The beginnings of the Back Forty, taken from the kitchen window. Since the snow is three feet deep, I haven’t explored that area of the property and, except for the tracks of deer, it looks pristine. What I couldn’t capture in this photo was the sparkle and glitter of the snow, which was quite beautiful.
We’re supposed to see temperatures in the forties at the beginning of the week. It will seem so balmy that we might go a bit crazy. Will we been donning shorts while trying to catch some rays? We won’t know what to do with ourselves.
I just thought I’d take a moment to remind myself of what will be. At some point in the future.
Sometimes it’s necessary. Or one might be tempted to believe he or she is living in Antarctica.
I’m reading a lot, doing the usual chores around the house, listening to music, and taking pictures of Scout, which she finds annoying. She turns her head. But I am persistent. In these moments, she would like me to please go away. Silly Scout. Don’t you know your mother loves nothing more that to take pictures of you?
What are you up to today? Are you having adventures? The snowbound and stir-crazy author of this blog would like to know.
I’m giving away a copy of a book I reviewed yesterday. You only have today or tomorrow to leave a comment in order to be entered, so I’d suggest you get on it! If you snooze, you lose.
Happy Saturday.
Good Morning Claudia, I am suffering from cabin fever also. I plan on going to see a movie today. We enjoyed the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel so we are going to see the sequel. The picture of Scout makes me smile. Enjoy your day. Doris
We want to see that movie, too! Let me know if you like it, Doris!
Yep, I’m so over the winter. Not so much the snow but the bitter cold temps for day…months on end. Still buried here too:( If we hit 40 next week I’m going to start cleaning up the front porch and making it look more spring like.
It was the coldest February on record here. That’s pretty darned cold! I’m so, so over it!
We have sunshine today! It is making me so happy!!
hugs,
Linda
We do too, Linda!
Good Morning! Your posts are reminding me of why I was so freakin’ grateful to leave Alaska 30 years ago. Here in the Pacific NW we haven’t really had winter this year – sorry to have passed it on to the rest of the country!
Spring will come – it’s just taking a long darn time for you all!
It’s taking a VERY long time! But it will come and then winter will all seem like a dream.
I love all three of the photographs that you published today, Claudia.
Especially the enchanting Scout, of course. She’s waiting for you to do something. Anything!
Here’s an idea for you: you could binge-watch (on Netflix) “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” I haven’t seen it myself yet, but it’s getting good reviews. Tina Fey is behind it. If I didn’t have to continue clearing the driveway today, that’s what I would do. With a big bowl of popcorn.
We’re in the middle of watching House of Cards, Nancy. We’ve stretched it out, but now we’re down to only 3 unwatched episodes. Say it ain’t so!
Well Claudia, I leave the east coast to return to the west coast on Monday. The day the warm up is supposed to begin. My daughter blames me for the cold. :-). Well, not really. But all of the plans we had for the two weeks of my visit went awry with the snow. We have been housebound for four days now but we intend to make an expedition to Trader Joes today. I have had a great time playing with my granddaughter during this enforced isolation from the world but I had hopes to do more touristy things this visit. Love the picture of Scout, she’s beautiful.
Blessings,
Betsy
The weather has been awful and I’m so sorry it has interfered with your site seeing, Betsy! Safe trip home!
Your gardens will once again be beautiful…hang on to that thought! We are off to Milwaukee today to celebrate birthdays…mine and my former college roommates. We were born two days apart in the same hospital…but didn’t meet until college! She’s my oldest and dearest friend…and we are both looking forward to this…we get to let our hair down! It’s a beautiful, sunny, but windy day here so far….good day to travel! Enjoy your day Claudia! ;)
Have fun celebrating! When is your birthday, my friend?
It was yesterday. And I walked into the kitchen to the music of “When I’m 64” by the Beatles! What a great hubby I have! ;)
Happy Belated Birthday! Maybe you can help Don when he turns 64 this year. He is having trouble with that one!
I’d be happy to…I’ve decided it’s all a state of mind! ;)
Your woods look very intriguing. Without trying to obviously copy the likes of the infamous Cottingley photos, I can imagine myself putting a little fairy garden door at the base of one of the trees for a photograph.
