Skiff of new snow

We got a bit of new snow.  Enough to help cover up the dirty snow.

It melted quickly in the bare spots on the snow banks not so much.

I decided not to take a day off of spring cleaning but to switch things up a bit and tore the linen cabinet all apart in the downstairs bathroom…it is all put back together again.  When I get to that room it will go much faster.

I got a bit of summer in the mail! Made my day! I also heard the weather forecast and the big storm is supposed to go south of us…sorry southern Minnesota and Iowa.

 

Cleaning Ovens

This could be a new sport.  Yes I know my oven is self cleaning BUT the last time I cleaned it the darn thing locked and Mr Fixit had to come and unlock it for me and I think he charged well over 100 dollars to do so.  SO I clean it myself…and save 100 dollars.

I don’t use smelly caustic oven cleaners either…I use baking soda and a green 3 M scratch pad thingy and lots of elbow grease…and some super duper athletic moves.

I practically have to do an arabesque to get close enough to clean the sides of the oven.  I was wishing that my kitchen was a true galley kitchen that way I could have put one leg up on a cupboard for support! A modified yoga move called a Downward – facing dog will get me to the back wall of the oven.  At one point I got dizzy…too much blood up there in my head.  When I broke into a sweat Far Guy took over for a bit…it was nice to have a break.  Too bad they don’t design an oven with a removable door so you could get closer to scour…you have to be careful too…one false arabesque or doggie move will take out that oven door that you have been cussing. Luckily that did not happen.  The oven racks were scrubbed and scrubbed until they looked like new and I will be protective of them for a few weeks anyway.  I laid on the floor to clean under the stove…I was almost long armed enough to reach all the way to the wall…I had to use Far Guy’s Mom’s old picker upper with a rag on the end of it to reach the far wall. Everything that could be taken apart was taken apart.  I cleaned as far down in the downdraft vent as my hand would let me without getting stuck.

The first part of the day was spent moving the fridge out of it’s spot.  I had cleaned it inside a few weeks ago…yeah me!

Yes I know none of the appliances match…who wants to be all matchy matchy anyways.  Some day this 20 year old Amana refrigerator will bite the dust and I can get a black one…or one of those fancy smancy silver ones.  I hope my Jenn-Air never bites the dust as they are pretty expensive now …it was one thing that I splurged on when we built the house.

The kitchen has been holding me hostage this week.  I am happy to be almost done…so happy I am taking today off…the open cupboards above the sink is all that is left and I hear there is a snowstorm coming so I will clean all those dishes and shelves during the snowstorm.

It feels really good to be almost done with this spring cleaning project.  In case you were wondering, all the cabinets by the fridge were custom built by a local craftsman….when I needed the rest of the cabinets for the kitchen he was too busy to do them so he gave Far Guy lessons and Far Guy and I built them piece by piece.  We designed them and built them.  The drawers were the pits to make…but I love them.

Wistful Wednesday : The girls and dogs

This is most likely 1991 or 1992.  About 26-27 years ago.

 

Jen and Trica posing on a snowy day with our three Sheltand Sheepdogs/Shelties.  This was taken at  our resort out back by a spruce tree.  Trica would have been going to college at Moorhead State University and Jen was most likely in 9th or 10th grade.  Those teenage years would not be real high on my list of years to repeat.

Trica on the right is holding onto Misty and Moses…they are the Mother and Father of G’Day Mate who Jen is holding. Misty was really well behaved, she had been to Dog Obedience and Moses had been to puppy classes…and Mate well she had a mind of her own and a real stubborn streak.   She was really Far Guy’s dog…I gave her to him…so I wouldn’t have to sell her.  There were four puppies in that litter, when the puppies were little we would get them out on a blanket in the living room and watch what we called puppy tv.  Those were fun evenings….when we were all home safe and sound being entertained by puppies.

166th day of winter

Not much melting yesterday.  What isn’t snow is mud.  The rutts will go away when we get a rain.

This first photo gives you a good view of June our resident snowbank.  Maybe we should guess when June will be all gone?  What do you think?  If you want to guess when June will be all gone leave me a guess …what day in April, May or June? The best guess will get a woodcarving of some sort.

Chance was laying in a snowbank.

Washing his chin….back and forth back and forth…keeps his white somewhat clean.

I got the dreaded silverware drawer cleaned out yesterday. Now all the drawers are done…I have 17 drawers in the kitchen…love drawers versus cabinets. 2 cabinets left I can almost taste the victory of a completed project.

