I think my icicles have icicles / What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday

I can't believe it - another Wednesday has rolled around so it's time to join up with Julia and the gang over at Stamping Ground for another What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. I swear I must have skipped over a couple of days. If I had my way I would have hibernated since last Thursday when the snow started and cold blasted upon us. It was -13C last night and didn't get above freezing all day yesterday. Our high on Thursday is supposed to be -10C. Brrrr. Maybe I can hibernate? I think my icicles might have icicles!

Anyway I did spend a little time at my desk. I finally put away the Christmas makings as I have made all the cards I am going to make. That means there is space on my desk and the floor (which I never actually showed photos of).

The yummiest thing on my desk is the tub of chocolates you can see. They are supposed to be used to fill the cracker boxes you can see on the right hand size. One for the cracker box, one for me...No, I am being good. If you've read anything of my blog over the last few days you'll know I've gone to the dentist twice since last Wednesday and now have a temporary crown on a tooth which means no crunching on sticky things. Sigh. In the forefront is a non-Christmas card I'm working on.

Here are the last of the Christmas cards. 

I used washi tape on all these. I like the looks, but the tape doesn't always stay stuck down! Anyone else have that problem? I ended up putting more tape on it.

And finally one alcohol inspired card.

I have a lunch to go to - if it isn't cancelled due to snow/cold - but I'll be doing the rounds hoping to see some warm weather photos while snuggling beneath my blanket and using the cat on my lap to keep my hands warm! Hm...maybe he's using me to keep him warm!

Ugh, Dentist

Well, it is over and done with. Thank goodness. They fit me in this morning. It took two hours. Hubby drove me as roads were still bad, daughter picked me up as the salt trucks had been through and the roads were a little better. I hated it, but I managed to deal with it. I have to go back in January to have the permanent crown put on. My mouth stayed numb for a few hours but is all better now just a little sore in several spots where work was done.

Grill in, Snowblower out

It's been snowing pretty steadily since about Thursday so hubby declared it was time to put the barbeque grill to the back of the garage and bring the snowblower to the front. Sigh. I suppose it is that time. Hubby and older son cancelled plans for today and middle son is not coming over. Both involved quite long drives and the roads aren't the best. The only one who seems to be enjoying the snow is Shasta!

As my daughter says "It's a husky thing."

Snowy Walk

I did it. Yesterday I wrapped up warm in winter coat, gloves, scarf and snowboots and headed out into the cold.

It was -3C when I started my walk so quite chilly. I was determined to get out and about and take some photos. I meant to just walk down to the end of the neighbourhood roads but once there I found myself still going and walked down to Asylum Lake and around a little bit. The bridge was quite snowy and icy - the air gets underneath it and makes it quite slippery.

I was the first person to walk along here since the snow. No other footprints except mine.

It all looks so white and peaceful. There were other footprints at this point but I didn't see anyone else.

This is the serene beauty of winter.

“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.” William Sharp

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? J. B. Priestley
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jbpriest159615.html

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? J. B. Priestley
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jbpriest159615.html“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.”

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? J. B. Priestley
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jbpriest159615.html

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?”

Week in Review - Five on Friday

Friday means joining up with Amy at Love Made My Home for another Five on Friday. This week I'm going to post five things from my week. Not very exciting but wanted something a little different from what I usually post for Five on Friday.

Makes - I've been busy getting the last of my Christmas-y crafts finished this week. I got my Mum's calendar off in the post to her and the cards going to England. I also got a mini-album of Mum's birthday finished up. I'll post it next week along with a couple of gifts to her.

I love making these. This was especially fun to make as it was for Mum.

Reading - I haven't felt like doing much reading lately which is a shocker for me. Usually I read a lot - rarely without a book. I have one I'm halfway through. It isn't that it's bad - I just haven't felt like reading.

This is the blurb from the back:
Tess Delaney loves illuminating history; returning stolen treasures to their rightful owners and filling the spaces in people's hearts with stories of their family legacies. But Tess's own history is filled with gaps: a father she never met, and a mother who spent more time traveling than with her daughter.
Then the enigmatic Dominic Rossi arrives on her San Francisco doorstep with the news that the grandfather she's never met is in a coma and that she's destined to inherit half of a hundred-acre apple orchard estate called Bella Vista. The rest is willed to Isabel Johansen, the half sister she never knew she had. Isabel is everything Tess isn't, but against the rich landscape of Bella Vista, with Isabel and Dominic by her side, Tess begins to discover a world where family comes first and the roots of history run deep.

