And more snow!

We ran around and did errand yesterday morning because more snow was predicted. We went to Perks, stopped at Mom's to drop things off to her, to the library, and to the diner for breakfast. Since it was 23 out, we didn't worry about our groceries thawing, so we brought them in when we got home. 

The snow started at noon, and it snowed til 5. The prediction was an inch or so, Ralph said it's at least 3 inches. Today the sky is blue, and a 30% chance of more snow tomorrow. We've had more snow this year than for several years combined! 

While it snowed, I finished Steph and Dan's zombie pillowcases. Ralph will mail the pillowcases and coasters this week. This was one of the few weeks that I both sewed and crocheted!

Last night I wrapped up in an afghan and watched this week's Grimm, one of my favorite shows. I still have 4 Sleep Hollow's to watch. I love the DVR! 

Two weeks til Ben, Manda and Amary come home for a long weekend! My friend Barbara recently pointed out that Holly and Amaryllis are both winter plants- something I'd never thought of. 

Today we're meeting Frank, Charlotte and Doris for lunch at Olive Garden. When Charlotte said where they were going, my first impulse was to call Steph to see if she and Dan wanted to meet us. I was so sad when I remembered they are 3000 miles away. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Snow Day!

It started to snow yesterday morning. It snowed, and it snowed, and it snowed some! My district, like most, had already planned to have a half day. My 40 minute commute took just under two hours! The roads weren't plowed, and apparently every terrified driver in south jersey was on the Pike, going 5 MPH. Finally when the road widened, those of us who were comfortable driving 15MPH passed them. The Hill was actually pretty clear! 

I don't know the official numbers, but we got at least a foot. The family room is dark because the skylight is snow covered. Ralph used the snowblower for us, our neighbor, then went up and did Mom's driveway. 

When Ralph got home from Mom's, I made us a hash brown and pork roll omelet. I also have sauerkraut cooking in the crockpot, for hot dogs and sauerkraut for dinner. The dishwasher and washer are doing their thing. And I finally finished reading the stack of newspapers and mail from when I was in Mill Creek! I've had 3 cups of raspberry zinger tea already today. 

Poor Whiskey is being worked up by the vet. He's having trouble pee-ing, even after a course of antibiotics. He's had an xray, and they're trying to get a good ultrasound. He's the sweetest, most loving dog ever, and Steph hates to see him in pain. He goes back to the vet tomorrow for another try at the ultrasound. Poor little guy is almost 13. 

I started watching all the Sleepy Hollow's that I have DVR'd, and I'm hooked! 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Three Day Weekend!

Love the three day weekends! Yesterday we went to lunch with Frank, Charlotte and Doris to Texas Roadhouse, and had leftovers for dinner. Today Heather and the kids are coming up so we can buy girl scout cookies from Julianna, then we're picking up Mom and going to lunch at Friendly's. 

Just the part about an extra day of sleeping past 6.30 AM makes it a wonderful day! 

Later this afternoon I have a routine cardiology appt. Friday I see ortho after work. 

We Face-Timed with Amary and her parents last night, which was wonderful. Amary is moving all around and making noises. She started eating mashed banana yesterday, her first food! I can't believe she's six months old!

I made snowflake #4 yesterday, this one from crochet thread. Using that teeny hook and the thin thread is really going to take some getting used to! On the way home from lunch yesterday I went in Michael's crafts to check out the yarn that was on sale. They had a rack of Christmas things 90% off, and I got containers of bells for 59 cents! I'll need them for a different ornament that I want to make, so I got one of brass, one of silver, and two multicolored! 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

More soup

Today's soup is chicken noodle- chicken stock, chicken, celery, shredded carrots and fine noodles. It came out really well, but a little bland. I added salt and pepper to my bowl, and that fixed it. We had grilled cheese with it, of course! 

We had snow flurries this morning- better than the two feet of flurries that my friend Janet in NY state had! 

I have three snowflakes done for my blizzard! I took the advise of Sherry and made them in yarn with a bigger hook first, to get the idea of the pattern, now I'll go back and try crochet thread. 

Baby Joey will be a year old this week, and Amary turns six months old tomorrow! 

