I’m running out of photos.

Mostly because I’ve been huddled under a heavy afghan all weekend because of the dangerously cold temperatures. I often joke and call it “Ice Station Zebra” after the movie, but this year, it IS Ice Station Zebra. My lord, it never seems to stop! Right now, at 9 am, the temperature is 3 degrees.

That being said, it will warm up a bit today and starting on Tuesday, the daytime temperatures will be above freezing for this week and next week. Whoever thought I’d be excited about a high of 34 degrees? Hopefully, some of this snow will start to melt. I’ve watched our deer struggle to walk through it and it breaks my heart. Enough, already.

We watched figure skating yesterday afternoon and then we watched the Super Bowl. Normally, we’re not into the Super Bowl, but of course, we wanted to see the halftime show with Bad Bunny. And we were rooting for the Seahawks. Bad Bunny’s performance was stunningly powerful. The level of detail in the sets and story telling was superb. What a statement: Love is more powerful than hate, inclusivity is who and what we are and should be, there is space for all of us in America. And all of that should be championed and applauded. It should be a given. I want to watch the whole thing again today because I know there are details I missed. I love how he walked with the flags of all the countries in “America” naming them one after another. Yes!

Thank you, Bad Bunny. You are amazing.

And hurrah for the Seahawks!

Truth be told, the television was on for hours yesterday and that’s not the case normally. We’re craving quiet today.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday,

The wind has kicked up and the wind chill is already below zero. It will get worse as the day goes on. The musical accompaniment to my taps on the keyboard is the constant ringing of the wind chimes on the porch. I always used to say that, because I inherited them from my parents, whenever I heard them Mom and Dad were talking to me.

Well, now they’re yelling at me. Nonstop.

We watched the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics last night. Two things: whatever happened to educating us about the countries represented, identifying their leaders who are shown as the athletes enter the stadium? For heaven’s sake, they didn’t identify Georgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, nor did they identify Princess Anne and her husband, or the dignitaries from any number of countries. Yes, I know Savannah Guthrie was expected to do the hosting, but there are a whole slew of people working for NBC whose jobs are to research and provide all those facts and bits of information to the hosts. Instead, we heard what countries Shaun White had competed in, as well as information on his ‘brand.’ Now, I like Shaun White a lot, but really? Bob Costas and Jim McKay did all of that and more and that’s why they were so darned good at their jobs.

And  they edited out the boos from the crowd when Vance, aka James Donald Bowman, was shown on the Jumbotron. I’ve since heard them. They were loud. Hey, NBC, that’s called propaganda and it’s what the press does when they bow down to a dictator.

Okay, moving on.

We ran out to the store yesterday to get a few things we needed as at some point today it’s going to be dangerous to to go outside for the rest of the day and for part of Sunday. I ended up dealing with a lot of chores, so I didn’t get around to my miniature piece. But I will today.

Thoughts going through my head: I’m getting the itch to do some handwork. I have a quilt that needs to be hand quilted. Some of it already had been but I have a lot more to go. And then, because of this crazy winter, I’m thinking of crocheting another ripple afghan – this one for Don. If you remember, years ago when I was selling scarves on Etsy, I sold so many that I had to work quickly to replenish the stock and my right wrist really suffered. The end result: I haven’t crocheted for years. But I like the rhythm of it and I think I really need that to counteract the insanity we face on a daily basis. I would use cheap yarn from Michael’s. Crochet is a yarn eater and I want this to be an inexpensive project. I’ll check out thrift stores as well.

Alright my friends, I hope you’re warm and cozy this weekend.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Another frigid morning here at the cottage. I’m currently covered in an afghan, with fingerless gloves on, waiting for the temperature to rise. But this will be a walk in the park compared to Saturday evening into Sunday afternoon, when we will have dangerous wind chills of 25 – 35 degrees below zero. As in almost immediate frostbite if you go outside.

Are you kidding me??

I am trying very hard not to wish away the present. As I age, time seems to go by much more quickly than it did when I was young. HOWEVER, I am ready to move on from this winter, which has been nothing but a pain in the tush.

At some point next week, it will be warmer than it has been. I cannot wait.

So today I’ll run to the grocery store for any last minute items we need, as neither of us wants to step outside on Sunday.

Speaking of a pain in the tush, painting this little sideboard has been exactly that. It’s a piece of cheap dollhouse furniture with a glossy finish that the former owner sent along with the house. Since the Beacon Hill is so large, I figured I’d keep it and use it in the third floor hallway. I had a can of primer on hand, but since it has been at least 3 years since I have used it, it was in bad shape. So I sanded the wood as best I could and painted over the finish with a brown color as the base coat. But I clearly didn’t sand it thoroughly because paint wasn’t adhering everywhere. I added another coat – same problem. My vision for it was a cheery yellow color. But again – same problem. I finally hauled out the primer and mixed it with some water, painting it late in the day yesterday. That is what you see in this photo.

I’m all about saving money as I work on this house – I have to! – and I know I have to order wallpaper soon, so I was trying to get by with what I had on hand. I get some points for that, don’t I?

Lesson learned. Buy some fresh primer and use it.

Today, I will make some decisions about what wallpaper I want to use in a couple of rooms.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.