some bulbs and will plant them as soon as they arrive. I’m sad to lose the ones I received from my friend, Laufrain.
My husband and I went searching for new carpet and flooring yesterday. We compromised on some new carpet and I got my choice of flooring for the porch. The man is coming today to measure and give us a final cost. My husband told the lady we got the carpet and flooring from them in 2012, but it turns out that we got our kitchen tiles in 2012. We got the carpeting and porch floor in 2008, so it’s a good time to get new.
I sold a hand painted tote bag on Amazon Handmade overnight, so I’m heading out in just a minute to get our mail and then drive to the post office to mail the tote. It really makes my day when someone likes what I’ve created enough to buy it for themselves or as a gift for someone else. :0)
I wish you a happy Wednesday.
Our iris season always starts with deep purple iris. They are almost finished now. They are followed by pale yellow iris, and those are blooming madly all over the place now, along with some mauve colored ones here. :0)
We also have a few very pale coral iris and some ‘mauve’ iris, but those are few and far in-between.
A few years ago I devoted one of our brick planters to planting new colors of iris. Each year I did up some of those and replant them elsewhere in the yard.
I love all colors of iris, but I wish the deep purple and the yellow would bloom at the same time. Apparently, though, they have a system which decides which bloom when, and mostly, only one color blooms at a time around here.
These are two yellow iris from the planter I talked about. They have a really nice, deep yellow color. We also brought in one of the mauve ones.
If I get bogged down, I just go outside and walk around the yard a bit. Seeing things blooming lifts my spirits.
Filed under Favorite Things, Gardening, Mother Nature
I feel GOOD this morning.
Yesterday I had a glorious massage after SEVERAL days of mixing and spraying 2-gallon containers of weed killer, and then switching to 6 hours of using the power washer a couple of days ago, cleaning outdoor furniture, our deck, and the back sidewalk. My body was really anticipating the miracle that is Lynn Moody, my massage therapist. 479-629-7601. I spent the rest of the day reading, resting, and sleeping. AHHHHHH! I capped it off by getting a good night’s sleep last night.
Not even the fact that today is supposed to be very rainy can dampen my spirits.
We’ll go to Lunch Bunch in about an hour, catch up with our friends while enjoying chicken fingers, and then hit the local grocery store for supplies before coming back home.
Weather permitting, I’m hoping to gather the first harvest of the season from my veggie garden! My mouth is watering for a salad made with lettuce and spinach from our own garden.
I hope that you are safe and well. Enjoy your Friday.
We had quite a storm last night – heavy rain, gusty winds, hail, flying hairballs…. I went out this morning to see what havoc had occurred.
Two of my three new azaleas were pretty battered, but I’m hoping they will perk up once they get a chance to catch their collective breaths.
I’m feeling very lucky that the hail storm didn’t decimate my garden, as they did one year in the recent past. I’m trying to ‘hold my mouth right’ so the good luck continues. :0)
It’s 37 degrees, gray and rainy here today. UGH. I know that ‘spring’ doesn’t begin officially until Saturday, but I’ve been more than ready for a LONG time now.
I was HOPING to go to the local co-op today to get veggie plants for my garden, but I felt like I was freezing to death just putting out fresh bird seed and suet this morning.
I feel guilty griping about our weather. We dodged a bullet of possible severe stuff yesterday, and that system has now moved east, threatening other good people today. I hope everyone stays safe.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Although our last spring frost is technically April 5th here, there are signs of spring everywhere I look outside! I couldn’t be more ready.
Yesterday I planted the elephant ear bulbs I’ve had in our garage in a trash can of Mel’s Mix (soil alternative). The bulbs were ‘slimy’ on the outside (ICK!) but I dug the deepest holes I could in the planter and planted them. I have no clue what will happen – if anything – now. If they DON’T sprout new growth, we’ll look around and see if we can get replacement bulbs. We really enjoyed the display last year.
Our tulip tree is blooming!
It’s hard to be down when Mother Nature’s beauty is blooming its heart out all around you.
Happy Sunday!
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
We walked down the driveway right after lunch today to get to our truck my husband had to abandon yesterday, not being able to come back up our driveway. We cautiously backed down a seemingly endless amount, sliding a lot, before we were on the street in front of our house. We were delighted to find that our driveway was the only bad spot between our house and town.
