No Fun

It snowed.  We got 10 inches plus plus.  The snow stick shows 21 inches now.

The morning began with a phone call from my other baby brother...my Dad was having issues he couldn't see or breathe.  Mom called the ambulance.  Mom could not open the front door on account of the snow so the ambulance attendants had to shovel their way in.  Dad's heart was in A Fib...in the ER they shocked his heart and he converted and by the time my brothers and I got to the hospital on really crummy roads Dad was better.  They kept him awhile and then got him up to walk around and sent him home.  This is my Dad's second bout with A fib....Christmas several years ago he had another episode.  Anyways my sister in laws shoveled at my parents house and my other baby brother got someone to plow their yard and we got them all settled in again before coming home.

On the way home I got a text from Miss Paige...her Mom (our oldest daughter) was taken to the hospital.  Paige reported back that her Moms vitals were good and she would be okay but they were going to admit her to the hospital.  We tried to take her to the ER or the walk in Clinic on Friday but she refused to go.  She has a multitude of health issues.  The roads are too bad from the ongoing snowstorm  to go up North right now.

So anyways it was a no fun day...but no one died.

Far Side

Well it is December

Youngest daughter Jen brought the Christmas tree downstairs when she was here, plopped it on the love seat and said "Perfect snowy day activity."  We didn't get around to it.

We ventured out in the morning to go to the Dump...we go once every three or four weeks...it is only open on Saturday mornings in the winter.  $3.25 is the going rate for one garbage can.  We recycle so that really makes a difference.   We filled all the bird feeders when we got back.  It snowed on and off all day long.

On the way...you could still see the high line poles so it was a good day.

Just before dark I took a photo of the snowstick it said 4 inches.

Yesterday I worked on laundry, I organized my craft suitcase...I keep adding projects.  I did some paperwork....I didn't even have a nap.  I shoveled the walk one time.  Far Guy had a nap and worked on a couple of his woodcarving projects.

We cooked supper together...salmon for him, steak for me, fruit and vegetables oh yes and some french fries in the air fryer.

December is here along with the snow like it or not. 

Far Side

Enough snow already

Snow.  It snowed all day on Friday.  What a mess and that snow was some heavy crap.  I used the power shovel and the regular shovel...thank goodness my Nephew came by with the skidsteer and moved a bunch of snow off of the walk for me.

It was about nine plus inches of snow.   It was so heavy that as it piled up it sunk shank shrinked...got smaller in height..

June the snowbank has been renewed also.

Far Guy woodcarved.  I made jelly...got another 5 jars of Chokecherry and 5 jars of SKOC Some Kind Of Cherry

The SKOC is beautiful in the jars...and tastes good too. 

I have three quart jars of rhubarb to do yet...I am thinking one batch of jam, some muffins and possibly a coffee cake are in our future.  I will be glad when this project is complete.

Far Guy's sister asked what will you do with so much jam and jelly.  Give most of it away most likely....it makes sweet gifts!
Far Side

Fresh Snow

It started to snow about noon on Thursday.  On our way home from our appointments we noticed more and more snow.

I took a photo of the patio.

 Before the snow and after the snow.

We had 4 inches of snow at the snowstick just before dark.  So the snowstick contest will begin again.

The snow storm is not finished with us.  It has been real windy.  Many of the roads are closed to travel, they are icy and dangerous.

I just finished raking the front yard one day this week...all twigs and spent bird seed was hauled away and I cleaned out the bird bath and put in fresh water for the birds. Then the Juncos came about 24 hours before it snowed.

We hunkered down at home...watching Frozen Four Hockey Playoffs. Far Guy worked on a woodcarving...I worked on a variety of things; nests, cards, scrubbies and old photos.  One afternoon this week I watched The Highwaymen...excellent movie except some of it was filmed so dark it was hard to tell what was happening.  I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.  It was based on a true story.

We have no place to go on Friday so we will stay hunkered down until the snow ends.

Far Side

Snirt Storm and Project Updates

First it snowed and that was okay… nice big snowflakes.

