The Olympics Are Wrapping Up

The Olympics are starting to wrap up. I'm already sad because I truly do love watching them, and the Winter Olympics are my favorite. I find that odd, since I'm really not that fond of snow, but I think the events are more exciting and it's not just a bunch of people running around a circle. Speed skating can be, but I also don't watch a lot of speed skating either - LOL. 

There have been Olympics where they've had two different 
locations in the past, but not necessarily eight hours away 
before. Still, it seems to be working out very well, and 
the venues are stunning. I want to ride in that bobsled run! 

The variety that goes on in the Winter Olympics is what makes it fun. And now they're thinking about adding ice climbing to the mix - maybe just as a trial, but how fun would that be to watch!? I could totally get behind that event. 

Ice Climbing has been projected as a possible Olympics 
event for a few years now. That could be a very 
interesting addition to the mix. 

Today I get to do my own Winter Olympics activity - it snowed yesterday - starting in the late afternoon. We've got a few inches on the ground now, where I was seeing bare grass yesterday morning. I'll have to shovel before heading to the gym, so I'm going to just do a short post today because it's a bit driveway, and my little green shovel will be working hard - LOL. 

Shoveling snow is a necessary evil when you live in 
the Frozen Northlands. So, I'll be wrapping this up 
and taking the time to shovel before heading to the 
gym for my last swim of the week. Have an excellent 
day! 

I did get my cooking done yesterday, though. I did six BBQ porkchops, and then I needed to make new BBQ sauce, which also required my making new Worcestershire sauce. Of course, I also ended the day making chicken for dinner. So it was a VERY busy kitchen day - my favorite kind of day, though. I also dropped the frames off at my framing company for corner inserts, and got sample packs of mats they have available. Very helpful. 

Italy did a terrific job preparing for the Winter Olympics. It's 
been smooth with wonderful venues and even though things 
are separated between the two main areas (and two other 
secondary areas), it seems to be working very well indeed. 
Bravo, Italia! 

So I'm wrapping this up and heading out to shovel. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Catching Up - It's Been VERY Snowy and Happy New Year (Early)

Since we're closed tomorrow and Thursday, although I will be posting quick Happy New Year posts, this is really my final post of substance for the year. We were dumped on for snow on the 28th-29th, so when I awakened, I did 1/2 hour on the treadmill, then got dressed for shoveling and started moving a mountain of snow. I cleared the walkways, then started on the driveway, and I had half of it cleared before DH came out and tackled the remainder with the snow blower. I was quite grateful for that, since that included the snowplow scree from the plows running back and forth along my street. 

Although my street is urban, the amount of snow on each 
side of this photo is just about what we were dealing with 
yesterday morning. Thank goodness Kevin had been kind 
enough to snowblow our front out. It made things much 
easier for me to deal with when I got into the shop yesterday. 

My acquaintance at the shop, Kevin, the Anishnabe guy who clears snow for the coffeeshop next door on the corner, had cleared his single pass that he does in front of my store as a kindness. I'm always grateful to Kevin, it means I have less that I have to clear, and people have a safe way to walk by my shop to get to the bus stop and the coffee shop. I still had plenty of snow that needed to be shoveled, but it wasn't solid  and didn't take me long. The drift that the snowplows had cast up in front of the shop were easily more than 4 feet high, so I now have an impressive barrier to the street snowplows. They'll be cleaning up for a day or two more, so I'll have to do touch-up shoveling, but I think my castle walls are in place for the remainder of this winter (unless we get an unusual warm snap that causes some serious melt-down). 

We had nice numbers from our sale on the first two 
days, but yesterday was a real disappointment. The 
snowstorm really kept people away (and I couldn't 
blame them for not wanting to drive through although 
the roads were mostly cleared). 

It was the third day of our four-day END OF THE YEAR SALE, and, as sales go, it was a disappointment. Of course, just getting from Point A to Point B in the snowstorm seemed to be a serious issue - there were at least two cars stuck in the drifts alongside the road during the day. One, they had to call a tow truck out for, the other borrowed my shovel to get himself extricated. I'm sure my little corner wasn't the only one affected along my street, the snowplows had cleared the driving lanes, but hadn't cleared edge-to-edge yet. 

I'm extremely grateful for Kevin who is hired to snowblow 
the walkways around the corner coffeehouse, but extends his 
path past my store for a single up and back sweep. It's a 
kindness he does for me and I'm very thankful for it. 

