Scenes from Home, Road and a Last Blast of Winter

On Friday, Brian attended George's birthday party. The rest of us enjoyed a quiet evening at home. Scott has been re-arranging the garage - he wants to park the convertible in the single bay, thinking it won't get it's new paint job "dinged". So this is what the double bay looks like now:

I actually like this configuration - I simply back out straight out the garage and driveway - no turning, no driving on the grass by accident. I didn't take a picture of the single bay because it is a complete mess right now. But I know Scott will get it organized by the time Cappy gets back.

Saturday morning - I went for a run in the light misty rain. I can handle the rain and the cool temperatures, but the wind from the north was a killer. I felt like one of those birds trying to fly into the wind, getting no where fast. I guess it makes you stronger.....

That was early in the morning, because we had to be close to campus by 10:30 to catch the last home basketball game of the season. The Illini blew out the Hoosiers!

After the game, I took Erica to the Farm and Fleet. Yup, it's a Farm store and so much more! We bought horse supplies - a harness, lead rope, lunge line, some brushes, a crop and a whip. Oh, and some horse treats.

Saturday night - I took Erica and her friends to the movies. They saw Beastly and the Justin Bieber movie. Erica definitely has a crush on the Biebster (it's kind of cute because she's not the teeny-bopper type).

Here's the road coming home from the movies -


And a little later, we have THIS -


The snow remained on the ground until Sunday afternoon. Then it melted away. I hope that is it for this season.....

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Snow Again

After a bit of spring-like weather, a blast of winter re-emerged last night, giving us several fresh inches of snow.



I pulled out the fisheye adapter for these shots - trying to distort the snow as much as I can!



Even Sammy wasn't happy with the snow:


The good thing - it's wet and the temperatures aren't too low. I'm hoping this will be the last Blast of Winter.

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Snow Day Two - Wednesday, Feb 2, 2011

Wednesday morning we woke to several inches of snow on top of granular snow on top of ice. And wind.

[Truthfully, we didn't receive as much snow as we expected - North of us, the snow fell heavily and South of us, freezing ice covered everything]

We started to shovel the driveway, down to the ice layer.

Yeah, I really don't mind shoveling snow as long as it's not too cold.

Later on, our neighbor, Bob plowed the cul-de-sac and all the driveways. What a great neighbor. Even better, he mounds all the snow by our driveway so the kids can use it for snow forts, sledding, snowball fights, etc.

The kids also like to slide off Buck and Jill's backyard deck, after covering it with snow.








They enjoyed the fun while they could because it was back to school on Thursday.

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Running on Ice

The news of the week - the weather. Things started Monday afternoon with freezing rain and sleet. The fun continued Tuesday with more ice, changing over to snow.

School was canceled Tuesday, so Erica invited some friends over and they tried sledding / surfing on the ice. I had fun playing with the video recorder on Brian's iTouch and captured this:


They worked hard building a ramp out of cardboard.


But in the end, they just had fun.

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356/365 - Christmas Traditions

One of our favorite holiday traditions - making and decorating the gingerbread house.



The finished product:


Christmas Eve and the snow has started to fall:


The best thing about snow on Christmas Eve - we don't have to go anywhere and we can simply watch the snow fall peacefully.

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349/365 - The Snow Fort

Snow mound, courtesy of our neighbor, Bob, who plows all the driveways in the cul-de-sac and mounds it up by our driveway. He knows the kids will create a fort.

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348/365 - Snow Covered

We received another 3" of snow last night. School wasn't canceled, but that's really for the best - all the end of semester activities, not to mention final tests.

Brian took advantage of the new snow to play. He refuses to wear his normal winter jacket, instead wearing a sweatshirt. He decided to roll around in the snow tonight.

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337/365 - Meet Frosty

Erica has declared this year's snowman to be the biggest, best-est snowman ever.
She probably right - he's tall, handsome and bound to stick around for a while.



He's going to stick around, because our high temperatures won't get above 25degF over the next week. And the lows will be in the single digits!


I think Frosty is OK with that!

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336/365 - Snow!

So much for the forecast of 1-2". We received over 6" (some reports measured 8", but that seems high), and it was the soft fluffy snow that sticks to everything. Add in temperatures just at freezing and you have nice, packable snow.

Really pretty, too...


Brian played out in the snow all day long.


And with the Thomas boys, the kids built two snowmen.


A perfect way to spend a Saturday in December!

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Day 335 - Blue Skies and Snow

We saw the sun for the first time in like, five days. A welcome break from the gray skies.

I took a different route into work this morning, having to stop off at the auto shop with Scott to pick up the convertible. With the blue skies, I enjoyed the different scenery driving in.