Watching - I've been watching Miss Marple re-runs. Nothing like the classics. Really easy to watch...and sometimes fall asleep to.

On Sunday we were watching Sherlock and the Abominable Bride, but there was a sudden boom and the power went out. We were only about fifteen minutes from the end. Middle Son was watching with us but he went home when the power went out so we didn't get to see the end! Hopefully this Sunday, if middle son comes to visit (hopefully no snow on Sunday!).

Food/Cooking - I have been quite good this week with my menu planning and using up foods. I plan to keep using food out of the freezer. I did buy some meat as it was on sale. I am trying to be sure to rotate freezer meats.

Slow cooker Chicken and dumplings tonight. It didn't get above freezing today so a nice warm meal when hubby and older son got home from work.

Earlier in the week I made some crisps out of potatoes that were nearing their end. I have to work out how to put flavours on them. They were really tasty. I have some mince to use up tomorrow so I have to put my thinking cap on and come up with something other than cottage pie lol.

Walks/Winter - the weather is certainly on the turn now. It didn't get above freezing today and we have a Winter Storm Warning in effect. We are quite close to the lakeshore so we get what they call Lake Effect Snow. Yuck. I read a post on Sue's blog Our Quiet Life in Suffolk about Winter and how there is beauty in Winter. This year I'm really going to try to see it and try to complain about it a little less.

Daughter and I went for a walk with her dog on Wednesday. Good day to go as it was before the storm.

Look how wonderfully blue the sky was! So deceiving as it was pretty cold!

Shasta was really tempted to jump down into the water - luckily daughter stopped her. Brrr....

The weather turned on Thursday. I need to take a deep breath and appreciate the beauty of the snow. This is the view outside my house Thursday night.

 This is the view Friday morning up the road.  Still snowing but I don't think it's as bad as they said it would be.

 I might - MIGHT - pull out my snow boots and take a little walk outside Friday morning in the newly laid snow.

Really? Today? Snow. Dentist.

I had to go to the dentist today so of course it had to snow. It couldn't wait until tomorrow. It couldn't have done it earlier in the week. Nope. Had to be today. Winter Storm Warning - maybe a foot of snow by tomorrow night (but usually weather men wrong). It's on days like this that I really miss public transportation. Mum complains about the buses in Ipswich sometimes, but at least there are some! I hate the dentist and I hate the snow. Together and my anxiety level is really high.

Hubby was nice enough to take a couple of hours off work and drive me there. I had my cleaning and check-up. Not happy. I brush, floss, mouthwash and still I can never seem to have a break from work needing to be done. Hubby brushes teeth, that's it, but rarely has to have anything done. I need to have a crown and two fillings. My insurance runs out at the end of the month so they are trying to fit me in so I can use up the benefits I have left. It's still going to cost a fortune - but less of a fortune than if I didn't have insurance.

While there I asked about their ideas for purchasing insurance. Girl said it was barely worth it. Better just to save your pennies and hope you don't have to have a lot done. I do have a no-interest-if-paid-within-certain-time medical credit card so I'll probably use that for the outstanding amount.

Sometimes I just wish I had false teeth.

Crafty Week? - What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?

Yikes, another Wednesday has rolled around and it's time to join with Julia and the gang over at Stamping Ground for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, our weekly visit around crafty desks all over the world.

Been a busy week - daughter is back here again. Her move didn't go too badly and they got it finished before the snow came! She's sleeping/resting for a couple of days before we start thinking about her next move (the BIG one!). She applied for, and has been accepted for, her apartment (flat). It is a little more expensive but she's hoping it won't be filled with university students and the management seems really good. It is only a six month lease so hopefully by then she'll work out if she wants to stay there or move someplace else in town. By then she will know the area a little more. I hope it all goes well as it is sight unseen.

Anyway on to my desk.

It honestly doesn't look a lot different from last week. I have a mini album I am working on to send my Mum,  a new penguin tin that is filled with shaped Christmas-y glitter and a little basket of stamped Christmas-y sentiments.

