Snow Apocalypse!

 We were warned all week of this storm called Fern. So all week we prepared with plenty of wood for the furnace, grocery shopping 
done early so we didn't have to fight crowds who think its necessary to have 100 rolls of TP, 3 dozen loaves of bread and plenty of frozen pizzas. The snow started early this morning and we've got about a foot of it so far. Its still showing so the snow blower will be put to use more than once! But there's no wind, the snow is light and fluffy because the temps are pretty cold. It think I shoveled paths for Annabelle to do her business at least 6 times today. Its hard to be a short legged puppers in a snow apocalypse!

Go shorty!

Bird bath is closed for the season. The bird feeder is open and busy all day!

Waiting his turn. So what do you do when everything, including church is canceled? Read? Yep. Naps? Of course. Cook and bake? Absolutely!

Potato soup hit the spot.

Chocolate cake too! So if you're in this crazy weather, please be safe, stay warm, enjoy the beauty of the snow if you can and have a snack or two! 

January In The Middle

 My last post was on January 7th and we were sick.  It's now January 18th and we're still coughing and blowing our noses! But we feel much better and I think Jack is a bit better than me right now.  Oh well, I hear this virus doesn't give up quickly but it's making January a tough cookie!  Even though I haven't felt the best I still try and get outside and take Annabelle for walks.  Breathing in fresh air helps and we've had a few sunny times too.  What do you do when the sun shines in Ohio in the winter?  Take photos of course.

Annabelle likes to sit in the sun and soak it up.  She's by the firepit but no fires in here for a while.

A few drops of vitamin D please!

Sometimes Annabelle needs a little coat on those super cold days. Well, I think she needs it but most of the time she's just fine running coatless!  Saturday, we had snow in the morning and when we pulled into the garage after grocery shopping it was really coming down.

Can you see it?  It was more impressive in person.  But then just a few hours later it was sunny!

Blue skies and fluffy clouds bring a smile to the face!  After a nice time outdoors, I was ready to do some baking and soup making.  I made chicken noodle soup and vegetable soup and because I can't just make a little for the 2 of us, I decided to can the rest.  So I dug out the canner and viola'!

Chicken soup for the soul and then veggie soup to add to the stash for another cold day.  I also made some bread,

Makes good toast! I'm taking soup and bread to my BFF Donna tomorrow.  But why stop there? I also made my favorite Greek pastry: not baklava.  I made galaktoboureko.  It's a custard pastry that also has phyllo dough.

I packed up some for Donna and took some to church for a couple of friends there.  This brings back memories of growing up when mom would make it and my sister and I both agree that it's a favorite to warmup and have for breakfast.  I put the leftovers in the garage fridge so I wasn't tempted to feast more than I should!  We were blessed with clear sunny skies again today and I took Annabelle for a nice walk into the woods and around the Pines. 

Hello Mr. Sun. 

Super blue skies.

I noticed the sparkle in the snow.  Many tines we only complain about winter without enjoying the beauty that's there to enjoy.  I'm grateful for a pretty day!  Now if this virus would melt away, that would be fabulous! 

Ahhh Choo!

 We're one week into 2026 and both Jack and I are fighting the upper respiratory flu, and it's really knocked us for a loop.  So, stay healthy and I might suggest putting some sanitizer on your hands after reading this. Must go sneeze and cough now.  Yuck!

Bye Bye 25!

 My final blog post for this year has arrived. Hard to believe this year is going out in a few hours.  All the cheers saying Happy New Year, all the hugs, smiles, and toasts to the new start of 2026 give hope for a good future.  A good 12 months of adventures, health, prosperity, family, friends and most importantly, faith.  When I was decorating for Christmas, I found a note to myself that I wrote putting away the decor in 2024.  I wrote that I hoped 2025 would be good and that I was ready for what it would bring.  So today as I put away this year's decorations, I again wrote a note to myself with the same hope. My prayers are for all my family and friends for the best year ahead.  As I look back at 2025, I'll post some pics of what went down in my life these past 12 months.

January had just a few pics of birds that frequented the feeder but I must have deleted them.

February: Annabelle got some wheels that came in handy later in the year.

March:  We gave my sister a surprise 70th birthday party.  It was a success with the surprise, and we had a great time that weekend!

April:  April showers brought lots of flooding.

