word of warning

if you have some of these in the house, do NOT attempt to open them, unless you have not eaten for a few days, or you have company to share them.

wow. SERIOUSly yummy stuff....maybe even the best thing since sliced bread!

he he.

sparkly and bright

God is so good at giving us exactly what we need. after several snowy, tucked-in days (which was exactly what i needed), today He decided to give us SUNSHINE. and blue sky. and bright, bright sparkly snow.

i had to go for a walk and breathe the air. i cannot help feeling that the air right now is the freshest, clearest BEST air i have ever breathed!

it's a beautiful day! thank you Lord :)

view from the couch

well, i think i matched a personal best by not leaving the homeland since last wed. i was actually snowed in until 11am this morning, when finally a plow opened up the alley that had been piled high with 5' of snow from plowing the street on saturday.

it's weird to think of going back to the real world! i am so used to my 'command central' on the couch, which is not only my dinner table, but craft/reading/tv/nap/cat smooching spot as well. gotta love multi-purpose spaces. today i actually decided to arise and deep clean the kitchen, which badly needed it. i don't think i had ever cleaned my oven, and it's two years old...yuckiness.

then in a stroke of genius, i decided to hang my new artwork so that it's clearly visible from the prime couch location. sigh. not perfect, but i think it works with the rest of the kitchen. and definitely enhances my 'couch view.'

:) 7 days left of this madness! i've heard about cabin fever, but really, don't see it happening quite YET.

19.2

inches, that is. kind of allotta snow, but somehow it does not seem like that much! i think i wanted it to be an EVENT, ya know?! it was somehow. not. growing up in the country has ruined me for city snowstorms. the power seems greatly diminished when blocked by all the houses and trees.

i haven't even bothered to get out of the pjs today, except for a quick half hour shoveling exercise. my neighbor did blow out my driveway, which would have taken a couple of hours. but technically, i suppose, i could go somewhere.

the plows have not been by yet, so i don't know for sure that i would risk driving. however, the mailman just came...so it must be fairly safe. she was not talking on the cell phone for once, i did feel a little sorry for her. yes, my mailman is a woman...i kind of cannot get used to that idea :)

anyway, reading a book today! what a great invention!

peace, friends.

snow shine

notice the snow in relation to the chair!! finally, around 3pm today, i had to get out and see what it looked like close-up!


my lovely neighbors take care of the main sidewalk with a snowblower, but i actually like shoveling when it's not too overwhelming. i was able to make a nice little trail - probably 12 - 24" deep - in the sidewalk. i saved the driveway for tomorrow, there is probably over a foot on that as well!


my neighbor's tree. i love when the snow is sticky, and stays on the trees :)


this is my little bird sanctuary. they have been feeding all day, once again the feeders are looking empty. i'll wait until tomorrow to try and brave that snowbank to fill em up.


inside, siesta is takin' care of things.


and of course, dessert is waiting ;)

merry merry!

happy day friends! finally, i got my wish and i am officially 'snowed in.' i woke up at 6am with all the giddy anticipation that one should feel on christmas morn...looked out the window, and saw LOTS of snow! yay! hopefully when it's light out, i can take some pics for you guys :)

i do have a turkey breast waiting to be cooked, and may even make myself a pumpkin pie if i get really ambitious. siesta and i are ready to be snowed in for the duration, though! all of our needs are met, thanks to a warm home and the peace of God that rests over the house today.

i pray that you all have a happy and blessed day. for fun, i pulled a blog pic from each month of this past year, to reflect on shared moments with you, and to thank you for your friendship, love and support! of course, i would not really enjoy being 'alone' for christmas without the connections and friendships that make me feel loved and appreciated... you guys are the goods :)

ps

in case you need help deciding which song to bless the Lord with today! this is a perfect one :)

the non blizzard

well, the weather outside is sunny and bright. we did NOT get the blizzard of any century...in fact, we probably got 3" of fresh snow. crazy.

i did go out to feed the birds. last night, i noticed a bunny feeding from the low bird feeder - it was so cute!




