Mr. Freeze

I felt I should make a quick post so I can look back in a year and hopefully be grateful that it's not as cold as it is today.  I think it was 6 degrees below zero and then throw in the wind chill factor and you have a dangerous weather day.  It was very deceiving if you looked out the window however.  The sun was shining and it made it look like any winter day.  Weathermen/women love this kind of stuff. It gives them so much to report about. This morning they kept saying that Cleveland was colder than North Pole, Alaska...than Iceland...etc.  We get the picture.  Mr. Freeze has his hand on the thermometer.   Poor Arnie has been the quickest peeing pup in the North East.  I'm betting the hot cocoa has been consumed in gallons and parents are going a bit crazy because all the schools have closed for the next 2 days.  No mail was delivered either.  I feel bad for folks that had no choice but the brave the elements.  Wait, that would be me! I was lucky today though. Jack is off on Wednesdays so he took me to work this morning and dropped me by the door.  The weather advisory for this cold snap is over by tomorrow afternoon.  I'll be driving myself to work in the early AM but hopefully all will be well when I leave work in the afternoon...that means I hope my car starts and since I'm on call Thursday that I don't have to get up in the middle of the night too!  The weird thing is by Sunday we're suppose to be 50 degrees...Mr. Freeze will not be happy. Stay warm and safe and I think I'll go get some of that hot cocoa!

I'm A Drama Queen

This past week was interesting.  It was tiring.  It was frustrating.  It was out of my comfort zone.   The hospital's endoscopy unit is in a building not near our hospital.  It's always been staffed with nurses that enjoy that work.  After the big corporation took us over, rules changed and staffing changed and all of the employees there quit except for one.  So now the operating room staff has to go there and work when needed,..which is every day.  Not having to do those types of cases, colonoscopies and EGDs, we have to train on how to do them and use the equipment.  I started my training last week and will continue this week.  Then it's somebody else's turn.  This old dog is not against learning some new tricks.  I've learned to recognize the inside of the colon.  I can tell where the scope is by how the colon looks.  Usually I see bowels from the outside in and so this was new.  Anyway, it's a long day there with no breaks or lunch and a "get it done" attitude. Fine. On Friday I was needed back in the OR and it was one of the most frustrating days I've had in a long time.  When I got out of work I noticed a nice dent in my van door.  That just did me in.  I came in the house and Jack was sitting there and I just started crying. What a crappy day! He was a  little taken back since that's not how I usually react.  I'm mostly a get it all out of my system and move on.  Poor guy.  He quietly said: "I think I'll just go outside for a bit".  The nurse who was with me on our cases actually hit the bar at the Elks club before heading for home. I'm not a drinker at all but boy I totally understood!  Anyway, this drama queen is over it and will start a new week tomorrow.  I'm sure Jack will hold his breath every time I come in the door!  So here's my past week in pics:

Here's my "heading back into some body's colon" look.

Full moon night...so eerie! Hmmm..that could explain some of the craziness this week!

I'm not sure what's happening here. It didn't look like this from my naked eye but the camera picked it up...paranormal?  Notice the full moon at the top? I was trying to get a good pick of the wolf moon that night but I need more lessons with my camera to achieve that.  Today, on a lighter note, Jack and I and some of our Grandkiddos and Jackie and Evelyn went to see "The Wizard of Oz" on the big screen.  It's the 80th year anniversary and Turner Classic Movies ran the film at the theater.  I'm sure most folks have seen the Wizard of Oz a million times on TV but it was really fun to watch it at the theater.

Rae, Lexi, Cameron, and me! It's Rae's favorite movie and she was having a ball watching it and quietly singing all the songs and swaying to the music! Fun day.  Afterwards everyone came back to our house and had some homemade lasagna:

And strawberry shortcake.  It was a great way to end the weekend. Hopefully you have had a good weekend too.  Drama Queen signing off.

Did You Doubt?

