Celebrating the end of January

January 31st - Thursday - Much colder and snowing again

Lou woke me up this morning by telling me our spring was short lived, and that the temperature had dropped from 58 degrees when we went to bed to 27 degrees at 8:00 this morning.  Oh well, it is still January, but we know February is just around the corner.

Lou went to his house to check on everything and found water in the basement.  They have a system in place that has been fail safe until yesterday and a little mouse caused a huge problem by falling into a bucket!!  Lou has gone back to his house to see if the water has drained out today and to move several items.  I offered to go along to help, but with the problems I am having with my back and hips, we knew I couldn't do much to help him.  So thought the next best thing I could do is to fix a nice dinner for him.  I had already baked his favorite cookie this morning.  Gingersnaps, which he enjoyed with his lunch and a cup of hot tea along with the ones he snitched off of the cookie sheet as soon as they came out of the oven and then had the nerve to tell me the "oven must have eaten a cookie off of each sheet and maybe I should think about replacing that oven!!"

I have a roaster chicken in the oven along with homemade stuffing and an acorn squash.  Will fix some mashed potatoes to go with it.  Haven't decided what I am going to fix for dessert which we will enjoy later in the evening as we watch our programs.

Lou took the SD card out of our Mini-Camera yesterday to see if we had captured any animals.  We had several  pictures of our dog making her rounds, my brothers cows, the kids playing with their sleds and one of my brother's cat, but no strange animals.  We certainly won't have any animals now, unless they swim to the barn, as everything is flooded from all of the rain in the last two days.  If we get some really cold weather the kids can ice skate.  There were years that we skated all winter after high water.  I am sure Shawn and Travis remember playing hockey there.

Candy Making

January 30th - Wednesday - Warmer 53 degrees

As many of you know I am still fixing food for our  Valentine's Day Coffee Hour at our church and it just wouldn't be complete without some candy.  Lou asked me to make his favorite candy and it is Cracker Candy.  I got the recipe from one of our square dancing friends and had made it one other time, but I didn't have enough chocolate chips to make a whole batch so I experimented with half butterscotch and half chocolate chip and it turned out great, in fact I think I like the butterscotch better.  I am going to include the recipe in case anyone wants to try it.  It is very easy and fun to make

40 crackers ( I used Keebler Club Crackers)
1 cup butter (must be butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 pkg 12 oz chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line up crackers on a cookie sheet with edges that has been covered with aluminum foil.  Melt butter and add brown sugar.  Stir often and bring to a full rolling boil for exactly three (3) minutes.  Pour over the crackers and bake at 350 degrees for ten (10) minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with chocolate chips and wait until almost melted then spread all over crackers, sprinkle with nuts.  Refrigerate for two (2) hours, then break into pieces and store in air tight containers.  Enjoy!!

I also made the old fashioned fudge, but everyone knows how to make fudge and it turned out great also, I had to have Lou help me stir that to finish it up.  So have those things off my list.  Now I am ready to start tearing the house apart to clean.

Garden Planted and Up

January 28th - Monday 26 degrees - Snow - freezing rain - ice

Lou and I were up early this morning to shovel the snow off the driveway prior to the ice and rain.  We thought if we got the snow off before the rain, it wouldn't be so heavy to shovel.  We were right, we had just finished when the rain started.  Of course, now the driveway is all ice, but the nice thing is we don't have to go anyplace today.  Retirement is so nice and I am really enjoying it this year.

As you can see from the picture above.  I planted an herb garden last week and it is all up very nicely.  I had looked for something like this last year while in  Florida to have in the motor home and couldn't find  something suitable.  We found this at the PX in Carlisle, now if all goes well I will have fresh herbs to use the rest of the winter.

Yesterday afternoon I baked my Valentine cookies and have that job out of the way.  They are all packaged up and in the freezer until I need them for Coffee Hour at the church on the 10th of February.

Yesterday was a day of phone calls.  We spoke with a retired colonel that we haven't been in contact with for several months.  Our grandson from the Marines called with a belated birthday wish and we were able to catch up on the news from him and a friend from our square dance group called to bring us up to date on the news there.  So good to stay in contact with everyone.

Our church service was especially good yesterday, as Pastor Keith was with us, it is the first he has been with us since Christmas.  He and his wife had some time away after the holiday and were able to go to Florida for some very well deserved time of rest and relaxation.  We have many ill people in our church body at this time and many in need of our prayers.  Pastor Keith's sermon was about the church body and how each of us are important to the church body and our gift is equally important and we are expected to use that gift for  to bring glory to God.  Something we all need to be reminded about very frequently.