We were able to get a microwave that was almost exactly the same as the one we loved that died. It’s a 2.2 cubic foot Panasonic with turbo defroster, genius sensor, etc. The only difference is that the new one has 100 watts less power than the old one. We are beyond delighted. My husband celebrated by warming up a cup of coffee. :0)
The only other excitement in our trip was trying to get back up our driveway. The first time we made it up about 1/3 of the way, but then started sliding around, losing traction. My husband had to carefully back all the way down to the bottom to give it another try. I thought we would end up stuck in the deep ditch on one side of the driveway or the other.
The second time he ‘went for broke.’ We started sliding about half way up, but managed to gain some traction and got over the middle, really steep part of the driveway. I had been holding my breath and firmly keeping my big mouth shut, so it took me a minute or two to calm down. My husband is a much gutsier driver than I, and gutsy is what it took today.
So the truck is in the garage safely now. Hopefully, by the end of the day tomorrow our ice and snow on the driveway will be only a memory.
Filed under Cause for Celebration, Challenges, Mother Nature, Seasons
This gives you a bit of an idea of our driveway. This isn’t ours. Ours is graveled, 650 feet +, and STEEP. We had no choice about it being on the north side of our property.
My husband insisted he was going out yesterday to get some sugary treats at the local grocery store. I told him he really should wait – that we could go together Sunday afternoon after more melting occurred. He scoffed and went anyway.
He came back about an hour later with the sugary treats, but without the truck. He was unable to get back up our driveway and left the truck about 3/4 of the way down. He later tried to retrieve the truck, but had to leave it down there.
Today we will walk down the driveway, trying to NOT fall on our heads, hopefully back the truck down to the road, go to town and replenish supplies (my husband said the roads are pretty clear now – our driveway is probably the worst place in town) and then hopefully be able to drive back up and put the truck in the garage.
I’m still amazed that my husband told me I was RIGHT. Right about yesterday being too soon to go to town, and right about the fact that I thought we should put the snow tires on the truck at the end of the fall as we usually do. My mouth is still hanging open.
It’s 41 degrees F. out there now, so we should have ‘a whole lot of meltin’ goin’ on’ (thanks to my smart SIL – and Elvis, of course – for the title.) The forecast for today is RAIN. I won’t complain – even if we drown.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
The forecast shows a slow warming trend here, so maybe we’ll be able to find our driveway in the coming days! I am hoping that I can convince my husband to wait at least until tomorrow afternoon before trying to negotiate our way down to the street that runs in front of our house.
Our microwave finally gave up the ghost, so this spoiled lady has been having to get off her duff and do some cooking, rather than simply heating up delicious, healthy frozen meals from REAL FOOD and STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ in Greenwood.
Yesterday I cooked a chuck roast in the crock pot all afternoon. We had some of that, plus some rice, gravy, and peas. I am planning to spoon out some of the leftovers into oven containers to heat up for tonight.
I am learning to be careful what I gripe about! Not long ago I was griping because I wanted some comfort food to help us through the ice and snow we’ve had for about 3 weeks now. At that point I was taking my microwave for granted. NOW that has all changed.
In times like these, we learn what a great life we have and how VERY much we have to be thankful for. We cancelled Lunch Bunch for today. Yesterday I talked to one of my Lunch Bunch friends. Not only was she snowed in, but her main water pipe had burst and she was waiting for the plumber to come and try to repair it. Plus my heart truly goes out to the people suffering in Texas. I gripe about small annoyances while they try to get warm and find SOMETHING to eat.
Diets, extra lardage, and inconveniences, such as the lack of a microwave don’t even get on the bottom rung of what is important right now. May we all get through this winter so we can enjoy the promise of spring.
Filed under Challenges, DIET!, Mother Nature, quality of life, Seasons
The saga of small annoyances vs real problems continues in the Lewis household.
A month or so ago, the dish inside the microwave that turns when the food is cooking to ensure even heating quit working. I looked up our records and the microwave was purchased in 2005. We have certainly gotten our money’s worth.
My husband is really good at fixing things. He figured out a way to fix the microwave so the plate turned again. Things went fine until yesterday, when the plate stopped turning again. My husband immediately squashed ideas of getting a new one – assuming we will EVER be able to negotiate our steep driveway and the roads between our home and town again. (We are into our second week of being completely stuck up on top of our ridge line – the first week due to ice and this week due to snow. We still have about 8 inches on the ground, so we MAY be able to get out by NEXT week some time if the sun stays out and the temperatures warm up from the current 15 degrees F.)