We have lived through the big storm...Harper...and I'm sure there was no doubt that we wouldn't.  On Saturday it started snowing around 9:30am and has continued through today. Church even cancelled.  I was suppose to give a talk in church today so I wasn't real sad about that! All total we got 14in. of the white stuff.  The air is pretty cold and if the winds keep up,  the drifting will make it a crazy ride to work tomorrow.  But it's winter in Ohio and I doubt this will be the end of storms.  Here are some pics from the weekend.

We made a quick run to Goodwill on Saturday to drop off some clothes before the snow got too heavy.  However, my real goal was Hawkin's Bakery next door for some fresh apple fritters for breakfast.  Throw in bacon and herb tea (for me) it was delish!  We didn't venture out again.  I was on call from 7a-7p on Saturday and was lucky to not have to brave the mess.  I cleaned house and took Arnie out many times.  He loves the snow!

So refreshing!

Sunday Jack made a path so Arnie could do his business..hey, when you have to go you can't be picky!

Jack is in the picture..can you find him?

Here is our bird bath Saturday morning.

Can you find it today? Looks like a giant mushroom!

The front steps are there somewhere. If you're coming for a visit go through the garage!

Final item for the weekend...my blog book arrived! All my posts from 2018 are here in print. It makes a good journal of sorts. I enjoy looking back and seeing what the weather was like or what adventures we had.   No doubt about it...it was a blog worthy weekend!

Bracing Ourselves For "The Big One"

Last Saturday we had what the weather folks were calling "The biggest snowfall of the season"!  Well, duh!  Since we hadn't had any snow to amount to anything it was an easy win.  Well, just to be a showoff Mother Nature is sending "The Big One" on this Saturday.   I believe ithis storm actually has a name but I don't remember what it is.  Anyway, we're ready for it.  The only kicker is I'm taking call from 7am-7pm on Saturday for a co-worker.  Figures.  Can this old lady make the trek into the hospital if called with 10-15 inches of snow predicted and 35 mile an hour winds?  Oh, and that same old dolly is also driving a mini-van.  Hmmm.  We went to the grocery store tonight since Saturday is our usual day to shop and I'm not taking any chances of not being able to get that done.   So we're set with food,  gassed up the car, plenty of wood for the wood burner when the temps drop to the bitter cold point, and a bag of peanut M&M's for survival.  Bring it on. Tonight we had snow that made it tricky.  Just take a look at how I entered the garage:

Slippery sucker!  Around 9 o'clock we heard some commotion outside.  It was a friend plowing our driveway...so nice!  Jack thought he was sent by my boss to make sure I got there in the morning! Ha! (I wouldn't put it passed her!)

Arnie doesn't mind the snow.  He dives right in and makes dog snow angels!

He really did roll around in the snow and made this...so talented!  Well, we will see if this "Big One" really happens.  I hope it's a good weekend where ever you are!  (And if you're on a beach getting a tan somewhere I really don't want to hear about it...not that I'm jealous or anything!)

Grab That Snow Shovel

 I now can say our weather matches my header photo.  It's been a lovely stretch of nice weather for about a week.  It's been warm for us...50's and 60's.  No snow. I"m sure the ski resorts were unhappy. Today they got their wish.  The snow came down pretty hard this afternoon, looking blizzard like at times. But really it's only a few inches.

You'll have to click on this pic to get the full affect of the snow shower.

Here's the front of the house from my dining room window.  Hello winter, I was wondering when you'd get here. No worries....tomorrow could be 60 again! That's how we roll here in Ohio.

I can't blame this blurry shot on my camera. I was in a hurry to catch the snow accumulation on Arnie's back before he got his snack for going pee. He's not one to linger with a treat.  I guess I should be wondering why he gets a reward for doing his business outside since he does know that's where to go.  Oh well, life's short and that's especially true for dogs so go ahead Arnie and enjoy!

