Hurry Up Spring!

We have another week of snow ahead of us here in Hitchins. We've been pretty lucky this week though. We haven't had the snow our neighbors in the mountains have had, but sunshine has been a rare sight.

I recieved this apron pattern in the mail yesterday. It was an ebay auction win.



I'm going to make the one in the largest pic on the pattern. I'll post a pic of it when it's finished.

My cat Sarah had her last litter of kittens yesterday. She had three this time. One is a calico, one is light blonde and the other is a darker blonde. I'm not sure of the sex of the two blonde ones but we know the calicos are always female.
I'll take some pics of them for you in a few days. I want to give Sarah some time to rest.

The First Snowfall

The poem I wrote below, inspired this painting.



The First Snowfall

The snow came laughing, dancing down
down on the sleeping little town.
No one watched it piling high,
nor heard the snowbird shiver, and sigh.
The wind was whispering through the trees
of things that were, or were to be.
The moon was glowing softly above
reflecting the peace of God's great love.

Purple Knight in Winter

I found these beautiful plants growing wild in the yard last summer.



They're called "Purple Knight" or alternanthera. I thought they were so pretty, so I transplanted them beside the house. I noticed this morning how pretty they looked even in winter and thought I'd share a pic with you.

Snow and More Snow

The snow has finally come to Hitchins. I must say it is really pretty although it does come with it's problems. My father-in-law didn't have phone service for four days, but it's back on now. Now my sister-in-law is without power at her house. Thankfully they do have a kerosene heater. We've gotten by without any trouble so far, so that's another blessing counted.

All four cats are inside and not one has gone to the door to be let out. They're napping and the snow is still falling. We're due to get four more inches of snow on top of the two we already have.

One of the neat things about snow are all the footprints that nocternal travelers leave behind. I found these on the snow covered deck this morning and I must say I'm stumped as to what could have made them. They're about six to six and one half inches long and they look as though they have two toes. Here's a pic I took this morning.



Any ideas on what it could be?

Hidden Treasure

We didn't get any snow this time around, but DC and places north sure got buried. I'm glad we made it through unscathed. They're predicting more on the way though. The weatherman says we'll get an inch or less tomorrow. They haven't done very well with predictions so far this year.

Ina's Easy Cheese Danish was easy and good. However, next time I'm going to add a bit more sugar. I think danish should be alot sweeter than the recipe called for.

I finally got around to cleaning out the closets today. We found sales for storage containers which is going to make the cleaning process alot easier. I found an old Valentine card Ray had gotten for me years ago. I experienced the same feeling as the day he gave it to me. To me, those cards are treasure more valuable than any made of silver and gold.

Getting Ready

It's been on the news all week long. Another huge snowstorm is hitting the nation this weekend. I find it funny that Washington DC is going to get plenty of snow. I wonder if any of them still believe in the global warming reports? It's plain as plain that God is reminding them that only He can control the weather. Will they ever listen? lol

We're prepared for a weekend of relaxing together and watching the snow cover everything.

I'm a huge fan of Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. Her soothing voice relaxes me and most of her dishes are simply wonderful.
Here's a link to her recipes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/ina-garten/recipes/index.html

Tomorrow morning I'm surprising Ray with Ina's Easy Cheese Danish.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-cheese-danish-recipe/index.html

I just know we're going to love it. Lemon zest gives such a fresh taste to food.

Making Bread

Hope this post finds you well and happy.

I've been busy trying new recipes and looking for new sewing ideas. I've found several I'm going to try in the coming weeks.

Baked a couple of mini-loaves of yeast bread on tuesday. They turned out great!



The buttered slices go well with any meal. There's something special about bread you've made yourself. If you're interested in the recipe, just ask. This recipe came from a Parent's Magazine cookbook from the mid 1950's.

There's a chance for another big winter snow storm this weekend. So far we've missed any huge snow storms. I keep telling Ray that we must live in God's pocket. I think he's starting to believe me. ;)

I placed an order with Gurneys last night. I wanted to get my order in early before everything was gone. Here's this year's order:



They have a special right now. Spend $50.00 and get $25.00 off. I'm not a sales person but they do have a nice selection of seeds and plants. They guarantee them too. You can't do any better than that.