Did You Notice?

 Even though the ground rodent said spring was not eminent, I wonder if you've noticed any telltale signs that there is some change in the air?  It's been a very bitter cold and snowy winter for Ohio and many others all over the country. Even sunny Florida has felt the chill.  I must admit that today was a real gift from God.  My car said 52de today! And the sun was shining!  I even sat outside in a chair alongside Jack and let the sun hit me in the face.  It felt like heaven!  The huge ice sickles are now history:

I showed this one in a previous post, but it grew to hit the roof above the kitchen. Today it's all gone! It was pretty muddy though and we had to give Annabelle a bath after her walk.  It's hard being an all-white, short legged doggy! While we were sitting outside, I noticed Annabelle licking the cement on the driveway.  She then preceded to throw up! I'm assuming she found some salt left over from the freeze? I made some chicken and rice for her for dinner and she seems better now.  Back to the signs of change...I noticed that it was still light out at 6pm!

This was 6pm the other day. I look forward to lighter later days and lighter early mornings.  I know that's still some weeks away, but I love the first signs of the longer daylight.  Since the weather this past weekend was pretty cold and nasty, I decided to put together a puzzle I've had sitting around for over a year.  I'm really not a puzzle gal but I couldn't resist this one.  It has a westie dog like Annabelle in it and it's a summer picnic scene...a sign perhaps?

I'm going to glue it together with mod podge stuff and frame it to put up in Summer. I like to change out pictures on my walls.  I hope near you the season is showing signs of change even if it's only a little lighter at night or perhaps a lovely warm day that gives hope of brighter times ahead.  Speaking of having a brighter head:

I had my hairdresser throw a few bright highlights on this old gal's head! Ha! Have a good rest of this week! 

Hello Loveuary...I mean February!

Hallmark calls this month Loveuary but I'm just glad we made it through crazy January!  We had record cold, record snow, and Jack and I battled a virus that took a good 3 weeks to get over. We don't get sick very often, (knocking on wood here!) so it was not a fun time.  But we did have a few sunny days over the weekend, and February 1st was also sunny and by the evening the full moon had the yard as bright as day! No, I didn't get any pics unfortunately.  We also had our kids and grandkiddos over for a little rib fest yesterday and I didn't get any pics then either.  I'm really slipping on my photo moments!  I know that crazy rodent saw his shadow this morning and for some reason the calendar agrees with him and shows we have 6 more weeks until spring. So, let's get through this short month that usually feels like the longest one due to the winter weather.  July with its 31 days doesn't drag along like February! Even though I missed photo moments yesterday, I did get a few from Saturday to share.  It was the high school's winter formal on Saturday and my granddaughter, Rae, came over with her friends for some pics.  I had to razz her a bit about her dress. I asked her where the rest of it went! I was afraid she'd freeze in this weather! She loves me anyway and did laugh!

Rae and Ethan. He came with her for lunch on Sunday too and seems to be a really nice young man.

This is Rae's friend who went with them to the dance.  They all went in separate cars and just met up at the high school for the dance.  Again, brrrrrrrrr Rae Rae!  After the kids left, Jack and I went up the church for a church social that was also a food competition.  I made my Greek chicken recipe.  Guess who came home with a medal for the best overall dish?

Yep, that would be me!  So that about finished up our weekend except for having family over for ribs and potato salad, tossed salad, fruit salad, baked beans, rolls, and homemade apple pie with homemade icecream for dessert on Sunday.  Our son Jack said, "Mom, looks like a summer meal!"  Yes, I was hoping to manifest some warmer temps here!  It did get up to 21de today! Yeah!  Finally, here's some other eaters who came to visit over the weekend that I did manage to click a pic:

Mr. Cardinal.

Mrs. Cardinal.

Come and get it!  One last pic:

We have had some amazing ice cycles show up!  Watch you head when it starts to warm up...hopefully sooner than later!

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!