Eight Days and Counting...

Our guests are expected in just 8 more days! Of course we're all set and ready at the cabin - we just need them here! lol

The weekend was one filled with wonder and glittering whiteness as we watched temperatures drop from the mid 50s on Friday to the mid teens overnight Saturday into Sunday morning. The snow started falling around mid-night and it didn't stop until sometime Monday morning. I've seen this much snow before but not since having moved here.

It was forecasted that we would see about 1-2 inches. Indeed we easily saw 5-6 inches, possibly more in some areas. The snow fell slowly at first and the little snowflakes seemed to be so small and delicate. As they began to pile up and blow around in the wind, they gained not only speed but size. They came to be so big that they appeared to be falling in clumps. It was like watching a big, fat, fluffy, white cotton ball drift slowly to the ground.

They blew from the back yard and they blew from the front yard only to meet in the middle as I watched from the kitchen window. The snowflakes swirled up and around in a dance only they knew and one which I'd be surprised could ever be duplicated. They twinkled like tiny, glistening, little stars in that December sunshine but even the sun could not deter them. Their mission? To softly pile up on the ground so Darcy won't have to drive to work on Monday :)  ha ha ha

Well, whether or not that was their mission - that's exactly what was accomplished :) Yes, it snowed so much throughout the day and night that come Monday, the roads were impassable. The interstate had been cleared (after a 20 mile back-up) and some of the secondary roads had been worked on a little bit. The roads off the secondary roads? You know, the ones leading to where we live? Well, the news people advised that those roads shouldn't be traveled unless there was absolutely no other choice. Well, thankfully, I had another choice. Stay home. That's what I did.

It was a very productive day for me. Other than taking pictures of my Christmas decorations I was also able to get all the empty boxes cleared out of the living room. Well, there are a few left but I got all the ones out of the way of the view of the front door and out of the way of the view of the fireplace. Don't look beside the pinball machine...that's another story.

I made a chicken and andouille sausage stew with peppers, onions and barley. It was super-duper wonderful and made the house smell like all the good comfort foods you can imagine. First it was the warm chicken simmering, then the added peppers and onions and finally the spicy, New Orleans sausage. What a great combination not just for your sense of smell but your sense of taste. I chopped up some cilantro and added that to the pot along with some chopped garlic and black pepper. It was just a little on the spicy side - enough to warm your stomach and make you want something cool to drink to keep the fire at bay. The barley added texture in place of white rice (which would be equally nice in this pot) or noodles and you know already how much I enjoy the fiber benefits of barley.

If you can picture it, me in the kitchen looking out the window down the snowy driveway, my big, red pot full of nourishing food and Wally in the living room watching the snow drift by out the windows on either side of him. The tree was plugged in and candles were lit. The horses were at the gate waiting for some sweet feed and the roosters were under the back porch making their little cooing sounds. The dogs were on patrol around the house as they awaited the bones from the chicken...that's what my sunny, snowy, December Sunday was like.  :) 

Finally those little birds that have been eating off the ground, right below my darn bird feeder, finally, they decided to take me up on my offer of the bird seed. Wally caught one eating on the perch and then another one flew up and joined in. It just looks so pretty to have a white blanket background and then see a fat, little, blue bird land there and take his fill of the corn and seeds that fall automatically into the slots. I have to refill it tonight when I get home because it was too cold to go get feed for the roosters so I gave them the birdseed instead. The roosters and birds could all share it there was so much!

The roosters aren't very fond of the cold, snowy weather we've been having. They stay huddled together up under the back porch and rarely come out. Roo came out for a little while and made some tracks in the snow. You'll see them in the pictures I posted. Of course we knew it was Roo - there was only the one guy so it had to be. If all of them would have been out in the snow, there would have been 6 sets of prints instead of just one set :) lol!

The ho-dogs have been spending most of their time in the ho-doghouse. It looks very warm and inviting in there what with the bedding of straw, the blankets and the warming light. They get in and turn around so they're looking out the door at us. I know they love it because they stay in there until they just can't stand it anymore and then they come out and make their rounds. They walk around the cabin a few times, making sure all is well no doubt. After their patrol is over, they plop down on the front porch, in the best sunlight possible, and then they nap. It's cute!

The horses come up every day now and they are both a little on the spooked side. I think it's in part due to the fact that we aren't handling them all the time like we did over the summer months. There's also the problem of the hunters everywhere. All the animals in the woods are on edge. There are dogs are heard barking all around us, the rabbits are pretty scarce and even the squirrel population has dwindled. The deer still come up in the driveway but they eat for a few minutes and then run back off into the woods. If I'm going to get one at this point, I can't be picky about whether or not it's male or female. They just don't stay in one place long enough anymore.