in other news, carey outdid herself, and continues to redeem for the crazy lizard caper of 2007...! i got a cute little squirrel feeder and a big bag of dried corn for christmas!!

according to the promotional materials attached to the feeder, this will provide hours of entertainment :) now, i wish i knew how to attach it to a tree! i'm sure it cannot be too hard. look for new squirrel fascinations any day now :) thanks care!

happy almost Christmas! i hope you put on a festive tune and dance before the Lord today!

blizzard of '68

that's what they're likening it to. wow. i remember my daddy could not get to work for two weeks that winter....good thing i am on vaca, huh?

well, i thought i was all tucked in for the storm. a quick call to my family postponed the plan to go home until after the 18" of snow arrives.

then, this morning, i realize i am almost out of cat food. so - better brave the crowds and get out there this morning before it hits.

i keep thinking. what if it doesn't hit? dang, i'm going to be DIS. APPOINT. ED.

i love snow storms. as long as the heat and electricity stay on. which does not exactly mean i'm laura ingalls wilder, but close. i have enough yarn and crafts to stay snowed in all winter. and i spent WAY too much time on the couch last night watching '48 hours' on We! people, we're talking like 7 hours of that show! i have murder mysteries dancing in my head like you would not believe.

nothing like holiday spirit, right?! staying alone and watching tv! and being giddily happy about it!

he he. stay tuned for updates :)

peace and joy

i hope there is abundance of each in your home this week. i am gearing down, not that i wasn't already SORT OF down, for about 12 days off. i cannot believe that! however, carey and i have been talking about christmas vacation since october. so, it's very much TIME. i am thinking that much resting and crafting and cleaning and baking will be accomplished :)

have a great pre-christmas week!

dear client

i tried to finish your project today, but the cat sat on it and would not get off.

i promise to try again, next week.

:)

all i want for christmas

is a heated birdbath and a pair of sorel boots.

that's not weird, is it?!

art and conversation

i've been meaning to write about this since last week, but somehow keep forgetting.

remember when i was talking about doing a "salon-style" collage of pictures for my wall? i learned something about the origin of the phrase when lou and i went to a "salon-style" art show last week at a friend's house. our friend sara had a college roommate (artist) visiting from new york, and she put her paintings up around the house willy-nilly (propped up and sitting everywhere) and invited people over to eat hors doevres and look at art and chat. apparently, this fashion of art show became popular in the 1600s in france - who knew!! i felt extremely grown up. i guess because i wasn't home in my pajamas watching top chef :)

it was SO FUN! it didn't hurt that maryanne is a wonderful artist!!! lou and i wandered around in delight, and got really, really close to all the art. mmmmmmmmm.

oh. and lou was the first to succomb. her painting is fabulous. i am slightly jealous, but it was meant for her....i plan on visiting it quite frequently.


and my little birdie print? well, i guess you could say it was meant for ME. :))

coming back to life

you know you are feeling a bit better when you think to yourself "maybe i'll have a diet squirt." i am having one now, and thinking about coming out of my fog.

for the last 2 days, i have done nothing but lay in a ball of misery, and sleep. it's funny how any priorities go out the window when you are super sick. i just don't CARE, people!! which is fine, but kind of not, when clients NEED things. i hope i did not tork any of them off too much :)

anyway, still feel like i have a cat stuck in my throat. very annoying. and my nose is bright red and puffy and sore. and i cannot go more than 4 seconds without hacking LOUDLY. but the good thing is, i feel like i can stay awake today!! at least for a few hours! yay energy - i have missed you!

i do have a meeting today. wish me luck with trying to hide the cat.

:)

checking in

hey all, still battling the latest round of disease over here. yesterday was kind of miserable, but hopefully i'll start feeling better today! at any rate, mom says i don't have to go to school today either, so that will help :)

have a nice tuesday.

