Thursday...almost the weekend

It started snowing Tuesday night and didn't stop until Wednesday afternoon. Instead of the 2inches of snow we were forecast we ended up with about 12 inches. Husband was not happy. He had clear the driveway of snow as well as brush the snow off the roof. It took him ages to do it. He was glad of a nice warm shower when he came inside.

Luckily today it had cleared up. The roads were still a little icy this morning but I did go out. Two days inside was enough! I didn't go too far, just down to the local nature place for a walk. The snow was quite thick and it took me a lot longer than normal! There didn't look as though many people had been out as some of the trails were completely pristine snow (and really deep!). I stuck to the trails where it looked as though someone had been through with skies. Everything did look quite pretty though! I was looking at our snowfall totals for the season and we are over what we usually get. Sigh. Surely Spring is around the corner. When I said that to my mum she laughed.

I almost missed that it was Valentine's Day today - would have if not for all the sweet/flower displays in the shops. As a rule we generally don't 'do' Valentine's Day. We did splurge on some things for our shoes to help us walk in icy conditions and they happened to arrive today.

They go over your boots and are supposed to help with traction. They seem easy enough to get on. We shall try them out this weekend as Sunday we are going away for the night. We are going up to Mackinaw City to try to get photos of the Mackinaw Bridge in winter. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for half-way decent weather!

Another Snowy Day...and Daughter on her Way

It's another snowy day here in Michigan. It probably snowed another 5+ inches overnight and it is blowing and drifting. A terrible day for daughter to have to make the 9+ hour drive back to Minnesota. Luckily most of the snow is lake effect so once she gets past the snow belts the roads should be clear. We were going to take the dog for a long walk before they set off on the drive but the snow was pretty deep and we didn't manage to go far down by the trails.

As it was so bad we worked out another way she could go to avoid the worst of the drifting/blowing snow and bad roads so we led the way down to the toll road. I must admit that I kept my eyes closed most of the journey - no I wasn't driving! I hate snow but especially hate drifting and blowing snow along with icy conditions. There were spots where it was almost a white-out.

She's now driving the rest of the way by herself. She should be past the worst of it now but I won't be completely relaxed until she is completely home so only a few more hours of worrying. As Mums do we ever stop worrying?

Our snowy walk. There were men ice-fishing out on the lake. Brave, brave people!

I hope everyone is enjoying a calm Saturday!

Boxing Day

We're doing middle son's Christmas today as he had to work yesterday. Apparently newspapers don't have the day off lol. I suppose it sort of worked out as he lives by the lakeshore and they were under a Winter Storm Warning so driving in would have been really bad. The snow here is quite thick on the ground. Hubby said he brushed 10 inches off daughter's Jeep! We did manage to go out for a walk today. Daughter's husky loves the snow and cold - and it was cold this morning - it's -13C/8F at noon. We bundled up in long undies, hats, scarves and mittens. Daughter and I even had some handwarmers in our gloves. It was so cold we ended up with frozen hair and the dog had icicles on her chin.

The walk was beautiful. We went to the Not-so-Magnificent Pines walk. Still not sure why they are not magnificent. I like them!

I have some sorting and cleaning to do. I got lots of really nice things for gifts including some new photography toys to play with. The best thing, as always, was spending time with family. Hope everyone had a good day. 

Winter has Arrived

The snow has come and will apparently be here all week long. It's a good excuse to stay inside and get things done that need to be done. I don't like driving in it. We did go out for a snowy walk on Saturday. The place was really close by and quite beautiful.

Wednesday Already! Cooler

A front came through this morning and things are a little cooler - still warmish but not really hot. I am actually enjoying a lovely  breeze coming in the window.

The days seem to be just flying by. I keep meaning to do crafting but with the weather so nice I've been out and about walking and enjoying the sunshine. There will be plenty of time for crafting once the winter comes. I certainly won't be out walking so much then!

I woke up early yesterday morning as it was really too hot to sleep. We don't have air in the bedroom and it can get quite hot. I decided to go for an early, early morning walk hoping to catch the sunrise. In the summer I don't get to see too many of them, but now that Autumn has come it is darker until later.

Someone had built a cairn down at one access to the lake. It's always lovely to see these and see someone leaving a gentle mark.

It cast a beautiful reflection in the lake. It was so calm and peaceful there that early in the morning. I was the only person around. I stood and listened to all the birds and the chipmunks. I even got to see a family of raccoons come out of the brush near the water and play for a little while. I wish I had taken a seat just to sit!

I am coming along on my shawl that I was making. It's the eight hour one that has certainly taken more than eight hours! I'm almost on my second ball of yarn. I'm still waiting for my photos to come from Shutterfly so I can start on some holiday gifts.