It began to thaw here these past few days, so out of hibernation came construction workers. The ones working on the facade of the building next door are all very amiable, although my daily exchange with them seems to be along the lines of: “Good Morning”, “Good Evening” and “No”. The work will apparently take all summer, so I foresee having to get up awfully early before work to run errands.
A group of us from work are off to see Marigold 2 this weekend. One of my co-workers remarked that if the price of oil keeps falling, we’ll have to all seriously think about outsourcing our retirement!
I know it’s hit and miss depending on the location, but the Michael’s in the town next to us had heaps of miniatures in the other day. Some of them were of very decent quality – I bought some little crates, a little glass pitcher and a few unfinished pieces to paint. You may have to go on a little road trip!
Have an adventurous day and please give the always adorable Scout a pat from me.
Adventurous will probably be finishing one mystery and starting on the next, Barbara!
The sun is shining and it is already 34* here today! We haven’t seen these temps in months! So excited. Just to not see that negative sign on numbers for the next 7 days makes me a bit giddy. I was so happy you posted a pic of the summer gardens as it inspires us and makes us believers once again. This too WILL pass!! It will. Have a great day!
I know! What a difference some sun and temperatures that are a wee bit warmer make. Have a good day, Chris!
Beautiful picture of your garden!! My day so far has consisted of laundry, cleaning and then off to work for a couple of hours. Please enter me in the drawing for the book, it sounds good. Thanks, Jen
Jen, I’m sorry, but you have to leave a comment on the book review post itself. It wouldn’t be fair, otherwise. Hop on over and leave your comment there, okay? xo
Hi Claudia. I have been MIA again. Almost down for the count with the cold flu bug going around.
I am staying indoors today. Reading a book called “Unbroken” by Lauren Hillenbrand. It is so very good, but so intense and growing in intensity. I will also be crocheting a market bag for a friend. And making a pot of chili today.
My garden is not under as much snow as you have, but it is buried. We are supposed to warmer temps this next week too. My fingers will be itching for the dirt.
Have you ever ordered from the Doll House Emporium? The things they have are so inexpensive is makes me wonder about the quality.
Feel better, Trudy! Don read Unbroken and had much the same reaction as you. He loved it, though, so hang in there.
I have the Doll House Emporium catalog but the only things I have ordered from them were the crates and hooks for that swap I did. I don’t know about their furniture.
Thanks a bunch for showing a picture of your beautiful garden in full bloom…I so needed that..lol..I am beginning to wonder how my Daffodils and Tulips will be able to poke their pretty heads up through all of this snow..Oh please let some of it melt away in these 40 degree temps they are predicting..Such a good close up of sweet Miss Scout in all of her fluffiness and charm..We are going to check out a new grocery store that opened recently not far from here..It is called Sharp Shopper and they supposedly have low prices..we shall see… At least it is a good reason to get out of the house for a bit…
Low prices are always a good thing, Nancy! I look at the amount of snow we have and wonder just how long it will take to melt!
Your garden picture made me smile. I get to insulate a garage today. Want to swap places? I’m trying really hard to appreciate each day for what it brings but I just hate insulation. Enjoy your book!
Eileen
Ummm…no. I’ll let you do the insulating, Eileen! I don’t blame you for hating that particular chore. Love you, cousin!
I have cabin fever as well. I’m bored with walking every day on the treadmill. I want to do my daily walk outside! I want fresh air and to feel the sun. I’m trying to keep my sanity with cleaning, which gets old real fast, watching Netflix and reading. I’m getting a little cranky!
Me too! Fresh air, sun and some digging in the garden….please?
I’m doing the same thing you are – cleaning, watching Netflix and reading. Spring, come soon!
You’ll have your garden back, soon, I hope! I hate to tell you the expected temps this weekend is low 70’s! The bulbs my daughter planted a few weeks ago are flowering. We were surprised the tulips and anemones popped out even before the crocus, which are still short bright green leaves for now. However, for all the nice weather, drought continues and even the expected rain this coming mid-week will not help. I am sick of saving as much gray water as we can for flushing toilets and watering flower pots. My daughters hate showering with the myriad of buckets to catch shower water!
Scout is like my cat. She can’t understand why we take photos of her and insist on petting her when she’s trying to nap.
