This day America makes history. Never in my life have I seen a President Elect crowned in such a manner. I fear for the future of this once great country.
We are getting a little reprieve from the bitter cold. Since there is no school today the kids thought it would be fun to go sledding. Since I am a wimpy "stick in the mud" I did not think it would be fun. This afternoon I am thankful that Nathan has license and can take Ben and Hannah up to Herbert's Hill for some fun in the snow. Sometimes I have braved the elements and gone along, but not today.
The pictures are from our Saturday drive down to the pier at Sodus Point. Of course we wouldn't dare venture out on the pier with it ice covered but it was pretty to look at. The few trees down there looked cold and barren but beautiful. You could almost believe that was sand on a Pensacola beach rather than snow in a NY winter.
People in Minnesota are happy about the 20 degree weather. I'm sure it's headed this way. It should be here any minute now, we're up to 15 degrees! But then again, it is four o'clock, about time for the temperatures to start dropping for the night.
It is only one degree outside. They say warmer weather is on the way, in fact the actual temperatures are supposed to rise throughout the day. As the temps rise so will the windspeed making the temperatures continue to feel just like the do right now. Brrrrr!
It was looking quite nice outside today; the sun was shining, everything was clean and bright, but I knew better. Although I thought it would be a splendid day to get some icy lake photos, I dared not venture out into the cold. The windchill was really more brutal than anything I wanted to face, besides, my van is covered in snow. I stayed inside instead and baked a batch of Honey Raisin Bran muffins from a box mix and I ate one. I took a few photos out the window and vacuumed the floors. I cleaned the kitchen at least twice and washed up the dishes to boot. I looked at the computer for a mere moment... and now it is once again time to feed the dogs. I should be painting or scrapbooking or baking or something... Does anybody want to come over?
It's here, the arctic blast. I'm sure it has mellowed some as Minneapolis appears to be quite a bit colder than Rochester, but it is still very cold.
This is good weather for staying home where it is warm and cozy. The arctic cold front has moved in and it is bitterly cold outside. Sure do wish I had a nice pair of thick homemade mittens. Does anyone have a Grandma I could borrow? My fleece gloves just don't do the job 'cause fingers need fingers to help keep each other warm.
I'd really like to stay home inside my warm house tonight rather than venture out to church in the fridgid cold, but Sundays and Wednesday evenings are when I get to hold my newest baby. He still likes to sleep all curled up in a ball with his little hands up close to his face. He looks quite a bit more like my babies than Josh did but I do see Alysa in there too. (She is his cousin.) It will be fun to see how he develops and who he looks like a year from now. Either way he's a cutie.
There is a good reason why long haired little dogs should not chew gum or try to blow bubbles. It gets stuck in their mustaches!
Many years have passed since this photograph was taken. The little boy in your arms turned into my nephew when I married your brother and you became my sister in law. Since that time Jason has grown up and now has little boys of his own. We've added several children to our own collections and many of them are grown up too, but we haven't changed a bit... Where have the years gone?
Have no fear, we are getting plenty of protein. We are not only eating lots of fruits and veggies, but we've gone a little nutty in the process. We have raw almonds and cashews on hand, some roasted peanuts, and two jars of natural peanut butter. The peanut butter goes great on celery or that yummy whole grain bread, which is also packed with protein. We've also polished of a container of mixed raw nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, and macadamia nuts) and raisins. We won't likely lose much weight eating dried cranberries, banana chips, and raisins but maybe we'll be fooled into thinking we're healthier. The key here is practicing self control, bringing those fleshly desires under subjection and saying no to our wants for a time. My biggest challenge in the whole thing remains drinking enough water.
The sun is bright and cheery, the temperature brisk. I sent Ben and Hannah out for a walk with my camera but opted to stay inside myself. I made James some lunch (tomato, lettuce, sprouts and avacado on whole grain bread) and set out to dust and vacuum the living room. It's a job that is never completely finished in this particular house. I'm not sure if it is the size of the rooms or the fact that we have wood floors and a wood burning stove. It seems as though there is no end of dust and dirt. The fight is long and the battle makes me weary but I continue to press on.
The weather is forecast to get colder and snowier as the week progresses. It will be good weather to stay inside where it's warm and work on unfinished paint projects. Last week I completed a set of three cats I started a year ago. This barn is another unfinished work. I'm not quite sure what to put in the foreground, maybe a fence and some old, dry weeds. I'm also still working on the wisemen to a final Nativity puzzle I began last January. I spent the better part of an hour looking for the pattern before I located it in a stack of magazines.
