is there any more pie?

I don’t. Why? Because yesterday, after three days trying to find someone to plow us out, our very long driveway was finally cleared after Sunday’s big storm that dumped over a foot of snow on us.

Joy! I could leave the house at 6:30 am yesterday to take daughter Nancy to one of those necessary evils, a medical procedure. I was so worried we wouldn’t find someone to plow and she would have to cancel. I had tried to walk to the road but couldn’t make it more than twenty feet from the house.

Wednesday had been so stressful that after a plow appeared at 4:30 pm (we’d called four names from the internet for two days and one finally called back) I celebrated with this.

The morning’s wind chill temp was minus four. Banjo Man made me wear three sweaters, a down vest and a down coat, plus the usual hat, gloves and scarf. He filled the back seat with extra coats and blankets in case the car broke down on the frozen tundra.

Sigh.

He had warmed up the car ahead of time and off I went. And I was so happy! First of all, I was relieved we were no longer trapped. Our usual plower, a very nice young man, didn’t show up this time. He didn’t answer texts either. We were worried something had happened to him because even his voice mailbox was full.

I really enjoyed heading off into the sunrise. It reminded me of my Idaho years, when no amount of snow and ice and darkness and cold would keep me from getting out and getting on with things. Of course I was a LOT younger back then and shoveling thirteen cement steps from the back door up to the road was nothing at all. My, how things have changed!

But…it was great fun to pretend I was thirty and heading down the icy, snowy, dark, dirt driveway for an adventure.

And it looked like this when I returned many hours later. Not bad!

Nancy and I had a comfort-food lunch at Cracker Barrel and headed home. The roads are narrow due to the piles of snow everywhere, but the sun was shining. That always helps.

Another big storm has been forecasted for Sunday, but as I’m listening to the local weatherman this morning it sounds as if we are not going to get much now at all. And temperatures are supposed to rise to about 32 next week, so maybe some of this stuff will melt. Yay!

Okay, that’s my snow report for this Friday morning. I’ll be donning four layers of clothes and going grocery shopping later this morning.

I have plenty of tequila but I might be needing more ginger ale if this winter weather continues.

There’s no hurry, Mr. Snowplow Driver. We don’t have to go anywhere until Thursday.

It’s been years since we had an old-fashioned blizzard. Here’s a picture of a storm on this day, 2011:

And another one is coming next weekend.

Yes, it’s winter.

We’ve been watching football and I bet you have, too. Go Pats! Go Seahawks! Let’s plan the Super Bowl food and get ready to snack all day and evening!

I’m going to make Pioneer Woman’s Cream Cheese & Pepper Jelly recipe. Here’s the link:

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a69991477/pepper-jelly-and-cream-cheese-dip-recipe/

When I finally stick my nose out the door Thursday I will start my Super Bowl grocery shopping because we just might be in a once-a-week-snowstorm pattern. We’ve had that before and it is absolutely no fun.

Views from Texas:

And downtown Austin, from the condo:

And from our own town, from daughter Nancy’s window:

There is ice. Lots of ice. School is cancelled today, which is a good thing.

Banjo Man and I are comfy. I am making baked beans. We grilled burgers last night as the sleet pounded down on top of a foot of snow. But our electricity stayed on, so we are happy.

Stay safe, everyone.

A huge storm is heading our way this weekend. We may get two feet of snow and a heck of a lot of ice. And along the coast, where we are, there could be a lot of wind. After several years of mild, dry winters this news is almost shocking.

#complacent

The big problem would be losing electricity. For days. This would not be wonderful.

Good news? We have a snowplow driver who also brings helpers who will shovel out the car and clean the steps.

Our downstairs remodel is almost complete–the painter finished yesterday–so Banjo Man and I will spend the weekend moving and storing piles of stuff, including beds. That’s going to take a while.

This was my office. It didn’t take long to put it back together last week. Check out the new closet doors! I think the carpenter was impressed with the color-coded plastic boxes stacked on the closet shelves.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store for the usual a-storm-is-coming food: milk, bread and eggs. I expected the store to be crowded, but it wasn’t. The shelves were well-stocked and my fellow shoppers didn’t look the least bit frenzied. I saw several shopping carts filled with bottled water, but no other “disaster” purchases.

Am I the only one watching the Weather Channel????

Banjo Man needed a new frying pan, so I went next door to Home Goods. The place was practically empty, but there were a lot of Valentine’s Day decorations to hurry past.

Last stop was at Jersey Mike’s, a national chain like Subway that has recently added two stores to our area. I have tried it twice before and wasn’t impressed. Yesterday I gave it one more chance and ordered a mini BLT. It was okay, but definitely not worth the $7 it cost or the walk in the cold to get it.

Alas, my next sandwich will have to be at Jimmy John’s in Coeur d’Alene, approximately 3000 miles and 107 days away.

Yes, I am counting.

And now, a photo from January, 2013. I am preparing myself for Sunday.

Snow and ice and a fire pit and a vineyard…what more could you ask for on a cold Sunday afternoon?

I took Amber and daughter Nancy to Gooseneck Vineyards, a short 25 minute drive from the house. Originally the barn of historic Rodman farm, it now houses beautiful rooms and a massive bar.

My girls had a good time.

A little Prosecco, a little charcuterie board, some live music…what more could we ask for?

Meanwhile…

The guys went over the bridges to Portsmouth to visit a car museum.

We were all back home before dark, just in time for meatballs and spaghetti. And games!

Check out the vineyard:

Molly Moo Cow entered the Fisher Price world in 1972, the same year as our oldest son, Ben, was born. He latched onto Molly while sitting in the shopping cart at Toys ‘R Us close to his first birthday and fell in love. We’ve all experienced those moments in a store when our toddler refuses to hand over something for the cashier to ring up and starts crying as if he’s caught in the conveyor belt.

I have saved her for over fifty years. Every time I purge more “stuff”, I set Molly Moo Cow aside. I can’t bear to see her go.

I retrieved her from storage during the holidays and presented her to my son, who was baffled by my excitement. He remembered her, he said, but he might have said that to be kind.

It didn’t matter. She still means a lot to me, and “Moo” was one of Ben’s first words.

On the other hand, last weekend Banjo Man showed me something he had saved from Ben’s childhood. Banjo Man is deeply sentimental and saves many, many things.

Do you know what this disgusting thing is?

It’s Ben’s pacifier.

And totally disgusting.

They say that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, but this is going too far.

I made him throw it in the garbage.

Wednesday Banjo Man, daughter Nancy and I headed off to the Farmer’s Daughter garden center to find the perfect Christmas tree.

We each had different definitions of “perfect”, so I declared, “It’s too big” many, many times as we trudged through mud, battled wind, wrapped our scarves tighter around our necks, and examined trees.

Sometimes they didn’t believe me, so I whipped out my tape measures (I brought two, one fabric and one metal) to prove that the tree was indeed too wide for the corner space in our living room.

The tree would have to be skinny. SKINNY, I repeated often. And finally…success!

Yes, this looks too skinny. But check this out:

Our first live tree in decades is now tucked in the corner of the living room. What looked a bit scrawny in the tree lot now looks perfect.

Presents are tucked underneath it now. More ornaments have been placed. Banjo Man is cheerfully watering it twice a day. No needles have dropped.

Our Christmas-at-home joy continues.

Son Will flies in tonight. The Funny Grandson and his parents fly in tomorrow. Amber and the FG battled the flu last week, but are okay now. Will had “something” for a day. And so far Ben is fine. Texas has been hit hard with the flu bug, so I worried our family Christmas together wasn’t going to happen.

So far so good.