Winter from Hell Becomes Spring

from Hell as This

becomes this:

and this 

becomes this:

Do you really need 3 guesses about how I spent last night?  Gave up about 1:30am, had a comfort food snack of cocoa and crackers, tucked in with the kitties and read until I dozed off. 

Rain, Rain Go Away! is today's song -- And don't bother to come back.  There's still banks of snow from having the roof shoveled -- Aggggggggggggg...........



Morning Visitors

Today I had company for my morning coffee, first a chickadee fastidiously nibbling at the sunflower seed scattered on the patio, then two voracious squirrels (aka "Tree Rats" - lots of them from the woods behind us) came.  Tri, sitting on the table top for a "box seat" view, watched them all.  Based on the soft growling sounds made,  she seemed to associate the chickadees with her bed-time chicken-flavored Temptations, while a stronger growl warned the squirrels to "get off my patio". 

Before they gorged on the seed, the squirrels paused on the top of a snowbank and peered in at me -- well, at least someone has a use for these banks of snow shoveled off the roof. 

I have, or at least had, the stencil I made for quilting a row of chickadees in one of the borders of my "Good Neighbors" quilt.  It's not where it should be so I can't post it now, but I'll look for it to share another day.

Countdown to Spring

If my count is right, Official Spring is 43 days away.  Sigh...... must ask my DD to pick up a bouquet of flowers for me the next time she's at COSTCO.  Not only will they kindle a sorely needed lift of spirits - they'll spark happy memories of the day we went to the Alsmeer flower market in Holland. A stone’s throw from Schiphol Airport, about 20 million flowers are auctioned every day, from Monday to Friday morning.

Meanwhile, this will suffice. 
 

By the way, the geese along the top are flying south -- smart birds!  Or we can think of them as Dutch planes flying flowers west to us under our snow banks.  Could we send our ice there?-- Holland / Ice / Skating works for me! 

Good News (we hope)

  no shadow!
"Hear ye! Hear ye!  Punxsutawney Phil is predicting an early spring. 
I do hope Mr. Chuck, my groundhog who is most likely sleeping soundly under the utility shed, agrees with Punxsutawney Phil. 

Weary of Winter

Will it never end?  if it's not snow, it's ice.  who is out fabric shopping in this stuff? and who normally  budgets for clearing the roof as well as plowing the driveway? (that mound is part of the roof snow)  This must be hurting the small, local shop owners.  thinking especially about our local quilt shop.  when, if, there's a day with no snow on the road or water in the cellar, there are 2 First Things I'm going to do: meet my daughter for Breakfast Out and visit that local quilt shop. 

Then it's a stop at Michael's -- this winter demands a scrapbook page.