But the clear skies were short lived, as a storm system rolled in and the snow started to fall. After dinner, we drove to the hospital to visit a friend who is recovering from recent back surgery (she's doing well) - one of the trees in the elevator lobby caught my eye, so I did what any normal person does - I took a picture of it.


The snow was falling at a good pace after we left and I think we'll receive more than the forecast 1-2":

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41/365 - You're Never Too Old

To play on the swings.



Erica's friend, Jen, came over this afternoon and they had fun playing outside. I had to take the picture "in stealth mode" by hiding behind the patio doors and quickly shooting. So the picture is a little blurry, but we all get the basic idea.

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40/365 - Snow Day, Kids Will Play

The four inches of snow last night, coupled with additional snow today, resulted in Snow Day 2 of the school year. Of course, the kids were overjoyed and anxious to get out in the white stuff.



Rascal ventured outside for about 10 seconds before turning back.



More snow expected tonight.....

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14/365 - Building It

I came home to the sight of five boys busy at work building a snow fort in front of the house. They were having a great time.

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13/365 - Apres Chess Club

I went to pick up the boys from chess club this afternoon, only to find them playing out in the snow. Apparently, they finished up a little early [well, maybe they only played two chess games instead of three].

I can't say I blame them - with abundant sunshine and [relatively] warm temperatures, it was perfect snowball weather. See, they created lots of snowballs on the bench:


Brian didn't want me to take his picture (what else is new?), but I took it anyways.


Back at home, the snow fort building continued. Let's hope the snow doesn't all melt over the next couple days.

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Mosaic Monday - Ice Crystals

My first Mosaic Monday entry. Who knows, it could be my last [probably not, but it may be several more weeks until I get the chance to shoot another collection].

Yesterday morning, at -13degF, it was SO cold that all the moisture had been sucked out of the frigid air and crystallized itself on every exposed element outside. Of course, such cold temperatures are a result of high pressure air systems, which means abundant sunshine and - beautiful, shimmering trees, flower stalks, even mailboxes.

So I ventured outside to take pictures of all the sparkling beauty around me. When the winds kicked up, many of the ice crystals were swept in the air, causing the air to glimmer. It made being outside bearable.

For the mosaic, I modified a storyboard template from Rita at CoffeShop Photography. Rita's free tutorials, storyboards and actions are top notch. I've learned so much from her and you should check her website out.



For more Mosaic Monday, please visit Mary at Little Red House.

And stay warm - a "heat wave" up to 30degF is coming!

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Weekly Gratitude - Telecommuting

I was introduced to the Weekly Gratitude Project by my friend, Lee, who always finds the most inspirational and thought provoking content on the web. Today marks my first Gratitude Post, using January's theme of "work". I may not adhere to the monthly theme every week, but this week, it was a natural fit.

I am using a PSE template, based on Karen's format. I really like the template idea - and hopefully at the end of the year, I'll simply have each week's jpg file printed and into a nice book.



It's not too late to join in with Lori and Karen at Weekly Gratitude and to start your own Gratitude Project.

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01.08.10 - The Snowy Outdoors

The view of the west side of the house, the same window I took a picture of yesterday, only from the outside. It's going to be a cold one, with the weekend even colder!


I took the picture as we were headed to school this morning - only two towns in our county didn't cancel school today - ours was one of them, and the kids were not amused. I told them - Hey, it only means the other schools will in session one extra day in the summer. Not sure if that was any consolation.

Erica has a couple friends over this afternoon, they will go see a movie (I'm planning to see It's Complicated while they are watching Did You Hear about the Morgans), and then one is sleeping over.

Happy Friday!

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01.07.10 - Snow Day

Looking at the radar last night, we were fairly certain today would be a snow day for the kids. [although the school district didn't officially cancel school until 5:30 this morning, and I was already up in case they did have school - ready to shovel out the driveway] I also opted to "telecommute" to work in order to avoid the snow covered roads. A true snow day!

By the afternoon, we accumulated over 6 inches of snow and with the winds starting to howl, snow drifts as deep as foot covered the driveway and side of the house. But from inside, white fluffy stuff appeared as beautiful sugar sprinkled on a cake.

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367/365 - New Year's Snowman

Here's the man of the year - the snowman Erica and Brian built yesterday. He'll be sticking around to see the start of the New Year.





To all who read my ramblings - I wish you a wonderful New Year!

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99/365 - More Snow? But a Silver Lining

Ugh, more snow this morning. About an inch on the grass, roofs and trees. Even though the roads were generally wet, the overpasses were icy. This afternoon we also saw sleet and freezing rain.



The silver lining? UNC won the NCAA championship, which means Scott wins the Office March Madness pool. I came in 2nd which is not too shabby for someone who really doesn't follow college basketball.

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