Buds and Birds

Today has been gloriously sunny and warm! It's hard to believe that exactly one week ago we were trapped indoors after an ice storm. Today's high was 80F, with blue skies and warm breezes. Spring seems to be on it's way!

With the lengthening days, we've begun to notice the birds outside are thinking about nesting. The house sparrows are already adding straw and grass to the old bird house, and the feeder activity is picking up. Our neighborhood has several pairs of bluebirds, and several of them visit our suet feeders throughout the day. They are such beautiful birds! I would love to put up nesting boxes for them in our back yard, but a huge flock of house sparrows live there and would quickly take over. Feeding the adult bluebirds is the next best thing, though. We've also seen lots of woodpeckers, mourning doves, robins, and Carolina wrens. And the squirrels are already raising this year's first babies. A friend of my husband's rescued a nest of infant squirrels whose nest had blown down in last week's ice storm. Apparently the friend has a female Chihuahua that has taken on the role of mother to the babies. He said the pictures of them curled up together were just adorable!

There are other signs of spring, too. The trees that flower earliest are beginning to bud. Just this week I've noticed buds popping out on the ornamental pears, the tulip magnolias, and the redbud trees. And on my way to the grocery store today I saw my first daffodils of the year in a neighbor's yard. What a great time of year!

Ice storm

Happy Valentine's Day! We're just emerging from the grip of a rare ice storm that descended on the area Tuesday afternoon. We ended up getting over an inch of ice, as well as a couple of inches of snow, and a large part of the state has been in a state of emergency. There are many thousands of people without power still, and crews from neighboring states are working night and day to try and restore electricity. With so many downed trees and power lines, especially in rural areas, it will probably be next week before everything is cleaned up and back to normal.

We were lucky; we only lost power for about 12 hours, and with our gas log fireplace we were able to stay warm and comfortable. The temperatures finally rose a bit above freezing yesterday afternoon and some of the ice melted, although it re-froze overnight. Today is sunny and with temperatures expected to rise into the 50's, we should see the last of the ice. Although it was beautiful, it caused so many problems that I'll be glad to see it gone. I've had enough of winter weather. Hurry up, Spring!

I hope everyone has a nice (and warm!) Valentine's Day!

Enough!

I'm ready to run away from home.

Sigh.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

My car is in the shop for at least a week. My husband accidentally backed up against a big concrete planter in a parking lot, and there are deep scratches down the entire passenger side. It's going to require lots of replacement parts (bumper, side panels, etc etc.) We also have a $500 deductible to pay before the insurance will pick up the additional $2000. Then we discovered that the insurance we have doesn't cover a rental. Thank goodness my mom offered to let me use her car until mine is back. We certainly couldn't afford a rental on top of the $500 and sharing one vehicle (with very different working schedules) would have been a major headache.

My stomach hurts. I've been putting off seeing the doctor since my ER visit last October, hoping things would resolve themselves if I was careful about what I ate. No good. So I'm finally seeing the doctor tomorrow, and will probably have to have a whole lot of tests to see what's going on in there. I could barely sleep last night.

And yesterday, the heat in our house quit working. Actually, it works a little bit, but something inside the vents is making a horrible clanging noise whenever it's on that will slowly drive you crazy. In order to sleep last night, we had to turn it off and depend on the fireplace in the den. Which of course means that the rest of the house is frigid. The repair guys are supposed to be on their way today.

And work, as usual, sucks. I dread going in today. Although at least it's warm there.

I hope everyone is having a better week than me!

Snow day!

A winter storm blew through the area yesterday and last night, covering everything with a layer of ice first, then a couple of inches of snow. The entire state has been mostly shut down since yesterday afternoon, as the roads are icy and dangerous. The temperatures won't rise above freezing today, and tonight the forecast low is around 12F. Schools, government offices, and most non-essential stores are closed until further notice. The bookstore didn't open today, and I'm scheduled off tomorrow, so I don't have to venture out in this mess. I'm very thankful to be able to stay in my cozy house for the next couple of days! Husband had to go in to work, but not until noon and he'll be leaving after a few hours. I worry about him driving with ice on the road (the little bit of snow isn't a problem). Thank goodness he only has to go 4 miles, on two main roads which got treated with salt yesterday. He should be fine, but I do wish he was at home enjoying the day with me instead.

