Category Archives: Weather

Icicles

They just keep getting longer and longer here on our Country Bungalow.

Look at the downspout!

We are supposed to have several days of above freezing temperatures so our icicle artwork should melt soon. We all have to be very careful walking in parking lots and on sidewalks that are not deiced. We have to walk a short distance to our garage and we are very careful doing that, too. Everything turns into solid ice and we do not want to fall on ice. Falling on snow is softer for sure.

When snow is cleared in parking lots, etc. it ends up being piled in one section of the area. As you drive around town you’ll see mini mountains of snow in most large parking lots. Those mini mountains will take a very long time to melt.

Hope all is well where you are…

 

First Winter Puzzle

Our daughter helped with this puzzle on Christmas Day before everyone arrived for dinner and we put it away. We don’t keep the puzzles out when our dear Grands come over.

When the puzzle is complete I’ll share again.

I’m also working on a Turkey post as they are entertaining us daily here at our Country Bungalow! Coincidence…we had Turkey Chili on Friday, too.

After shoveling, and clearing snow off our roof and snowshoeing I’ve come down with a bit of a Tennis Elbow, ouch. Friday I took the day off from doing anything that involved tension on my right elbow. I’m using some Biofreeze which is helpful.

My kitchen Elf aka Dear filled the dishwasher for me and washed the dishes that don’t go in the dishwasher from the early birthday party we had for Dan and Jamie here on Thursday evening. I won’t be shoveling snow in the near future for sure.

Thankful for a quiet weekend here. What’s happening in your corner?

Blazing the Trails

I’ve enjoyed a couple days of snowshoeing in our back acreage. On the first day it was overcast and snowing lightly.

Tuesday the 4th of January.

After I blazed some good trails the turkeys flew in and appreciated my path.

On the next day (Wednesday Jan 5th) the sun was out and I worked on compacting the trails.

A rear view of our country bungalow.

We had 5-6 more inches of snow since I made these trails. After shoveling the front walk on Thursday I did a little more snowshoeing to make a path to our variegated willow to throw out some bird seed since with the snow cover the birds have a harder time finding food.

Joseph is now completely buried along with Mary and the Manger.

Time to shovel off the deck again. This will be a record year of snow accumulation for us here.

How are things in your corner?

A New Year for the Hodgpodge

Hello Hodgepodgers!

It’s Snow Angel season around our parts and…

It’s time for a new year of Wednesday Hodgepodge! Thank you Joyce for coming up with the brain teasers each week.

1. Share one happy moment/memory from the holiday season. 

Seeing each of the three vehicles filled with our most precious cargo pull into our driveway on Christmas day!

2. Let’s be reasonable with our expectations going into this new year, k? What is one thing you’d like to accomplish/improve/complete/do in 2022? 

I’d like to stick to completing a 30 minute cardio workout most days in 2022.  Shoveling off the back deck with Dear on Monday qualifies as a cardio workout! Snowshoeing out my back door is on the agenda this week. After wrapping up this post I’m happy to report I blazed a snowshoe trail in our back acres on Tuesday.

3. Every January 1st (since 1976) Lake Superior University has published a list of words they’d like to see banished from the Queen’s English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words are chosen). Here are the words/phrases they’d like to see banished in 2022-

wait, what?-no worries-at the end of the day-that being said-asking for a friend-circle back-deep dive-a new normal-you’re on mute-supply chain

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly?

‘No worries’ is the one phrase I’ve used most regularly, the others more randomly.  I do say, ‘did you mute your phone’ to Dear before the church service begins.

Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why?

‘A new normal’ is a phrase that strikes me negatively mostly because much that comes with this phrase are things that shouldn’t be normal, in my opinion.

Is there a word/phrase not on the list you’d like to add? (I misunderstood this question the first time around and added a phrase I like, oops) Here’s one I’d like banished.

‘Pandemic of the unvaccinated’ is the phrase I’d like to see banished because it is false from it’s root up.

4. Best thing you ate in the month of December? 

Our traditional Christmas dinner. Prime Rib, roasted veggies, creamed corn and Yorkshire Pudding.

5. January 5th is National Bird Day.

Are you a bird lover? 

Yes!

What’s your favorite bird to see in the wild?

Eagle is by far the favorite with hawks coming in at second. I have a strong desire to see an owl in the wild and if I ever do it might win the favorite spot!

Choose a phrase from the list that follows and tell us how it relates to your life currently…eat like a bird, bird’s eye view, early bird, bird-brained, free as a bird, a little bird told me, or kill two birds with one stone.

‘Early bird’ is a phrase that relates to my life currently. Sleeping in has escaped me. I’m up before dark these days. Our pop was always early instead of late and I’m a chip off the old block when it comes to arriving at a scheduled event early, too!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It looks like 2022 will not be a drought year in our parts! As of Tuesday morning January 4th we have about 20 inches of snow accumulated in our yard. More snow is on the way with temperatures that will not allow the snow to melt for awhile.

