Snow drifts

View from the top of the drift

Where's the sled?

Snow on the Point

This lovely sculpture is located on the back of the drift in front of our cabin.

Looking WAY down on Kenny's cabin.

This was the biggest drift we found and estimate it's 15 feet high.  It was the last one we climbed before heading back.  We need to get those snowshoes.  Walking in deep snow has to be great exercise-I was exhausted when we climbed the steps back up to our house.

Want to come over for a beer on the deck?!!

Snow 2009

After my last post, I was curious about the snow down on the point so I talked Dan into a morning walk.  We have much more down there than last year.  This drift has to be at least 12 feet high.  Even if you don't like snow you have to admit it's kind of pretty.  Here it is before we trampled all over it.

The cabin is surrounded by a wave of snow.

We took the lake way home as walking through deep snow tired us out.

Our house from the lake.

Good reads?

This winter, I  have a goal of three books per month.   Does anyone have any titles  that they would like to suggest?  I made my January goal already hope to start my 4th book this weekend.  I enjoyed the Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler.

 I recently read the Hills of Tuscany which was okay but only  a 25 cent investment from the BB.  It's a true story about a couple's search for a home in Italy and their impression of the area.  If you enjoy long descriptions about food and scenery you might love this book.  100 reviews on Amazon gave it 4 1/2 stars out of 5, so many people did enjoy it.  You can borrow mine if you're interested. 

I plan to start a Maeve Binchy book Circle of Friends next.  It's a great weekend for reading since it's so cold again.  Wish the fireplace worked consistently! 

Wintery Friday

We had beautiful hoarfrost a few days ago.

Sundogs are a common occurance these days.  You see them whenever it's terribly cold.  In the Ukraine they used to say "The sun has ears."  I read that in A Prairie Boy's Winter.

I meant to post this earlier but this is our outdoor Christmas decor.  The deer kept getting deeper in the snow and I had to keep pulling them out so we could actually see the lights.  
Today school started two hours late and we dismissed at 1:00!  I packed as much as I could into the two hours that I had my class.  But compared to last week, we did great this week.  4 full days and 2 hours-not bad!   We have temps of -3 or so and wind chills of close to 4o below.  That with the drifting snow is what caused our delay and late start.  I'm just glad that today counted as a full day and we won't have to make it up.

It's spring somewhere...

I found this photo on a southern California blog.  She posted this photo for all the poor northern folks dealing with all the bitter temps.   It was a nice thought but a little depressing as we are still a LONG ways off from planting anything like that outside.  Oh well, enjoy.
I found this on Restyled Home.  If you go to her blog  (a favorite of mine) you can even get information on how to order your own.  Can you read this one?!!  Pretty cool-huh?  Sarah did this on her blog last summer.

This came from a Scandinavian blog and how cute are they?!  Amanda & Deb, you could make these.  They'd be cute for "big girls" too.  

Golden Globe Attire

I didn't watch the Golden Globes but I did find the dresses on line interesting.  This one on Drew Barrymore was my favorite.  I think she is a cutie and I like her retro look.
I love Renee Zellweger but I hate her dress.  The bodice is horrible...what was she thinking??!

Quilted Curtains

This post is for Kris or anyone else who likes a cozy quilt.  I think these curtains are very lovely!  I never thought about quilted curtains before.  You could totally change your look with the fabrics you choose.

Snow and Pileated Woodpecker Video

I took this video a couple of weeks ago to show how pretty the snow was coming down.  A pileated woodpecker flew past and I filmed a bit of that too. We've had one as a frequent guest this winter.  It's a pretty short video.  Keep an eye out for the big bird!

Tami & Miscellaneous

Female Cardinal in our yard

Someone was "kiting" on our lake and we enjoyed watching them.  You strap yourself to a big kite and skis and let the wind take you away.   Doesn't that look like fun?
On Thursday, I ventured out only once and that was to snap this photo so that I could blog our temp that morning which was -32 and then I filled up the feeders for the poor little birds.  That kind of cold takes your breath away.  This morning was started on time and the temp was -18.  By the afternoon it was 0 but the windchill was making it feel much colder.
Here are the pictures I took of Tami with my class.  Tami, I sent them to you in a card on Thursday morning so you should get it by Sat or Monday at the latest.  You survived a brutal first week in the cities (I'm talking about the temps and traffic here) so now that you are settled down to work in Bloomington and warmer temps that should be a piece of cake.  Hope you are enjoying life!

It's cold in my room, Tami had to borrow a sweater.  Notice the kids in short sleeves, they are just hot blooded, I swear.

Friday Night Lights

Season 3 starts on NBC tonight!!!  If you are not a fan of this show yet, you need to check it out.  Direct TV ran the third season early so we've been enjoying the season already and are at the end.  Even if you missed the first two seasons, you will pick it up quickly.  Shari got us hooked on this series and I recommend it to many people.  It is very well written and entertaining, something you might expect from HBO.  Hopefully, it will stay on the air for a good long time.  Have a great weekend!

