Valentine Postscript

The sweet factor was over the top so I kept using the lemons to visually cut it back a bit.

I love lemons!

Cupcakes and cookies, too.

 Lots of cookies...

 Pinterest style

 Battery tea lights in the evening...

Chocolate wafer cake for dessert...

with wee chocolate hearts cut from Andes mints.

Yes, I did serve other food. This barbecue rib recipe and this ham and cheese slider recipe and salad and a salsa dip. No photos of that, but it was all yummy.

We had such a fun, busy day getting ready to host the returning travelers for supper. And I loved hearing about the Puerto Rico vacation and seeing all the beautiful pictures. They came home sporting sunburns, though they had tried hard to avoid them. My niece tells me that it will help her remember the trip a little longer. What a plunge from warmer, sunny climes back to cold New England all in a few short hours.

(It was a pure terror having someone else in the house with a camera, too. Now I have had two things reinforced: 1. stay on the diet 2. get something done with my hair!)

LoVe

 I have a little something just for you...

Right there in the second hanging cup — can you see it?

Though it's very tiny, it holds this message:

I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. ~Jon Katz 

I count you as a dear friend. You who spends time here so many days through a year. I hope to catch up with you as well in skips and hops through the day. I don't want to be too busy on this busy day.

Enjoy a ♥Very Happy and Blessed Valentine's Day♥!

P.S. For any who have some extra time, Mary at Little Red House is hosting a party (around 2 pm EST) with the theme Love.

Hard Work and Good Programming

Someone's Overheated

I wonder who...

All Nice and Tidy

With so many days of snow and more coming, John is keeping busy. Believe it or not, he's happiest when he can clear the yard without resorting to his truck and plow. Sometimes I help. More like sometimes he gives me a little pile of snow to clear as he would if I were a kid and then he gives me a little more when I get that accomplished. At least, we're out in the fresh air enjoying a bit of the day together.

~~~

With so much down time from snowstorms, I've been following the recommendations for good programs that I find here there and everywhere: from Vicki at Turkey Feathers who shared her love of the Victorian Garden and Kitchen (now regrettably removed from You Tube) to Brenda at Coffee Tea and Me who shares often about her favorite books and movies and BBC series. Having just finished up watching North and South on Brenda's recommendation, I was eager to move on to the "next thing." (North and South is available in a number of places. I watched Episode 1 on You Tube and the final episodes on TV.com with my Netflix account.)

Yesterday, I was visiting Laurie at I Love a Cloudy Day and she mentioned Wartime Farm, which I have not been successful at finding even on Netflix. There are some episodes on You Tube (here's Episode 1). While looking for Wartime Farm, I accidentally fell upon this hour-long gem about the British War time kitchen—lots of historical tidbits and good old-fashioned tips for working with very little—which takes us right back to Vicki's love of The Victorian Garden/Kitchen series because it is part of that set.

If you wish, you may watch directly at You Tube *here.* For those of us snowed in, it's a pleasant way to spend an hour with feet up, sipping tea, and learning more about these moments from history. One gets an entirely new appreciation for the way things were and all the hard work.

Have you been watching any good period pieces that you might recommend?

Another Day; Another Weather Report

The plow rumbling by on all the neighborhood streets woke me this morning and I had just enough time to catch this before he came right through the house. It always sounds that way and looks a little that way, too.

The neighborhood looks more like Christmas now in February than it did 

in December.

This time it was a pretty snow that leaves tracings on the trees and the old roofs covered.

The next photos were taken yesterday in my nieces's neighborhood. She has some lovely views.

This view always looks like Narnia and the lamp post to me.

An 1800s farmhouse with attached shed and barn. This would be my favorite view if I lived at my niece's house.

I was visiting in my niece's neighborhood to feed her cat Topie who was all over me like white on snow until I fed her. Then she lost all interest in me.

Topie's story is an interesting family one. She started out as a kitten belonging to a friend of my son's. Then my son took her and gave her to my daughter. Topie had a litter of kittens while with my daughter. (Cute story: My daughter took Topie to the Vet to be spayed and was told that Topie was expecting, but that it would be no problem. My daughter promptly packed Topie back up explaining that she didn't believe in abortion.) When the kittens were born, my daughter kept one and gave Topie to my niece. Convoluted or what?! I do love all the kitties in the family. Family cats number seven in all. My son and his family have Max and Phyllis; my daughter has Samantha, daughter of my niece's cat Topie; my sister has Talitha and Lily; and I have Fioré (who oddly enough started off with my son...obviously, he has a soft spot for cats).

Have any pet stories you wish to share? 

Hodge Podge

More freezing rain and snow this morning. Has the blog been reduced to a weather report? Ugh. I hate when that happens.

Spent a quiet Sunday at home. John didn't even go out in the afternoon, as he usually does, once he arrived home from church. I watched an episode of Foyle's War on the iPad as recommended by Brenda. (You really can't go wrong to pay attention to her recommendations on nearly anything.) Then John and I watched two episodes of Waiting for God on the iPad. (I really need that gizmo that hooks the iPad to the tv, but oh my we were cozy on the sofa together watching that wee screen.) Then I baked.

Baking is always dangerous around here because I do not do it often and we have all the control of half-starved wolverines. It's not pretty.