Peaceful Sunday

Two Projects Completed

January 25th - Friday - 15 degrees and snowing

Using steel wool on light

Today was the day to finish projects, as we both have a couple of new things we want to start.  Lou had to get more paint to finish the light for the bedroom, and he picked that up yesterday afternoon.  This morning he used steel wool on what he painted yesterday and gave it another coat of paint and then late this afternoon we put it back in place. Now my new Billy Jacobs picture shows up much better.

I use this spot above our bed to display my favorite Billy Jacob pictures.  I found this new print of his this winter and it is called "Winter Coat".  He is one of my very favorite artists and we have many of his painting throughout our house.  Previously I had a favorite of Lou's of a brick house that goes nicely in our bedroom and soon it will be time to have spring pictures.  Have you noticed that our days are getting much longer.

This afternoon Lou took the car to Sheetz to fill it with gas, along with the gas cans, as it was the last day to use out points and we were able to get $1.70  per gallon off and certainly didn't want to lose out on that.  While he was gone I worked on my antique lady doll and I finished her up.  Don't know that I would make another one.  Something about sandpapering nice fabric that goes against my grain.  She certainly is primitive and the deal making her look dirty, that was different also.  Oh, well now I can go on to something different.

A Day to Finish Projects

January 24th - Thursday - 4 degrees this morning and very windy.

As I hung my sheets outside this morning, my mind went back to some 50 years ago and to my dearly loved and departed father.  We had just moved our 35 foot trailer to the country in the same location as our home is today.  We did not have a washer or a dryer, but we did have a four month old baby.  Daddy would stop every morning, with his Ford tractor, in the winter and pick up the baby laundry, take it next door to his house and wash the baby clothes and hang them on the line.  How his hand must have frozen as he hung out those tiny baby socks and such.  At 3:00 while Susie was sleeping I would go next door and take them off the line and bring them home and finish drying them on the clothes bars inside the trailer.  To this day, I still miss my father as does the rest of our family.  The picture above was taken of Daddy and Krista in the 80's  underneath my clothes lines.

Yesterday was my 70th birthday, and it was time for me to have my driver's license picture taken, and I needed to see Dr. Joe and I wanted to visit The Farmer's Daughter Shop, so I took my birthday money and Lou and I set off, oh it was a great day.  I hadn't made a day of shopping in some time and I did shop.  I needed to add some touches to the laundry room that I had just redone, and our bedroom needed some sprucing up and you now the shops have spring things out, so.........  We still had time before The Steak House opened for dinner, we elected to go to the Dollar Store for decorations for Coffee Hour at church in February, had to get Lou out of there, he was worse than I am, as I have to find a place to store the stuff he buys!!

We had a nice dinner at the Steak House.  Both of us decided to have steak which they cut themselves and everything there is home made, you are guaranteed a good meal when dining there.    They even served me a birthday cake at the end of our meal, which was a surprise to me.

Today I have tackled the job of putting all of my goodies away and that is the fun part, but the first thing I tackled brought a problem for Lou, the light about the picture in our bedroom was flaking paint, so he decided he would strip the paint and repaint it, well, more of a problem than he thought, guess he will finish it tomorrow.  He did get our alarm clock fixed.  It goes off whenever it likes and the bad part is Lou doesn't hear it, so today I unplugged it and handed it to him and by golly it got fixed.

I did get all of the  pip berry vines up and lights in them and they look good and match their surroundings, want to get all of these extra things done this week, so I can do baking next week and start special cleaning just before my surgery.  Those are my plans, now what God has in mind may be different.

Happenings in the Last Few Days

Sunday - January 20th - Very Windy and getting colder

Will give everyone an update on what has been happening since our last post.

Friday we made a trip to Carlisle to pick up our three month supply of drugs. We were surprised to awake to two inches of snow and the sound of the cinder truck going by.  It made travel a little difficult until we got to Williamsport and the further south we went the better the roads were.  We talked to our son-in-law, Brion and he told us all was good in Harrisburg, so we decided to go the the PX and Commissary to stock up while we were in the area.  In fact, Lou found himself a wonderful wool suit that was marked $475.00 on sale for $90.00 and that just had to come home with us.

As it turned out it was a wonderful day to travel home and we enjoyed our trip.  We stopped in Williamsport on our way home and picked up an item at Sam's club and on over to Michael's for some Valentine's decorations for home and church.  We arrived home safely at 7:00 to find that most of the snow had melted off of our driveway.

Saturday after sleeping in a bit, we took advantage of the breezy weather and the warmer temperatures, got all of the bird feeders filled up, did all of the bedding and hung all of the laundry outside to dry.  I decorated the front deck for Valentine's Day and put the snowmen away.  I found that most of my Valentine decorations are in the RV as we are usually on the road at this time of the year.  Need to hit the Dollar Store.