I have to start today out by going to the bank for our final deposit of the year. We're closed tomorrow and Thursday, so it's my last chance to get money into our account. It's a bit nerve-wracking - it's a LOT of cash to be carrying around. Still, it's not like I'm wearing a placard stating "Rob Me". LOL I'm sure I'll be fine, it's not the first time I've had to do a deposit like this. 

We're a legacy customer of Deerwood Bank. Our original 
bank, which had been less than a mile from the shop, now 
is the location for the spectacular metal loon sculpture on 
the northwest corner of a redevelopment of green space for 
the urban scene. I adore the loon, but on days like today with 
roads the way they are, I would really prefer my old bank. LOL

But I'm starting the day out at the swimming pool. I won't be swimming the remainder of the week, so I absolutely need to get my one day in. I'm going to catch up on some sleep over the next couple of days, and we'll have to go into the shop for at least a short time for reports. We also have the rescheduled family get-together on Wednesday afternoon. So I won't be housebound. My posts will be short, however, for the 31st and the 1st. I wish all of you a safe and happy New Year and I look forward to sharing with all of you in 2026. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was the Final MCI Class, and It Snowed, So It's Shoveling Time

I have a 7:00 am ear doctor appointment at the clinic, and the roads will be icky. I have to start things out by shoveling the driveway, so this will be a short post. DH wants me to work at the shop today, and I really don't have the time to do that. I might be able to do an hour or two, but nor a lot more than that. I'm winging things today. There's a lot that needs doing, and not a lot of time in which to do it. 

I've got to at least get the driveway cleared before I leave for 
the Clinic. I hate having tire tracks through the snow to ice 
over later on, if I can help it. So, I'm heading out to clear it 
away as best I can. 

On the positive side, all of my holiday cards were mailed over the past week. That's at least one thing off my list, and I'm grateful. I've started receiving cards from many of you, and as always, they're a delight. *hugs* to Ivy whose card I received yesterday. Beautiful as always, and the enclosed catch-up letter was also a real positive because it's always good to catch up with you on a more personal level. 

I've never actually met most of you, my 
friends of the heart. We've chatted and shared 
for years now, but you live far away from me. 
You're still treasured friends, however. You 
don't have to be close to be dear. 

It was the final meeting of my Mild Cognitive Disorder class yesterday. We all agreed that it was very worthwhile, and had a little celebration and wrap up at the end of it. I'll miss seeing some of these people - they've been a real delight to get to know over the weeks. We're all in different stages of MCD, I'm very much in the early stages, and it's a long road ahead of me. I hope I've gathered some tricks, etc that might help me on this journey. 

Mild cognitive impairment is a bit frightening. It's a slippery 
slope towards true Alzheimer's disease. I'm on the very early 
slopes of this, but it still loome as a probability in my distant 
future. I guess I'll go shovel the driveway and get some of this 
doom and gloom out of my system - LOL. 

In any case, I have snow I have to shovel, so I'm cutting this short and getting to it. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with a bit more time than I have today. Slava Ukraini. 

Yesterday Was a LOT of Work, But Now Our Gutters Are Ice-Free

Good Monday and Happy December to all of you. I'm cold, I'm tired, and I'm already OVER Christmas, even though it hasn't arrived yet. DH is already awake, about an hour early, I was too cold to run on the treadmill this morning, so I'm without exercise until tomorrow's swim, and I have a day of working with DH without a Chickie buffer. So far, the day truly sucks. 

I'm SO over the holiday season already, and it's 
only December 1st. ARGH! I'll be counting 
down the days until Christmas when we'll actually 
have a day off again. From this point on, we're even 
open on Sundays for limited hours. 

We spent a lot of time yesterday melting and breaking the ice and leaves out of the front gutters of the house. They should have been cleaned out no later than last week, but he didn't have the energy. So he paid for it yesterday when we had our first truly cold day, with a snowfall of more than an inch, and some nasty winds. The gutters, which he had hoped to clear out fairly easily, were frozen solid. That meant I was on stove duty, boiling water in the kettle and one pot, which I then would bring out to him as he was perched on the ladder. It took well over an hour, but he finally did get the gutters he needed cleared, so we're now set for the remainder of the winter. 