My husband went to work on the microwave again and we tested it this morning. It ran – and the plastic ‘thingie’ in the center of the floor of the microwave turned – for about 3 seconds and then the whole microwave shut off. It is now clear that the microwave is completely dead this time, no matter how smart or inventive he is.
I explain all this because we have been thoroughly enjoying frozen dinners from two new places in town – Real Food, and Stu’s Clean Cookin.’ These are individual dinners, portion controlled, healthy, and delicious. We have quickly become spoiled.
“I” will need to get inventive now on defrosting these on the counter, then transferring them to oven dishes, then figuring out how long – and at what temperature – to heat them up. In the meantime, I’ll cook a roast for tonight in the crock pot.
As I began when I started this post, this is a small annoyance vs the very real and dangerous problems many good people in the United States are facing right now. I feel a bit guilty even mentioning something as small as this. The pandemic, cabin fever, and the trying to diet have all combined to make me a rather gripe-y lady.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, Mother Nature, Seasons
In about 1977 we moved from Tulsa OK to Greenwood AR so my husband could take a job here. We like the idea of living in Arkansas because of the mild winters and unusual occurrence of snow and ice. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! About 20 years ago we had a truly awful ice storm from which the whole area has never really recovered. We lost a BUNCH of wonderful trees, changing the landscape and causing people a lot of grief. My husband had mentioned that it was about time for another ice storm…
All of last wee we were iced in. We had some broken limbs and fallen trees, but they didn’t fall across the driveway, so we were very grateful. We had enough melting that last Saturday we were finally able to get out. We emptied our mailbox, filled up with gas, and got some food and supplies. By Saturday night, it was snowing.
Look at this sweet cardinal in our bottle bird feeder from this morning. Usually, only the smaller birds use this feeder. I checked a while ago, and the cardinal found his way out of the bottle. I will make my way out to the main feeder and fill it up soon. We have a double dose of suet hanging, so the birds will be taken care of as well as possible.
I’m not sure how much snow we have on the ground now. Maybe 6 to 8 inches, which is a LOT for Arkansas. By Friday, the temperatures MAY cause it to start melting.
I have stayed inside, mostly, because it is WAAAAAY too cold and slippery for an old broad to be sliding around.
It’s hard to see that we have STEPS down to a concrete pad in front of the porch! Did I happen to mention how ready I am for SPRING?
Stay safe and warm.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
This cute video could be our dog, Amber, running across our front yard. I just let her in again. She is having a great time in our snow. We can’t tell we even HAVE sidewalks or a driveway. All demarcation lines have been thoroughly buried. The new snow we got (5″) actually helped me stay on my feet while I cautiously made my way across the deck to our bird feeder and filled it this morning. It is -6 degrees right now. The sun is shining, but we’ll be lucky if the temperature makes it to 20 today. We have ‘heavy snow’ predicted for this-evening-into-tomorrow. It’s all pretty, but I really don’t like being snowed in. We MAY start to thaw by Friday.
All this whining done, I’m VERY grateful we have power and water. Our home is warm and dry on the inside. Our animals are inside with us. Abby, our very independent cat, prefers to sleep outside in our garage in her ‘cat cube.’ We brought it in last night and kept her in the utility room bathroom, along with her litter box. I’m pleased that she did fine.
I’m also grateful to be thoroughly spoiled, drinking a cup of coffee while enjoying having Internet service and being able to type this note to you.
I hope you are safe, dry, and happy today. Eventually, February will be over for another year!
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
We’re sharing this lovely weather with a lot of good folks in the United States today. We are at a balmy 6 degrees right now with the forecast snow falling. Thankfully, we were able to get out yesterday – after a week on top of our ridge line – empty our mailbox and replenish supplies.
My favorite kind of snow is huge, fat flakes that make you feel as if you’re inside your own personal snow globe. It covers everything prettily, making you smile. The sun comes out, warms everything up, the snow melts.