This morning we met Janet and Brion at the Homestead before church and went to breakfast together.  We always enjoy the time we spend together catching up on what is going on in their lives.  Even though we talk on the phone weekly, it isn't the same as chatting face to face.  Brion's mother lives in Wellsboro also, so they divide their time while in town.  Both are very busy people and lead interesting lives with careers that are fascinating to me.

After we came home from church, Lou and I made home made lasagna.  I made one dish to freeze to have after I have my surgery.  I have been trying to freeze some things ahead to help Lou with the cooking, although, he is a very good cook and very capable.

I hope to get back to some of my crafts this week while the weather is cold.  

Working on an Old Project

Wednesday - January 16th  - 3 inches of new fallen snow

I usually love to awaken to new fallen snow, especially after retiring; however, this morning I had an early appointment with my orthopedic doctor, so it was back to the old habits.  Lou and I both grabbed a shovel and cleaned off the driveway and sidewalks and headed for my appointment in Wellsboro.  After Dr. Golobeck examined my MRI he decided he could take care of both of my problems with my right shoulder with surgery, and he has me scheduled for Valentine's  Day.  What better present to be pain free for the summer.

After my appointment we took advantage of being in town and ran some errands and were able to pick up our Buick from the repair shop and got that back into the garage for the winter, had lunch out and back home to enjoy being inside for the afternoon.  Lou tackled our CD player as it has not been working properly and I pulled out a project that I had started years ago and hadn't gotten very far on.  It is to be an "antique" old lady doll when complete.  The next step is to use antique wax to make it look old and I think this may be a little tricky, this is done with a very hot iron and wax and spray starch.  Think I will  wait for morning to tackle this.

I had called Matthew to get him to come and build a snow man with me, but he sleeps through the best part of the afternoon.  The snow today would have been perfect for a snow man, maybe another time.  I know I sure am enjoying winter in PA and now it looks like we sure will be staying here.  Next step will be Lou's cataracts.

A Walk Outside

January 15th - Tuesday - Sunny  34  Degrees

After receiving an e-mail this morning telling me that one of my class mates had passed away, I felt a need to get outside and be in the sunshine and fresh air and I was amazed at the green leaves and bursts of spring that I noted around the house.

I realize it is much too early to think Spring is around the corner, but never the less it was nice to see signs of what God promises will be ahead of us.

Bright green leaves

Daffodils coming up

I spent the afternoon working on a craft that I had started years ago and Lou read one of his books.  I made a favorite of ours for dinner.  White Chicken Chili and  I served a tossed salad with it, we were able to eat a little earlier tonight, which seemed nice, and we had time to enjoy the longer evening.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the orthopedic physician to find out what he is going to be able to do with my shoulder.  Hopefully, we don't get lots of snow tonight!!

New Key Holder

January 14th - Monday - Beautiful sunny day  - 36 degrees

After I put up new wall paper border in our Utility Room, we had been looking for a new box to put our keys in, but hadn't been able to find anything.  Finally in a catalog that I receive from Kruenpepper Creek from Reynoldsburg, Ohio.  I found a toilet tissue dispenser that I thought Lou could convert to a key holder, so I ordered it.  I have to tell you that kpcreek.com is my favorite place to shop on line.  Our home is decorated in the primitive style and KPCreek is just perfect for me.

Lou preparing the wall for the key holder

The final product

Looks pretty good right there

Waiting for the Wild Creatures

Sunday - January 13th - 50 degrees

Lou mounting the camera under the eves 

Lou aiming the camera at the right angle

Two of Lou's kids went together and got us an outside Mini-Cam Infrared Camera for Christmas; however the day after receiving the camera Lou got sick and we received 20 inches of snow and we weren't able to get the camera mounted.

We have had several days for thawing and yesterday we decided to venture down to the barn and find a place to mount the camera.  Lou came up with the idea of mounting it under the eves of his work shop and that way it would take in the large seven acre field, creek and the barn lot.  Now the camera is mounted and we are awaiting the arrival of the "wild creatures".  We have an apple tree in the barn lot, and last year lots of apples; however, no apples this year.

I will keep you updated on what appears before our lens.

Catching Up with Old Friends

January 9th - Wednesday

During the evening we received a phone call from friends from my high school days wondering if we were going to be home around lunch time today.  Lou had to be at a friend's home to help him with his tractor again, but said he would be home in time for lunch.  Our friends said they were bringing lunch and they would be here around lunch time.

