Trick or Treat

A few believe the nor'easter was a trick and there are those of us who believe it's a treat. This is what we awoke to this morning. I'm not certain whether to light the pumpkin or Christmas lights. The roads were a slushy mess but that didn't stop the DH and I from making a trip to town. He had to work for an hour and I rode along. Forgot to take the camera but I must say the colored leaves with the snow laying on them looked like Christmas. It was beautiful.This is a yellow maple in our front yard.

We spent the rest of our day cleaning out (DH doing the grunt work) . Whew!Trick or treating is cancelled for the night so we're popping in a Christmas movie. My needles are clicking, there's a few gifts to be finished. There will be finished project pics to come later.

A Snow Day

The coldest day of the year we delivered the college DD safe and sound. We tried to help her put her stuff away but Miss OCD has her own way of putting stuff away.
It was rather uneventful and we were back on the road in no time.
We stopped to visit our youngest son and daughter-in-law on the way home and met their new addition. Please meet Super Diego. He's a rescue greyhound and without a doubt a very sweet dog. He has very warm friendly eyes and very quick to become your best friend.
Due to medical issues we spent the night and Super D (as our son calls him) slept in our room. We had a lovely visit and after a hearty breakfast we hit the road once again.


*sigh* Unfortunately when we arrived home we found the placemats were dug out of their keeping place on the baker's rack and thoroughly destroyed. There's only one dog who can reach these and yes it was Mr. Bettis. I do believe we interrupted the placemat party because they they were still quite 'wet'.






It's a snow day here today. The husband is home from work and the snow is piling up.
The weathermen missed this one but I must say they've been missing the snow predictions all year so it's nothing new. The farmer's almanac has been much more reliable.

It's very pretty and I'm enjoying the day. Chili in the crock pot and knitting on my needles. I'm off to enjoy.

I'm dreaming of a .......

I'm dreaming of a white.....ok. I admit. I'm a wee bit crazy right now. Just blame it on the heat.

Seriously I am dreaming of fall and winter. It's been miserably HOT here. Temps hovering between 98-102 F. Add in the humidity and it's stifling.
So I'm sitting here in front of the fan, cold cloth around my neck and a glass of ice water with lemon.





The swimming pool which is in constant use these days. I don't miss one bit of the snow. Summer? meh.....not my favorite season particularly with these temps.
Poor Mr. Bettis doesn't even bother to bark at the rabbits anymore. It's too hot and he spends most of his time in front of the wind turbo fan. His owner picked up the fan just for Mr. Bettis although I find Mr. B's owner sitting with Mr. B enjoying the fan also.






The grass is dry and flowers are wilting (along with myself).
An hour ago a thunderstorm arrived. It is now raining and this blogger is hoping it brings a much needed cool front.

We're heading to the DH's company picnic tomorrow. He works in another state so it is a day trip and should be a lovely ride in the air conditioned car :D.
Anyone else having a picnic this weekend?

You're Coming Home

Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong.........
The college DD has finished her freshman year and is home for the summer :D.
We left yesterday to pick up the second load of "stuff." The vehicle was packed to the brim. I think she took everything but my kitchen sink and it's piled on the deck and kitchen floor waiting to be stored until next year.




Chester survived his 3 week ordeal on the 8th floor of her sunless dorm room. We were greeted by the DD's friends holding onto Chester refusing to let him go. Seems he made quite a hit with the dorm and will be sadly missed.
He will be officially planted tomorrow.

DD loves Flamingos. I have no idea why but she does (I think because they're pink ;). Anyway this was in the spring study package that we sent to her. She and her roommate inflated him and hung him from the ceiling pipe as a little reminder of their final countdown.

She's come a long way from the homesick kid that we dropped off last August to a well adjusted young woman. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring break came and left in a flurry.

It's hard to imagine just 3 + short months ago her school was closed for a week due to the massive snowstorm/blizzard. Where does the time go?

Dear DD,

You left the freshman year with top grades and you should be proud of yourself. (Your dad is so proud, he could bust a few buttons ;). Secretly, we knew you would do your very best and you did.

Keep true to yourself and you'll go a long way.

