is there any more pie?

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.