Changing Weather

February has been crazy - we went from snow to very cold weather and then a record breaking warm up! Honey and I went from skating on the ice buildup out back when she went for her walks to sloppy mud that we both tracked into the house.

The warm weather the past several days was incredible! We had temperatures in in the upper 60s and windows were open. It was so nice to go out without all the winter layers. We were out and about to the Lake and shopping. We did take my car but the trunk was full on the way back from the Lake so we didn't put the top down. And then, as forecast, the rain came. This morning it was raining rather steady but the temperatures were above freezing. Temperatures were supposed to drop this afternoon so we had put my car back in the garage. We did go to breakfast but took the SUV.

I've been moving things around and taking winter things to the downstairs storage. We had a Home Goods store open up at the mall and we made a trip there earlier this week for some "stuff". Really like the store and we found several things we both liked. Hopefully I'll get pictures taken to put up on the blog.

I did make a pineapple cheesecake the other day. B had requested it when I said I was making cheese cake. Since you use an 8 X 8 pan the quantity good for the two of us. We finished it off last night.

This "small" Kitchen Aid mixer was purchased from QVC due to it's size. It's smaller than the "regular" size Kitchen Aid and easier to pick up and move about. The large one takes up too much room in the kitchen, so I store it downstairs. And it's heavy. This one is smaller and therefore lighter. And the recipe fit with no worry of overflow.

This was taken on an angle and the pan does not look like it's 8 X 8 - but it was!

I added 10  minutes to the cooking time as it was too jiggly. The recipe calls for 2 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 1 8 oz package of cream cheese, and a can of well drained crushed pineapple. Although it was firmer, it was soupy when cut. Still tasted good! 

Eagles, Snow and Pictures

What a busy and exciting weekend! We went to Sam's Saturday and came across a set of Emeril pots and pans that I really liked. I spent the rest of the day and part of Sunday rearranging kitchen storage to make room for the new, cleaning out stuff and washing cabinets. Most of the new things went in the cabinets along with several of the "older" things I couldn't do without.  I've also got a pile of things to share, a few to trash and some to take to the Lake. Then several pans go down to storage as I'm not sure I will use them....but.....  

Then, of course, there was the Super Bowl....and super it was!!  As former South Jersey residents we are Eagle's fans! And boy, did they fly. What a good game! YEA Eagles!!!

And we got more snow Saturday afternoon - an inch or so - and expected to again get more on Sunday. We dithered about going out to breakfast Sunday as the forecast said snow late morning but decided to wait as the car needed to be cleaned as well as the driveway. And we were really glad we didn't go because the cloudy skies gave way to a very fine snow mid morning that turned to a sleety mess due to warming temperatures (32) by afternoon. We got another couple of inches by evening. And this morning, when Honey and I went for our first of many walks, the temperatures had dropped and the snow turned crunchy. 

The morning sky was lovely with large clouds - some that were dark. The sun was peeping through and now, at 10:30 am, the sun is shining and the clouds are white.

The sun was behind me as I took this picture. 

Honey does not walk in a straight line. We meander all over as she checks out all the smells.

She criss-crosses her steps and generally goes to the back of the property. Here our tracks show we were checking out something - I think the rabbits that "visit" us. 

Uploading pictures from my new iPhone

Technology is crazy, and at times confusing!

I want to be able to upload pictures from my phone to Blogger. I find that I usually have my phone when I see something I want to capture. The camera does not stay with me - the phone does. So it appears that using Google pictures is the answer - but I'm not sure. So, I'll play around with this a bit.

Last week we had SNOW. And so I took some pictures. And when I clicked on the photo icon and chose "from phone" All the pictures on my phone were available. I chose and they appeared below! Cool!

Honey and I were out and about - she uses this back area at the edge of our property. She is always on the leash

And the deck off the breakfast area is a great place for her to explore

This tree, which can be seen from the front window, is lovely both in summer with its beautiful leaves and in winter with a mantle of snow

And my "here is how much snow we got" measure - the table on the back deck.

