What Does a Snow Day Look Like?

We finally got our long-awaited snow day today! Unfortunately, since it was really a sleet, rain and ice day, I didn't go out and practice my cross-country skiing. Instead, this is what the day looked like:

Early call from coworker telling me I didn't have to go to work.
Couldn't go back to sleep because I was too excited about not having to get up.
Made a pot of tea and watched the early news and the Today Show.
Cleaned the kitchen.
Rescheduled the home visits that I was supposed to have today.
Studied for my school social work class.
Finished knitting a gift for someone awesome.
Built a fire in the woodstove to offset heating costs on this day at home.
Made another pot of tea.
Started knitting a black, raglan sweater for myself using the Knitting Fool website that creates a pattern (for free) after you enter your measurements, gauge, etc.
Ate lunch and did more knitting at the Red Brick Coffee Shop with a friend.
Mailed a package of clothes to my godson.
Received my snowshoes in the mail!!!
Got a haircut.
Made Hoisin Chicken and Parsnip Mashed Potatoes.

I'm not listing these things to gloat. I'm just grateful for this gift of an unexpected free day. I needed it.

My Snowy Life

Snow makes me happy. It's a necessity for me. It's part of why I like it here in Michigan, in the snow belt where we know all about "lake effect snow." I ran the snowblower after work yesterday but you wouldn't know it this morning. My paths are hidden under a few more inches of snow.

I like how the snow looks like it's snaking around the items left on my back porch.

My garden looks cozy under a blanket of snow (below).

I try to keep the birds fed.
Yesterday I saw 4 cardinals in this tree but they are shy this morning.

Winter Gardening

Okay, so it's not quite gardening but thanks to encouragement from my cousin Suzanne, I am growing sprouts in my house! It's very exciting. I bought a sprouting lid that fits on a Mason jar and I'm growing alfalfa sprounts in there.

I also bought a tall tupperware at Goodwill, poked some holes in the bottom, and I'm growing mung bean sprouts in there. I started them 3 days ago and have been rinsing them twice a day and I think they are about ready to eat! The bean sprouts taste almost like fresh peas from the garden, although not as sweet. I plan to try them in a Peanut Chicken Pasta Salad recipe this week. Fun!

Facebook is Overtaking Blogging

I just realized that I haven't posted on my blog since August. The reason is that I find it so much quicker to post updates and pictures on Facebook. So, although I'll probably post on here again, the best place to find me is on Facebook. It's taking over the world.

Oh, Deer

I looked out my bathroom window one morning last week and saw a deer! When I stepped outside with my camera I saw 2 more. I've seen their tracks since moving here a year ago but haven't ever caught them hanging out in my yard until now.


I think they were probably scheming how to get into my vegetable garden, but so far they have stayed out.

You may recall that a year ago a big pine tree fell on my front flower bed. Here it is a year later, fully recovered.

Here is the hibiscus we bought a year ago at the flea market. The flowers are HUGE!

Zinnias are my personal favorite.

Celebrating 40

I turned 40 on August 4. Although most of my friends are older than me, 40 still seems so much older than 39. We had a party in my backyard with homemade popsicles, taco salad and 2 amazing cakes: a 4 layer cake with strawberry filling and buttercream frosting from the bakery at The Red Brick and a Chocolate Mocha cake made by my sister-in-law. My friends, Christy, Kevin and Kate came from Kansas for the party. Rodney and Carmina came up for the party and to pick up their 2 kids who have spent the past 2 weeks up here with me and my folks. My aunt, uncle and cousin came from Ontario and an old friend came from Indiana. It's been an awesome 2 weeks off from work. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

Check out this watermelon that cousin Suzanne and Aunt Gladys carved!

My Dad and a Drill Can Fix Anything

I'm beginning to think that my Dad and his drill can fix anything. Today he figured out a way to mount a 9 foot umbrella on my deck so that I get shade over pretty much the whole deck. Yippee!! Here are the pictures before I painted the deck in the 92 degree heat of the day last weekend and a picture of the shady deck today.