Back in business...

 I am back in business.  I had technical difficulties and accidentally erased my sidebar with all of the blogs I follow.  It was no easy feat putting that back together.  On a positive note I was finally able to add some blogs I follow.  On the negative side, if you didn't ever comment I couldn't find you.

It has been a busy two weeks.  I saw the bighorn sheep today.  I was able to get a few pictures as we drove by.  The rams have really grown.  

It is still snowing and doesn't show any signs of warming up in the near future.  

At least it is tolerable now.  My husband got the ATV with tracks up and running again.  It is perfect to pack down snowshoe trails for Ella and I.

We are back to getting some exercise, which really improves our mood.  That is probably why my husband worked so hard to get it fixed.

We were finally able to use our fire table on the new deck.  I love it.  Perfect for roasting marshmallows, one of my favorite things to do.

I am making progress on the graduation quilt.  I think the border really adds some pop.  I was hoping that this graduation quilt challenge would improve my quilting abilities.  I'm not sure that is happening.  Still, it does make the winter go by.  Good thing it has been a long winter the year I had two due.

After 20 years, we were able to see the northern lights from our balcony.  Words cannot describe how happy that made me.  These are not my photos.  They are from a friend of my husband.   The lights above are what we saw.

This is what almost everyone else saw.  I don't know why we weren't able to observe the colors like everyone else.  Those pictures were only taken about five miles from us.

 

Winter is still here and doesn't seem willing to give up any time soon.  This was my Sunday walk with Ella.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  It seems like time flies by.  Have you ever seen the northern lights?  Did you see them Thursday?

Someday...

I'm beginning to wonder if someday winter is going to end.  It just keeps snowing.  More is forecasted for Wednesday.

I have a dream that someday I will be able to enjoy the deck.

Someday, I will be able to get in the Tomato Taj Mahal.  The lower door is iced shut right now and one must wade through waist deep snow to get to it.

I did and opened the top door to peek in.  I wish I could climb inside. 

It is a mess in there.  Someday, I will be able to get inside and tidy it up a bit.

Someday, I might even be able to plant some lettuce and spinach seeds.

I suppose I should be happy the snow is keeping me inside because someday I need to finish my graduation quilt.

I'm done with the feathers and so disappointed in myself.  I can't fix it so I need to keep moving forward.  The flying geese around the outside is next.  It must be an omen as the geese have been flying over.

Oh well, someday it will be hotter than heck outside, I'll be exhausted from trying to keep up watering everything, and I'll be wishing for winter.

What someday are you hoping for?

I'm back in action...

Despite constant snow, I have moved on from my winter blahs. 

We have several feet of snow on the ground and it is snowing again.  I have succumbed to the fact that it will be awhile before I can consider starting seeds.

This was actually a productive  weekend.  We gave the cabin a good cleaning.  I bottled some grape wine and made a chocolate cheesecake.  We even helped an extremely lost traveler.  Poor guy was looking for Mt. Rushmore.  That is an hour from here. He had Florida plates (could be a rental) and was terrified about driving on snow. As you can see from the pictures this isn't the place to be if you don't like snow.  

I worked on the graduation quilt.  I am a little disappointed.  I put one of the feathers in the wrong spot.  Then to top it off I had a terrible time appliqueing it on.  That is one of the reasons I haven't quilted for the last two weekends.  I'm frustrated, but must move forward.  There is one feather left to applique.  Then the flying geese around the border.  Speaking of flying geese a big flock flew over today heading northwest.

 It is good to be back on track.  Being unproductive brings me down.  Yes, sometimes a person needs a break, but life is more fulfilling if you are active.

How is your winter progressing?  Have you had the blahs?  Are you thinking about starting seeds yet?

The winter blahs...

I'm afraid I have a bad case of the winter blahs.

I didn't accomplish anything this weekend except get a good night of sleep.  Something I haven't been able to do thanks to constant snow.  All week we had to get up early to shovel.  Temperatures ranged from -5 to -25 with three to four inches per night.

I take that back, I did read two excellent books.  They were both second books that were just as good as the first ones.  On the Bright Side the New Diary of Hendrik Groen and Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi are both very optimistic about life.  I highly recommend them.

For Valentine's Day my husband got me a S'mores kit from the North Mallow company in Minnesota.  Wow!  I love s'mores and the kit is fabulous.  Even more amazing are the roasted homemade marshmallows on homemade hot cocoa.

https://www.sugarandsoul.co/smores-hot-chocolate-cocktail-recipe/

Campfire S'mores Hot Cocoa 

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

 2 tbsp honey 

1 tbsp marshmallow syrup 

1/4 cup chocolate syrup 

1/4 cup chocolate pudding mix powder

2 oz. whiskey

marshmallows or marshmallow fluff. 

I don't have any whiskey, but it is in the original recipe so I left it. 

Wrapped up in a blanket with a delicious cup of hot cocoa out on the new deck looking for Northern lights isn't the worst way to spend a winter day.  Maybe it wasn't so blah.,.

I hope you have avoided the snow and cold.  Do you like s'mores?  Hot cocoa?  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

The grand unveiling

 I didn't think it would ever happen, but our deck is done.  They worked all weekend trying to finish before the next snowstorm.

Sorry, the pictures aren't the best.  The crew worked until dark and then it snowed all day today.

We were able to get the table and chairs on it.  The grill is surrounded by snowdrifts and at the bottom of an icy slope.  Not sure when we will get it moved.  We also have a picnic table.  

This deck is double the size of the old one.  Most importantly it is as solid as a rock.  Our old one was hanging by a thread.

Hopefully, next weekend there will be a break in the snow and we can get it decked out.  Pun intended.

My bird feeders were the first to go up. I missed being able to see them from the window.

It is good to have this project checked off the to do list.  It took forever, but the contractor did a fabulous job.  We couldn't be happier.

Do you have a big project in the works?  What has been your biggest home improvement?  I hope it is warm and dry where you are.  We have lots of snow and negative temperatures in our future. 

Let's talk turkey...

 I ran out of thread and was unable to finish another feather this weekend.  I'm making good progress, so I'm not too worried. 

It was pretty nice out.  Kelly and I did a lot of little things outside.  We had choir practice with the local turkey population...

I'm still on my cleaning binge.  This weekend I went through the cupboards.  It was much needed as I found 3 containers of bay leaves, two of chili powder, two of oregano, and many more duplicates.  I also crushed all of my tea leaves which minimized containers, thus maximizing space.  

I also went through my seeds.  It doesn't look like I will will need to order many new ones this year.  I'm still looking for the perfect sweet corn.  I also need some more bumblebee tomatoes.  They are my all time favorite.  

Are you getting ready for spring planting?  Do you order new seeds or save seeds?  Hope you had a fabulous weekend.

I think I am in a rut...

 I'm afraid this is the extent of my weekend.  I added a feather.  Was also able to put doors on my brother's Jeep and two out of three soft top windows.  There is nothing easy about that soft top.  you are supposed to put them on in warm weather so the top has some give.  It is not warm and there is no give.  I made peach cobbler and deer stew with dumplings.  

Guess I am in a rut.  I think I will be stuck here until February is over. Somewhat like the movie "Groundhog Day."  I did pop my head in the greenhouse.  It was nice and warm.  

How is your winter going?  Are you in a rut?