If we didn't melt the ice buildup in our rain gutters, we would 
end up with ice dams like this one, which would, eventually 
cause flooding in our home. NOT ACCEPTABLE. So, 
DH was on a ladder doing what he should have done a week 
ago in much warmer temperatures - clearing the fallen leaves 
and other debris from the gutters so that we don't have ice 
problems. 

I finally, after more than a year, had a chance to try out my automatic snow shovel. It's basically a snow blower in miniature. It actually works fairly well, although it's only tossing the snow ahead of it. I'm bringing it over to the shop. I think I'll have more use for it there. I'll have to get everything shoveled from the front of the store when I get in today, so it might be put into use immediately. I have a lot of older customers, and I don't want them breaking their legs by slipping on ice. 

I have a mini snow blower shovel very similar to this one 
that I purchased last year. I didn't use it at all (cancer 
took control of last winter), but I plan on using it this 
winter at the shop. It won't do everything, but it should 
be quite helpful. 

Adding to everything else, it's really cold today - not sub-zero, but single digits. A bit over two weeks ago, we were in the garden and only one week ago or so, we were raking the last of the leaves and putting everything away in the shed. Winter had no intention of waiting around this year. She's come, and she's going to stay a while (rather like an uninvited house guest - LOL). So, I'm going to wrap this up, grab some breakfast, and head over to the shop. I don't like being rushed when I have to clear snow before I open. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It's a Blowy and Snowy Wednesday - Winter Has Finally Arrived

So, it's snowing. We got the leaves raked and the patio put away just in time! I'm proud of us (and rather surprised that we managed it). Although originally they had predicted around five inches, I suspect it will be closer to three. Still, I'll have to shovel the driveway soon. I think my grocery store will be running their usual hours, so if I get out there around 7:30 am, I should be fine. There are a few things that I HAVE to get - I'll be running out otherwise - and I need to make a batch of Ogre Juice today for the upcoming week. I won't get Friday off, so everything has to be accomplished today. No chicken for dinner, however, since I have a 14 pound turkey in the refrigerator waiting for Thursday morning. 

I'm thinking about making another batch of sweet 
potato spears. It's such an easy recipe and they're 
so very tasty. 

I'm skipping swimming today because of the snow. We got anywhere from 3"-5" inches overnight, although it really didn't start falling on us until around 2:30 am. It's not bad by any stretch, but I have to get the driveway shoveled. Of course, I forgot to charge the batteries for my automatic shovel, and I'm uncomfortable about using the snow blower (although DH has demonstrated it for me several times). So, I'll have to shovel with my trusty lime green shovel. It's not my first rodeo, but it is my first real snowstorm since my cancer surgery, so I might be exercising muscles that don't get used in my swimming or treadmill days. 

Turkeys are actually pretty easy - they cook themselves while 
we watch football - LOL. It'll just be nice to have a day off 
before jumping into the holidays with both feet. 

Speaking of the treadmill, on Monday it came up with an error code. That was disturbing, but I was too busy at the shop to put any time into it. I was too busy yesterday as well, I'll have to contact them today, though. I unplugged it overnight to see if it might reset on its' own when I restore power later this morning. It sure would be nice if it did. 

I adore my treadmill, but having the virtual scenery is 
essential to my being on it. Otherwise, it's just too 
boring. Right now, however, it's coming up with a computer 
error code. So ... I unplugged it and will check it out again 
today. Just one more thing - LOL. 

So, that's it for me on this snowy Wednesday. I won't actually post tomorrow (except to wish people a Happy Thanksgiving Day). I'll be back on Friday, however, the first day of our two day sale - Black Friday. The e-mailer went out (I'll double-check that a little bit later today), the store is a disaster, but that's because we're working so hard on getting everything ready to clear out next year. We'll manage, but a good holiday season is mandatory, so Friday and Saturday will be crucial. I'm not sure I'll put up garlands, but I don't need to have them up for the weekend, I can do that early in December. DH wants to change ballasts in our overhead lights (something he absolutely HATES to do), so we're both looking at some early morning hours to actually be ready for Christmas. Have a great day and a good Thanksgiving and I'll be back on Friday. Slava Ukraini. 

Winter Will Arrive Today in Style *sigh*

We're under a Winter Storm Watch for the next 24-48 hours. Of course, my luck, those are also pool days, so if it does snow overnight, I'll have to shovel before I leave for the YMCA. Just one more thing on my possibilities list - do this, do that, do the other thing. And, of course, into the mix comes DH and his very uncertain and volatile temper these days. We're both under a lot of pressure. I internalize it, he strikes out verbally. I'm tired of being yelled at for something I didn't do. 