Aunt Eleanor Sep 1927 - Dec 2009

lost another aunt. you might remember her from the pic i posted last month. now only my mom and her youngest brother are left....i guess i will be getting kind of good at funerals :-(

sick day

whew. day 6, and i FINALLY have HOT hot water. nice.

unfortunately, i also have a cold. did not accomplish much at all today.

i do have a companion who is also in nap mode, though. we are having a great time, actually.

friday fascinations

it's friday afternoon, and i am mentally done. it's been kind of a crazy week. i still continue to have ups and downs, workwise. i am trying to remember that much of it is not too important, in the scheme of things.

so, i sit here in a sunbeam. sunlight in december is especially gratifying. i have noticed that the Lord has given us more sunny days than not this month. i am so thankful, it's such a good feeling to gaze out at the wintery, sparkly snow. it makes me happy, and it makes me think of christmas. thank you, Lord!

i had two meetings today. i still have not showered, although a fed ex package with the 'missing part' is now in my possesion. it's only a matter of time. i wonder if either of my meeting candidates noticed how wrinkly i looked. thanks to the sponge bath, i probably was not smelly, though.

at the end of the last meeting, i wandered to my thrift store. thrift stores are amazing at christmas!! i almost surged up with happiness when i entered the 'christmas room' they had set up! most of the stuff was cheap crap, but still, it was very cheery and bright. i did find a few treasures....


3 pale turqouise ornaments. ohhhhh. me likey.


vintage plaid! kind of sad to see the remnants of the 12th ornament in the bottom of the box.


something practical. a hand-hooked, 100% wool christmas rug. perfect for by the door. $1.00.


another vintage alarm clock. i think i have 5 or 6 now. check out the COTY on the second hand!! sweet.

now, i am going to take another zicam (feel a cold or something coming on) and make some tea. and stop, and breathe, and be thankful. have a lovely weekend, friends ;)

3 days

that's how long i can be in my 'little house on the prairie' without all the modern conveniences. i figured that out just this morning, as i woke up to my 4th full day without hot water.

you see, the water heater broke sometime earlier in the week, maybe even over the weekend when i was gone. i did not really notice it until later in the day monday, when i was trying to wash dishes. i am pretty sure i showered monday morning. not totally sure, tho :)




what i do know is that hot water is a nice thing to have. here's my current method of getting it. a tea kettle, 5 qt pan, and canning pot. i admit, they have done a pretty good job for me thus far. this morning (after last night, when the plumber mentioned it might take " a few days" for the broken part to get here) was my first attempt at old school bathing. i heated up all the assorted pots full of water on the stove, dumped them one by one in the bathtub, and added the water from the tap til it was super perfect. aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. that was one welcome bath.

i guess God has been showing me the blessing in the every day things. i mean, how many people in the world do you think have a hot shower/bath every day anyway? less than half, i bet. less than 25%? less than 10%? who knows. not to mention the fact that i have WATER, and a stove to heat it, and lights to turn on so i can heat it at night. for heaven's sake, people, we have so much.

this season, when i see a homeless person, i am going to pray that God blesses them with a hot bath or shower that day. because i know that they would really enjoy the special treatment.

furry = good

i was going to ask you guys first, but my trigger finger got going, and i just pressed 'order' before i could stop. i have been thinking about lined clogs for awhile. i have some nice little kmart booties with faux fur in them for inside, and sometimes i wish i had something similar for when i go out.

i hope these are comfy. i did fall in love with a pair of borns that had actual fur on the inside. these are about $50 less expensive, they have fur around the rim, then fleece on the inside.

are they grandma?

i did order them from hsn, but i hope they are still kind of fashionable :) it's kind of too late, but i could still use some feedback.








dang. see, now i'm starting to second guess. here are the borns that cost $50 more. better? $50 better?

milestone

okay, just made my 200th friend on facebook. not bad, considering i have 'unfriended' quite a few people as of late. ha.

anyway, #200 is my very 1st boss at my very 1st professional job. i have not talked to him in about 15 years or so. he hired me fresh out of college, just off the turnip truck, not knowing a THING about anything. especially work.

that was 1984.

wow. that was 25 years ago!!! that makes me crazy.

i hope he remembers who the h#$% i am :)

potted goodness

i'm not afraid to follow a good trend. i was so in love with her tree, that i had to hang some ornaments on my little ikea special. he just kind of jumped into my cart last sunday.

