Blizzard: Again?

No school - no work today. I am baking biscotti, almond cherry actually. Bashey is snuggled in on the sofa. We went out to take the garbage to the barn and feed the birds. I must have a couple of hundred birds feeding right now. They are frantic. When Pete fed the finches, they landed on his arms, shoulders and head. I would love that to happen to me. They stay very close as I fill the feeder but they haven't landed on me yet. We are to get 17 inches of fresh fluffy white stuff by tonight. The roads are very snowy and slippery. Plows can't keep up. It is about 18degrees too. I am going to finish our puzzle today. Pete and I have been working on a large Moses puzzle for about a month. Now we are down to just the ski. All those blue pieces. Tough!

We have a second puzzle out on Pete's table. It seems to be much harder. The pieces are very small and much the same colors with odd cuts. Since we still have 2 months of winter ahead, I think we will get it done. We have several other puzzles to choose from when these are finished. I hope we don't get to them. Rather I hope we are out working in our yards. (Not shoveling snow)

I am going to try to change my photo on the header of this page. It is somewhat challenging. Takes time to upload as well. If I am able to complete it, it is a shot Pete and I took last summer on a hike to the special tree. We took photos of each other framed by the tree. I hope you like it.

I joined the YMCA in Glens Falls yesterday. It is my hope to go there for an hour or so after work. Most of my jobs are in that area. It is a nice facility but very busy. My goal is to participate in a spinning class. I have wanted to spin since I lived in VA. I used to watch the group at the fitness center I belonged to in Short Pump. They all seemed very young but now everyone, even my age group, are doing it. Besides I need to get in biking shape for spring here. Ah! Spring, it seems so far away.

I don't remember if I mentioned I was going to FL on mid-winter school break. I am very grateful and needless to say, eager to jump on that plane. Pete will take Bashey with him. They really love each other.

I have a new pair of ski boots shipping from Maine today. I called my "old friend", LL and he told me to call Akers, a cross country ski shop in Maine. They had one style that works with my old bindings. Hopefully, they will fit and useful for the rest of my life. What a winter for snow sports? We have actually had great snow and quite a bit of sunshine. Temps have been colder than usual but when you are working hard skiing etc., you sweat. I have to wear wicking clothing layers and then my jacket will be soaked but underneath I am warm next to my skin. I am looking at the thruway live camera right now - the road is not visible, very few cars. Quitting time tonight will be awful.

The photo is of the same pond we snowshoed across but taken in the summer.

Time to rebake the biscotti. (it bakes onces,then cools, then is cut and rebaked)

Cio

Martin Luther King Day

See the photos of the "snow mushrooms" scattered across my lawn and the fields surrounding Hartford. I sent these shots to the local TV channel weatherman since no one has mentioned it this past week. Conditions must be just perfect to produce these large snow balls. You can see their roll paths. It seems like the fields are filled with angels making snowpeople.

It is a holiday today so I am home. Tomorrow I am not working either since I have a doctors appt. in the mid morning. I hope I am back home in time to watch the swearing in ceremony. I don't want to miss any part of this grand historical event. I am very excited and am eager to see where this change will lead us.

Don't you just love that photo of the passenger jet laying in the Hudson River with its wings lined with those 155 people waiting to be rescued.

Hope you are watching the Biggest Loser. I can't wait to see the progress of the 19 year old boy. If he can do it, anyone can. We have started '09 with a need for change on all levels of our lives here. Shedding our consumerism, our greed, our racism, our isolationism and our WEIGHT. Practically everyone I know or hear about is on a weight loss program. I see a great deal of success. We as a people need to be lighter and stronger for the years ahead. President Obama is setting a fine example with his strong athletic body image.

If you have any information on the "Snow Mushrooms" email me.
May God Bless America.

Saturday night

We got through the arctic blast and temps are slowly rising. It was 15 below zero here on Friday morning. I feared my southern car would refuse to start in the extreme cold. I got up three times in the night to start it. My children all pitched in and gave me a remote car starter. Boy, did that come in handy. It runs for fifteen minutes then shuts off. I don't know if starting it throughout the night helped but it did start so I could go to work. The remote car starter is a warm loving gift for me who hates getting in a cold car. I start the car about ten minutes before dismissal from inside the schools where I work. It has a 1500' range and is totally secure and dependable. My car warms quickly and since I leave the fan on, the warm air is flowing in when I arrive.

I went to the gym today for a hour and a half. Planned on meeting a former HS classmate for lunch but we didn't connect online as we had planned. We are planning another meeting. It has been 52 years. I am excited.

I received a large package today from my daughter in VA. It was a "winter care kit".
There were puzzles, needlework, books, cookies, cocoa and chocolate. It was very thoughtfully put together from a daughter who knows how difficult it is for me to live in the cold north.

