What to do on a snowy day...

Yes...it really is snowing outside. I think the snow is a little confused. "Excuse me, Snow. You showed up to the wrong address. I think you've gotten this town mixed up with Kalachinskaya, Siberia."

Well...I have been busy "redecorating" my house. I have to put that in quotes because it doesn't mean redecorating in the traditional sense. For me, it mostly means changing things around, cleaning, and looking through stuff in my basement to see if I can use it in decorating my house. I don't have a lot of capital to work with...so I must rely on my creativity. I probably will purchase something new...but it must be done with patience and with an eye for creativity.

Yesterday I perused one of my favorite stores for about two hours. (I will have to say that they should add music or something to their virtual tour on the website) I took a lot of notes on possibilities, but didn't actually purchase anything. I will probably go back soon and buy something...but what?
Oh yes...the biggest step to "redecorating" is cleaning the house. And another for me is putting away my Christmas houses. Yes, I know that some of you are appalled. Perhaps that is why the snow is confused. It somehow knew I still had Christmas houses up.

Ahhhhhhh....springtime in upstate NY!

I love the springtime! I wouldn't mind if it stayed like this for a long time! Everything is so green...and the temperature has been quite comfortable. I just planted this myrtle (pictured above) in my front garden. I have started my practicum at the public library...but tomorrow I have some time to play in the dirt some more!

Hope Springs

Do you remember this post? Mr. and Mrs. F.F. Thompson and the children look a little more comfortable now that it is spring, don't you think? Especially with their tree full of beautiful blossoms. Mary is still tirelessly holding the tiny hospital in front of which they stand today (it is now offices and some senior apartments).

There was a terrible tragedy in our town yesterday. I do not wish to go into details. Please keep our community and schools in prayer and especially the family of a 17 year old boy. I wanted to post this picture on this day since it symbolizes to me how God brings hope in the midst of a cold dark season. Spring will always come again and with it the beautiful blossoms.

Pretty in Pink

I thought I would show you my neighbor's tree today. Isn't it pretty? There are all sorts of flowering trees all over town lately. They flower for such a short time. I'm glad I took this picture before it is too late.

Babies!

Mommy and Daddy mourning dove have been very busy caring for 2 babies. Here is Daddy sitting with his youngsters. You can tell it is Daddy and not Mommy by the rosy color around his head and breast. Mommy is more of a tan.

Here are two little tykes looking out at the big new world out there. So far they haven't seen much but my porch. It's new and big to them just the same.

Amazing Transformation!

I don't think I have ever seen the trees bud and blossom as quickly as they have this year. It seems like we have almost literally gone from winter to a very warm and green spring over night. The picture at the left was just taken on March 28th. On that day, Alicia and Caeden donned their snow pants, boots, scarves, heavy coats and mittens to go outside and play.

And here they are today playing outside in shorts less than a month later! The birds are singing. I've seen some babies too. The trees are getting green. The grass is lush. Flowers are beginning to bloom. Best of all, the temperatures are warm warm warm!!!!! I love it! Sherman even went swimming in a pond today. It reminds me of that Bible verse that says "Weeping shall endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Something like that anyway! Not that I was weeping during winter because I do enjoy it. It has it's own special beauty. (Especially when I am looking at it through a picture window holding a hot cup of coffee)
Anyway, I thought I'd share this amazing transformation!

Twiggy

If yesterday was a day of play, then today was a day of work. After a long winter, there is a lot to clean up around the yard. This morning I had the kids outside working. All 4 of us worked to pick up the many twigs that managed to drop from the willow tree during the last 5 months. I was pleased that they all had a pretty good attitude about it. I'm hoping to develop strong work ethics in my kids.
The day turned out to be just gorgeous. High around 65. It didn't start out that way. It was a little crisp when we first started out. As the sun rose higher and our muscles warmed up, we all took off our jackets.

Here you can see...a job well done. Five containers of various sized paked with twigs and branches.

Sherman was out with us for a bit. I let him off the chain. He hangs out for a while...but then manages to sneak off somewhere. Luckily he did not come back needing a bath. But he needed a rest (and to be chained up again).

Spring Break

It is looking greener and greener here in upstate NY. Of course...there are not really any daisies out yet. This picture is from last summer. Since I really didn't have any pictures on my computer that represented what it was like here today, I decided to just go with this one. There is no school this week. My yard and house was filled with kids. I wasn't even babysitting. They just came. It started with my daughter Audra and her friend Jean. They decided that they should organize a neighborhood game of Capture the Flag which would be played in our yard and the next door neighbor's yard. I literally lost count of the number of kids who came by today. It turned out to be a nice opportunity for some new kids to join in the fun. All the kids were running around chasing eachother and trying to locate and capture flags. I noticed a girl standing on the edge of the yard looking at all the action. I could tell she wanted to join in, but seemed shy and unsure about it. I had never seen her before and was about to call Audra's attention to her in order to invite her into the game when Jean noticed her. Jean is very outgoing and didn't hesitate to invite her into the fun. Soon the girl's brother showed up too. They are new kids on the block.