I don't think we've seen a single flake of snow in the Twin 
Cities yet, but we're solidly in the red for a Blizzard Warning 
for the day and into the night. *sigh* Nothing like having 
Winter arrive with a fist of fury. 

The latest is my oldest niece. I had spoken to her about an idea I had for a Family Trust several months ago, but eventually she had decided the role I had requested for her simply didn't work for her. No problem, I withdrew the offer/request. But DH wants her to be in charge of a different Family Trust, and that one is structured very differently. What she would have to do would be minimal and almost just exist on paper. No real effort on her part. She's still uncertain about accepting the role, however, and DH is blowing up at me for having "ruined" it for him. Well, he'll just have to explain, in detail, what she would be expected to do. The funds are being handled by our brokerage, and hands-on would be minimal at most. 

My oldest niece might not accept the position that DH 
would like her to hold after we're dead, but it's totally 
her choice. I don't think DH has explained her role in 
any depth, and it really isn't much. Just overseeing things 
to make sure things are above board and the investment 
firm isn't siphoning off funds under the table. 

But DH got home late last night, and blew up at me for "ruining things with" my niece. Of course, he stayed late at the shop working, and didn't get home until I was ready to go to sleep. Then he wants to "talk" to me about it, which means "yell" at me about it, and I simply said "No. I'm going to sleep. I have to wake up in six hours to get to the YMCA for swimming. I'm not discussing anything right now." And I turned around and did exactly that. He'll be fuming today, I'm sure. It should be an "interesting" day at the shop. 

Catie's Mom had turned down the position of administrator 
for her Dad's estate, tossing that job to DH instead. In fact, 
I don't recall having see my sister-in-law even pass in my 
Father-in-Law's house after he passed. There were a lot of 
bad memories, I guess. Maybe my niece thinks it might be 
somewhat horrid. I suspect it will be rather boring. 

Plus, when we add in the possibility of some potentially serious snow ... well, things are very interesting right now - LOL. Personally ... I really don't like living in "interesting" times. I'm hoping you have a really uninteresting day ahead of you. Interesting is highly overrated. LOL I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It Snowed Overnight - Shoveling Might be Tricky

Today will be my first day back at the shop since my surgery. Of course, it's been snowing overnight, and I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than a water jug. That's going to make clearing the front and back of the store difficult. I probably can do it in small increments, but I can't really throw the snow effectively onto the sides of the walkways. *sigh* No choice. I'll bring my power shovel along with me, that might be helpful. 

I will have to be very careful about my movements as I clear 
the snow away from the front and rear of the store. I don't 
want to strain or tear any of the surgical sutures internal or 
external. My power shovel should help a lot with that, but 
it won't do everything for me. 

But it's 3:45 am and I've been up for an hour. I think all of this lazing around and sleeping here and there over the past two days has maxed me out on sleep. I'll probably regret the sleep loss tonight when I fade, but that's then, and I have a long day ahead of me before I get there. I charged up the batteries for my power shovel overnight, so I have two freshly charged batteries ready for it. Now if I can just remember how to turn it on LOL - it's a little tricky. 

I have a power shovel similar to this, although mine 
is green and a different brand. I'm not expecting too 
much from it - mine was a very inexpensive Taiwan 
knock-off that arrived in the poorest packing job I've 
ever seen before for an overseas shipment. Still, you 
get what you pay for, right? I didn't pay much! LOL

I was going to make some soup yesterday, but simply didn't have the energy. I lazed around all day. My doctor phoned in the early afternoon, confirming that they had removed a malignant tumor of approximately 10mm diameter from my right breast, but that everything else tested out negative. I see her again in a bit over two weeks. Claire will accompany me again - she's been an amazing, wonderful friend. 

We had been hoping my tumor would be in the 6mm-8mm 
size range, but it turned out to be 10mm, so in the next 
category. I deal with beads and mm sizing all the time, I'm 
rather staggered to think that my tumor was 10mm big! 