I am posting some photos of the "snow mushrooms" that formed in my yard and in many of the fields around here. The perfect conditions have to exist for the phemnomena to occur. I have only seen them one other time in my youth. They were larger but these ones are about 10" in diameter. Looking across the fields covered with what appears to be the beginnings of snowmen everywhere is very exciting. Now you are probably saying "Poor Donna, she has been out in the cold too long". I just love stuff in nature like this.

We have Monday off and Tuesday I have a doctor's appt. I hope I get to see the inaugeration. I hope you get to see the Highty Tighties playing on the Whitehouse steps. My grandson Travis plays first trumpet. I will be watching for him.

Sebastian is struggling with the cold. His poor feet just cannot take it more than a few scant minutes. I put my socks on him but they wouldn't stay on. Maybe some rubber bands would work. I priced boots for him and at $20 per pair, we have to improvise. Thank God he doesn't need a coat. He can walk on extremely hot black top pavement without complaint and in fact, sometimes lies down on it to sun himself. But 5 minutes on ice and snow in single digit temps and he becomes a cripple. I tried to carry him home but hurt my back. Now I sort of drag him, coax, beg and haul him back to the house. Poor guy! He looks at me like I should be able to fix it. We are planning a week long trip to VA in mid-Feb. I think he will like that.

Tuesday

I am not working today because I don't have a car. My family pooled their resources and gave me an automatic car starter. Today is the day of installation. Pete had offered to loan me his truck but since no calls came in overnight, I declined his offer. About 9 this morning, the school I was at yesterday called and wanted me to come in I was unable to reach Pete so I will sit tight today. We have to go over to Hudson Falls this afternoon to pick up the car as well. I hope I get called for the rest of the week.

Pete and I have started a 1000 piece puzzle on my diniing room table and another one on his table. We have become obsessed with working on the puzzles. He has a separate dining room at his house so the puzzle's presence doesn't upset our ability to sit down to eat. My house is another story. We eat on the coffee table in front of the TV. Small price to pay for an activity that helps us pass the winter. I love doing the one at my house which is a primitive country painting by Grandma Moses.

We went on a snowshoe journey on Sunday. Probably about 4 miles up over the hills and through the woodlands above Hartford. Sometimes we broke trail through deep snow and other times we traveled on snowmobile trails. The snowmobile trails are very wide and well groomed from the traffic. Snowmobiling is a very popular activity in the north country winter. There are miles and miles of marked and mapped trails that link together to form a huge trail system. It is a common occurrence to stop at a gas station where there are a dozen snowmachines also gassing up.

The photos I am posting were taken Sunday on our snowshoe journey. I really like them both. We flushed a flock of Robins deep in the woods. They must be feeding off the numerous Sumac seeds that still cling to the trees. I hadn't seen any all winter until Sunday. At my feeder there are dozens of Goldfinch, Purple finch, Chickadees, Downey Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Red bellied Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Juncos and the destruction red squirrel as well as a fat gray squirrel who is a pig. I have noticed kitty tracks all around the deck and the feeders. I guess I know who was killing the birds. I have never seen the sneaky cat. I buy suet from the butcher, cut it in pieces and put it out for the woodpeckers. I wish I could attract a pair of cardinals.

I will make bread today, work on the puzzle and take Bash out to play in the snow. Tomorrow we are supposed to be enveloped in an arctic blast of cold air that will be here into the weekend. During the day it may not get above zero according to the weatherman. I wonder if my southern car will even start in those temps. Will keep you posted.

Tuesday

New "old" photos

I decided to share these two shots of me and my children years ago. Keep in mind, the baby in my arms just turned 45. I couldn't enlarge them so hope you can see.

Snow Day

I had a job this morning but alas, nature didn't cooperate. Everything is cancelled here. We had alternating ice and snow all night. What they call a "Wintry Mix". It is cloudy and gray and hovering around 26 degrees.

I sit here with my beloved buddy bash, the Today Show and a hot mug of Green Mt. Coffee. I have a passion for robust coffees. I may have mentioned that my son and family gave me a Keurig coffee maker for my b'day in August. I do enjoy it very much. I joined the Express Coffee Club at Gr.Mt.coffee online and have the coffee shipped when I get low. Names such as Double Black Diamond, Sumatran Reserve Extra Bold, Extra Bold Dark Magic and French Roast await me each morning. Simple pleasures! I can make tea as well. The water is just the right temperature.

It seems this has become a time of reflection. My daughter Lisa has printed and sent out a few pictures taken of me and my family in the mid-sixties. We are all enjoying them. I have been searching through my old photos for a couple that my brother wants. Gloria and Gary printed a bunch of old slides that our father had taken. They put them on a CD which is great. I found a large packet of letters I received from my Grandma Eycleshymer beginning with my marriage in '58 on through a year before her death in '69 just short of her 81st birthday. She was born in 1888. Her letters to me are loving, newsy and filled with her longing to be closer to my babies. She writes in a very tiny script. I am given insights into her life and what she did as a single woman trying to eke out a meager living from raising calves, milking a cow or two, raising chickens and caring for the remaining draft horse Duke, of the percheron team of Duke and King. Duke is the one I rode since I was nine years old. Actually, I rode him from the time I was three years when Dad worked him. Dad always put me up on that broad back where I was content. As I read a few letters each day I realize the hardships she endured. She was nearly 10 years older than I am now. Her struggle gives me courage now. I think that is purpose of reflection on the past.