Meal planning for this week was a chore I gave Far Guy, he did great and supplies were purchased.
More Thistle Seed was purchased because the little Redpolls brought all their cousins to visit and feast.


June the Snowbank will be gone by:
April 22 Diane Daines
April 27 Tired Teacher
May 1 diane   Terry and Linda    Jo Annes Ramblings
May 5 Rita
May 6 diane in wis
May 8 zooperson
May 9 Wendy Danielson
May 10 Jean
May 13 Sandy B
May 15 Sam
May 16 KCD
May 22 Kathy
May 25 Cathrin Morgan
May 28 linda m
June 1 Lady Fi
June 3 Bonnie
June 6 Mildred

165th day of snow

We have had snow since October 28th.  Just incase anyone was curious..that was 165 days ago. 

Here is the snowbank I named June.

It was –3 F yesterday morning that is –19 C eh, unbelievable for April.

What is happening besides below zero temperatures and no snow melt?

I am still winter/spring cleaning in the kitchen, I have one drawer (the silverware drawer) left to clean and two cupboards and then the open cupboards that catch dust.  About half of the cabinets have been cleaned on the outside too. I should do the stove top and the oven too that will take part of a day….so in three days I might be done.  The laundry/furnace room might be next on my list.

We are working on the Christmas Ornament prototype…we have been “communicating” with each other about it.

We had the neighbors over for the card game Golf one night they are having a bit of Cabin Fever also.

We watched The Frozen Four and cheered when University of Minnesota Duluth won!  It was a great game!  Hockey is over now…at least College Hockey is.

Chance : I like snow

Someone is too cranky to blog so I am taking over.

The snowstick stands at 13 inches there is little to no melting.

I like to lay in the fresh snow.  I can reach right over and get a snow snack.

perfect…I like snow

Even when it is on my face.

I hope if you have snow you are enjoying it as much as I am!

Flowers of Summer

Seem a long way off this winter.  It snowed again….and probably not the last time this winter/spring either.  The muddy rutts are now frozen rutts.  The days are longer but with the wind and the wind chills way below zero it seems that spring is never going to come…and summer well that is just a distant memory.

I took this photo last summer at The Dead Beaver Area.  We just happened by there at the right time.

Even though the days are longer we have not begun our evening drives, Chance misses them…I do too but there is just snow out there.  In April snow loses it’s magic…

I am still winter/spring cleaning kitchen cupboards.  I had a good day and got a few more done the count is 21 out of 28.  When I get them done I must spend a whole day washing everything in the open cupboards…and weeding out some of the extra dishes…it is a project for sure. I would rather winter/spring clean with the windows open but that won’t be happening anytime soon.

Projects

This week I have some cards on my desk. 

I got a new stamp.  Ordered it off the Internet.

It makes a lovely card.

I love my Prismacolor pencils…and my metallic watercolors and my Spica markers! Fun stuff to work with.  I got some new Metallic Colored Pencils…they are pretty cool too.

Here is the other painting project. It is for a friend…Far Guy is trading it for a bunch of dental bits that he can use in his Dremel tool.

Yesterday I got three more kitchen drawers/cabinets cleaned…11 out of 28 are done.  Progress is slow.

It is cold here…bitterly cold…damp…it snowed and blew over the roads and made the roads icy last night coming home from Bingo with my Dad…he got to holler Bingo just once…me not at all.  One away …one away…

Carving and Cleaning

I got the little bark houses painted.  I also painted a bigger project for Far Guy.  Glad to have that project done.

We are working on a prototype for this years Christmas ornament…it is another woodcarving, different from anything we have done previously…we will see how it works out.


Now I am ready for the ever present snow to melt…we are very cold here…so that probably isn’t happening this week. So far we have record breaking low temperatures for the month.

I began some winter/spring cleaning …kitchen cupboards are on my list and I have a number of them accomplished…it is tedious work exploring cupboards.  I have 28 cupboard/drawers in the kitchen…8 are done…uffda.

I hounded Far Guy until he replaced all the batteries in the smoke alarms…even though they are supposed to be good and will let you know when the battery is low, I feel better when they are changed every six months.  He changed the batteries and tested them all…made Chance nervous.  For some reason we did not get them changed when the time changed…usually that is my reminder to insist it be done.

