Winter weather weekend

Today is an "e-learning" day for the schools in our district. There wasn't all that much melting of snow yesterday, and what little there was froze overnight (it was 12 degrees, or -11 Celsius, at sunrise this morning) so the roads aren't safe.

 I like working from home; I brought my work laptop home so I can finalize payroll and take care of some other daily tasks, and the receptionist and I are dividing up the day to answer the office phone via Zoom app. I'll be done with my "shift" before lunchtime.

When it was just starting to snow on Saturday, one of the squirrels we're always feeding showed up at our dining room window and looked in at us imploringly. I took a big handful of shelled walnuts out there and put them on the windowsill, and the squirrel had a little feast.

I'm not sure I showed you a picture of the new ottoman we got for the front room for Christmas. Here it is in the cozy spot by the fireplace where we watched the snowstorm come in.

And here are the makings of a treat I had Saturday night while sitting by the fire. Guess the cocktail? 

Late Saturday night when it was really snowing hard.

Early Sunday morning...

Late yesterday afternoon.

The full moon rising last night.

Also last night...look at all these icicles! The house is covered in them.

It's been a real winter weekend here in Florence!

A homely* kind of day

I'm off work this week thanks to Winter Break. Besides appointments with the dentist and doctor (both simple routine checkups) I didn't make any plans, other than just enjoying myself doing whatever I wanted. So far, it's been really nice. 

On Saturday morning I met up with two friends from book club for breakfast. The place we went has the most wonderful Eggs Benedict, a favorite of mine, so of course that's what I ordered. The next day, I made a big batch of homemade vegetable soup, which has been simmering on low in the crockpot more or less ever since (it's had one overnight in the refrigerator). Today the weather's turned frigid again with the possibility of freezing rain and snow flurries tonight, so we're looking forward to that soup. And as I type this, two loaves of homemade bread are just about done baking. Between the bread in the oven and the soup simmering in the crockpot, my house smells wonderful right now.

Added a little while later while finishing this post:

I added an egg wash and sesame seeds to the bread this time. I hope it tastes good!

In other news: I am a domestic goddess!! HAHA. :) No, but seriously, in between making the bread, I finished a knitting project! I've been wanting to start knitting again, but it had been a loooong time, and I wanted something quick and easy to start with. Gregg has been pestering me for a while now to make him a new hat, so that's what I did! Nothing's any quicker and simpler than a hat and I didn't even need a pattern. I'm happy with how it turned out, and he really likes it. It's thick and warm. Just in time for our winter weather over the next few days!

I only talked him into letting me take his picture by telling him I'd take a side photo. I don't know why he hates having his picture taken, but he does.

To finish off a good day, I have book club tonight. That's always a fun time and I'm looking forward to it. I'm only about halfway through the book, but I'm not that invested in it, so I'm not worried about finishing. Seeing my friends is the main thing, although the drive home might be a little bit icy. Depending on the weather I may need to leave a little early, but I hope not.

Have a good night, friends!

*Homely in the British sense.

Real winter weather

It's frigid again in South Carolina, and for the second time in two weeks there's snow in the forecast. Today has been wet and cold--cold enough to chill you to the bone! And we've had record low temperatures, too. Tonight is supposed to be back down in the teens again, and since ice and snow are expected, we're on a two hour delay for school tomorrow (if we end up going at all).

I like it. It feels like a real winter for a change.

Ice on my car's windshield early yesterday morning.

Hopefully we'll have a good peach crop this year. The past two winters have been too warm for the peach trees to achieve the level of dormancy needed to produce good fruit. Everyone thinks of Georgia as the "peach state" but actually South Carolina produces more than they do! It's a real blow to farmers around here to have major crops ruined year after year by the lack of cold. I think this year will be much better for them.

We've gotten more use out of the fireplace this year than ever before. I love sitting beside a warm fire on these cold nights! I've been cooking and baking a lot, too, which helps warm up the house. A big batch of chili is bubbling away in the crockpot as I type this, and I'm thinking of making a couple of loaves of banana nut bread later on. Our freezer is full of individual servings of homemade soup that I've made since Christmas. Occasionally I'll bake something special, like an iced chocolate loaf cake or rice krispy treats, just for fun. I'm trying to take it easy on the sweets, though, and mostly try to concentrate on healthy, warm, "real" food.

One thing I dislike about the weather this winter is how often we've had to miss our nightly walks. It's bad for us and it's really bad for the dogs. They're so bored when they're cooped up inside, and George especially needs and outlet for some of his energy. He gets wild and eventually annoys the crap out of Ginger, so then she has to put him in his place--which she is really good at. She's definitely the alpha of the two, and has no problem correcting him when he really needs it. It's funny to see him acting like an abashed (88 pound!) puppy! They get along better when they're out walking every day, or can at least go out in the back yard in the afternoon, but all that is impossible when you're getting cold rain, ice, and snow or the wind chill is in single digits.