Wintery Week

It's Thursday, and we didn't have school today.  I don't think many schools around here did but I'm not sure as I didn't watch tv or spend time on the internet.  Dan was working from home which totally limits my internet use and that's fine.  Wednesday was the only day that we had a full day of school and that may happen again tomorrow.  I was rather surprised when we cancelled today.  I spent most of the day cleaning, put together another bag of stuff for the BB and threw away some junk too.  I'm reading "The Amateur Marraige" by Ann Tyler.  It's an engaging read and #2 on my goal of 3 books per month this winter.   

Hope you are coping fine with the cold, it will soon be over, hopefully this will be the worst of the winter.  Have a good weekend!

Brrrrrrr

We had no school today due to snow and wind.  I got the call this evening that we are two hours late on Tuesday.  Very nice to know the night before.  I'm sure the plows need time to clear out all the roads.   Fergus, Alex and Ashby all had a full day today.  No school in Morris/Cyrus, Herman or Hancock though. This is our third snow day.  

 I got some more things done around the house, shoveled about 3 inches of snow off the sidewalk,  a little cooking, tv, surfing the net and working on the vintage puzzle.  I'm heading to bed with a book.  

Did you hear that we are going to rebound into the high 20's-30's early next week?  That's above zero even!  Until then, be safe out there.

Hope in Winter

Blizzard?

We are in a blizzard watch starting around midnight through tomorrow.  Wind gusts up to 40mph tomorrow afternoon, 2-5 inches of snow and very cold.   That will not be fun.  On Friday, we all thought we would be at least 2 hours late but luckily the storm missed us or fizzled out, not really sure.  Last Saturday didn't turn out to be as bad as they predicted either.    Do you think they could be wrong a third time?    If not, the storm days are beginning to pile up at my school.  Be careful out there.

Here's a sweet picture of Paige & Grandpa Ted.  Jen took this at Christmas and it's too cute not to post on my blog too.

Say it Isn't So

I learned that Country Home Magazine is folding.  The March issue will be the last.  This is my favorite magazine.  I like it much more than Country Living, bummer.

Remodeling

Some of you know that we have been interested in remodeling.  I am  collecting pictures on the web that appeal to me and here are a few pictures I have saved .  

A little post-Christmas humor

Back to work...

It's hard to go back to work.  But it's not nearly so bad if you have Tami in your classroom helping out.  Tami was in my classroom all day yesterday and this afternoon too.  This morning, she got the great news that she was hired by Wells Fargo Mortgage and will be working either in Mpls or Bloomington.  Hopefully it will be Bloomington.  She starts next Monday and plans to live with a friend for awhile.    Tami was hoping to work in the cities and it worked out for her.  Congratulations, Tami!!!  She will be back in my classroom tomorrow and I need to get a picture of her helping before she heads off to the big city.  Tami graduated in 3 1/2 years from UND, that is almost unheard of.   In case you are wondering if Dan had anything to do with Tami's hire since he also works for WF,  the answer is no, this was all on her own.

There's not much else to blog about.  I get up way too early in the dark and cold,  teach all day, come home and clean and cook,  crash on the couch, read and go to bed.   January is so much fun!

Snowed In

Well, we tried to go to the wedding dance last night.  At 7, we took off and encountered many drifts, thinking we would basically congratulate the bride and her parents, drop off the card and head back home before we got stuck in town.   We got about as far as the golf course corner and it was already blown into barely one lane so we turned around in Merrick's driveway and headed back home.  We dropped the card off at our neighbor's house instead.  It didn't look like the bride's family made it home last night.

Dan is out blowing the driveway for the 4th time this winter.  I think we got about 5 inches here.  The wind is down and the sun is shining but it is only 0 degrees at the moment.   

Sorry this is a boring weather/snow post but that has been dominating our life lately.  I'm still working on Friday Night Knitting Club, not enjoying it as much as I did the first half I have to say.  My vintage puzzle is coming along.  I may glue and frame it to preserve it if all the pieces are there.  I'm making potato salad for school lunch this week and  ziti pasta for dinner tonight.  I plan to watch the Vikings this afternoon while correcting the unit reading tests.   

Wishing all you students and teachers a good week back at school.  Can you believe the year is basically half over?!!!

Another storm???

This is a current photo in our yard but not for long, another 5-10 inches is expected in the next 24 hours.  Our plan tomorrow was to meet at Nancy and Davids, with my parents, Royce and his family and attend David's game at the Target center but Mother Nature has once again stepped in and changed our plans.  We will shoot for another weekend.  

Our neighbor's daughter is getting married in Elbow on Saturday evening.  We were invited and since we will now be at home we might just run  in for the dance if the weather allows.  I feel bad for them.  I imagine there will be many people who planned to come that will not be able to attend.  

Here's a bird photo that you Jackson Bluejay fans might enjoy.  They were actually fighting over some old cat food and corn.  Bluejays are known to be scrappy bullies at the feeder.

This is Sandy Point Road which is a gravel road that leads to our house.  It looks more like a ski hill don't you think?  An advanced bunny hill perhaps?  
This is HWY 79 on the way to Elbow.  This was taken on Wed on my drive into town.  It looks like a wide snowmobile path.  

Good finds at the BB

A beautiful vintage puzzle for fifty cents...

2 apothecary jars for $1.50...

a Banana Republic wool poncho for $2....

and finally, a lambswool cardigan from Target for $2.

Not bad for 30 mn's work(shopping), not to mention the little treasure below.