I will have to say that I really enjoyed having the kids here. Everyone got along great. There were no problems at all that I could see. The sun was shining and everyone got plenty of exercise. I'm thinking that some kids are going to be sleeping well tonight.

Sunday Sunny Walk

It has been absolutely gorgeous outside the last few days. The warmth has been to fabulous. This photo was taken on Sunday afternoon. We went out for a walk as a family. So many people were out that we stopped a number of times to visit people we knew either on the side walks or in their yards. I just love this town. Can you tell? I took the two pictures from the previous post on the same walk.

Mrs Mourning Dove says "It's spring!"

It is hard to believe that less than a week ago our back yard looked like this. Monday and yesterday the weather was beautiful. Warm and sunny! It was about 60 degrees yesterday morning when I walked the kids to school. Everyone was wearing spring jackets. There are tiny buds on the trees and I saw signs of a few flowers poking through the earth. This morning the temperatures were back down to about freezing and I chose my winter coat again. This is typical NY spring weather. It could snow one day and be 70 degrees the next. As the days go by, the cold will come less and less and it will be warmer and warmer.

We might be confused about whether it is winter or spring around here, but the birds are definitely not confused. They know that it is time to build nests and lay eggs. We have a new little resident on our back porch. Mrs Mourning Dove has taken over an old nest. For several years there were robins in this nest. But last year...it was empty. I missed watching them last year and I am glad to see someone has moved in.

Blossoms

There are blossoms on my crabapple tree now. A robin has made a nest there. I attempted to take a picture and she scolded me severely. I apologized to her, telling her that I would never hurt her or her family. She didn't believe me. She is suspicious of everyone who comes near. Sherman and I were on the porch. I was working on my Bible study homework and Sherm was laying at my feet. Suddenly we heard a ruckus! Sherm jumped up with all the hairs on his back bristling. He began barking...but neither of us were exactly sure what it was he was barking at. Then I saw it. Two squirrels running for cover. Mrs Robin was dive-bombing them and flapping her wings like mad!

Beautiful Day

Went for a walk with my son and our dog. What a gorgeous day! It still looks very brown around here...but atleast it is warm now! We walked about 4 miles along this old railway bed...now known as Ontario pathways.

Above is Allen and Sherman.

Me and my hound!

Bunny

Allen took this picture the other day in our back yard. It's beginning to finally get nice here. It was warm and sunny today. Almost all of the snow is gone...but not quite.

Spring Cookies

Today was a snow day for the kids. I have lived in this area for my whole life and I never remember there being a snow day in April. This weather is getting way out of hand. We all had cabin fever here. Alicia said she was bored and then she asked if we could make cookies. I asked her what kind. She said, "The kind we make at Christmas. With the frosting." I just can't imagine what made her think about Christmas! LOL!

Anyway...I have a flower cookie cutter, so we made the spring version of the frosted sugar cookie. The girls helped me frost them tonight.

Shadow "Paintings"

Even though I am tired of snow, I thought this was interesting enough to photograph and post. We had gotten a light dusting of snow, then the sun came out and melted everything except for what laid in a shadow. Here you can see the shadow of our crabapple tree and the peak of my neighbor's roof.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

This is the extent of my flower artwork this week. Computer art. I really meant to post a drawing to 'draw this'...but it didn't happen. Anyway...we are getting ready to travel to my husband's sister's house for Easter. There are relatives coming in from out of town. We don't have to travel far...just about 45 minutes. I have baked today and my contribution to dinner will be banana bread and pumpkin bread.

Happy "Resurrection Sunday" to all! I will be back on Monday!

Something to look forward to

I have not blogged in forever. I was not feeling well for a few days and then I just got so busy. These are pictures of my father. Wasn't he cute? I don't know how old he was. Maybe 5 or 6? Anyway...they were taken circa 1937 or 1938.
I am feeling a little lonely today. I took the dog for a long walk. It is beautiful outside. I can't believe it is February. As I was walking, I was noticing some green poking up through the ground in one of the gardens I passed. Crocuses maybe? It's a little early for them to be coming out...but they don't know that. I stopped by my husband's work for a cup of coffee and a visit...but everyone in the office was quite busy. They had potential clients there and were showing them their portfolios. I didn't stay long because it was not a good time to visit.
Next week there is no school because of winter break. On Monday we will drive down to Jamestown to visit our friends. It is just over a 2 hour drive. We miss them terribly. They have kids the same ages as ours and Amy and I are very close friends too. She is like a sister to me. Our families used to share a house. We lived upstairs and they lived downstairs. We used to do everything together. That was back in the days when we had one car and so did they. Our house was out in the country...so it wasn't like we could walk anywhere. Amy and I would spend a lot of time together drinking tea and watching our little boys play together. Then we each had a girl. Neither of our families had much money so we would get very creative with what we had. Sometimes we would decide to pool our resources and cook dinner together...or plant a garden. We had such good times. Eventually we both moved from there but remained close...still hanging out often. This past August however, her husband Jeff got a new position at a church down in Jamestown...so they moved. This will be our first visit there. I can't wait!