Sadly, most of the time in Arkansas we get an ice storm first and THEN snow on top of it. The combination causes the evergreen trees that line much of our driveway to bend down into the driveway, weighing a TON (more or less) and many time either breaking off into the driveway or just making it so we have to chainsaw our way down the driveway at some point – assuming we ever want to get out again…
About 20 years ago we had a really bad ice storm. We stood on our front porch and listened as the ice broke tree limbs. It sounded like gun shots. Thank goodness we had a generator, even though it took all our efforts to keep the one we had running. It cracked the head and so was trying its best to overheat. We rigged a water source to keep cooling it off. We also have a well as backup. We were without public power and public water for 14 days.
We saw that most of the ice was gone yesterday. Most of the remaining was on our deck. Poor Amber, our 95 pound yellow lab, rediscovered how slippery ice is. She landed in a heap while attempting to do her usual rush to get inside the house. She looked a bit disconcerted, then leaped up again and made it onto the back porch.
The forecast this time is for snow all day today, tonight, and tomorrow, and then again on Sunday. It’s cold outside, but not nearly as bad as the poor people in the north are experiencing. I hope that they have stocked up and have good generators to make it through.
I just got the makings of beef stew in our crock pot, so we’ll enjoy a nice comfort food dinner tonight.
Stay safe, warm, and dry!
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Mother Nature, Poohisms
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, Mother Nature, Seasons
We are iced in on top of our ridge line in Greenwood, Arkansas today. Our deck is like a skating rink. I almost landed on my head yesterday – filling up our bird feeders and hanging a double container of suet – and so threatened my husband with death if he tried to go out there. I haven’t been out enough to know if we have broken branches yet.
Our forecast reminds me of a gathering my parents had at their house years ago. My dad had his own advertising agency in Tulsa, OK, and the gathering was a business one, full of people who had to do with radio and TV advertising. The talk turned to the weather, and weather forecasts. Someone laughed and said their very FAVORITE forecast was a local one, where the weather forecaster predicted, “FLEEZING DIZZLE.” Someone else held their head and said, “Oh, no! That was me!”
So “Fleezing Dizzle” is forecast to continue here, with the addition of probably snow over the weekend and even worse Monday. It’s 18 degrees F. right now. A GREAT day to have a warm, dry house.
We did have things scheduled, but I rescheduled a doctor appointment, so I don’t have to get a blood test this morning, plus we cancelled Lunch Bunch for tomorrow. The Greenwood Public Schools have gone to “Online Learning” today, and I suspect, also tomorrow.
Amber, our 95 pound yellow lab, discovered the hard way that ice is slippery this morning. She went rushing out, barking, as she does routinely, and ended up sliding all the way down the sidewalk behind our house. I didn’t see the look on her face, but I know she was shocked.
She might have looked like this –
I hope you have a safe, warm day ahead.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
There is SO much hate and hostility now sometimes coming at us in waves. To combat this, I am looking for hope where I can find it.
This morning when I let our yellow lab, Amber, out, I noticed that our silly daffodils have shot up greenery in preparation for blooming in the spring. We have a good 6 weeks or more of really bad weather for daffodils, maybe even resulting in their deaths. Yet here they are, giving life their all, full of hope that things will get better.
I dug up our daffodils several years ago, transplanting them around the yard. I dug deep and thought I had gotten all the bulbs out, since it’s kind of a pain to deal with them around the well house. Some came up anyway, despite my efforts, determined to put on a show.
Each year they are thicker and stronger, and I look at them as determined, hopeful, heroic, happy plants, believing they should come up wherever they want and be treasured wherever they are found.
May we all look at the ‘silly daffodils,’ full of hope in the middle of a hostile environment, determined to add their beauty and optimism wherever they are – and emulate them.
Where will you bloom?
Filed under Favorite Things, hope, Mother Nature
I just came in from doing 35 minutes of my elliptical trainer in our garage and I’m FROZEN. The garage is the only place we have a hard floor that isn’t in the way, so the trainer lives there. In summer, I have a fan on the wall right in front of the trainer so I don’t melt. In the winter, I’m on my own.
Today the computer says it’s 33 outside. It MAY be 40 up here on our ridge line, but it’s COLD in the garage. I had on a long-sleeved shirt and my puffy vest, but it wasn’t enough. Tomorrow I’ll wear a sweatshirt, THEN my puffy vest, and some gloves….
I did give myself a gold star on my desk calendar, so I feel good about my efforts right now.