So, despite the fact that I'm up at almost 4:00 am when I wanted to sleep until 6:00 am, I'm considering this to be a win. A decade or more ago, it would have been a death sentence. Medicine has come a long way with breast cancer in the intervening decades, and I totally approve of the strides that have been made. I'm off to the shop today, and to figure out how to use my power shovel - LOL. Have an excellent Saturday, I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Tulips, Phones, Pineapple and Prayers - I'm All Over the Place Today

So here we are at the end of another week, and the end of March. When I next post, it will be April and Spring will (should) finally be here. We still have the last of the snow on the ground, but that's quite normal. The fact that we have snow at all on the ground, after this "Winter that the Snow Gods Forgot" is quite amazing. The ground and trees and other plants desperately needed the moisture, though, so I'm happy we at least had a bit of Winter come around to play in our area. This year may have been Nature's apology for last year's record-setting snowfalls, but our lack of moisture might be very harmful to our trees, etc this year. 

DH is all worried about the tulips we have that 
are already sprouting leaves above ground. But 
everything I'm reading says no worries unless there 
are already blossoms, which we don't have. So, I'm 
sure his flowers will be just fine, despite our late 
snowfall. 

I wanted to give all of you an update on the "horrible phone screen takeover" from earlier in the month. If you recall, somehow I ended up saying "Yes" to a "do you want to switch to "Easy Home Screen" around the middle of the month. Big ARGH! I absolutely HATED it. My apps were suddenly in alphabetic order, instead of clustered into the groups that I access the most. I actually had to write a list of the apps I use first thing every morning so that I could go down the list in order and not miss anything. It totally sucked. 

Easy Homescreen was anything BUT easy for 
me. Suddenly my apps were alphabetic and scattered 
all over the screen. I have my apps grouped so that 
I'm finding them in order of use. Alphabetic was 
NO help at all. And I couldn't find the app to uninstall 
it. The fact that I stumbled over it randomly and was 
able to remove it and return to my old set-up was 
a total blessing! 

According to the app, I just had to find it to be able to eliminate it, but that wasn't easy either. Some time last week, when I was fiddling with my screen, the app's home page came up on my screen with an option to "Return Settings to Prior View" and I grabbed it - said YES (rather emphatically), crossed my fingers and hit the confirmation. Voila! My screen returned to the settings I had been using. My apps are grouped together once again. My phone is once again mine - not the property of an Evil Empire. I couldn't be much happier. Easy Home Screen might be perfect for some of you, but for me it was the ultimate failure. I hope I don't fall down that rabbit hole again. 

You want your pineapple to look as golden as possible, and 
the one I bought yesterday was absolutely the poster child 
for the perfect pineapple. I'm really looking forward to eating 
that one - it dehydrated beautifully. 

Yesterday pineapples were 2 for $7 at the store, and there was one beautifully ripe one calling my name. The store, even though I only bought one, has to give me the discounted price - a lawsuit from a few years ago required stores to honor sale prices, even if the purchase isn't the full quantity. So, I went home with groceries and another beautiful pineapple which I immediately cut up and put into the dehydrator. I set it for 15 hours, shifted the trays every hour until I went to sleep, and rescued my dried pineapple this morning. washed the shelves of the dehydrator and put everything away properly. I've got a yummy munchie to add to my container of mango and pineapple from Wednesday. Nom, nom! 

I'm thinking lots of positive thoughts for my oldest 
nephew, but more positive thoughts from you, my 
readers, would be appreciated. He's got a long hard 
road ahead of him, if he's going to beat this cancer. 

So that's about all I know right now. My oldest nephew, the one with abdominal cancer, just finished his fifth course of chemotherapy since January. Now they'll reassess whether they can do anything surgically or not. I'm hoping for the best, of course, as is the rest of the family. Any positive thoughts you can spare in his direction would be appreciated, of course. It never hurts to get some good things moving through the ethos. On that note, I'm out of here. Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate that holiday, have an excellent day and weekend and I'll be back on Monday morning to welcome April alongside all of you. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

It Was a Wet and Heavy Snow

The snow is finally done and cleaned up. It was a typical Spring snow - wet and very heavy. DH dragged the snow blower from the garage to get the driveway cleared yesterday, while I shoveled the walkways. It was a miserable job, but we got it all done. The next door neighbor lady was struggling with her shoveling, but when we were done and looked over, she was nowhere to be seen, so we shrugged, put the snow blower back into it's home in the garage, and continued with our day. 

DH immediately pulled out the snow blower yesterday, and 
that made all the difference. It was a wet, heavy snow, and 
it was still a mess to take care of. But it was SO much easier 
than shoveling the driveway. 