The dogs love the snow and have been going out to play in it all morning. I knew from past experience that Ginger liked it, but I wasn't sure if George would. Turns out, he seems to think snow is great fun!

 

 

 

A snow day is a special thing in this area. I plan to spend the rest of it baking banana bread, knitting, taking the dogs for a walk, and sipping vodka by the fireplace later on. Life is good!

Gratitude Sunday

I'm joining lots of other wonderful bloggers today in listing the things I'm grateful for that happened in the past week.

1. Getting off work early last night so that I could go hear a talented local musician (and friend) play guitar and sing at a new café that opened downtown.

2. Having a working fireplace for the first time ever. This month has been terribly cold, and nothing beats snuggling up in pjs in front of a warm fire at night.

3. Our new dog, George, slowly coming around. Things are getting better every day as he adjusts from life at the shelter to his new forever home. His goofy personality is really starting to shine through, and he makes us laugh a lot. I'm happy he's a part of our family!

4. An old friend who had become somewhat distant since last fall has been making a real effort to reconnect with me. I've missed her, and it's been so good to catch back up with her.

5. Acquaintances, friends, former co-workers, and professional contacts reaching out to me with ideas and offers of help in my job search. I've apparently been doing a good job of getting the word out that I'm looking! Hopefully it's just a matter of time.

6. The days are getting noticeably longer. It always lifts my spirits when I begin to notice that happening.

What are you grateful for right now?

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.

Cozy winter kitchen

I love lazy days at home in the winter. Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes, and this time of year calls for warm, stick-to-your-ribs dishes. Recently I made a delicious chicken vegetable stew on a cold, blustery afternoon. It smelled wonderful and made the kitchen warm and cozy.

This was a the beginning of the process, cooking whole (organic, free range) chickens with carrots, celery, bay leaves, and rosemary to make a delicious stock for the base of the stew. After the chicken was cooked, I removed the meat from the bones and put it aside to add back later to the completed stew.

Next I sautéed some chopped bacon and onions to add to the stock. After that came canned tomatoes and frozen soup vegetables.

Last I added butter, cream, the cooked chicken, and a cornstarch slurry for thickening. Unfortunately I didn't get a final photo of the finished stew, because the batteries on my camera died. But the stew was delicious, and just the thing for a cold afternoon.

I also took a photo of my kitchen window to show you. A friend of my husband sent me a sprouting narcissus bulb in a plastic cup at Christmas, and it finally bloomed for me that day. The tiny white flowers smell heavenly. I love forcing bulbs in the dead of winter.

Anyone else enjoying spending time in the kitchen these days?

This weather!

This winter has brought nothing but nasty weather so far. When it's not terribly cold, with lows in the teens and wind chills hovering near zero, it's pouring rain. I'd rather have the cold, personally. Days and days of pouring rain make everything damp and nasty and dismal. Our carpet is beginning to look dingy no matter how much we try to clean our shoes. We'll have to shampoo it in the spring, which is one of my most despised household tasks. When we buy our own home (hopefully later this year) we are 100% anti-carpet. When we've had rentals with hardwood and/or tile floors, not only did the house stay cleaner, but my allergies were much better.

This rain also is putting a real damper (ha!) on my efforts to train George. He's coming along great on the days I can give him lots of exercise, but he gets bored and destructive when he can't go out. He's mischievous and will stand up to peer up onto shelves to find things to chew up. I think he might be smart, since he's curious about everything and learns commands easily. But he's also stubborn and will constantly test your boundaries. I've been reading up on Cesar Millan's methods (and watching his show, The Dog Whisperer) and using them to make me (and my husband) the pack leaders. So far, his formula for well behaved dogs (exercise, discipline, and affection in that order) has been working really well with George. Now that we're having days and days of rain, and it's impossible to go walk him, he's been getting in to more trouble. I love the big crazy mutt, but I can't wait for him to mature a bit.

Next week, back to cold weather again, but at least it should be drier. I'm beginning to dream of spring.