We went to the grocery store this morning and spent a small fortune. It had been almost a month since we did a big shopping. I love our little grocery store in town- it has about everything you need, without all the extraneous aisles. If you don't stop to talk- sometimes you run into half the town- you can be in and out in a half hour. 

I just finished the new Jayne Anne Krentz, "River Road", which was really good. She remains my absolute favorite author. 

And the beat goes on!
Holly

Soup's On!

I have the crockpot going with chicken noodle vegetable soup. 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken, a can of crushed tomatoes and one of diced, 2 cans of chicken stock, half a bag of fresh shredded carrots, some chopped celary, some seasoned salt and a little water. Put it all in the crockpot (with crockpot liner, of course), and go away and let it cook and blend. I'll put noodles (precooked, or I'll lose all my broth) in the last half hour. It'll give me a couple of meals for us, and I'll take mom a couple of days worth. 

Yesterday was horrible- rain, and a sudden drop in temp made the roads all icy just as I left for work. The hill was slippery, and a bus coming up the hill was stuck. I went down it about 5 MPH! Once I got to the Pike, the road was much better, but no one was going more than 20 MPH. I was about 10 minutes late for work, but I got there!

Am I the last one to find out that you can put teabags in the re-usable Keurig cup? Or just put the cup in empty, and put the tea bag in the cup? So much cheaper than the k cups, and a better selection! Right now I'm drinking raspberry zinger. 

Today it's almost 60 out, and rainy. We've already been out and did all our errands, so I'm in for the day. 

Steph, Dan and the pups are settling in to their new life in Beaverton (right outside Portland) Oregon. Amary is feeling much better after her bout with bronchitis. 

I got the urge to crochet snowflakes. I found a pattern on about.com that uses regular yarn, and made a couple while I was in Mill Creek, which I gave to Manda. I also bought a book that uses crochet cotton, and the supplies. And I put up the question on the HGTV crochet boards, which got me some links. One of which was to join a group called crochetville, which I did last night. One suggestion was to make a snowflake every Monday, which will give me 52 by next Christmas. I like that idea a lot. As one woman put it, she's made blizzards of snowflakes! 

But I have to finish the baby afghan I'm working on before I start anything else, quilting or crocheting.

Happy Saturday!
Holly

How can it be January already?

From September on, 2013 was a blur. The middle of December, Steph and Dan sent his car and their belongings off to Oregon, and moved in with us. We had Christmas at Heather and Ed's, where they made a lovely dinner. Christmas night we came home and ran around like crazy people, doing laundry and packing. Rapid Rover came at 5.20 AM on December 26, and took me, Steph, Dan and the dogs to Philly airport for our 7.30 flight. 

Who knew that December 26 is one of the most busy flying days? I use mobility assistance for my knee, so I was thru security and at the gate by 6.30. At 7 they announced they'd start boarding, just as Steph and Dan finally got there with the dogs. The flight ended up waiting another 45 minutes for the 20 people stuck in the security line! 

The flight was good, and the dogs were good, except halfway there when Whiskey decided he'd had enough and started barking. We quieted him with cookies. Ben picked us up at the airport, and warned us that we were going to a house of sickness. 

We knew Ben had been sick with a virus. He'd shared it with his Dad, then with Becca and Brandon, then with Manda. Manda was in the beginning stages, Becca and Brandon had gone home, and Ben and Randy were recovering. We were careful with handwashing, but by Saturday I was having a lot of nausea.
Steph and Dan stayed away from everyone and left at 6 a.m. Friday,  but Steph still got very ill Saturday afternoon. 

It was so nice to see Polly and Randy! We hadn't seen them since the wedding. Polly was the only one who never got any trace of the virus. They had lunch with us when we arrived, then they headed out to Becca's for the last days of their trip. 

It was a quiet visit for sure! But Amary is such a delight! She laughs, and smiles all the time. She was being clingy, and would only come to me for a few minutes. She ended up getting sick after I left, and had bronchitis, poor baby. 

I flew back here New Years Day, and was home for 12 hours before I had to go back to work- that was a miscalculation on my part. I should have came home the day before. So we had school Thursday, then the snow hit and we were off Friday. Much as I don't like snow days, I was glad to have that one! 

And now it's January, and a new year!
Happy New Year!
Holly