When I got home in the evening, I saw her back outside tackling the driveway once again. I told DH I was going to go and give her a hand with the shoveling before coming into the house, he shrugged, and off I went, shovel in hand. It turned out to not be my neighbor, Colleen, but their house/dog sitter Hannah. My guess is they are on a quick Easter vacation - maybe to visit their daughter at college in Michigan. But Hannah was glad of the help. The snow was VERY waterlogged and extremely heavy, and had a nice frozen crust that needed to be broken through to get down to the concrete driveway. I let her deal with the slope - it was a bit icy and she's considerably younger than I am. I tackled the plow scree, which was heinous, but I managed to get that cleared out for her. Good deed done - LOL. 

There's nothing much worse than snow plow scree, that 
snow that gets kicked up on the right side of the blade. 
It's wet, heavy, and pushes a long way into any driveway. 
It's a PITA to shovel or snow blow. 

It was slow at the shop yesterday. I put it totally on the weather. The snow had stopped falling, but the streets were in the process of edge to edge clearing, and my landlord was just finishing clearing the parking lot with his CAT when I arrived in the morning. I'd say we got about 5 inches from that storm - depending on location. It was a typical Spring snow - very moisture laden, so very VERY heavy. 

Our shop landlord has a lot of different heavy equipment, but 
he loves using his CAT. He gets a lot of use from it in the 
winters, using it to clear the back parking lot at the shop so that 
customers can get into the four businesses in my little 
group of stores. He does a good job, too. He's been a great 
landlord over the years. 

I started building a snow wall at the shop when I shoveled there, but I'm fairly sure it will melt again before the next storm comes through - if we even have another snow. We're late into the winter now, and snow is at a point where it will be sporadic, heavy, but melted quickly. I'm pushing for the melting part - LOL - although our trees desperately need that moisture. So, I'm off to the swimming pool. Have a fabulous Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Ready For a Late Winter? It's Here!

Until just a few days ago, we had been experiencing a winter of no snow. It was astonishing and quite fun. The fun is now over, and early Spring is giving us what Winter refused to - snow, and a lot of it. Of course the worst part of Spring snow is the humidity factor - it's wet and heavy snow, not lightweight flakes floating down. Instead of drifting on the breeze, it's pelting the streets, cars and houses. 

Wet heavy snow is great for sledding, cross country skiing, and 
building snowmen. It's crappy for driving and clearing the snow 
from walkways and driveways. We're going to get a wet, heavy 
snowfall of up to fifteen inches starting around noon on 
Sunday and continuing through Monday. Ick! 

I went outside to shovel the driveway clear around 8:30 or so in the morning, and was a bit shocked. I had come in from the movies Thursday night, parked the car in the garage, and went to sleep. When I entered the garage in the morning to grab my shovel and take care of the snow, there were two four-foot long 1x6 boards lying across my car, just missing my windshield. Too weird! I know we have squirrels in the garage, but these would have been a bit heavy for squirrel power. All I can figure is that we might have a raccoon in the garage. That would be a large enough animal to push the wood off the beams. DH stores his extra smaller wood pieces up above, leaving the wall space for the sheet lumber. I'm grateful Minion is unharmed, but a bit concerned about possibly sharing my garage with a larger animal. 

The refrigerator door has five containers 
of my Ogre Juice for the next week. I rely 
on it to get nutrients I wouldn't get 
otherwise, and it's an easy lunch to have 
at the shop. Very green - LOL. 

But I got the car unlumbered and the driveway shoveled, and headed to the grocery store to get veggies for my week's Ogre Juice batch, and my salmon for dinner. Then I came home and cooked - a lot. As you can see in the photos. The upper photo is my week's ration of Ogre Juice. That usually will take me an hour from start to finish (initially, when starting WildFit, it would take 2-4 hours for this - a good blender and lots of experience sure helps cut that time down). 

Here, taking space in what had been empty 
shelves, are my cooked fruit, butternut 
squash, roasted carrots and in the white 
containers, eight individually packed stuffed 
"mini" peppers. I'll be eating good over this 
next week! The white, wrapped pack at the 
bottom is my fresh salmon for last night's 
dinner. Now all I need to do is reheat things, 
if needed, and add my salad. I'm set for the week 
ahead. 

The second photo, of "my side" of the refrigerator shows eight containers of roasted butternut squash, four containers of roasted mini carrots (so good!), eight containers of cooked pears and apples with cranberries and crushed nuts, and my package of salmon at the bottom, waiting for later in the day to be baked and broiled. The white containers holding stuffed peppers were cooked on Wednesday. 