This afternoon, I’ll do my yoga stretches.
I hope that YOU are feeling good, too.
Filed under exercise, Mother Nature
“Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.”
~ Vladimir Nabokov
Clouds, drizzle, rain, gusty wind, hail, flooding, flying hair balls – all on tap for us today, overnight, and into the day tomorrow if the weather forecasters have it right. UGH.
We live on top of a ridge line, so we don’t have a large concern about flooding around our house, but we DO have some concern about lightning and hail, plus gusty winds. In the past several months we have had several more serious storms- resulting in several trees breaking and falling down on either side of the driveway. Happily, they fell AWAY from the driveway, rather than into it or across it, so we are simply ignoring it for right now.
This is a wonderful day to enjoy a warm, dry house.
“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Today through Monday is the perfect weather here for tax prep – cold, raw, rainy, gray. I don’t mean to offend tax people – in fact, our CPA is one of our favorite people. I just dread MY part in it each year.
I’ve come up with a system that causes the least pain now, though. I built spreadsheets for each category of itemization and strive to add information to them monthly so that I’m not faced with a truly awful amount of time trying to go through things to make sense of them. I finish December’s input, total the spreadsheets, print them, etc.
Our CPA provides a booklet through which I trudge, filling in information, adding spreadsheets and documentation. The booklet makes sure I don’t miss anything. I’m doing it this weekend, trying to finish tomorrow.
Then I just wait for the tax documents I need to arrive in the mail or be available for download and printing online, bag it all up and dump it on our CPA.
Since our weather is dreary and yucky, I’m not distracted by wanting to be outside. Hopefully, I can keep my head down and get this done.
Have a happy day!
Filed under Challenges, Mother Nature
I lost half a pound yesterday, so I’m happier today. I also earned a gold star for my desk calendar for doing almost 45 minutes of slow, easy stretches. I’ll try to do that again today, plus add back my elliptical trainer this afternoon.
We go to Lunch Bunch today, so it’ll be great to catch up with my good friends. We were finally altogether last week for the first time since before Christmas. I’m reminded over and over of how rich I am in friends.
I’m still up to my eyeballs in bookkeeping from 2020, tax prep for the CPA, and opening spreadsheets for 2021. My goal is to have that zipped up and ready to take as soon as a few more forms are available.
My husband and I are ‘OLD,’ and so qualify for the Covid-19 vaccine. Sadly, there is only one place doing vaccinations in Greenwood, Arkansas, and they have a waiting list hundreds long and won’t take any more names. They told me to call back in February.
We are having glorious weather for this time of year. Right now it’s surreal outside with lots of fog. This afternoon it’s supposed to get into the 50’s with sunshine. I will try to get out a bit and enjoy it. Tomorrow, Sunday AND Monday are forecast to be rainy.
Have a wonderful Friday. Stay healthy and safe.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, Friendship, Mother Nature, taking care of yourself, Thoughts on a ________
We’re having a good day. It’s cold outside (35 degrees F., cloudy and gray, with a bit of spitting rain.)
We just got back from Lunch Bunch. One of our good friends and her husband was there. The other friend and her daughter weren’t. (My friend wasn’t feeling well, so maybe we can see each other and catch up next Friday.)
We hadn’t seen each other since the Friday before Christmas, so it was GREAT to be able to share a meal and catch up. We came straight home afterwards so that we could try what will be the last attempt at a ‘fix’ for our broken microwave.
We bought it in 2004, so we can’t complain that we haven’t gotten our money’s worth, but it would be wonderful if we could fix it. The mechanism that goes between the rotary turntable motor in the bottom to the part the plate sits on inside the microwave is the problem. We have mixed up some really good, apoxy-type glue to see if we can bridge the gap and make the parts work together again. (The plastic parts are not replaceable and we cannot remove them because one part is under a metal plate that is welded in.) So, this is a last-ditch effort before we either live with a microwave where the plate doesn’t rotate or we buy a new microwave. We have it glued now, and will look at it again tomorrow.
I will head out as soon as I finish a cup of coffee to the garage to do my elliptical trainer exercise for today. I’m looking forward to playing in my art room this afternoon. I have another piece started and am eager to see how it turns out. I am planning to take the bleeding tissue paper artwork I’ve done recently to Rags & Roses (the local shop in town where a friend and I share a booth ) either tomorrow or Tuesday. I will do my yoga practice when I finish in the art room. Today is DAY TWO of getting serious about our diet and exercise plan.