As much as I appreciate a real winter, I think I'll be extra glad to see Spring arrive this year.  What about you? Do you love the winter, or count the days until it's over?

Freezing

I send this dispatch from under a big load of blankets. It's freezing in my house. We're not used to these kinds of temperatures  around here....today's high was a frosty 30F, and right now (past midnight) it's 16F, with wind chills in the single digits. The central heating has been going all day, and the only truly warm spot in the house is the den (because we have a fireplace in there). It's been a bitterly cold month.

Stay warm, friends.

Cold (and dreaming of snow)

Well, it's finally cold again here in eastern SC. We only had about a week of unseasonably warm weather, followed by a return to our normal winter temperatures. Last night it got down to 25F, the coldest it's been so far this month. The birdbath was solid ice this morning and the birds and squirrels were flocking around the feeders replenishing their energy stores.

Yesterday at work I spoke to a couple driving through (off I-95) on their way back home to Connecticut. They were trying to beat a snowstorm that is headed to the Northeast, and needless to say, they weren't thrilled at the prospect of snow. They smirked when I told them I wished we would get some! But having been deprived of it for most of my life, there's still something special about a snowfall to me. I hope we see a little bit of the white stuff this winter. Spring will be here before we know it!

Of course I took lots of pictures the last few times we got some snow, and I thought I would share some of my favorites with you.

Our side yard.

Every summer, several broods of house sparrows hatch and grow up here.
The nest box is right outside our kitchen window.

This is Charlie. He's a Boykin Spaniel, and was Ginger's best friend when we lived at our last house.
He belonged to our neighbors.

 



GB, Ginger, and Charlie, 2009.

First winter at the new house, 2010. I love this photo.

GB and Ginger.

 

Brrrr.....

Well, Lady Winter is back. It's 22F this morning and windy.

I think I need a thicker sweater......

Brrr!!!!!!

Winter weather (or the lack thereof)

I hope everyone in the northeast is enjoying the snow this weekend. Further south we're being treated to mild, rainy weather that seems more like March than January. I am grateful for the easy winter we've been having (since Gregg can go out and walk and get exercise which is helping his recovery) but I must admit I've been craving a little bit of real winter weather. So much so that I had myself fooled into believing we had snow on the way yesterday!

I was at my Yahoo! homepage and clicked on the weather icon. The forecast showed snow showers for two days with accumulation of up to 5 inches! I got so excited, I called Gregg in to see, and we both were exclaiming how we just couldn't believe we were going to get that much snow! After a full 5 minutes of excitement, I happened to glance at the top of the page....and instead of my default location, we were looking at the forecast for New York City. Sigh. I felt like a real dumbass!

So that's as close to real winter weather as we've gotten here in SC. There is still time, of course, but we're probably not going to see as much snow as we had last year (and all of it together didn't even approach 5 inches!) I envy those of you that have beautiful, snowy winters.

Winter Reading, Winter Weather

We are expecting snow again for the next few days! I am so excited...it is really unusual for us to get snow at all....and to have it twice by mid January is almost unheard of! It has been a bitterly cold winter this year. Most nights have been well below freezing, and lots of mornings we've had temps in the low teens. I love it! It's like we're spending a winter further north, and I am enjoying the change.  So far I am not ready for spring yet. I am continuing to rest and dream of what the new year may bring for me.

I have been doing a lot of reading for the last few weeks. My newest discovery is the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. It was purely by chance that I read the first book, "The Clan of the Cave Bear". It was left behind by the lady that used to live in our house. We found three big boxes of books in the garage and we kept any that looked interesting. Well. This series follows the life of a girl named Ayla who lived during the Ice Ages. When she was a small girl, her parents were killed in an earthquake, and she was adopted and raised by a group of neanderthals. I have been captivated by these books! Apparently the author did lots of research so many of the details of the early humans' lives included in the book are believed to be based on facts. It has completely altered my perception of neanderthals. And it has been quite an escape for me, following Ayla's adventures through prehistoric Europe!

I just love sitting by the fireplace at night, reading, sipping wine, and enjoying the coziness of our den. I am about halfway through the fourth book in the series, "The Plains of Passage". I can't wait for the snow to start falling. I hope to awaken tomorrow to a fresh sparkling wonderland of white!

Winter is here

We are getting an early start to winter this year. November has begun with temps at night dropping down into the 30s after chilly, drizzly days. Tonight we should be getting our first frost.

Husband and I have been on vacation this week. The camping trip did not work out (too wet) but we've had a great time relaxing at home and tackling home maintenance stuff we usually put off. And I got my herb garden started! It's not much to look at yet, but this spring it will be nice. So far I have planted lavendar, sage, feverfew, rosemary, thyme, and strawberries.

The color here is at it's peak right now. I will post pictures at the beginning of next week.