Monday, January 4, 2010

It Snowed All Night - Dec 18, 2009

It started snowing around 5PM with predictions of 1 to 2 feet possible
5:55PM





Through it all the flag kept flying
7:31PM



9:20PM and it is piling up.
It was hard to go to bed I was so excited!





9:21PM and about 28 degrees F.
Good snowing temperature!



Dec 19, 2009 4:38AM - Yogi checks out 14" of snow.
Averaged about 1" per hour through the night.




Another view at 4:38AM.
BTW - I normally get up at 4:30AM and it only took 8 minutes to be outside with the camera!




Broken thermometer reads 60 degrees - not hardly!!!
9:37AM



Yogi checking the snow depth again.
10:54AM





What to do on a snowy day - dig out and grill!
11:30AM





11:58AM - Chicken on the grill





Dec 20, 2009 8:48AM - Sweetie tries the snow on for a new look!



17" of snow when it finished!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Fall 2009 Update

I'm still catching up on our blog. Following are some pictures from late fall in Virginia
(with a special bonus at the end)


Fungi diversity on a stump captured in the evening sun.



Lichen and moss beside the driveway




Fall colors on a miniature Japanese Maple in front of our house - after a shower




Messy squirrel table



Spider web on a foggy morning






Fungi growing up the side of a stump




The last roses of 2009




Yogi is our Pomeranian and he is Tona's buddy




This is Sweetie our ShizPomPeekaPoo.
Hair styling by Tona!




And my special bonus:

Love ya' Tona!!!


Friday, January 1, 2010

Fall 2009 Crafts

Tona has been crafting this fall and since the gifts have been given I can now present them in this craft update.


But first ...


What Is It??

The black items are shelled black walnuts from Idaho,
The tan item is an egg from one of our Buff Orpington chickens,
but what are the round brown items in front???

(Hint - they are leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner preparation)


Button bracelets




Baby bibs




Casserole carrier and a couple of kitchen towels




One of the creative centers in our house



Quilted jacket




Winter Wallhanging




Fabric flowers for pins





Centerpiece with tiny apples





Baby shoes




Quilted jacket




Casserole carriers and felted bag


Tona has really worked hard on making gifts this year and she has a talent and desire for crafts.

Makes for a great combination!!!



Now for the What Is It quiz:

We had guacamole so these are the avocado seeds. I had not seen these before so I thought you should see them too!

(FYI - Avocado's were peeled and mashed and were a very tasty addition to our Thanksgiving Dinner)






Friday, December 11, 2009

September 2009 GRAND Update

We have a granddaughter!!!

HIP - HIP - HOORAY!!!

Momma and baby





Father and daughter



The family of three




Tona and grandaughter



Granddaughter and grandfather


Wow, what a grand month!

One last picture of the little GRAND baby:


We pray God's blessings for this new life - may she grow up in faith, hope, and love.

August 2009


August 2009 Update


WhatIsIt???

This is something actually very common but not very often seen or noticed.
(Answer at the end of this blog)



The next two pictures are one of my favorite subjects - mushrooms on stumps.

Looking down from above:




From the side with a little Virginia Creeper thrown in for good measure.




The Clematis at the end of our front walk is a beautiful bloomer for late summer.



OK - did you guess what the first picture was???

Mushroom imprinted with a tire track.

Disclaimer: no mushrooms were purposefully squashed for this picture.

As you consider the life of a mushroom in the driveway...

Let's move on to September!!!


July 2009 - 32nd Anniversary

July 2009 - 32nd Anniversary


Tona and I got away for a couple of days for our 32nd anniversary. We went back to Seneca Rocks - the same area we went to on our honeymoon. This time we rented a nice little cabin.

Here is Tona sitting on the porch - lookin' pretty!!!



For supper we went to a restaurant that had a second story porch where we could look at Seneca Rocks while we waited.




We had driven through some showers that day but it was breaking up. The clouds gave a nice backdrop to the sunlit rocks.

This was a valley off to the right of the rocks.




This gives an idea of the beautiful view we had to enjoy!



On the way home we took route 250 into Virginia crossing the mountains. Here is one of the views looking down into the valley below.


We had a nice but short getaway.

I thank God for 32 years with a wonderful woman!!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Trip to visit Chad, Angela, and Mia


Now that we are back safe and sound in Virginia, the yard is mostly mowed, we are mostly unpacked, and I found a little time here is an update from our trip to Idaho.

We had a good visit with our oldest daughter, her husband, and their cute little ball of energy Mia. Tona and Angela got in some crafting, Chad and I went on a little hike up City Creek trail, some friends came by for a visit, we enjoyed seeing everyone at worship service in Blackfoot, and plenty of good eating and coffee in between.

In between the periods of rain ( I understand it was record setting! ) we did get a chance to get out and enjoy the green Idaho countryside.

Here is Tona, Mia, and Angela taking a picture break on the Portneuf River trail (Chad was working). The river was up and had been flooding. In an overflow area Mia went to walk across on some sticks which gave way and she got good and wet. Tona has on her quilted jacket she finished making just before the trip and is sporting her new hairdo!


Here is Mia with the wind blowing in her ears!

Looks like she is enjoying herself. Kinda makes you want to try it yourself!?!?!?!

This rose hip was glistening after the rain.



I had to get Chad in here with Mia!





Here is something a little different - GEARS!


Chad took me out to the garage and he had the engine out of their old car. Over 90 pictures later I had calmed down enough to head back inside. So I thought I would leave you with a couple of pictures to see for yourself!


This dipstick handle was a neat element. I probably could have done a little cropping to come up with a more compelling image but I wanted to present the view I had at the moment and save the delay on getting this posting published.




We came back home to a few rainy days but it is clear and sunny today.
Whatever the weather we can rejoice that God has given us another day in His care to serve Him and enjoy His creation.

For more pictures of our trip please visit Chad and Angela's blog Cup of Tea