You're home girl, so go ahead......Dance in the Rain.

Love,

Mom

Grab Your Shades

Is it a bird? A plane? Nope. It's the sun!

I'm not a fan of spring or summer for various reasons. That's for another post but I must admit that I enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my face today.












The sky was a breath-taking blue and I could only admire the day. Birds were singing in the trees and Mr. Bettis was very busy running in and out all day long.










It's hard to imagine the several feet of snow that fell just a few short weeks ago. It is almost melted away now.
I love snow. I'll miss winter until we meet again next year.









I had an appointment and as usual I covered my entire knitting area in order to leave the house with a (false) sense of peace. Mr. Bettis finds it absolutely necessary to destroy something of mine almost everytime I leave the house.

I was only gone for 45 minutes but apparently that's enough time for him to find something to destroy.

The mail was on the table and I suppose it was too tempting. Not sure, maybe he thought it was addressed to him. Yeah, right. Don't think so. But at least it wasn't my yarn, books or the bag of potatoes.

Another Snow Day

Another Snow Day. I made pancakes for hubby. Just wait till he sees Mickey Mouse on his plate :).











No need for many words. I'll keep this short.
Icicles are everywhere. I have no idea why icicles fascinate me but they do.












I don't think anyone will be coming to visit anytime soon. There's no way they can get through the 35" of snow to the door.











The first flakes of Round #2 began around 3 pm yesterday.
It is still very pretty.











Mr. Bettis running through his tunnel. The snow is beginning to freeze on top so he is able to romp and play as needed. Thank goodness I was getting a bit concerned about him getting enough excercise. I can't afford losing stuff to his high energy antics.
You're on retainer Ms. Attorney because I have a feeling it won't be long till he will need you.

Round #2

The college DD is in her glory on campus. No school!
These are pics of the Monster Storm, Feb 5-6, 2010.
No complaints from this house during winter.
We love it.

The kids wanted to sled ride but of course they have no sleds so they became quite resourceful. Wasn't that the purpose of the required high school tech class? Some students "borrowed" food trays from the cafeteria until the officials discovered they were running out of trays.

DD unloaded her sweater under-the-bed container and found it to be a great sled. I'm so glad we have provided this kid with the perfect sled for college.....lol

We're finally dug out and waiting for storm round #2 tomorrow. We're anticipating a foot of snow. Not too sure where we're going to put it. Running out of room up here.

Hubby shoveling around his work car. Yep. That's a car underneath all that snow.

(ahem)

Firewood is stacked and ready. Hubby has made the second run for milk, eggs and puppy treats.

I'm ready to sit and knit tomorrow.

I am also armed with snowballs to throw at the first snowplow that plows the driveway closed.

Let is Snow!!!!

Human Plow

The first snowflake fell at approx 9:13 am on 2/05/10. It is now 9:56 am on 2/06/10 and it's still snowing. There's an accumulation of approximately 2+ feet now.



Mr. Bettis needed to go outside. He loves to romp and play in the snow.

Little Miss Gypsy made the mistake of leaping into the snow. Needless to say we were scrambling to pull her from the avalanche. She promptly ran inside. Miss Molly took one look at the whole mess and followed Gypsy.






However, he gingerly tried the steps to the backyard and quickly turned around. He shot me a look as if to say, "you've got to be kidding. This was supposed to be fun."















Patiently waiting for the human plow to clear a much needed path.








This was taken at 8:30 am this morning. The mailboxes are almost completely covered. Rain, sleet and snow, the mail must go but I'm too sure that's actually going to happen today.










Wanna' take a dip in the pool?

Funny to think 6 months from now it will be so hot and humid one won't be able to breathe.












Into the woods last evening. I like this picture.












This was taken at dusk. I have no idea how I achieved the effect but Nichole liked it so here it is.
There's a mountain in the background but it was snowing too hard to be seen.

Let the shoveling commence. This is a HUGE storm and it's going to take awhile to dig out. Hope it doesn't melt too quickly. The last time a major storm dumped this much snow, it melted and we had a major flood in the area. Although I hear there's another snow storm coming this week.