i will keep him for forever. or until i forget to water him, whichever comes first. his name is going to be 'folksey' the pine tree :)

oh ps. he needs a planter. i have not gone outside this week, but i shall find a festive one.

yum. hotdish.

i'm sportin' the hotdish art today, courtesy campfire goods inc.

they were probably my favorite vendor at no coast. very fun, bright, simple tshirt art!!

anything that makes you think about tator tots is good, right?!

color of the year!

i see that pantone has named 'turquoise' the color of the year for 2010. color of the CENTURY is more like it :)

it's about time. i have been loving turquoise since the 60's, when we had a good dose of it, including a vinyl 'circle' chair in our living room. man, i miss that chair.

naturally, you have seen the turquoise resurgence in my own life. time to get on board if you have been holding off! turquoise, we love you!

birdie love

so, i just googled "where do sparrows sleep?"

i don't suppose there is a chance i am becoming emotionally involved, is there?!

it's kind of a big deal

hunt and gather, that is.


you pretty much know you're gonna like it from even before you step inside.


probably because you get greeted by a bin of vintage plastic santas!!! be still, my heart.


and a table full of greenery in old tins and thermos jugs.


inside, it's even more amazing. pretty much the whole shop was 'done up' for christmas. there were bins and bins of ornaments.


and even more santas and frostys. it was one of the most amazing stores i have ever been to. we spent awhile there (an hour or two? i forget...) and i just walked around with my happy face on. kristie had her happy face on too. we must have looked silly. if we did, kirsten did not say anything. who takes photos in a store?! WE DO. ;-)





i spent $19 for a pocket full of dreams. i brought back some vintage plastic ornaments, and this little guy. watch out, elephants are just about to be HUGE. i am getting ready for it.





it was a wonderful thing.

girlfriends and tv stars

minnesota always brings me good things.

it was great to drive and spend the weekend with kristie, and meet up with kirsten, who i never get to see nearly enough. we had so much fun at no coast!! it's a very unique shopping experience. kristie and i always think that the folks there are "our peeps." artists, crafters, people who like pretty things. that pretty much describes it :)

i was completely surprised when i also ran into someone quite famous in my world. you guys know i love project runway. season six just wrapped up a few weeks ago, and my fave on that show was christopher. he is a mn boy. i loved him not only because he made kind of kooky things, but because he seemed like a "nice" boy, and because he cried almost every time he was on the runway getting critiqued. i could relate to that.



anyway, it was fun to hug and say hi to christopher. he was an artist at the show, selling his custom boy's underwear :)


after meeting him, i am kind of afraid how excited i might get if i ever meet the red-bearded chef boy, or david bromstad :)

more to come on my favorite shopping experience.

it's not about grapes

i was going to call this post "grapes of wrath" or "sour grapes" - but, there are no grapes in the story. still, it's a pretty good story.


let's get right into it. i hate these things. they are the WRATH that causes me to have sour grapes ;) it's a leaf blower, and as you may well know, my neighbor loves his. just when i was thinking that leaf-blowing season was over, i heard the unmistakable sound, last night around 9:30 pm.

oh. words cannot describe the feelings of anger that welled up. i peeked out the window to see him merrily blowing SNOW with his leaf blower. yep, it is a multi-purpose tool. except it's main purpose seems to be driving me crazy. very useful for that.

i decided to turn up the volume on 'real housewives' and try to forget. not very successful. it kept going and going and going...and all of a sudden, i FREAK out and think "my LORD, it's getting LOUDER! will he never be done?! we have like a DUSTING of snow!! has he ever heard of a SHOVEL?"

lots of other thoughts.

until i look out my window, and i see a burly man in a thinnish sweatshirt sort of thing, wind swirling and trying to tuck under a hoodie in the cold,


leaf blowing MY sidewalk.







bet you didn't see that one coming, did ya?


me either. but i am thankful for it. i sense a treaty of some sort is in order. and that the thought i have been entertaining in my head to make his family some christmas cookies is probably a good one.

:)