A white world

It's a white world here. This is when I like the snow best. When it is so fresh and clean and pretty. I especially like it if I can stay home and just be. Whatever I need to do-clean, cook, read, blog, paint...it's perfect. Yesterday I needed to go out and it was a bit scary. I went to a friend's house. She lives way out in the country. Her road had not been plowed at all by the time I left. I had a death grip on the steering wheel and drove about 20 mph all the way down her looooong and windey and hilly road, and turned onto another unplowed road and then I turn onto a half plowed road....one that had been plowed on the opposite side that I was traveling on.Finally I made it to the main road and was happy to see it plowed and in relatively good condition.

It took me much longer to get home and barely made it before the school bus (I saw it rounding the corner as I pulled in the driveway) When I got home I just ached all over. I think it was because I had been so tensed up and stressed out. I was just glad to be home and safe. Somehow I managed to pull off dinner and then I could relax.

This pine tree is in my back yard. It looks very pretty right now.

The New Layout...

I like it. There is only one minor problem. You see the corners of each section? There is a little section that rounds off the corners. It is navy blue....which is the original color of the background that I changed. I would like these corners turned to a redish-purple or a wine color so that it blends with the new background. I haven't figured out how to do that. I know how to remove them entirely so that I have the sharp right angles for corners, but I really like the rounded look. Maybe I can figure it out, but maybe not.

I changed the overall look of my blog with the help of a tutorial on Jenny's blog. You can check that out here . Yesterday I played with another template that I found on this site. They had some interesting templates...but when I tried to work with one, it ended up having a foreign language on the side bar that I couldn't get rid of. It was very frustrating, so I ended up ditching it in favor of one of the templates that you can find here on blogger with that "pick new" tab when you go to layout.

So overall, it is a simple change and not as fancy and personal as some I've seen, but I like it. Sorry Bethany, but this is the one I like. LOL! I needed just a little more pizzaz.

Guests for lunch...

Martha snapped this picture of me making sandwiches for lunch when she came over yesterday. What really makes the picture is Sherman behind me. Always there just in case anything should be dropped!

So Far...

So far I have figured out that I really don't know what I am doing. The backgroud image I copied was very small....thus the patchwork effect. This is not really to my liking. The same thing happened on the "aniquey yellowy part." Patchy patchy patchy!

Nothing worked very well for the header or the sidebars.

Just playing

I have been trying to figure out how people have the coolest blog templates. So I am playing and learning. When you come here for the next several days...you never know what to expect. You will be surprised every time...until I settle on one thing.

This particular design is a bit loud and brash for me, but I also kind of like it. In any case, it is fun to play around and see what I come up with. After I figure it all out, maybe I'll share my newfound knowledge with you. Who knows?

I am becoming bloggly savvy!

Change is in the Air

It has been very warm today. All the snow has melted. It has made it a bit muddy outside....but I know it will snow again and everything will look fresh. Snow is quite ugly when it is melting and all the dirt shows up in it alongside the roads. I've noticed that no one ever takes picturesof ugly snow...just pretty snow that looks like it belongs on a Christmas card or something. Well, why would anyone take a picture of ugly snow?

It is President's Day...and being such, there is no school. In fact, my kids have the entire week off. I had to clean a dentist's office this morning and when I got home I was still in the cleaning mode so I cleaned my house too. It looks pretty good. Some of you have commented on my new blog layout. I needed a change. Something fresh. I was finding that empty swingset to be a bit oppressive. I think I need more change. I'm thinking of rearranging my living room. I have a few ideas. I wish I could afford to buy a new piece of furniture and retire something that I'm sick of. (My house is too small to just add) But I must be creative with what I have for now.

Speaking of change...I'm getting more and more excited about becoming a librarian. My plan is to start my grad work in mid May with 2 courses. I'll be commuting to Buffalo 2 days a week. By then the weather should be nice so the commute won't be bad at all. The first summer session will last about 5 weeks. I think being a librarian will be a great fit for me! I think that Abe and George would be proud of me!

Bundle up!

It's still winter here...although today is a mild 30 degreesF...rather than the 10 degrees it was a few days ago. This is the time of year when I feel like I've had enough and wonder what it would be like to live somewhere where spring comes much earlier. I've been feeling better, although I still have a cough that seems to be lingering on and on. I must get on with my life though.

I roasted a chicken last night for dinner...so I guess I will make Chicken soup tonight. Soup and homemade bread sounds good. What are you having for dinner?

Sick me...sick camera

I've been sick with a chest cold for days now. It hasn't been fun...but I am surviving. Today I finally ventured out of my house for the first time in several days. I think I'm on my way back. I'm a little tired of coughing.

My camera has also been sick. I dropped it several months ago and the flash broke. When I inquired as to how much it would cost to get it fixed, I was given the quote of approximately $125. It is a $200 camera that my husband paid $185 for because he got a good deal on it. To add insult to injury, I found out that there would be a $40 shipping and handling fee on top of the repair. You do the math. So I have had a camera with a broken flash for many months now. I was able to take this nice picture of Sherman on Museum setting because of the big picture window in the room.

I am trying to figure out what to do about this dilemma. I can send my broken camera in and get a 15% discount coupon towards the purchase of anything in Kodak's store. I can possibly buy a refurbished camera at a good price. It is all so frustrating and I'm still irritated with myself for being so clumsy!

Anyone for a piece of cake?

I found this interesting picture on the web. This is actually a cake. So what do you think? Does this cake look appetizing? Audra says she'll take a piece with the tail. Which part do you want?

Egads!!!!!

We are all anxiously awaiting the "7 strange or weird things about Dave" on Rachel's blog. Am I on the "list" now?

Tagged....

7 weird or strange things about moi? I'm not going to be very good with this. My husband could probably help you better. He is always saying I'm weird...but he must be too because he picked me.

1. I talk in strange voices to my dog.
2. I make up silly rhymes and songs and sing them to my kids.
3. I sometimes set a timer while I clean the house to make it more fun. (kind of like a game)
4. Grocery shopping gives me anxiety.
5. I play strange games with my dog that only he and I understand. (I inherited this trait from my father)
6. Pistachios make my mouth and throat itch...so I never eat them.
7. I hate having peanut butter in my ice cream.

This is a rather dull list. It is the sort of thing that I will lay awake in bed thinking about and will come up with many more that are far better and much more amusing. Ones that will make me laugh out loud and cause my husband to really wonder about me. And in the morning I will not be able to recall a single one!

Grey Day

It's a grey day here. Freezing rain and grey skies. The kind of day where you don't want to leave your house. Instead...it would be preferable to wrap up in a blanket, sip a cup of hot coffee and read a novel. But...I must venture out to the bank and to the grocery store. We are out of milk and other things.

My neighbors are in Italy. (this is not their house...they live down the street in the opposite direction) I'm thinking that they are pretty warm right now. They are a 60-70 year old couple who immigrated here in the 1960's. They own 2 houses. One here and one in Italy. I used to sell Pampered Chef products. She bought two of each of the items she chose...one for each house. There were a lot of items. It was one of my biggest sales ever during my short career as a Pampered Chef representative. (I'm no longer pampered) Anyways...every year they go to Italy for most of the winter. Sometimes during the summer, I walk by their house and they are out in the yard talking with(or quite often yelling at) eachother. Of course I can't understand anything they say since it is all in Italian. Maybe that's a good thing. It's not always an advantage to know another language. LOL! In any case...I'm thinking that they are much warmer than I am right now.

Just rambling.