Snowy Trolls

 

Yesterday when my daughter was plowing snow at The North Carolina Arboretum she took pictures of the Thomas Dambo trolls.  You can find more of her snowly troll pictures on the Arboretum's website  I chose this one because I like the hair covered wiht snow.

They are visiting until February 17, when they leave for California.  Hopefully they can enjoy warmer weather there.

No trolls here, just snow, and we may get more on Tuesday.

It's a strange Sunday with no NFL games.  We have a week to get our Super Bowl snacks ready.

 

Not My Pcture

 
Not my picture.  It's from my North Carolina daughter.  She got a little snow, but mostly ice.

We got a little ice, but mostly snow.

And neither of us lost power, and I'm grateful.  

Asheville folks prepared and worried, remembering Helene.

I'm grateful for my neighbor who used his snow blower and did the first round of snow removal.

To the two polite boys who knocked on my door looking for a snow removal job and who cleared ice and snow off my porch and steps and sidewalk leading to the street.

And to another neighbor who dug out my car, not an easy job after the snow plow piled up snow.

I'm all set to go, but I'm not going anywhere.  

Scraps

 

You know I love scrappy things.

When Sarah was here during Christmas we made two 12" blocks for a collaborative baby quilt.  Somr of the fabrics were those selected for everyone, and we filled in with a few pieces from my stash to make two blocks.

There were leftover piecs, so this evening I made one more block, just cutting fabrics and stitching and cutting some more.

I have to admit that I'm glad I'm not the person sewing the blocks together.  That's always a challenge witih a collaborative quilt.

January Flowers

 

My granddaughter came yesterday afternoon after her job at a flower shop and brought some flowers.  It was a treat, both the flowers and the visit.  She's a busy college student.

She left with the big container of Tide pods, the big box of dryer sheets, cookies and a frozen pizza from the freezer, and some miscellaneous groceries.  It's fun for me to load her up.

I tried roasting some cashews this evening - I can't remember why I bought raw cashews, but I must have used them for something because the bag had been opened.  The roasting wasn't a big success.

It's been a windy and cold Martin Luther King Day.  I didn't go downtown for the march and outdoor speeches, and I feel a little bad  about that.

The temperature is going way down now, with very cold wind chills.

They Aren''t Mine

 

No, these paperwhites aren't mine.  I gifted them to my sister and she sent me the picture of a few bulbs tucked in a pretty glass bowl with nice rocks.  My sister is like that.  She makes things look so nice.

It's turned cold, but really, it was time.  The possibility of snow this morning turned out to be just a few flakes.

I had an early morning eye doctor appointment, so I was glad the roads were dry.  All was well, the transplant looks good, come back in a month.  Pressures were good.

Then there were just a few minutes at home before it was time to meet my retreat friends for lunch.  Just four of us today, two are in Florida, one on a trip, one sick.

I came home and unplugged the Christmas tree.  Started the process of taking off the lights.  Sarah's light-stringing process ends up with such a lovely tree, white lights buried in the middle and colored around the outside.

It's so dark in the living room now.  I have new LED solar lights outside - but that doesn't brighten things up inside.

It's Time

 

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It's time.  The last package from my sister and niece is here, and opened, so Christmas is officially over.

My sister and niece always apologize for their package's lateness, and I alwalys reassure them that I prefer it that way.  Just that one package to admire by itself.  And yes, there were two pairs of earrings, one from each.

Christmas was pretty darn awesome.  Sarah and Winnie stayed for twelve days.  There were the usual things - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Dinner at Bridget's.  Sleepovers when Steph came.

And there were new things - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  The Art Museum.  The Taft Museum.  The Nature Center light display.  Madtree Brewing.

And then the car went up the hill, with little dog Hatch's head hanging out the window.  Sudden quiet.