New Year Nothingness

Contrary to what my header pic shows, we've had no snow to brag about yet.  In fact, today and yesterday were so beautiful. Sunny and 50 degrees of loveliness! Arnie and I had some nice walks, or I should say, strolls.  He's made for comfort, not speed in the dog world! But it sure was nice to get all the outside decorations down without freezing to death. Our inside decorations are down too, except for the tree. That will happen tomorrow.  Then, as my Granddaughter Lexi says, "Everything seems so empty when the Christmas decorations are gone."  I like to think of it as a blank slate...time to clean and get on with the new year.  Speaking of a clean slate...Ashland has been working on revitalizing our downtown area. Sometimes that calls for taking down old, run down buildings that are too hazardous to repair. After removing one of those buildings, some old advertising signs were found on the brick wall of the adjoining building.

Anyone remember 5 and 10 cent stores?  The real interest was the SELZ Royal Blue Shoes...I guess Queen Elizabeth bought shoes from them.  Heck, at $3.20 , so would I!  I think someone should write her and ask to send the pair back for the Historical Society museum. Just a suggestion.  On another note,  totally not relevant to anything, how are gas prices in your town?

I took this shot a few days before it actually went down to $1.78 in some places. Of course that only happens when I have a full tank of gas.  Still, it was kind of exciting anyway.  So I'll end this little post with a few shots of the day:

The creepy woods looks like a wasteland.  It was nice to take a walk up there but I didn't really find anything too interesting.

Can you see my neighbor's barn in this shot?

How about this lonely dude with his stalker wife and her camera heading back to the homestead? That's the most interesting thing today! Like the title says: New Year Nothingness! Have a good week!

Happy New Year!

I wanted to continue my tradition of a post on the first day of the new year.  I usually post on the last day of the old year but I guess it's too late now!  Anyway, I don't even have pics to post.  We did have Phil and his girls, and Jordan over for a late lunch today.  I somehow got roped into taking call  for this holiday and of course worked this morning,  so we moved lunch to 3 o'clock.  Our tradition is to have pork and sauerkraut, and black eyed peas.  So we grilled ribs and I also made sure there were other dishes to choose from since the peas aren't a huge love for all of us!  I usually bake Greek New Year's bread that contains a coin inside. Whoever finds the coin will have good luck for the year. (As long as they don't accidentally eat it! Ha!)  Well, I found a recipe for Greek New Year's cake that is baked with a coin inside. Same concept but much quicker to make!  Since I worked yesterday too it was the perfect way to continue this tradition.  Guess who won this year...again...ME!  Phil called "foul play" since I was the baker but I swear I have no idea where the coin will end up!  So I'm hoping it comes true for good luck all year.  I promise I will spread it to one and all!   I do hope it's a good year for our country and for us.  I hope good health finds everyone and the adventures that will follow in the next months will be fun and interesting.  This is a year of decision and changes for Jack and I.  Will I retire at the end of 2019?  It's been a plan but I'm a bit nervous about it.  I've worked my whole life and I've been in the operating room since I was 18 with only a few years of absence for having a kiddo. 48yrs sure flew by fast.  Jack will probably continue to work but that's his decision. I'll support whatever he wants to do.  Do we stay at the Pines?  6 acres is a lot to take care of.  Do we need such a big house for just us..and Arnie?  Can we give up the peace and quiet out here?  Well, it will be a journey for sure and in the past I've picked a phrase or a word to follow in the new year. One year I had chosen: "Just because you think it, doesn't mean you have to say it"...that didn't work too well!  This year I've chosen the word "Free".  Free from burdens, free from trying to change things I have no control over, free from being at a corporations beck and call, free to choose how to spend my day.  We'll see how this one works out!  No resolutions, just some goals that we started on last year and will try super hard to complete this year.  Looking forward to challenges that keep us active and moving forward....Happy New Year everyone! Oh wait! I found a photo moment I forgot about:

Now it's a Happy New Year!