The first step . . . .

The first step is ridding yourself of a problem is admitting you have one - - right?

Or maybe the first step in organization is using Post-its to mark articles/recipes/websites in magazines that you want to save for future use.

And the first step to decluttering is to either bookmark the websites or scan the information and put it in folders on your computer.

Long story -  - short - - - - About ninety magazines are now ready to be donated to our public library where they can be sold in the Friends of the Library Store.  That money is then used for library improvements or purchase of materials.

 

This was a good activity for me to do when "snowed in".

 

I took the pictures just before sunrise.  Snow was already beginning to fall off the branches and I wanted to remember all we had.  We were blessed in that we never lost power and all our family was safe on the days they had to travel.  Also, no trees or large limbs came down on our property.

My sister, who lives near Augusta, has been without power since Wednesday about 11 am.  They probably won't have it back before Monday because of the horrible ice storm they got.  Fortunately she has a wood fireplace - - - and a daughter 30 minutes away where she can go and enjoy electricity!!!

All in all (taking all things into account), life is sweet and what more could you want on Valentine's Day?!!!

Misc.

Has anyone else tried the Boar's Head Rosemary/Sun-dried Ham?  It is delicious - - - especially if you make it as a slider on the Hawaiian Rolls with a small slice of swiss cheese and thin slivers of pineapple between the ham.  Pop it in the microwave long enough to slightly melt the cheese.  Quite yummy!  That ham would be quite tasty on a pizza, too.

 

Benjamin and I started Kindermusik this semester.  It is quite informative regarding development and entertaining activity, too.

He got his first stomach virus last night.  It is going all around town.  You don't even want me to give you a list of those who have had it.  It's too long and you don't know the people!  We are praying his parents don't get it or Grammy either!

Our older daughter turned THIRTY-FIVE this week.  She requested a sewing party with me and her sister after we had dinner here.  Both girls have been re-fashioning "previously loved" clothing.  They can find almost new items for next to nothing at consignment stores.  I am impressed at the new designs they create.

Bill and I had not watched any Downton Abbey episodes before Christmas.  I received Season One as a requested gift.  We are now two episodes away from finishing Season Two - - recently started watching two a night!  We will be about caught up with everyone else in a couple of weeks.  We are enjoying it.

And my list of projects still is long but I got to work a bit more in the basement today - - - sorting and tossing.  I should take pictures of the bags I take to the trash or give to stores like Goodwill or ReStore!  It would be truly gratifying.  Also, I should begin counting how much I take to the recycling center.  How do two adults use so much "stuff" that can be repurposed?  Do you all have recycling centers or curbside pick-up?  The latter would be a luxury!

And I hope to have more pics next time.

Winter Fun?

It may not look like much but it took Bill three hours to get home from work when it usually only takes twenty minutes.  At most of the major intersections, there seemed to be a problem.  Bill is waiting it out at the Hardee's just past the Denny's.  There were seventeen cars involved in this.  (Pic from local news.) Just up over the hill behind these cars was a similar scene.  Long story short, Bill arrived home safely.  Praise God!  I didn't realize how concerned I was about him until I about burst into tears when he walked in the door.

 All our kids made it home safely, too - - took a little longer than usual but there were no mishaps on the way.  Another Praise God!

 

Our driveway is to the right of these trees.

I cleared it twice this afternoon - - - was able to use the leaf blower!

Our house is on the right of the below picture.  That hill will not be clear or probably even sanded.  We generally have to wait for the sunshine to do its work.  But everyone is warm in their homes tonight so we will rest well and think about the roads . . . . 

 . . . . .tomorrow . . . . .

Hope you all are warm and safe tonight, too.

P.S.  THANK YOU all for the help with my comments question!

Comments Question

I need some advice from you all.  I have been blogging a few years and have not had problems with comments because I have used Comment Moderation which meant that comments were emailed to me and then I decided if they were to be published.