I don't have any new shots for you. Pete is working on a home for terminally ill people being built by volunteers in S. Granville. The home is being sponsored by a local church. He volunteered a couple of weeks ago. They now have the roof on but the struggle to build here in the winter is tough. I wish he wouldn't climb around on the roof but my concern doesn't hold him back. Pete is an example of volunteerism at its best as he has been a fireman and first responder rescue for over 45 years.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more [will he clothe] you, O ye of little faith? (Luke 12:28)

"Just go step by step. My Will shall be revealed as you go."

From time to time I pass on these types of quotes from the bible and from Two Listneers. I post them for myself as well as for my readers. My hope is that you find something to buoy you on as I do.

Hugs******

Monday news

What should be a back to work day has turned out to be another day off. I am frustrated with the system today. No calls for work so I called SubFinder. Turns out they called and left a message about 2 weeks ago that due to my inability to be fingerprinted, I needed to come in for a background check. Good old Verizon cell service never gave me that message. So for now, I am not registered in the SubFinder system. I have an appt this afternoon to do what I could have done two weeks ago. It is icy here this a.m. and there is gratitude for not having to drive until later when the temperature goes up above freezing. I hope to get this cleared up today. I think I need to find another job too as a backup.

We have had 3 lovely sunny days here with a good snow cover for outdoor play. Pete and I went snowshoeing yesterday up in the hills of Hartford. We trekked about 3 miles through the woods and brush. We crossed a large pond in a marsh area, saw wild turkeys, birds and lots of animal tracks. We came upon a deer carcass too. It was fairly fresh and Pete felt it had been taken down by coyotes. I have put some photos on showing the pond. Bashey couldn't go with us because of his sensitivity to the cold snow on his pads. I need to find some boots for him.

Saturday I joined two of my daughters for lunch in Glens Falls at the Rock Hill Bakery. We then walked over to the Crandall Library and checked out the new facility. We are very fortunate to have this incredibily beautiful library. I can't say enough about the views from two floors and a quiet porch. I am going over today early to spend sometime there. My family purchased an remote car starter for me for Christmas. We went to Boomer McLoud to make an appointment for the installation mid-January. I wish I had it earlier but there will still be plenty of winter.
I dragged out my 35 year old cross country skiis yesterday to clean them and wax them. It felt sooo good to touch them. I used to ski everyday for many years. They are great Rossinals and bear the scars of all those miles. But they will do nicely for me as soon as I get some wax for them.

I got my tires rotated and an oil change on Friday. Jiffy Lube gives a free wash for using their services. So I had the car washed and the clean car look lasted about a mile from the garage. I had forgotten how increbibly dirty and salty the cars are here. My little car has never been in salt before. If you should brush up against any part of the car, you are covered with white powder. Yuck!

I hope you enjoy the photos. More later........

New Year's Day

Happy happy New Year 2009 everyone!

"I hold the year in My Hands in trust for you. But I shall guide you one day at a time. Each day I supply the wisdom and the strength."

From my Google Home Page. The message seems appropriate as we begin again.

I awoke this morning thinking of addiction. I have spent sometime counseling addicts, mostly alcholics, in my practice over the years. I also was married to an alcoholic for 27 years. One of my father-in-law's died from cancer brought on by his alcoholism. I've witnessed the destruction and pain brought on by addictions through my personal experience as well as the experiences of my clients. I offer this brief discourse only because I want you to know where I am coming from when I write about addiction to alcohol.

I recently watched as two parents who have "drinking problems" themselves and have alcoholism in their genetic background, offer their minor children beer and wine coolers. One thing about the disease of alcohol addiction is a chemical reaction within the brain to that first taste of alcohol that sets that person up for the craving. That being a very important fact for any parent to know and warn their children of the danger of the first drink. But offering that first drink - no way. Ill-advised parents rationalize their behavior by believing they are somehow "educating" their kids before they go out into the world where they will be exposed to alcohol. When actually they are setting them up for a lifetime of alcohol abuse. The parents would be better off changing their own lifesytles to set an example for those young people and then educating them in the perils of alcohol abuse.

This is the first day of our new world. We can choose to create whatever we want in our world now. We stood posed last night ready to dive into 09 at midnight. This is going to be an exciting year for many of us. There will be many changes - some of those changes will be painful but as I wrote a few days ago, with destruction there follows construction. I like the image of the phoenix rising out of the ashes. We can build something very exciting, innovative and earth-friendly. We have a new leader who knows what he is here for - we will make many changes in our lives and our beliefs that will allow us to fall in behind our leader on this march through change.

Congratulations ya'll.

Love and Light abundant from "She Who Sits In The January Sunlight"