A Spring Day

Yesterday it rained and we anticipated warmer weather today and got it! It was above freezing when we went to breakfast and around 3 in the afternoon we went outside. B used the blower and cleaned off the driveway of leaves and the road of stones (debris from winter cindering and the road resurfacing we had in the fall). I headed for the patio and worked on the leaves that had accumulated over the winter. I threw them over the stone wall and then went around to the other side to push them down the steep hill. While we both have more to do, we felt we got a good start on our spring chores. And that's great. You know it's time for warm weather when you really want to get outside and do some yard work.

The weather report indicates that it’s to get cold again. This weekend we expect rain and then early next week we are back to below freezing overnight. But, today made us optimistic… Spring is really just around the corner!

The Winds of March and keeping busy

Here it is, March 23, 2009 and it’s COLD! While the sun has been out, the wind has been very busy – our chimes on the deck have been ringing all day! Right now the tree tops are blowing and the flag has been fluttering most of the day. And we went out a bit ago to get the mail and the temperature was at 33 – and that’s cold! With the wind chill we have to be in the upper 20’s.
The good news is the daffodils are starting to pop up. The bad news is the crocuses have been nibbled on by something… maybe deer or maybe smaller critters. You can see the bulbs. Well, I pushed them back in the ground and am hoping for the best.
I read in Better Homes and Gardens and other magazines we get about gardening. I even had a dream last night about having a house that had a lovely garden that was kind of enclosed. It reminded me of our first house. Anyway, that’s what it is… a dream. The deer eat everything!!! This is why I plant my garden in pots on the deck. Last year they didn’t do well… too cool and it was not a summer conducive to growing! I was able to purchase tomatoes and other fresh produce in town from farmers who sold on the side of the road. I’m going to plant tomatoes again this year and herbs. But I’m not going to go gang busters like I did the first year we were up here. I’ll buy from the local farmers and the supermarkets as they also have good produce.
So I hunkered down today. After doing a load of laundry (at least I did one chore today) I did some Library work and then played on the Wii. My latest enjoyment is Animal Crossing City Folk. Now this game seems rather laid back at first. But it is addictive! I’ve upgraded to a bigger house and have things to sell as well as gathering cherries to make money. Sounds stupid but it’s fun. And there are several other games I play. After playing the games I then did Wii Fit… got to keep exercising and active! That’s fun and I did well on some activities and really BAD on others (I keep bombing on the ski jump). Do any of you Wii???? Well, the beef stroganoff is cooking and I’ve got to go in and stir it. Good day and the stock market is up…. That’s really great!

March Madness and it's almost SPRING

The day started gloomy – and it’s been that way for the past several days. But, on a positive note, it’s warm… above freezing when we get up and today, into the upper 50’s. March is an odd month. You know, by the calendar and by the fact that day light savings kicks in, that Spring is just around the corner. However, the weather does not always cooperate. And I find, when it’s gloomy for several days, which it’s been, I feel funky… down… so I just keep taking my vitamin D tablets and hope for the best!

Leftovers for dinner today… a selection of several days. So we just finished a helping of pop corn. Thank goodness for the microwave. I also made cake. We went to Target the other day. Gosh, I really like that place. So many nice things and if you really check, you can get very good sales. Well, we were going up and down the isles and hit the baking/cooking area. They had this nice Wilton cake pan that makes what I would call a very large cupcake but it has an indented top. So, it looks like that sponge cake you can purchase at the store that you put fruit in. Well…. Good price so I got it. Since we purchased strawberries (another good price deal) the other day, I thought I’d make these cakes. Now the pan has 6 cakes. So, if figured, put about 2/3 cup in each and the rest in a square pan. Well, I filled them too full. They popped up with really high tops. Baked them for about 19 min. and then let them cool a bit before taking them out of the pan. They look good. I’ll just cut the top (which will be the bottom) off and put the fruit in them. They will be GREAT… and the cut off tips will taste good too. Next time, I’ll put less in the pan and make some giant cup cakes in anther pan I have.

Despite the gloom the sun came out late afternoon and right now it’s really nice outside. I’ve been playing this game on the Wii called Animal Farm, City Folk. I had read reviews on Amazon and thought that sounds neat. Well, this game is far more involved than you would think. The more you do the more involved it becomes. It’s like the Sims… you create a town and live in it day to day. Yea, I know, get a life. But it’s fun and something to do that makes you think. I do other Wii things, too but this one is “different”. Anyone out there have a Wii?????

Snow Snow Snow!

Right now, at 12:18 PM Monday we have 4 inches of snow. We anticipated snow and were pleased to find only a trace on the ground when we got up. So, off we went to breakfast. As we drove home we started to see a fine snow. The kind that kinda looks like bb pellets. Light and easy to sweep. I had some things to do cleaning wise and then went to the lower level to surf and check email. And the snow was now very visible as in "Wow, it's really snowing".
Since I had a book to mail and trash that needed to be trashed, we headed out at 10:30. B put on the 4 wheel drive and the road by the lake had not been plowed. And wow, there was a lot of snow out there and it was really coming down. As we pulled into the trash area we jointly said maybe we should not continue. So we trashed the trash and went home. Our road has been plowed twice so far and it's still snowing. And it's windy, too. Hope this stops soon. I'm sure B will be out with the snow blower shortly.

This picture is a longer shot of the railing. Pretty but come on.... enough already!
From what we have been hearing on the news, S. Jersey really got hit with considerable snow accumulations. Hope you guys are snug and warm and enjoyed your snow day!

Does March 1st mean Spring???

February was really cold. This is our third winter up here and it seemed that the month was really consistently cold. And lets not forget the snow. Many days we did not get above freezing. While we didn't get a SNOW STORM... you know, the kind of storm where it snows all day and night and into the next day and everything stops. Of course, what stopped stuff in South Jersey just slows things down here. B only went out a few times with the snow blower. The real mess was caused by the sun warming the snow and then the cold temperatures freezing the melt and leaving layers of ice in the driveway and on the roads. We would sometimes slide our way to the diner for breakfast.
Today there appears to be a coastal storm on it's way up to NY. We are anticipating only a few inches. The Jersey coast and NY is expecting much more. So maybe my former school will get a snow day. Good luck, guys!
Quite frankly I'm ready for Spring. We are seeing enough of the ground to know we need to get out there and do some cleaning up. B did get out yesterday to blow off the driveway of the branches and such. Nice to hear that blower rather than the snow blower.
I've got a cold... not bad but enough to kinda wallow around and not do much. So I checked out blogs and wondered how those ladies found the time to blog each day and blog so much. Well, this is what I do... and I'm happy with it!
Welcome, MARCH!!! Glad to see ya!