We're ready!

The blizzard is on it's way. The national weather service has warned of paralyzing conditions, wind with snow possibly measuring in feet. Husband's work has been cancelled and we received a text message at 6 am from the college DD that her campus has closed for the day. I hear there's a snowball battle and sled riding in the forecast on campus:-).
Hubby and I are prepared.
Cell phones, laptop fully charged. Check.
Milk and bread Check.
Toilet paper. Check. (nothing like running out, know this one from a previous blizzard).
We're ready!


Husband's handknit socks, balaclava, gloves and snowshovel. Check.


















Wife's yarn, needles, markers, spindle, coffee cup, check.

oh but wait......are you saying my preparations are not snow related? ppffttt.....Sure they are, look closely there are snow markers made by Anita. I plan to start a lot of projects today.
I'm ready :).

I'm Ba-a-a-ck

I'm back. I warned I couldn't be quiet for very long......lol
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments on the previous post. Personal issues continue but we will persevere.
Onto life now............

It snowed here yesterday. The storm was to be south of us. Uh......think the weatherman missed this one.
We awakened this morning to a temperature of 3 degrees Fahrenheit. bbrrrr.......






Mr. Bettis romped and played in the snow and finally came in from the cold. He actually crawled under this blanket on his loveseat. Silly dog.

I have been knitting but have very few pictures. I finished this hat over a month ago but I'm afraid it will be too small by the time it reaches it's destination. The recepient has a lot of trouble receiving packages and schedule conflicts (busy, illness etc) have not permitted a meet-up.

There's also a handknit sweater but it will be too small also. *sigh* I'm sure there will be someone in the future who will need a handknit sweater and hat for their little one.

I baked some oatmeal cookies last week. Anything for sanity.

The hubby came down with a fever and sore throat last weekend. I have never understood how this man never said a word when he fractured his back or had the table saw war . Yet you'd think he was the only one in the world with a sore throat. (eyeroll)

By Wednesday he was no longer complaining. When he no longer complains, I know there's trouble brewing. (he says the same thing about me but.....pppfffttt whatever)

The fever raged and I began to see the warning signs of his old buddy, pneumonia. He went kicking and screaming to the dr and sure enough he had pneumonia in both lungs, ear infections and sinusitis. He has been receiving injections and put on some hefty antibiotics and other medications. Thank goodness he's improving and will be returning to work soon. ...........did I say that? LOL

Snow!

It started snowing at 9 pm on 12-18-09. It is still snowing and it's 6 pm on 12-19-09. There's approximately 16 inches outside right now and absolutely beautiful:). Can you tell I LOVE snow?

This is our backyard beyond the dog fence.














More pictures in our backyard.



















God decorated the trees for Christmas a bit early.












A path must be cleared for Miss Molly and Miss Gypsy. If you think Miss Molly is going in the yard into the snow......think again.



















Luckily for them Mr. Bettis is the official snowplow for the girls. He thinks it snowed just for him.

He's checking his list

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It's snowing!!
The best Christmas present for me would to be snowed in on Christmas Day. One year we had 6 inches of snow on Christmas Day and I insisted we all go on the deck in our pj's with hot chocolate and admire God's handiwork. The children politely obliged until they were shivering and whining. LOL
Hey! They haven't forgotten that Christmas Morn.




Santa Paws is very aware of Mr. Bettis on the naughty screen in his workshop.
We left last evening for a brief time and this is what greeted us at the door. He was so happy to meet us that you would've thought we left him for weeks. Little did we realize it was only to disguise what he was up to while we were gone.










Potatoes were strewn everywhere. I found this lonely potato in the middle of the floor. I'm sure he had a hayday tossing and playing. He never eats them.














My dye stuff was sitting on the floor in a box. A closed box and I found it destroyed on the floor. Thank goodness I don't keep my dyes in there or I'm sure we'd be at the vet office right now.

Mr. Beau and Miss Sissy have warned Mr. Bettis several times that Santa Paws is watching but apparently Mr. Bettis is not interested in new toys and treats. He seems to find his own.

Just when I think he's going to behave and be good, whammy!