BUT then the wind came up, it just howled through the yard.  Chance had to be coaxed to go out.
It was awful. The wind blew for two days…40 to 60 MPH gusts. My happy little sunflower yard decoration flew off and is probably in the lake by now.  The squirrel guard blew off the feeders, a small piss popple came down in the driveway.   I was sure we were going to lose power but we didn’t.

All of the dirt on the fields in North Dakota and Western Minnesota ended up mixed in with the snow = Snirt.  Everything is just filthy outside.  I am hoping for a rain to help clean things up.  It blew so hard that the window screens caught the snirt.  The dirt hangs there like cobwebs.

It is not exactly a winter wonderland.

There is still ice and two inches of snow at the snowstick.  We are headed back below zero again. 

Ongoing projects: 

I am working on Mikey’s blanket. (Our great grandson who will be born in May…his middle name will be Michael…so I am going to call him Mikey…just like in the Hey Mikey Life Cereal Commercials.)

Taxes!!  Information was compiled and the paperwork is at the accountants.  I am always happy to have my part completed.

A special woodcarving project is in the works…it is going slower than I anticipated.

Sunshine after the snow!

The storm named Argo brought the snow in from the North and the East.  We usually don’t get snow from that direction usually it is North or North West or West or South West.

The squirrels were pests today, they were hungry.

Chance got a squirrel by the tail today but he let it go…pretty exciting for an old dog.  Old dogs can run faster through the snow than fat squirrels.

We shoveled, then we shoveled some more.  I did some shovel leaning.  Finally we got the walk done, in front of the garage doors, the patio and a path for Chance to go to the woods.  The snow was very heavy…very wet and full of moisture. The walk melted quickly once the snow was removed.

I hit the feeders with the broom until the snow was gone.  I am sure the birds figured I had gone mad.  When Far Guy took the feeders to be filled, the Chickadees put up quite a protest.

Our side roads are pretty good, but any road with shade is rutty and icy.  It will take a few days for the roads to get better.  I don’t know if this snow will stay, part of it may melt, it will certainly shrink in height.  I cannot imagine that it would all melt.  We will see.

First Snow Report

Well we got snow and it is white.  It was a heavy wet snow.

Friday morning, the snow continued to pile up throughout the day.

I went out just before dark to take a few more photos.

I ventured through the snow to  sweep off the snowstick.  It says about seven inches but the wind was blowing the snow around…so I will guess we got about nine inches.  The snow was above my snow boots…uffda that was a chilly reminder that I should have shoved my pants legs in my socks.

Birds visited the feeders throughout the day. A few geographically challenged Finches, and our usual Chickadees, Grossbeaks and Woodpeckers.

This poor tree is broken.

The sunset was pink through the snow filled trees.

Far Guy shoveled a path for Chance and my other baby brother plowed our driveway.

There is time enough to do the shoveling today, we have no plans to go anyplace, it is probably just as well I imagine the roads are a tad icy.  We are thankful that we were able to escape power outages, many were not so lucky.

The weather channel named this storm Argo.

Blizzard

I am not sure if they named this last blizzard or not.  The wind was raw.

We ran an errand to the neighbors and went to the end of the driveway to take a photo.

This was at 1 PM it was pretty dark and dreary. School was two hours late and I didn’t hear if they got out early.  If I had been in charge the weather conditions would have made me nervous for the school busses.

There are two roads out there, we didn’t see or couldn’t see any traffic.

Back in our yard the snow stick measures about 12 1/2 inches of snow on the ground so far this winter…that would be the compacted number.  That is more snow than last year at this time.

I stayed outside for a short time watching the birds.

This Downy Woodpecker didn’t mind me sneaking up on him.

The Wild Turkeys were here the other day, one of them pecked at our kitchen window.  We have corn for them and will set up a feeding area for them in the woods where they can poop and eat to their hearts content.

We saw a huge Buck complete with a set of impressive antlers near my brothers driveway.  I have never found a shed antler in Minnesota…that would be a real treat. Usually they shed their antlers in Mid Winter December – March.

Snow

We are having a snow event.  We are safe at home and have no plans to leave.  It has been snowing since late Sunday night.