~~~

My sister, brother-in-law, niece, and her boyfriend are all vacationing together in Puerto Rico. What good timing getting out of here and missing out on the thrill that was the Blizzard of 2013. I've been getting more and more emails from them to take a photo of their dog Bailey who is being boarded right next door with my neighbors.

Bailey's getting older and they were missing her and needing word. Thing is that I haven't seen Bailey, even if she is living right next door. My neighbor took this great photo and so they had proof that all is well.

Instead of finding Bailey, I found this golden window. Do you remember the old story of The Golden Window from childhood readers? I remember so many of those old stories.

And this is one of the photos that my sis has emailed me. Lots of green grass, palm trees, blue water, and golf courses. =D

Do you dream of going someplace warmer at this time of year? Where would you go?

So Fresh and New~Mosaic Monday

1. Snow patterns imitate fence posts
2. Melting
3. Tipsy plates
4. Tree shadows are more interesting than the trees
5. Ditto
6. My favorite view from any window
7. See #1
8. Fioré finds some sun

Everything always looks so fresh and new after the snow. Closing comments so that you may look and dash. (I will do the same today.)

Linking to Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Documenting Nemo

 ~Best Indicator of Snow Totals~

 ~Best Get It Gone Guy~

 ~Snow crammed into Every Crevice~

~John and the Winter Wreath~

~Befores and Afters~

One good thing, because of the wind, there'll be no need to shovel roofs.

Praise God, Nemo's gone!

Snowstorms and Sachets

It's still snowing. The prediction is that it will end later this afternoon. I'll try to remember to pop another photo or two in when it's over just to document.

Until then, here is one taken this morning. This is the kind of storm that blows and blows and crams the snow into the windows and doors and leaves hardly any snow on the trees. It's not that pretty snow. When I try to show what the blowing snow is like, the camera reads it as "fog." We are snug and cozy and warm and have our electricity. If you're in this, I hope and pray the same for you.

~In the Thick of It Yet~

~Grandson Shoveling This Morning at 7 am~

The grand does love to be helpful, but what a task for a seven-year-old! Hope that he was having fun. It's definitely a blizzard out there. This photo was taken by my daughter, his aunt, from her upstairs vantage point.

~~~

I had another sweet package in the mail yesterday. This time from Dawn at The Feathered Nest. I have been watching her whip up these beautiful sachets and had to order some. To see more, just visit Dawn as she has photographed them so beautifully. I can tell that she loves her creations just by the way she presents them.

~Still in their protective wrappings~

~The note is as sweet as the sachets~

~The One I'm Keeping for Myself~

Thank you, Dawn! I love them. The linen drawer has never smelled so wonderful.

Stay warm and cozy out there!

Nemo Begins

Okay, maybe this storm-naming business isn't so bad after all. At least, I can keep them straightened out in my thinking. Wait. Why do I need to keep them straightened out in my thinking? Hmmm... Anyway, here is the thing. We were told that the storm would arrive at 2 this afternoon. Exactly, Nemo was supposed to arrive at 2 pm sharp on the Downeaster. No, no, I'm just being silly. The point is that it was supposed to arrive this afternoon and instead we woke to falling snow. I went outside just after seven this morning to take this photo.

You'll note that the sand bucket is at the ready and the outdoor broom. I took some photos yesterday and tomorrow we'll compare pre-storm with post-storm and that'll be boring as all get out fun!

Enough of Nemo. I'm sick of him already.

~~~

Moving on to granola. I may be the last person on the planet to make granola; I made some yesterday. What can one say about it? It's pleasant enough, smells good while baking, helps make anything it is sprinkled over taste a little more flavorful, and it's more or less healthful. I found my recipe at Carol's Our Sears Kit Home.

~The Ingredients~

~The Recipe~

That circled bit is my latest trick for

keeping printed recipes sorted as to

where I found them. A simple copy

and paste let's me know whose blog and

what post. It's been very helpful.

~Fresh from the Oven~

Stay warm and cozy today. Perhaps make up some granola.

Let's Talk Tea and Toast

~trying out the toast rack~

~notice unmelted butter~

~half-eaten toast~

~primrose gifts from John~

~The M&Ms match the primrose!~