Saturday was our shopping day. We weren't going to go but we needed a few things and in hindsight, it's a good thing we did go. After all that snow we wouldn't have been able to until today. We stopped by Fred's to see what they had in the way of a Fry Daddy. I know, I know, bad - bad - bad... but for the wings we've discovered we love, it's so much more handy to have around. Not only that but I could justify the purchase if only for when the kids are here...french fries, stuffed jalapenos, etc. Fred's had a few to choose from and one of them had the Black Friday price of $19.99. Well, when I checked on it, the manager said, no - it would really be $29.99. hmmmmm we didn't really want to spend that much. As we kept looking at them, the mgr. came over and we discussed the different functions, pricing and makes. We decided to get the $29.99 fryer even though it wasn't really what we wanted to spend. When we got up to the register, the mgr. came by and told the girl to ring it up at $19.99 instead...woo hoo!!! I think Wally impressed her when he was able to reach the very top shelf and get down an unopened box for comparison. LOL She said 'oh, look at you!' and I said, 'yeah, you should see him with light bulbs..." lol she laughed!

On to Food Lion we went and as we were walking in, Wally noticed a dollar bill on the ground. Hey - it was shaping up to be a really good shopping day! We got what we needed, including some frozen shrimp (BOGO) and we got the heck out of there. Since it's on the way, we stopped at Tractor Supply. We wanted to see if they had any sock caps - the kind that cover your whole head with the eye cutouts...? Well, they didn't have any of those but they did have a nice pair of boots for Wally. The high top, insulated kind that will keep those feet very, very warm.

Our last stop was the gas station to fuel up my car. Gas prices were high everywhere so we gave our business to the little, independent, small business owner even though he's a little further down the road. We like going there because he gives you a free bag of ice when you buy a 12 pack. NOT that we needed any ice...lol!! After that, we were cabin-bound and had no other plans to leave for the remainder of the weekend.

We've been trying to get me on a better sleep schedule. One that is more normal anyway. Saturday night "It's a Wonderful Life" was on so we set out to watch the whole thing. I don't know what time it was supposed to start but I knew it wasn't going to go off until 10:00...whew, that's late!

So here I am watching a movie that is named for how wonderful life is meanwhile the main character is completely miserable through the whole darn thing...what is up with that? Wally was laughing at me for saying that but c'mon, there was no happiness up until the very end...Let me just say that the title had my expectations set all wrong... It should have been titled "It's a miserable life, until the last 15 minutes" and then I wouldn't have been anticipating so many wonderful things happening that simply did not... Movies...bah humbug on that one! LOL   Okay, the story was alright but really, don't you agree it was somewhat poorly named?

I made it to 10pm and that was a miracle... I started to doze off but Wally caught me and kept me awake. Then he started to doze off and I was like, oh no you don't... if I have to stay up, so do you! He laughed and said he had already seen the movie so it was okay for him to fall asleep...that wasn't my point :) ha ha ha

We had sausage and whole wheat pancakes for breakfast again...they are so good together. Like bacon and eggs, pork chops and applesauce, pizza and beer...some things just go together well. I poured the honey on mine while Wally mixed the honey and butter together. I'm pretty much over the whole syrup thing now that honey has come to my kitchen. It's good on everything when you want just a little sweetness...biscuits, pancakes, banana ice cream, even cake... just come on up here and I'll make it for you so you can see what I mean...open invitation! Don't tell me you're scared of a little snow...?  lol!!! ha ha ha

I changed around a few decorations, took lots of pictures for you because I'm sweet that way and cooked until my little heart was content. I got lots of boxes out of the way and made a snowman in the snow. I did all my laundry and cleaned the bathrooms. I have very little to do but wait... and watch it snow again tomorrow. They say it's going to start with sleet, then move to snow and then to top it off, around 10am it will begin a freezing rain. Folks, I'd love to come back to work and write about all of that but it will probably be Thursday before you hear from me again. When the weather advisory says not to drive - I believe them :)

Enjoy the chilly temps wherever you happen to be and check out ours on the weather channel... you'll get to see some pretty awesome sights - just as I have :)

"oh, what a blamed uncertain thing This pesky weather is; It blew and snew and then it thew, And now, by jing, it's friz!"
Philander Johnson