Is It Spring?

My house is starting to look good. Again today I took time to work on some Spring cleaning. Today it meant that I picked things up and put things away. Did you ever notice how when you are busy or preoccupied that you will lay something down and forget it.

For instance, our newspaper has the habit of ending up on the floor between Hubby and I on Sunday. It will sit there, waiting for one of us (read that as me) picks it up and puts it in the newspaper bundle.

Today, needless to say I picked up the newspaper, sorted through the magazines and even changed the sheets on the bed, and did three loads of laundry! Why I was feeling totally productive and amazing! (I am patting myself on my back here!)

Hubby came home for lunch and I even got that done without a glitch.

Do you think I am so active due to the longer days and increase in the light? All I know is that the clocks went forward and my mood brightened and I have been moving right along with all of my work!

Our snow is melting and I need to move the stones I laid down last fall to keep Fritz from digging up the bulbs, so that the flowers can bloom!

Ah, Spring! I love Spring! And all of the wonderful things that come with it!

What I Did This Weekend

Miss Marple 2

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

***************

What happens to the weekends? This one seemed to fly by! I woke on Friday thinking it was already Saturday, which was fine. I told myself, I would have two days after that to enjoy!

However on Saturday we were up early so that we could eat and stop at the Post Office before going to attend our yearly School Budget Meeting. We got to the meeting early enough to get good parking, checking in, saw many of our friends, and then sat and listened to a lot of angry voices before the three and a half hour meeting ended and we all left to go home.

After the meeting Hubby and I came back to our happy doggies and I made chicken enchiladas, which actually came out quite well. It was another “fund raising” weekend on PBS, so no episode of “From Lark Rise to Candleford”, but there were several good episodes of NCIS rerunning on TV, so we watched those.

I went around the house turning the clocks forward on Saturday night, and then went to bed.

Since I decided to get into the Spring Mood, after breakfast on Sunday morning, I got to work taking down the drapes in our bedroom, and then while they washed, I cleaned all the windows and dusted and vacuumed the room. The project was a big one, and it took me all day, but at the end of the day, I looked at the room, smiled with satisfaction, and knew that one room was done, and only six more to go!

As I sat down after dinner I realized that the weekend was over! Tomorrow I will wake up and it will be the start of a new week.

I ask again…where does the time go? Especially weekends?

Monday, Monday

We woke up on Monday to round three of snow! It seems we just get paths dug for the dackels, when it snows and we have to do it all over again. This has been a bad weekend for snow and thenĀ  we started the week with another storm. At least this one didn’t drop as much snow. They were forecasting 4-6 inches, but I think we only got 2 this time.

A short movie that I filmed on Monday morning.

Feb 28 Snow from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

Hubby arrived home after going skiing in the morning and he casually mentioned that the car slid off the road into a snow bank. He was not phased by this, in fact he was rather pleased that several people stopped to help push him out of the snow bank.

While he was off skiing I worked washing cabinets. Definitely not glamor work, but a real necessity. In fact, I found a place on the stove top hood, that was a bit neglected, so I took the time to scrub that out.

Anneliese has just about 5 or 6 days left of her heat and then she will be all over it. I can hardly wait. Last night it was a real challenge to keep Arnie and his sister apart!

I was also thrilled to death with most of the Oscar Awards. I love Colin Firth, The Kings Speech was phenomenal, and Christian Slater Bale, well he may be one of the finest actors of our time. I do like Melissa Leo, but felt, like almost everyone else in the world, that she should not have used the F-bomb during her acceptance speech. I mean, after all, in the top four categories of Best Actors, there wasn’t any surprises now, were there.

Now we, the movie audiences of the world, can go back to our regular viewing, wondering, who might give us a stellar performance next year!

What I Did This Weekend

Miss Marple 2

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

***************

What did we do this weekend? Well, we shoveled! We had over 19 inches of snow in 36 hours and last I checked it was still going. We expect another 4 inches overnight!

Feb 27 11 005

It’s getting to a point where we are starting to feel buried!

Feb 27 11 010

As you can see the trees are just about buried underneath the snow!

Feb 27 11 011

Arnie is dwarfed by the snow mounds!

Feb 27 11 016

So I am hoping for less snow and perhaps a warmer week. No, not yet. Oh well. I will keep daydreaming and eventually it will be so.

Meanwhile, the weekend is past, and another week is ahead. Have a good one!

Our Driveway & The Snow!

We knew we were due for a fair amount of snow on Friday, but nothing really ever prepares you for a foot of the white stuff, now does it? 12 inches or 30.5 centimeters! Yeah, either way, that’s a lot of snow.

Hubby went out several times to snow blow the drive and keep our driveway clear. His snow blower is good, but after a certain point, it just gets too deep for the blower to handle, so he has to go out often to keep the driveway clean.

Our driveway, as I have written before, is 500 feet downhill. It’s not a problem in the summer months, as we just zip up the drive to get to the main road, and then zip down to get to our home.

But with ice and snow, there isn’t a lot of zipping done by either of us!