My projects this weekend…one fun and the other not so fun… Finish knitting my faux argyle vest (the “argyle” is a lace pattern that looks like argyle)…fun. Finish preparing taxes…not so fun. Hope you have a higher ratio of fun to not so fun.
Taxes…never fun. Which is why we usually file an extension. But good for you for tackling them! Do your taxes then treat yourself to knitting, Wendy.
As much as I would like warmer temps, I don’t envy you the drought at all. I guess I’ll take the snow?
Great minds must think alike! On the only other blog I read every day, there are photos of glorious Summer gardens today too. I’m chalking it up to March. I think knowing that the end of this [hideous] Winter is now really getting close is making more than a little desperate to see something other than white. Completely understandable! PS – your Scout photo today is just about perfect. She looks very happy to be having her Mom take picture taken too. I think she only dislikes it when it’s strangers bothering her in public, interrupting lunches with friends etc. LOL. Enjoy your day!
It’s tricky being a celebrity, Janet. Scout’s picture is being taken constantly!
It’s 54 degrees here today, which to us is cold, and I love it! (Bear in mind our summers are harsh, much as your winters are, so we welcome the cold whenever it does arrive). When I’m not outside enjoying this weather with my dogs, I’m inside working on my fairy house. (Well, no. It’s a fairy tree this time).
Scout looks sweet as always, and I bet you can’t wait to see your gardens in bloom again. That’s a pretty photo.
You’re so right, Kristin. It seems a long way off, but I know that by about a month from now, I’ll be able to start cleaning up the gardens and that will make me happy.
Grocery shopping & household chores. Helping out with my aunt. Looking forward to our church’s 50th anniversary celebration tomorrow.
Have fun at the celebration, Janie!
LOVE that picture of Scout! Precious!
I almost hate telling you what I am doing today, but I will. It’s almost 70 here today, the snow is all gone. I hit the flea market and three estate sales. Also sat in line for 45 minutes at the car wash and finally left without getting in. ( Patience is not one of my virtues). Bella and I are getting ready to go on a walk.
I’m not rubbing this in – truly. I feel so bad for all of those with all of the snow and cold temps. Hopefully, it will get better soon.
Give Scout a hug from Bella and I.
Love,
Judy
I will, Judy.
And yes, I’m more than a little jealous! But I know our time will come. I just wish it would come right away! Someday, someday….maybe you and I will be able to hit up some estate sales and flea markets together. Wouldn’t that be fun? xoxo
I don’t know if I can endure one more snowflake here on Long Island. I have cleaned out every closet, ironed every piece of clothing we own, and alphabetized my spices. With nothing left to do I decided to treat myself to the many Matlock episodes (Love Andy Griffith) I had saved on my DVR. Much to my delight I saw Don! The episode was titled The Renunion, and he played the part of the coroner, Joe Donato (sp?). Loved it!
Mary
It was one of the great honors of Don’s professional life to work with Andy Griffith. And Griffith, as you might expect, was a true gentleman and a kind man, too. I’ll tell Don you saw him on Matlock, Mary.
Don’t hate me but it is almost 90 and breezy here today. There is even an ice cream truck somewhere in the neighborhood. I can hear his music. It’s a trade off though. You have the snow and cold now we will have the 100 plus degree weather in a month or so. I live in the desert so it is dry heat. For five months the AC runs all the time. We have mild weather the other months and have only run the heater a couple of times.
I loved seeing the picture of your yard. All the snow so pretty. I prefer my heat to the snow.
I hope you understand, Olivia, but I think I prefer the snow to your 90 degrees! That’s too hot for me. I don’t like hot, hot weather. 70’s and 80’s are fine, but more than that? No. I was raised in the upper midwest, after all!
Hi Claudia. I did go see marigolds 2 and I did like it. It was nice to see the same characters back . I do think folks will enjoy it more if they have seen the first movie. Doris
I’m not doing much today, but since our winter has been warm with no snow in the lowlands, and only a touch of it in the mountains, I was zooming around on the freeways with everyone else. I went to a smocking meeting and the a few of us went out to lunch. 63º and needed sunglasses. Life is good without snow. Hope you see flowers and green grass soon-with no flooding.