This snow event is supposed to last a few days.  It has snowed enough as I write this I can hear the snow chugging down the roof…as it slides down the steel roof it makes a noise.  Of course the dog barks..cause it sounds like someone is beating on the house…then he realizes it is snow falling in huge amounts and goes to hide in the bedroom where he feels safe.  One time when he was a puppy he was covered by snow as it slid off the roof…Far Guy had to rescue him.  He has never forgotten.

So far..at 5PM on Monday afternoon the snow stick showed a little over four inches.

Just like that our world turned from gray and brown to white.  What fun.

We made a supply run to town and mailed all of the Christmas Ornaments to relatives far away…so if you are a relative be on the lookout for a package in the mail.

Far Guy is supposed to be writing the Christmas letter.  I think he has a beginning. It is a start but nowhere near complete.  Some year the Christmas letter may be abandoned completely…just not yet as we like to send greetings to many people who do not have computers.

I accomplished nothing Christmas again yesterday…unless buying Poinsettia Postage Stamps counts.   I am still thinking about what kind of cookie I will be making for the cookie exchange…no big decisions have been made yet.

Remember to leave me a comment about your favorite cookie HERE to be entered in the ornament giveaway.

Gift count: two.  Gifts wrapped: none.  Cookies made : none. Cards written: none.  Home made ornaments: Complete!  Homemade gifts: in progress.  Decorations…none except the snow outside.  22 days and counting.

Enough

Enough already.  I feel like there is a cloud over my head. 

We are still enduring the TV saga or lack thereof..the snowstorm/blizzard has postponed the appointment until Wednesday.

Fridays mail was a real treat.  Why doesn’t anyone do their job?  Why must I call them on the freaking phone and point out their obvious errors.  Yes, both calls ended up with positive outcomes..but  I should not have had to waste my time in the first place.  One was a 200 dollar error and the other a 7 dollar error..I can’t even look at it that I saved 207 dollars..because it was an error that should never have happened.

My best advice to you dear readers is to keep all your insurance slips and double check them against your clinic bills…just don’t blindly pay the bill.  In fact I will go one step further and say go through all your bills with a fine tooth comb..looking at all the charges..and for you really elderly don’t pay something because it looks like a bill.   Magazine Companies will do that..it looks like a bill and unless you keep track of what magazines you get and when you paid for them..you could just extend your subscription to some distant time in the future when you might just be dead.

I got a reminder in the mail that I could save oodles if I renew my subscription now..when I checked it is good through August of 2014.  Buggers..they should really pay me anyway what with all the advertising there is in magazines nowadays.  I suggested to one company that they just put all the ads in one section of their magazine so it was easier for me to rip them out.

It is snowing here and has been since sometime Saturday evening.  The cloud cover is so heavy it looks like it is dark in the daytime.

Chance is less than thrilled about snow that he has to drag his belly through.

He collects little round balls of snow on his belly and the snow packs in between the pads of his feet. 

We are staying at home for the duration of this snowstorm that they named Orko.  Far Guy says it is possibly the most snow that we have ever had here. Last night my other baby brother stopped by and he reported 13 to 15 inches of the white stuff..and it was still snowing.

I like the moisture that the snow will bring come spring..but do we have to get it all at once?  Couldn’t it be spread out over a week or two:)

White Christmas

During the Snowstorm
We are definitely having a White Christmas, as if there was a doubt! We got about 13 inches of the beautiful white crap. It snowed and swirled around creating drifts so hard packed I can walk on them. This morning I braved the 38 below zero windchills to get some photographs.

After The Snowstorm

Sundogs..they were double and triple..a sign that it is REALLY cold!

See those piles of snow? They will be taking up residence in our yard until May. My brother was by earlier, and plowed us out. Thank goodness for my baby brother with snow removal equipment. I have not heard yet if the snowplow has been out on the township road or the State Highway. This photograph is the short drive, the longer drive to the mail box always gets plugged with snow blowing off of the prairie.

Personally I like a Christmas without snow, I do not understand why it is so important. That miserable song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" is more like a nightmare as far as I am concerned:)