A few years ago I had gone out to get the mail. It was raining when I left, even though the temperatures were very low. When I returned I was coming down the hill to our house and the tarred driveway was all BLACK ICE!

The car went into a skid and I looked to see our camper straight ahead of me. I somehow managed to steer toward the ditch on the other side of the drive, where I came to a stop, with a bit of a thud!

I didn’t have my cell phone with me, so I couldn’t call Hubby to help me, but the house was right there so I flung open the door, put my foot out and promptly fell on my backside!

Not my best moment.

Anyway, Hubby works hard to keep the drive clear of snow and ice, and I truly appreciate all of his work.

February 25, 2011 Snow from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

As you can see, he does work hard, and lucky for him, he has a faithful companion to keep him company!

Thursday Thirteen

Feb 8 tt13

  1. After a very dry November and December, we have gone the opposite way in January and the first week of February and had some of the snowiest weather in a long time!
  2. I’m actually starting to get a little tired of it, but…
  3. It does look beautiful and I love to watch snow fall.
  4. It’s great for skiing in.
  5. And the dogs really love to play in it.
  6. Don’t the trees look awesome?
  7. The lake is also frozen now and snow covered, so we see the snowmobiles out there. Bet that is fun!
  8. This weekend is the Ice Fishing Derby!
  9. I will go out with my camera and get a lot of pictures!
  10. It’s also the Sled Dog Races! How Fun!
  11. Do you think the dachshunds could handle a rig and pull me! lol!
  12. The UPS Man called me today because he was afraid to come down my driveway. 500 feet downhill is scary for almost anyone. It is for me!
  13. Spring is just around the corner!

Oh Yeah, More Snow!

Saturday found Hubby and I out to shop and fill our cupboards before the next snow storm would hit us. We left late in the morning, as the snow wasn’t forecast to start late in the afternoon. We figured that we would shop and be home long before the snow began.

Wrong!!!

We stopped for our favorite Chinese food, and then got the dogs food, and then went to get our food. The parking lot was jammed. People drove around and around to find a spot! I told Hubby to just park in the first spot he saw, as I did not care how far we had to walk!

We shopped and when we finished up and got to the check out registers we could see outside. What a mess! The snow had been falling for a while, long enough to completely cover the parking lot, making the roadways very slippery!

After loading the car up, we headed off!

storm 2

The snow was coming down very heavily and the roads were not great, although personally, I think Hubby enjoyed the challenge!

snow 2 5 11

Then we got home, put everything away, and Hubby went out to use the snow blower once again.

Feb 5 11 020

The man is an artist with a snow blower!

Feb 5 11 019

The evening found us catching up on an episode of NCIS we hadn’t seen and planning our celebration of the Super Bowl tomorrow!

The Seasons…Winter

I woke on Friday morning to temperatures well below zero and ice was on every surface outside. The sun wasn’t quite up, as I opened doors and snapped a few shots. The first pictures out of our back door, with Anneliese posing against the frozen snow mounds.

Feb 4 11 002

The sun rose and started to peek through the trees, causing the ice on the trees to glisten.

Feb 4 11 001

Anneliese ran about just long enough to get her business done and then she ran quickly back into the house and into her spot on my chair, under her blanket!

I proceeded around the house to catch just the right shots of my beautiful frosty neighborhood.

Feb 4 11 005

This one bush was quite close to our front door. Simply lovely!

Feb 4 11 004

Lastly, this is the lake near our home, and the view of all the frosted trees.

Feb 4 11 006

Definitely a multiple layer of clothing kind of day!

Ground Hog Day

This morning I got up and turned on the TV set. Snow was falling, wind was blowing and The frigid conditions made my teeth chatter! Grrrrrr.

But it was Ground Hog Day and surely Punxsutawney Phil would have good news!

I waited and waited, watching the cold, white snow flakes fall from the sky and pile up on the ground.

I began to think, “Phil, if you don’t get this forecast right, for an early spring…I’m coming down to Gobbler’s Knob, and I will hunt you down!

Fortunately, Phil came through, he didn’t see his shadow and an early spring is forecast.

For those of you who wonder about Punxsutawney Phil you can go HERE and read all about him and the legend of the Ground Hog!

Snow, Snow, Snow

It is cold. The forecast is for snow, just a little at first, but then so much snow it will knock my socks off!

Today, (Tuesday) I am driving myself about 55 miles to one of the largest Medical Centers in our state. I will be seeing two doctors. One is a fairly normal and routine visit, but I’ve been having a few little problems and want to get it taken care of quickly. So, this is an important appointment.

The second visit is with my Retinal Surgeon. This appointment is vital. I’ve had decreased vision in my right eye and I really need Dr. Wonderful to dilate my eyes and look deeply into them and see what he can see.

The appointment with Dr. Wonderful is so important that I will be driving myself, in a 4-wheel drive Jeep, in the snow, across the state, along twisting turning roads, to get there.

I have my fingers crossed that I can get over there, get through my appointments and get back before too much snow has fallen. I really do get nervous driving in the snow.

Meanwhile, It should be pretty. I guess there is an up-side to almost everything.