My husband is working on an addition to our house security system. He has the physical part done now, and is waiting for help on a password before he can finish up.
I’m in the middle of re-reading #32 in J.D. Robb’s (Nora Roberts’) In Death series. I’m re-reading the series in preparation for the latest to come out in paperback (# 51 Shadows in Death) that I received recently.
It’s a good day to have a warm, dry house and too many interesting things to do for the time I have.
Mother Nature is laughing at us again. Today is a miracle for a day in January in Arkansas – bright and sun-shine-y and 58 degrees F. It is simply gorgeous.
Tomorrow a cold front with heavy rain, plunging temperature, possible sleet and snow, plus flying hairballs is forecast.
All we can do is hang on and try to enjoy the ride!
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Today is a wonderful day to stay inside, warm and dry.
First, we need to get our mail and then mail some things at the post office. THEN we’ll enjoy the rest of the day inside. :0)
I will try to find the time and energy to get up to my art room today. It’s been awhile, and ideas are starting to rattle around in my brain on things I would like to try. That idea fights with things I am passing that definitely need my attention today, so I’m not sure which will win out.
I hope that YOU are having a nice Saturday, doing something fun.
This is ALMOST my favorite kind of snow. We had flakes that kept getting larger and larger as time passed. We ended up getting about 3 inches, I think. It fell softly, coating each branch of our trees so that they were outlined, almost as if they were painted by some careful hand.
My favorite kind of snow is just like this, except that it’s perfect for making snow critters and then GONE off streets and driveways by the end of the day. We are snowed in today, since we haven’t put snow tires on our truck yet and our driveway is over 650 feet long and STEEP. We can just admire the beauty and stay home.
I’m trying to convince my husband that we’re a bit ‘long-in-the-tooth’ to change from regular tires to the snow tires ourselves, but he won’t listen. If our driveway isn’t clear by tomorrow, we will probably start our day changing tires in the shop before our doctor’s appointment and other errands.
We have bright sunshine right now, so maybe I’ll catch a break.
It is LOVELY.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
It’s cold and wet here today – and the first day of winter isn’t until next week! The forecast is for rain/sleet/snow and flying hairballs all day today and overnight. It has been pretty warm here in the afternoons, so I’m hoping that it will just end up being a cold rain, as far as the streets are concerned. We plan to say in, being grateful we have a warm, dry home.
My elliptical trainer is in the garage. It will be cold, but it will be dry, so I’ll be heading out there in a few minutes to get my rear in gear.
My back started to hurt a couple of days ago, so I’ll also plan to do a session of yoga stretches this afternoon to see if I can stretch things out.
I hope that YOU are having a great Sunday, too!
Filed under exercise, Mother Nature
Mother Nature warmed things up here yesterday afternoon for long enough that I was able to clean out the second tomato planter. This was a laborious process of trying to untangle or cut the plants off the tomato cages and supports, then stack the cages and supports out of the way, then pull the plants out – sometimes one branch at a time – then gather the frozen tomatoes that could now be used as ammunition in case of intruders, then dispose of the vegetation, then clean up a bit and put the wheelbarrow away, I was tired and cold by the time I finished, but feeling triumphant that another yard project could be checked off my list.
We had a nice tomato harvest this year, even though our weather was a bit wonky. I’m still enjoying some cherry sized tomatoes for snacks and in salads. :0)
Today’s project – again if Mother Nature is feeling cooperative – is to do some weed whacking in my garden area.
We converted two brick planters on the far side of the house to be used to grow tomatoes. Those are the ones I’ve been trying to clean out. As you can see here, our square foot garden is ready for the winter. This is the first time we’ve used the tarps. This is to keep the Mel’s Mix Soil Alternative from blowing out and also hopefully to keep weed growth to a minimum as far as getting the planters ready for spring planting.
It’s the perimeter of the garden outside the fencing, plus the area around the trash barrels that hold the Mel’s Mix ingredients and around the propane tank for the shop that need attention with the weed whacker. I will be happy if I can get that under control today. :0) Right now it’s 37 degrees F. – too cold, but the forecast is for 59 this afternoon. Fingers crossed.
This and my yoga will be my exercise for the day.
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