Claudia,
What am I up to today? Well, I got my little pug a wheelchair off of craigslist and fitted it to her and put her in it and lo and behold she is like a puppy again. She has been losing the use of her back legs and could only sit watch her sister and brother run and smell each others butts and chase the neighbors through the fence. I had to hold her up to eat and to drink water. Now she is mobile again and I’m absolutely sure I saw a smile. Her tail wags and she chases the other dogs and smells as many butts as the rest of them. She does her little puggy scratch and even tries to shake my pant leg when I walk her. I could go on and on, I love her soooo very much and seeing her happy once again makes me happy. By-the-way, it’s nearly 60 degrees here and the grass is green and the blossoms are out in full glory on the neighbors plum trees, so little Phoebe and I are going for a walk, I think I’ll get a license plate for her little wheel cart. Hope you get spring time very soon.
Sandra
Hi Claudia
Loved your post. Today was beautiful and went for a long bike ride – and enjoyed every minute of it. Had a nice spaghetti supper and now winding down for the night. I heard some geese flying over me in the park, and it sounded so nice. But, all the fountains were turned off still, and patches of snow and ice to avoid on my bike – reminders that spring is still in the future, but maybe not too far!!
Take care and big hug
Elizabeth
I read an article about the northeast snow and it was talking about how people’s attitudes are suffering greatly by now…cabin fever and just darn tired of being cold. Apparently there was one incident where a local publication discussed snowbirds in Florida, waiting for the thaw so they can come back home for a few months. A northeast reader took exception to it, saying that it was rubbing salt into the wound having to read about people wintering over in sunny , warm Florida. So, I risk here saying too much about my weather in Southern California except to say, as you are weary of wet and snow, I am weary of dry, heat and wind. We ran two days earlier in the week at 92 degrees (F) and I think we were about 89 degrees today. It’s still glare-y winter sun so it feels blistering, at least to me. Usually, we look forward to some rain in March. Anyway, it’s supposed to be a little cooler later on today with an average of 81 degrees through Wednesday, which is still too hot in my book. Yesterday, my favorite family-run, old-fashioned drive-in (now drive-thru) burger joint ran out of ice tea because of so many customers wanting to cool down with a cold drink in hot cars after running errands or carpooling kids. Because we got no snow in the backcountry, again, or even a frost (nor will we now), we planted early and already have lettuces and chard coming up in the garden. We planted more today…herbs and tomatoes. Tomorrow? Cukes and bell peppers, plus I’m trying strawberries this year. That’s all in planter boxes…raised off the ground to keep varmints out and easier on our backs; my husband constructs them out of wood. Melons and squashes will soon go in the ground. We’d had a load of dirt/compost delivered; my husband got somewhat overheated shoveling and trucking wheelbarrows of dirt from front yard to backyard; he had to come in and put a cool cloth to his head. I don’t like year’round summer like this; it puts us out of sync. What little green in the hills we got from the rain will soon turn to brown and I’m sure we’re in for an awful, water-restricted summer, just like last summer which I think was our hottest on record. I wish we could meld the extremes of heat and cold to give us better weather on both coasts.
Oh Claudia, I really thought you would escape the giant repeating snow days. I’m always thankful I live in a time we can watch Netflix and download a book from the library until we are free once more to walk out and heft a real book at the local bookstore. I have kept busy this week making orange scones and sitting by the (fake but great) fireplace reading. I’m shamefully reading 3 books at once (the Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris, An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch and Dark Road To Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourne). And my dear husband gave my a new bookcase for my art room, so naturally, everything is in disarray there. I’m quite gleeful to finally have this lovely addition to the room. Hang in there and enjoy House of Cards. It is next on our list! Look forward to your next book review.
Hi Claudia, I took and shared so many pictures of Miss Bella on the deck in the snow with her ball on Friday my sisters begged me to stop sharing…I never get tired of seeing your Dame!
Today we took a walk, played ball on the deck…snow is melting quickly..I hung some laundry in the sun on the patio chairs! Now we will use a gift certificate to dine for International Womens Day!
Yes–spring is here–snow on the ground or not! It’s my state of mind! Later taking down remaining winter decor and out comes pastels!
Enjoy you day, Patricia