April also brought the annual Easter gathering with family.

May: Spring sprung with greenery at the Pines and deck time to enjoy the weather.

Creepy woods in spring glory!

June: The family reunion in Chicago that brought cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents and friends all together for a jam-packed weekend of laughs and memories and salutes to those who came before us.

Jordan, the tall one with his friends from when he lived in Chicago.

Craig and Jackie

Jack and my brother, James.  Till we meet again at the Pines in October 2026.
July:  This month brought a girl's trip to Salem, Mass. and Maine.  Me, my sister, my nieces, and great nieces had a blast!  

Midge and me.  The gang waiting for our lobster dinner.

August: Time for summer Creepy Woods walks with a man and his dog!

August 31st gave us another time to celebrate 51yrs of marriage and a look back at these crazy kids in 1974!

September: This month our boys helped Jack repair our sagging deck.  I'll paint it next summer after it's had time to age.

The signs of coming Autumn were in the air.

Homecoming for our granddaughter, Rae.  Growing up too fast!

October: My favorite month and time of the year!  Time for brains for eating

Family fun day for gathering..Phil, Lex, and Rae

My kitchen witch.

My coven featuring Midge, Amy, and me!

November: Thanksgiving gathering

Me and my boys!

Our oldest turning 50 made us take a deep breath of unbelief!  How did he go from our preemie baby to a grown up and grandpa?

December: This was a jammed packed month but we kept the reason for the season first and formost.

Decorating is always fun and now it's coming down today.

Throw in the wood gathering and help from our awesome sons that has kept us warm this chilly month.  The last 2 weeks were weirdly warm but now we have snow and cold fitting for the beginning of January.  

That's my wrap up for 2025.  Sorry (not sorry) for all the pics but this will all be in my blog book soon, I hope everyone has a very happy, healthy, and wonderful new year.  Let's keep the faith, have patience, do good, love your neighbor, be kind always, and praise the Lord daily.  Happy New Year. Bye Bye 25!

Merry Christmas!

 Another Christmas is in the YaYa history books and blog.  Whew, I was bit worried I wouldn't get it all done, but with Jack's help and sometimes guidance, it was accomplished.  I did take time Tuesday night to go walk a fairly new activity in Ashland.  It was started a few years ago and now has grown much bigger and draws more folks to this free family time.  The Candy Cane trail has also made it into the Guiness book of records, I know that has to do with the number of lights but not sure the name of the true record.

I grabbed my walking partner with her Santa Paws sweater and took off to the trail.  The weather was warm for us...50de...but a bit misty.  The trail is completely paved but Annabelle managed to find some wet and messy grass.  This little white dog had a quick bath when we got home!

Beautiful lights and little vignettes depicting all the Christmas stories from the Navity to Santa, elves, reindeer, and even Charlie Brown.  Love it!   The next day was Christmas Eve and I was off and running preparing food, wrapping gifts, and watching old Christmas movies along the way. 

Jack and I did take time for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of breakfast for dinner.  We've done this since our kiddos were little because we couldn't get them to eat breakfast Christmas morning, so we ate it the night before!  Now it's just us but we still enjoy this tradition.  We were up late into the night/morning to get all the gifts finally wrapped and all the food ready.  

The living room was set up to accommodate the family, friends, and anyone who wanted to stop by. The gifts were great but having everyone together was the real gift and it's what makes all the prep and rush and late nights worth it!  I didn't get food pics except ones of some appetizers.

They were good but the honey baked ham, (thank you Jordan for that!) and cheesy potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry relish, mac'n cheese (thanks Phil for that!) Evelyn's green fluff, rolls and many desserts really made the day. We had about 18 folks all total.  It was great! We also played games. 

Jordan and Haylee had a mad game of marshmallow knockoff.  I believe Haylee was champ! In the dining room there was another game that my friend Brenda brought.  She made the cutest prizes, and I threw in the lottery tickets.  

Driana was giving it her best.  I know she was one of the few who won some money with the tickets...4 whole whopping dollars but she was happy!  Well, I usually get group shots and more pics but I was busy keeping it all running..that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I did get one shot of a couple:

Jordan and Brittany with sweet Haylee.  It took many shots to get Haylee to just smile.

She was more interested in silly shots, and I loved this one!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  Now it's time for that long winter's nap!