February 6th, 2010 . Posted in Family, Food, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: bread, Food, friends, snow, snowstorm, snowstorm 2010, soup
We got both vehicles shoveled out, and pathways down the sidewalk, around the back porch, etc. It was a LOT of shoveling! I felt too sore and dirty to take pictures, so maybe I’ll get some up tomorrow. In the meantime, I had put the Irish veggie soup on, and started a loaf of bread in the bread machine. I think I’ve finally found a recipe that works! This is white spelt bread, and it is delicious. Win!
Add some Bulmer’s Magner’s (in the U.S.) with the soup and bread, and it’s perfect Irish pub grub for a night such as this. I even had a tiny bit of Kerrygold butter left for my bread. Heaven. Note to self: Must. Find. Kerrygold. Butter. Locally.
Showered, warmed, filled… I’m ready to snuggle in for the night with some knitting (actually more crocheting of charity squares; they’re so easy!) and a movie or something on TV.
The house is up and running again… now that the roads are a bit clear, Emilee’s got two friends over watching a movie, Katie has a friend over for some sewing, and Becky’s running around with Perky. Rachel’s still over at her friend Laurel’s, and I’ll pick her up in the morning, as well as bringing Becky’s friend Emma back to the house for the day, before her family leaves for three years in Germany. Yet another family moving overseas or mountains… thank goodness for Skype!
February 6th, 2010 . Posted in Family, Food | No Comments »
Tags: Perky, Smithsburg, snow, snowstorm, snowstorm 2010, soup
Uhm, it’s still snowing. Yeah. I was able to stand in the street and get a shot of the house.
Chris got the dead snowblower working enough to clear a walkway. I am so thankful; I can’t imagine shoveling all of this by hand!
Chris cleared a little “Perky” area. Good thing, as Perky would be lost otherwise!
Meanwhile, the girls and I made waffles, and Emilee and I brewed some Aeropress coffee. I am so glad we purchased this wonderful little coffee maker!
For lunch? It’s in the crockpot… dry bean soup mix that I brought from Ireland last year and never cooked. Seemed like a memorable day to fix some memorable soup! (Products were removed from the packaging before the crockpot was powered up!)
February 6th, 2010 . Posted in Family | No Comments »
Tags: Emilee, snow, snowstorm, snowstorm 2010, work
I opened the top of the side windows to get a picture of the vehicles. They are truly, completely, snowed in. I don’t even know where we’ll put the snow once we get around to attempting to clear it. Even with a mildly heavy snow, we have to load it onto toboggan sleds and haul it to the backyard, as we have no front or side yard.
Not quite sure what we’ll do when Perky decides he’s ready to go outside.
My lilac is buried, and the drifts continue all through the back yard. Porch furniture is nearly covered, up past the seats.
February 6th, 2010 . Posted in Family | No Comments »
Tags: Emilee, snow, snowstorm, snowstorm 2010, work
Awoke this morning to a winter wonderland that has no end in in sight. Emilee was supposed to be at work at 8:00 AM. That ain’t happening. From the back door, we could no longer see any particular edge to the porch. No steps. Just drifts. Not sure what we’ll do for Perky!
The plows are hitting the road every few minutes, but it’s really not making a difference. The car and van are plowed into the driveway by at least three feet. On the sides of the driveway, the drifts are nearly up to the top of the wheel wells on the side of the van.
It takes a lot to hinder my adventurous spirit and keep me from at least trying to dig out and hit the road. There is something that drives me (no pun intended!) to conquer the road when everyone else says I shouldn’t be out and about. But not today. I’ll be inside; Emilee will stay home.
It continues to snow with a fury. This really is a historic storm. Snow, snow, and then more snow.
February 5th, 2010 . Posted in Family | No Comments »
Tags: Smithsburg, snowstorm, snowstorm 2010, weather, winter
It’s snowing. Yeah, a lot. It’s blustery and cold, and I had a hard time facing the wind looking east toward the square to shoot a picture. I tried to sweep out an area for Perky to pee in the backyard. Hopeless. I managed to sweep off the back porch enough that he can get to the yard area, but the snow will easily be over his head by morning.
I don’t want to think about trying to shovel out in the morning to get Emilee to work by 8:00. Please tell me that the Food Lion management will come to their senses. If crazy people want to get groceries in the morning, they should have to face the fact that normal people don’t come to work in snow like this, so no, there is no shopping happening this morning, go home, kthxbye.
With the flash, which picks up some of the snowfall:
And with the “night scenery” setting, which turns things yellow, but makes it all more visible:
I couldn’t get a good backyard shot… too much snow, not enough light. The lawn furniture can be made out in the background of the center.