Today I received three consecutive Anonymous Spam emails for comments - - so I went to my settings.  I had it on Everyone including Anonymous.  The other options were "Registered User includes Open ID"  or  'User with Google Accounts'  or 'Only Members of this Blog."

I am still using Comment Moderation (email to me first) and picked the last option (Only Members of this Blog).  Is that what I want or not?

I don't want to deal with a lot of Spammers - - - they should be thrashed but don't want to exclude friends.  However they could follow if they want to comment - - - right?

THANK YOU for your help.

I Kil't a Bear

Well, not a real bear but the project felt as big as one.  There are NINE containers here (don't count Pampers box) filled to the top with greeting cards.  Months ago and then weeks ago, I starting sorting them into categories but never got finished for one reason or interruption.

This weekend was the time to get it done and behind me because it is something I knew would make my life easier.  They are all either in  a drawer and a half in the filing cabinet or in a large shopping bag to give to the senior activity center.  My husband helped me when I got near the end and had a stack that was not matched to envelopes.  I was so appreciative because when I get near the end of a project, it is difficult to finish cuz I am sick of it.  But he speeds up when he sees the finish line so he is a good match for me.  (Folders are a bit askew so the labels would photograph better.  The folders are not new but leftover from different projects so this was an economical project.)

About the quote - - - tried to find the origin but it got to take longer than I wanted to invest.   But I know I heard similar things attributed to either Daniel Boone or some novel I have read in the past.    Also, bear would have been pronounced "bar"!

Inside and Outside

There are quite a few pictures on Pinterest of Bento Boxes - generally lunch.  We have adopted and adapted the idea for breakfast and snacks.  These are silicone cupcake cups inside a plastic pencil box.  Some days we set the cups on a divided plastic plate.  The cereal is Kashi.  Benjamin loves it.

 

These three stairs lead into a den at the bottom.  We had a gate at the top until this week.  I explained to Benjamin that if he would use the railing (behind him) and go slowly, we would leave the gate down and he could have unlimited access to either area.  He has done extremely well - - stops at stairs and proceeds slowly.  Hopefully that continues so we don't have an accident.

I am sure you are glad I posted a picture of raw meat!  However, I made a BIG pot of Ragu sauce with meatballs.  The hamburger was 97% fat free!  Obviously there were some leftovers - - enough for six more meals.  It doesn't take very much time to cook extra.  Then it is such a blessing to have a quick meal in the freezer.

The weather at the end of the week was at least 55 degrees warmer than the beginning!  We (mostly me) picked up a wheelbarrow and a half of sticks that have fallen due to the winds.  Benjamin still thinks it's a game which is beneficial for us.

 

Of course there was time for LOTS of play, too.  Breathing in the fresh air was wonderful.

This boy has LOVED playing with balls since he was a small baby.  Even though he has some at home and our house, I told him that we would add to the collection before he went home for the weekend.   Our destination was Dollar Tree because "Everything's a Dollar".  We bought nine new balls and sent four home with him.  He was really proud and possessive of his new acquisitions!  I was very proud of him at the checkout.  He has been to the store enough that he knew when I gave them to the cashier, she would give them back.  He did not fuss or cry but just watched the process.

And that's it till next time.  Hope your week is GREAT!

Weather or Not

Whether you talk about it or not, the weather is unusually cold.  The news says it is due to a polar vortex.  Our forecast last night was for much worse than this so I can live with cold temps because our roads are clear!  As you can see, we got a very little bit of snow.

 The temperature has not gotten out of the teens but still the sun was able to melt some of the icicles on the back of the house.  Isn't the sky unbelievably gorgeous? 

With it that cold outside, we played with pretend snow inside.  It went below freezing last night and will not be above 32 until early afternoon on Wednesday.

 Today was Benjamin's first day back since Christmas break.  We had LOTS of fun playing!

We hope you are enjoying time indoors until it warms up outside.