Making supper in the evenings has been so easy the past week. I fix a nice salad, cook up a vegetable, and set the whole grain bread and butter on the table. I have found the "Spring Mix" at Wegman's to be well worth the cost as it lasted the better half of last week and then some. Clean up is minimal and I'm liking this. I might never want to go back to the old way of cooking.
Josh spent the day with me yesterday while Bethany and Hannah went to the Outlet Mall with some friends. It was just James, Ben, Josh and me. I found that after a period of time I am not quite sure how to entertain the little guy and he is quite busy with exploring and getting into things. (All completely normal for a boy his age...) Once I asked Ben what he was doing and he answered, "Oh, he's probably washing the window on the back door." Right, with his tongue... Later I went to find him and discovered he was standing on the bottom step looking upstairs where Ben had gone. (It's time to put up that gate! Actually, it's past time...) He did take a nice nap, ate half a package of crackers, and enjoyed playing Little People with his grandmother. He played with his uncle Ben and let us know that the wood stove is "hot". He inspected the pan cupboard and decided to rearrange some of its contents. He found an old teapot cover which he dunked up and down in the dog water until a kind old lady took it away. When his mom returned he was sitting on my lap enjoying a bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal. I really need to baby proof my house but I'm not quite sure how.
Since last January when I stupidly fed Jasmine a venison bone which got stuck in her intestines, we have been mixing a spoonful of canned dog food in with the dry when we feed her. It was originally to make sure she kept eating, now it is because she would be severely disappointed if we didn't. Unfortunately, this practice has created an obnoxious couple of dogs twice a day. No sooner do I arrive downstairs in the morning than I am greeted by staring, hopeful puppy dog eyes. They don't give up until they have been fed. Around four in the afternoon the process repeats itself and I don't feed them until five. Today, because of a little snowstorm which turned the afternoon unusually dark, the begging started around three thirty. I long for the days when I filled Jazzy's dish, she ate whenever she felt like it, and I only had to make sure the dish wasn't left empty, but I fear those days are gone. Our dogs are not so much different than us. Give me a little bit of sugar in the morning and I want to eat it all day long. I've actually been enjoying this "fast". I've not been too hungry, yet I've cut out all the bad stuff I've always had such a difficult time resisting. The headaches are finally gone and I'm feeling pretty good.
My daughter is disappointed in my lack of enthusiasm over Josh's use of the potty. She has been able to get him to go pee on the toilet several times, often three times in one day. While this is all very impressive for a 14 month old boy, I still lack the excitement my daughter had hoped to receive.
The holidays are over and it's time to stop eating garbage. Bethany called on Saturday afternoon to ask me about the "Daniel Fast" and what we are allowed to eat. It's really more about changing dietary habits and allowing our bodies a chance to throw off so many of the toxins we've built up over time than not eating. If we coose to participate in the fast we can still eat but we are cutting certain things out of our diets. I told her that we are eating fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. "No milk?" she asked.
Candles, why do I always forget the candles? How can a birthday be celebrated if there are no candles to blow out? Isn't that the whole reason we have birthdays, so we can blow out the candles? What kind of a mother forgets the birthday candles?
The crazy holiday season has left me feeling like a lazy blogger. I have been distracted by a multitude of things including Facebook. My sisters and I have connected with some second cousins and have had some fun trading pictures and photographs. My grandma, who I am almost certain is the baby in the previous post, was one of eleven children. The family lived on a farm in southern NY. I'm sure the boys and men spent many hours toiling in the fields, planting, tending, and harvesting crops. Somewhere along the way several of the daughters learned to draw and paint. They have left behind a multitude of paintings. Many of Aunt Harriet's paintings depict her childhood memories of life on the farm.
A brand new year, a fresh start. I decided to give up coffee this year. It lasted until I smelled a pot brewing late this afternoon. I decided to try again tomorrow...
Winter blew in while we slept last night. Snuggled down under my covers, warm and cozy, I never would have expected the blanket of white outside. Well, not if I hadn't heard the weather forecast. My house was quiet, Hannah stayed overnight with Audra, Ben was gone with James, and Nathan was at work. It was almost too good to be true. Actually, it wasn't true at all, at least not for long. Sara and Alysa came just before nine and Josh arrived about a half hour later. It was a busy day after all.