I can only imagine what the morning will bring.
February 5th, 2010 . Posted in Family, Homeschooling | 1 Comment »
Tags: house, Perky, Sea Monkeys, Smithsburg, snow, snowstorm 2010, weather, winter
So we gather at home while the snow falls around us. Co-op was canceled this morning, but a few families gathered at the library up the street from us. The kids were happy to visit with each other, and the moms hung out and chatted. Pat and Laurel joined me, the girls, and another friend at Moe’s for lunch – yum! Rachel is spending the snow-weekend at Laurel’s. Katie visited with her friend about 1.5 blocks from our home, and Emilee was at work this afternoon.
We collected both girls shortly after 7 and hunkered down in the house. We’re now watching the Thursday night shows we recorded earlier, and I’m uploading pictures. Perky was groomed this week… first time since mid-December. Boy, did he need it!
Becky’s Sea Monkeys have been growing and swimming, and swimming and growing. We caught two of them mating, and one now swims around with the little dark dots that indicate an egg sack. Edited to add: The dark dots in this photo are eyes, not egg sacs. I don’t have a pic of the egg sac, but it’s further down near the tail… about 2/3 of the way down the length.
To chronicle this “historic” blizzard, I took shots of the backyard and the street through the day. 3:00 – not much on the ground, though it had been flurrying for nearly four hours.
By 5:15, the white stuff was finally sticking to the ground.
By 7:30, it was obvious we are in a storm.
3:00 on the street –
5:30… just sticking –
And 7:30. Yeah, it’s time to stay inside.
Emilee is supposed to be at work at 8:00 AM. What a pain, because we’ll have to shovel out the van, in the middle of a storm that will still be raging strongly, so that she can be stuck at Food Lion waiting for people who probably will finally have their shopping done and not be stupid enough to try and get to the grocery store. Gah.
January 31st, 2010 . Posted in Family, Food, Homeschooling, Spinning & Knitting | No Comments »
Tags: cooking, crochet, knitting, local shopping, Organic Country Cupboard, snow, spinning
What a weekend! We were surprised on Saturday to find ourselves in the middle of a flyby snowstorm. Within an hour, we had cut short our errands and headed home to snuggle in while 3-4 inches flurried to cover the yard and street. The only stop we managed to fit in was to the Organic Country Cupboard and Craft Shop. What a cool place! We chatted with the owner for a while. This weekend was an indoor yard sale to raise money for Haiti… lots of cool stuff for the girls to discover. Plus, the store is full of various consigned crafts and art and jewelry – so much to see! She also has a variety of healthy snacks. The girls got a couple of juice boxes, I picked up some raw granola, and we drooled over a bunch of other stuff. The shop owner is planning a variety of activities to bring in people… talent shows, spelling bee nights, and more. We can’t wait to visit again; we’re definitely planning to attend the talent show on February 13th.
Once we were snug and warm in the house, I took advantage of the time to finish spinning the orange merino/silk blend. We picked up this fiber from The Mannings during our August “vacation” to the Lancaster PA area. I spun it up – 145 yards – and Rachel will crochet it. Good for both of us!
I also spent time crocheting some squares for a charity blanket that is being assembled by some homeschool moms.
This afternoon I spread out the Fascinating Rhythm shawl to block. Notice my fancy “blocking mats”… I got mine for $2.00 at a yard sale, rather than spending $20 for these. Plus we can practice our alphabet letters at the same time. Win!
We kept busy in the kitchen… the girls made tacos, we cleaned through the freezer… Katie made cookies and Rachel made meringues. Yum!
January 27th, 2010 . Posted in Spinning & Knitting | No Comments »
I just finished the most wonderful book – Knitting the Threads of Time – Casting Back to the Heart of our Craft, by Nora Murphy. She communicates the joy of knitting and fiberwork with such skill! It was a pleasure to read, and I learned a lot too! I especially enjoyed this book because its reading coincided with the working of my Fascinating Rhythm shawl, which will be completed when I finish the bound-off edge this evening. This book was a perfect gift from a special friend.
Pictures of the completed shawl will arrive soon, once I have it blocked. I. Love. It. I think it might just be my favorite project yet.
January 18th, 2010 . Posted in Family, Food, Spinning & Knitting | 2 Comments »
Tags: cooking, entrelac, knitting, Rachel
What a full, fun day. Rachel fried up homemade doughnuts. Not something we can eat very often, but they were such a yummy treat!
I spent most of the day working on my entrelac shawl. I finished the 13 rows of the main body. Now to complete the small triangular row that will make the top edge, and then on to the border edging!
Back to work tomorrow… a long day, but hopefully a good one. Goodnight.