We already got a couple of inches from the first bits 
of the storm, but we're going to get hit on Sunday with 
up to 15 inches in that 24 hour period. In the photo, we're
right where the 20"+ is located - LOL. Getting to work 
on Monday might be interesting, and I'll actually have 
to shovel out the store for the first time this year. Uck! 

We're supposed to get a LOT of snow starting on Sunday and continuing on into Monday. I'll need food for all of that shoveling. DH wants take-out for his Sunday, but I'll make a final decision on that based on the weather and the roads. I wouldn't mind a meal of Moo Shu pork from our local Chinese restaurant. We'll see what the weather brings - we might be getting our entire winter's snowfall in a single large storm. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Be kind, enjoy life, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

It's Snowing! - a Good Thing - and Kung Fu Panda!

We've finally had measurable snow! It's expected to snow on and off until 9:00 am, and then shoveling will commence. It's WONDERFUL - just seeing snow again. This late in the season it won't stay for long, so we can enjoy it for a few days and then return to thinking about the garden. It hasn't gotten chillingly cold, so the few plants who have popped above ground should still be nice and cozy in the dirt. My best estimate is that we got somewhere between 3-4 inches from the storm, or at least will have that by the time it leaves the area. 

It's finally snowing! After a winter of no snow, I'm 
looking out of my windows and seeing white. I'm 
thrilled. I'm not much of a fan of snow, at least not 
in the amounts we got last year, but some snow is 
necessary for us - we're in the north - we should have 
snow in our winters. This was a green winter, and 
it's almost over. It's a bit of a relief to see snow again. 

"Kung Fu Panda 4" was a total delight, as I knew it would be. Chickie and I weren't the only people in the theater, but we were the first people in and the last people out. We always stay for all of the credits before we leave after a film. We each played games or whatever on our phones until the actual film started - we have no interest in the junk that plays beforehand, unless it's a preview for another upcoming movie. It took no time at all to be pulled back into the wonderful animation of Po and his newest friend, a perky, lovely fox named Zhen. 

Zhen was a great character - smart, wiley, 
able to get in and out of trouble like a fox. 
Oh yeah - she's a fox - LOLOL. 

The one thing I really loved was that it was established, without hesitation, that Po's two "parents" - the panda and the goose, are both male. They both consider themselves to be Po's father, and they're not shy about telling others. I'm not sure Po would have survived this latest adventure without their help. The various and sundry assorted animals depicted were fabulous, as always, and the villain was SO GOOD! I can't wait for the next Minions movie this summer. We'll definitely be back in the audience for that one! 

"Despicable Me 4" is coming into theaters this summer. I can 
hardly wait. At least I won't have to think about snow, although 
rain is certainly a possibility. 

So today I'll do some cooking and some cleaning, I'll shovel the driveway when it's closer to the end of the storm, and I need to grocery shop as well. I'm totally looking forward to some serious kitchen time, and then I'll crack open the laptop and continue working on my crystals inventory sheets so that we can actually hold our Swarovski Crystal sell-down sale - better late and done well than early and a disaster - LOL. So, this is a short post today, but there really wasn't much to report except a delightful day. A total winner. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

 

Happy Leap Year Day - It's a Rare Day and a Freaky-Warm Winter

Good Leap Year Day to all of you, and Happy Birthday to my oldest nephew. I've always thought it must be an odd day to have a birthday because even though you're aging like the rest of us, in "actual" birthday celebrations, you're under ten - LOL. But today is a "bonus day" for the rest of us, a day to catch up, or have a fling, or do one thing that you would never have dreamed of the last time Leap Year came around. 

Happy Leap Day to my nephew, and the 
best of Birthday Wishes to him as well. 
This is my nephew who is fighting 
abdominal cancer, so I fear celebrations 
will be very low key. But he's still fighting 
the disease and that's one very positive thing. 

An online friend has stepped in and offered to pay some of the cost of the beadwork repair for my fixed income customer. I'll take you up on that (and message you directly), and I'll see what she can manage to do. It really isn't something I want to keep - I want it to be back in her home, not on my "pick-up" shelf in the back room. 

Although I am delighted with the lack of snow, I know 
it's hitting bars and resorts really hard. People who 
would normally go North to vacation doing ice fishing, 
snow shoeing, cross-country skiing and other winter 
sports are getting hit hard. I suspect there will be quite 
a few bars and/or other entertainment venues that will 
go out of business because of our lack of snow. 