So I feel accomplished that I figured this out - not hard! I'm not sure the limit on how many pictures before there is a charge. I really don't want to use Google as a storage place. 

And as for the snow.......it's almost all melted. The warm up started Sunday and yesterday the back yard was covered in one big puddle with ice on the ground. This made walking rather hazardous and while Honey hated the water, I felt that I was skating! This morning the rain and continuing warm weather melted most of the ground ice and walking is easier for both of us and the puddles are now dissipating into the ground.

If you are reading this post and have my email, please let me know what you think! And remember, you can sign up (up at the top of the post) to receive posts automatically (but not immediately) when ever I post. I'm really going to attempt to post much more often.

New Year - New Goal

One of my goals this new year is to use the technology that I have! The current phones, computers, and tablets have changed and integrated with each other to be virtually seamless in their use. And while I do consider myself knowledgable, I must admit I’ve not kept up. 

We currently live in an Apple world! Yea, Apple!  I had Apple computers back in the day - and found them easy to use. Sure there was a learning curve, but no DOS to use - just pictures (icons). As my job changed from working with students and teachers to the business end of the district, the need to switch from Mac to PC ruled the day. So, a PC user I became.  But when I retired, and we moved up to the Lake, the idea of switching back to Apple stuff was calling. And the advancing technology with iPads and iPhones as well as computers - well, the lure of seamless movement from one platform to another was what did it. So now I have an iMac that is over 5 years old, an MacBook that is 2, an iPad that is 4 years old and an iPhone that is very new! The demands of a job require you to use all these products seamlessly and constantly. However, that urgent need learn to use everything isn’t as pressing. So I tend to use the easies route. I use the iMac much more than the laptop because I don’t like the track pad rather than a mouse. And I do a lot on the iPad but don’t use the phone much. So, my goal is to better use my technology and to better integrate it’s use. Kinda a fun goal!

And the New Year started off with more cold weather! While we had warm temperatures last week that melted all the snow and created big puddles in the back that Honey hated, it’s back to cold with this morning’s temperature 7.And we did get snow!  It started Tuesday and became heavier overnight and we awoke to about 5 inches. So we are again going to snow blow the driveway. The good news is warm temperatures are expected by the weekend so what we don’t blow will melt rather than freeze. I’ve been taking pictures and hope to post them soon.

The weather has been warmish up to now - most days in the 40s or even 50s. We did get a dusting of snow back on November 7th. 

I've been using my phone to take pictures as I keep it in my back jean's pocket and therefore, always have it. And I quickly took the snow picture before it melted!


In late October, I defrosted the freezer - a major task since it was desperately needed. Everything needed to be moved out of the freezer - which required weather that was moderate - not warm so stuff wouldn't melt but not so cold that I would freeze while working in the garage  I remember having a large chest type freezer back in our Somerdale house and again, in the Voorhees house. Both were in the garage for easy access. I had "areas" for different types of food - chicken, pork, veggies and such. It made locating things easier. Chest freezers are deep and stuff can easily get lost. At the Lake I had an upright freezer and stuff was organized by shelves rather than sections. This freezer didn't need defrosting! A nice luxury. When we bought this house I got a large chest freezer with sliding baskets. And again, organized by areas. And I finally got it defrosted and re-organized. 

Before with frost really building up!

And after all cleaned out!

Last year I purchased a Cricut cutting machine. And after a lot of reading, trial and error, reading FB group posts and watching lots of U-Tube posts, I ventured into paper crafting. And below are two of the projects.

These are candy huggers - little characters with long arms that wrap around a piece of candy. They are layered and I enjoyed making them!

Another thing I'm doing is making cards. This witch is three layers that are cut out on the machine and then glued. 

While I enjoy crafting, my creative ability is limited. However, this is an Internet based craft that enables files to be chosen, modified and made. I'm really enjoying playing with this - and am now working on some Christmas cards.