Only Joseph is still above the snow. We’ll see if he gets completely covered tonight!

To all my hodgepodging friends, I hope 2022 is a year filled with good things that draw you closer to the God who created you!

Still in Party Mode…

 

Our birthday girl and her dear hubby are on the road for the West side of the mountains today but the rest of us are still celebrating our togetherness in very cold conditions. Dressing in layers and donning our snow boots, gloves and hats!

I’ll be back after things get back to normal around here!

 

More Snow and Christmas

Our round of snow early in the morning of the 22nd created an interesting layering. On our Global Blue Spruce it looks like someone placed kitchen towels out to dry. Or maybe white skirts with scalloped bottoms. Or a layer of Fondant Frosting. 🙂

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…

It is very safe to say we are going to have a White Christmas. Maybe we’ll have a snow shoveling day when the kids get here on Christmas.

We will pick up our roast for our Christmas dinner today and a few other things we need for our Christmas dinner and for our daughter’s birthday dinner on the 27th. Our Colville kids are feeding all of us on Boxing Day. We haven’t all been together since the wedding in North Carolina so we are excited for Christmas Day when all the vehicles pull into our drive.

Some Snow Scenes

It’s always nice to be able to sit in a warm home and watch the snow fall through the windows.

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
    learn to do good;
seek justice,
    correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow’s cause.

 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.

Isaiah 1:16-18

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:7 (ESV)

Between snow fall we put up some lights in our backyard and it’s nice to have them shine in the darkness.

We have more snow in the forecast and it’s safe to say we will have a White Christmas.

Whiter than snow

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole
I want Thee forever to ransom my soul
Break down every idol, cast out every foe
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
~
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
~
Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet
By faith for my cleansing, I see Thy blood flow
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
~
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
~
Lord Jesus, Thou knowest I patiently wait
Come now and within me a new heart create
To those who have sought Thee Thou never said’st no
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
`
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow
~

Snow makes for a beautiful landscape everywhere but roads and parking lots. Oye, the slush and sandy grit and dirt in the parking lots make walking into stores treacherous. I’ll need to take some photos to show our readers who don’t ever deal with snow see what I’m talking about.

On Monday the presents all got wrapped and put under the tree. After the presents got wrapped I braved the temps in the 20’s and headed to town to get some ingredients. Wal-Mart was out of Peppermint Extract but had the almond bark I needed. Super 1 was out of Peppermint Extract in the cooking aisle but had some Organic Peppermint Extract in the Huckleberry section of the store. Whew! They also had the Cocoa Krispies I wanted for Joanna Gaines Peanut Butter Balls. Now I’m reading through recipes and seeing which Christmas goodies will win my attention this year besides the Peanut Butter Balls and Peppermint Bark I’m trying from here.

Hope all is moving along joyfully as we are just 4 days to Christmas.

Snow is Falling…

It’s a treat to see the Quail moving in the snow.

Snow is falling again this Saturday morning with a prediction of three inches. I think we are close to two inches already on top of what was still on the ground.

My hair appointment this morning will be interesting heading down the hairdresser’s steep driveway. Dear will drive me today and handle the driveway instead of me.

We don’t have to dream of a white Christmas this year…

 In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

 Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

 Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the beloved with a kiss.

 What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

 

O Little Town of Bethlehem

 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together,
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

We got more snow during this past week. We like to turn the deck light on so we can see the snow out our Family Room Slider. It was fun to capture the outdoor nativity and it’s shadow in the snow.

We are going to see temperatures in the teens and very few days in the next week above freezing. More snow in our 10 day forecast. The county plows our road so I am brave enough to drive into town if I need to.

Happy 47th Anniversary to Us

For our 47th Anniversary which is today we drove to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho after church on Sunday for an overnight stay. We made dinner reservations on Sunday at Cedars Floating Restaurant. It was a good choice and we enjoyed our meal and time there.

When love is true, There is no ending. We hope to celebrate with you for years to come…

Tempura asparagus with balsamic and blue cheese crumbles. I love tempura veggies! Prime Rib for Dear, Scallops for me and then we shared with each other.

Complimentary Huckleberry Ice Cream.

We are going to do some shopping today in Idaho and then head on home. Coeur d’Alene is only 100 miles from Colville. It’s a great place for a getaway. Sales taxes are lower and gas prices are lower, too.

All of our Christmas decorations are up, the tree is trimmed, we had some snow in the early hours on Saturday so things are looking like a winter wonderland. I’ve been working on our Christmas letter so next up is addressing and mailing our Christmas Greeting for 2021.

Happy New Week to all of you!