I'm absolutely exhausted, and at a high weight (for me), so I'm not starting today out really great. I just feel a bit "blah" today, and I'm sure I've got a ton of computer work waiting for me when I get into the shop later this morning. *sigh* It's the story of my life. BUT, on the positive side, our "snowstorm" of Tuesday turned into less than 1/2" of snow in my part of the cities. I can totally deal with that. So far this is the "Winter That Never Came" and I'm happy to be living through it. 

This is "The Year that Winter Never Came". I know 
some people will have a really hard year ahead because 
they're not able to take advantage of our usual snowy 
conditions, but I am grateful. I'm quite happy to not be 
shoveling the driveway, and DH has only had to pull 
snow from the roof once this season (although he 
probably could have skipped it completely). We live in 
the "Frozen Northlands", but you'd never know it 
this year. 

So, as I sleep-drive to the gym to wake up in the pool, I'll wish all of you an extraordinary February 29th. Enjoy this rare opportunity to catch up on things. As usual - be kind, and stay safe. I'll be back with you tomorrow to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Cooking, Recipes and a Touch of Snow

It actually snowed late yesterday! After this "Green Winter", that was a bit of a shock. As I recall (I haven't looked outside yet), we're supposed to get approximately an inch, so it's not much of a snow. But still, it's actual white when I'm driving to the YMCA today, and the streets might well be icy, so caution driving will be a wise decision. 

I do love my "days off", even though I'm working just as 
hard on those days as I do at the shop. 

Of course, it's a "day off" of grocery shopping, errands (office supply shop, mainly) and cooking. I'm in the mood for a stew, so I pulled out a couple of possible recipes from my stack: Hungarian Goulash and Wrangler Stew. I'll read through those again before heading to the store, and decide which of the two I would rather make. I'd normally be making a chili, but I think a bit of a switch would be wonderful. I still have one portion of my "Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato" soup left, and it's been lovely. With the colder weather today, replenishing my soup/stew portions would be a great idea. 

Although I pulled two different stew recipes from my stack, 
it's this one I might try - Wrangler Stew. I'd drop out the 
potatoes, but I can easily deal with the rest of the ingredients, 
and I think it would be a lovely stew. 

I also pulled out the recipe for a Pomegranate Molasses Barbecue Sauce. I'm actually still in good shape on my Bar-B-Q sauce, but I wanted to take a closer look at this recipe and think about whether I'd like to give it a try. Not all recipes I try are successful, and my time for experimentation is quite limited, but this one is whispering to me. We'll see if I indulge or not. I have everything on hand except the pomegranate molasses (which I actually MIGHT have in my top cupboard). If I have the molasses on hand, I might just mix up a batch of this. 

I'm pretty sure I have a bottle of pomegranate molasses 
in my cupboard. I haven't used it for a couple of 
years, but I only needed a small bit in the recipe I 
required it for. I'll have to take a look through my 
cupboard before heading to the grocery store 
later today. 

The other thing I have to make is my baked fruit. I make that to have for breakfast every day, and I love it. I usually make it with pears or apples (or a combination of the two fruits). I add raisins or dried cranberries, chopped nuts, and seasonings and it's a lovely meal. I'm down to a single portion left in the refrigerator, and after my meal after swimming, I'll have none for tomorrow. Therefore, my baked fruit is a high priority item. I can toss together a pear bake within an hour of kitchen time, but I might want to change things up a bit ... just for the heck of it. 

I make a baked fruit to have for breakfast most 
mornings. It's not always the same fruit - it's what's 
available that looks good. I toss the cubed fruit in 
with nuts and dried cranberries, maple syrup and 
home-made pumpkin pie spice mix, put it into the 
oven, and let it do its' thing. It's a perfect meal 
first thing in the morning. 

So, life goes on. I've got bills to pay in front of my computer - I'll have to check the bank balances this afternoon and pay what I can. I shifted some personal funds into the joint account a week or two ago, and I'm unwilling to donate more of my funds unless I have no choice. I don't have that much at hand, so I need to be a bit careful. DH has increased his monthly donation for the bills, but there are some quarterly bills that we get that can punch a hole into our budgets, and two of those came through this month. *sigh* Death, taxes and utility bills - the guaranteed things in life - LOL. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.