Lou and I were up early and Lou was out the door bright and early to help his friend and I thought I would stir up an Oatmeal cake for dessert, I had just taken the cake from the oven and there was a knock on the door, there were our friends.  Much to my delight a little early, I didn't get everything done that I had wanted to do but it didn't matter, we just picked up from the last time we saw each other and got caught up on the years.  What fun to remember all of the years and happenings, things forgotten, that the other remembered.

Lou came home at lunch time and we enjoyed a very hot cup of coffee as he had been working outside in the cold and wind.  Once he was warmed up we enjoyed a lovely lunch of Subway sandwiches, corn chips, soft drinks and the cake for dessert and more conversation.

We dragged out the yearbooks (The Nessmuk) and looked at pictures and that is when we realized that many of our classmates were no longer with us and many have just celebrated their 50th anniversaries.  God has blessed all of us in many ways.  He blessed the four of us with a wonderful afternoon.

Taking Advantage of Warmer Weather

January 8th - Tuesday -  Beautiful Sunny Day - Started off at 10 degrees and reached 42 degrees.

Today was the day that Lou meets with his retired buddies from Schweitzers and I thought it was a good time to start a fire in the garage and do a good cleaning.  Lou's workbench has accumulated several projects to be completed, bits and pieces of this and that, so a lot of time was spent in sorting before the cleaning could start.

Once Lou's workbench was cleaned off it was time to move on to the craft area, where we had sorta dumped all of the outside Christmas decorations.  I got them all picked up and packed away for another year.  Now the windows have all been washed inside and out.  The carpet has been swept, the other side of the garage has been swept and mopped, curtains washed, ironed and all looks clean and smells fresh
.

I split wood late this afternoon and filled the wood box back up ready for the next day we need a fire.  I have to admit, it really felt good to split wood and carry in wood.  That used to be a task that I did each and every evening.  Something that I enjoyed doing.  A task that I could do outside in the cool evening where there were no telephones just the sweet outside and the sound of the owls and once in a while the sounds of the fox.  Great memories.  Tonight I put a clean car into a clean garage.  Great feeling.

More Winter

Doves eating from feeder with Chickadees

Matthew enjoying the snow

Is there anything prettier than snow?

January 7th Monday

Just have to share some of the pictures of the snow with my family in the south.  I just can't seem to get enough of it.   Some of my family here think I am a little "crazy", but I do enjoy the snow, especially if the wind isn't blowing.  When Matthew and I were out in the snow, we could hear an owl hooting over in the woods and it reminds me of the many times I would go to the garage to put wood on the fire and I would hear the owls and the fox in the woods, they were good memories.  On moon light nights, I would be able to see the fox in the field at night.

My plans for today are to build a fire and get the garage nice and warm to get my outside Christmas decorations put away, with the exceptions of the snowman, soon will be time to decorate for Valentine's Day.  If we don't go to Florida I am going to enjoy the holidays here with outside decorating like I used to do.  I have several projects that I would like to accomplish.

New Electric Pole

On January 2nd the guys from Wellsboro Electric Company stopped by to tell us they were going to shovel off part of our front yard because the next day they were going to replace our electric pole.  We thought perhaps that was going to happen sometime in the near future, as the gas company had been along several weeks ago and put up yellow flag indicating where the gas lines were.

On the 3rd of January the Electric Company arrived a little after 8:00 am and laid down sheets of plywood on the yard,where they had shoveled the snow from, and drove their trucks down into the yard and left the new post and began the work on disconnecting the wires from the old pole, digging the six foot deep hole for the new pole, implanting the new pole and connecting the wires to the new pole.  This all took four hours to complete.  We were amazed at the precision this task was completed in. They kept us very well informed, in fact it did not take them as long as they anticipated. A portion of the old pole is still there, as the local television cable company has to remove their cable as does the telephone company, then the rest of the pole can be removed.

Enjoying Winter in Pennsylvania

January 5th - Saturday - A beautiful day in Northern Pennsylvania.

As you can see we have snow, in fact we have received a total of 20 inches.  I have to admit that I have enjoyed shoveling the snow.  Lou caught cold right after Christmas and was in bed when the snow arrived, so Steve and little Matthew came down and helped me shovel.  Steve used the snow blower and Matthew had a ball running around in the paths that we shoveled out for him.

The snow has brought the birds out in full force and it brought the Red Polls out of the woods in little flocks and we have really enjoyed them.  Just a few came at first, and now we have a large flock of them.  The good thing about them is, they will eat off the ground like the doves, so nothing goes to waste.  We also have our regular birds that come every year.  By not going to Florida we are really enjoying them this year.

Junco

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Tufted Titmouse

Mourning  Doves

Black Capped  Chickadees

Red Poll