Wistful Wednesday: Easter 1985

The girls were 13 and 9 1/2 years old at Easter that year.  Their Grandfather Marvin got out his trusty Polaroid and took some photos.

Their dresses were pale pink and white, they wore white shoes …but must have outgrown the Easter hats!

Far Guy and his girls

Proof that they were not too old for Easter baskets and they had at least one parent! This photo was taken at Far Guy’s parents house, the old red couch could sleep a six foot person (Far Guy’s Dad was real tall)…we had that couch in our home for years…and then it went to Jennifer’s home.  Notice the flocked wallpaper, since Far Guy’s Dad picked out the couch his Mother picked the wallpaper.  The drapes facing the road were closed and there is a photo of the girls on the coffee table in front of the window.

Letting the wood speak

When I carve with Cottonwood Bark I let the wood speak to me.  I have carved many little houses and no two are exactly alike.  That is because no two pieces of bark are alike.

Bark is easy on my arthritic hands and my recovering carpal tunnel problem.  I had a bunch of houses on the table to paint when I decided to show you all what the carving process is like.

First I look in my bag and get out a piece of wood.

Here is a blank…I saw a pillar in the front, a door with a window and a chimney, on the other side I saw a tree.

I mapped it out so you could see it.

See the P in the front?  The C is a chimney and there is a door with a window.

Then I began to carve out the chimney and made the roofline.

The pillar is always a bit difficult…sometimes you need a bit of glue to strengthen part of the pillar. You have to carve behind the pillar and remove lots of wood.

Almost done, the door is a bit big but I had room to make a nice window.  Later I will drill out the window and file it to the right shape.

Here is the tree and I had room for a funny shaped window…there are no rules that must be followed in bark carving.

The tree will look more like a tree when it is painted and my second thought was the window is in the chimney…oh well maybe is is just in a little room around the chimney area!

Before                                                   After

That is pretty much what I saw in this piece of wood.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my carving process.

Easter Report

We had a quiet day at home.  Decided to make lasagna late in the day. 

There is too much flu out there to go out for dinner or to relatives where we were invited but my Dad has a cough and my baby brother’s wife has strep and Influenza B.

Our Nurse Practitioner daughter has told us to stay home when ever we can and out of germs.   She says going out once a week for groceries is questionable…

Anyways we went for a walk in the afternoon. We didn’t see anyone.

It is no joke, we have snow for Easter on April 1st.  The big storm missed us but we may get more snow this week.  Who really knows or cares anymore at this point.

Have a piece of chocolate…

Best Easter Wishes

This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

I found this postcard in an antique shop.

 

I thought it was a beautiful in it’s simplicity.  It was mailed on April 4 1912.  Mail being the best way of sending a greeting or you could send a telegram…or run over to the neighbors or into town where there might be a telephone…or you could visit face to face…now that is a novel idea.

Best Easter Wishes!

Good bye March

So long March.  Don’t let the door hit you in the butt.  Onward to the month that boasts Spring Showers that bring May Flowers.

We are in a different season up here in the snow fields of MInnesota.  Either is is muddy from snow melt or the snow covers up the ice. 

I gave Chance a foot trim…the hair between the pads of his feet was getting long…he was tracking his fair share of sand into the house.  I trimmed up the feathers along his legs also…they get muddy when he walks to get the mail.  It is funny when he was a pup he couldn’t pass up a mud puddle and he would bark at the water under the ice when it moved when he stepped on it…now he avoids all standing water and puddles especially ice covered puddles…he has become a Senior dog. Last night he was walking himself in the house round and round…I think he may have had enough winter too.

We got about an inch of snow Thursday night/Friday morning there is now 12 inches at the snowstick. We are in a winter blizzard warning Friday overnight into Saturday…no travel is advised. Now they say we may get a foot or more of snow and the wind will blow. March is most certainly going out like a lion.

We are home safe and sound for the duration of the storm.

Update:  There is only about 1 inch of snow at 6AM so maybe it missed us.  It is bitterly cold out there feels like  deep winter.

Winter Forcast for Spring

Winter has a real grip on us now. 

Here is the snowstick.  This is important because the snow at the snowstick will likely double in the next two days.  We have one snow event followed by another in our forecast.

Seriously.  I laugh…because April 1st is when many snowbirds come back after a long warm winter in the south…it is Minnesota nice to share.

Want a look at June?

Here she is…if the snow gets real bad I may have to change her name to July.

I suspect after this cold spell it will warm up and be summerlike…but we will have to see about that.