I have finished my Mum's calendar which was my big project for the week. I am thrilled as I usually get it done just before Christmas. Will post this week along with Christmas cards that are all finished! I'm ahead of the game with Christmas crafts. Shopping, not so much.

A little peak at the calendar. As I said I did get my Christmas cards done. I haven't taken pictures yet but will do and put in separate post.

I'll be getting around to desks, some early, some later as I actually have a car today (as daughter is in town) and will be doing some shopping all by myself.

I'll leave you with a picture of Shasta in her Christmas collar. She's been sad lately, clinging to daughter and not liking it when she even leaves the room. She obviously knows something is going on and as a rescue dog has had her share of abandonment.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Daughter's move went well. They got home just before this started.

They had a little time to recover and relax from the move before there was big boom and the power went out! It was off for two hours. It was starting to get a little chilly just before it came back on.

There was still snow on the ground this morning. I decided to wrap  myself up and take a walk. Soon there will be too much snow and ice on the ground to take a good walk so I thought I'd get one in while I could.

I was glad I wore my boots. The pavements weren't particularly bad (mostly just wet/snow patches) but this little bridge going over the lake was totally covered in snow. The paths around the lake were pretty snow covered/muddy too.

This place is called Asylum Lake. It used to be part of the property surrounding the Michigan Asylum for the Insane (that's what it was actually called!). It was begun back in 1888 and used to be part of a whole farm system that the inmates worked. It is now a wildlife preserve owned by the local university.

It's a really nice place to walk that is only about a twenty minute walk from my house. Of course it's nicer to walk there when it isn't as cold! My poor trousers ended up soaked. My feet were kept warm by my lovely hiking boots (best investment this year!).

You can see the beginnings of a thin layer of ice forming on the top of the lake. It won't be long until the whole thing is frozen over.

The only wildlife I saw was these couple of swans and a really fast squirrel. No deer though I did see tracks. It was a lovely start to the day.

Weekend

We're moving daughter this weekend. First stage. This is the easy part. It's only a 75 mile move. Hubby and I went up yesterday, did some shopping and whatnot and brought home a mini-van load of boxes. Today hubby, FIL and oldest son have borrowed truck and trailer from work and will move the rest of the stuff. Daughter will be staying with friends for a couple of days while she cleans up the apartment and then moves down here. Phew. Part one almost done!

My contribution yesterday while daughter and hubby loaded up van was to take the dog for a walk. The trails near daughter are lovely - I will miss them!

Mostly bare now. Leaves cover the ground.

Looks like someone dumped their pumpkin out in the woods - a spot of colour in a dull clump.

I didn't cross on the logs - I don't think anyone does! There is a perfectly stable bridge a little further down.

Shasta came along quite happily. I think she knows something is going on as she seems to be moping a bit. It will be another big change for her. She's a rescue dog so she's had a lot to deal with over her life.

We couldn't leave Lansing without stopping at our favourite restaurant there - Deluca's. It's a family owned place. I couldn't resist one last order of cheesy breadsticks.

Hope everyone has a happy Sunday!

Washington D.C - Five on Friday

It's so good to see Five on Friday back again. I'm joining in with Amy over at Love Made My Home for this lovely weekly get-together. It's always great to visit other blogs and see what everyone is talking about. There are a lot of interesting reads on the Five on Friday posts. I've learned lots of interesting things.

This Friday - like every day just recently - I'm thinking about daughter's move. Now that it is December it's really beginning to hit me. Firstly, this weekend we have to move her from Lansing to here (75miles) and then at the end of the month/beginning of January we have to move her 900 miles to Minnesota. Yikes. Definitely an adventure. This time last year we were going to pick her in Washington DC where she had spent 3 months for school and move her back to Michigan and then move all her stuff to her apartment.

I thought this week I'd share pictures from that lovely trip. I hadn't been to a big city over in America before so it was quite the adventure! I shared several of my photos of the memorials (Vietnam/World War II, Korean War) in this POST that I did on Armistice/Veteran's Day.

Lincoln memorial. This is a lot bigger than I thought! The actual statue of Lincoln is really big. Daughter is 5'8 so you can sort of see.

One of my favourite views was standing at the Lincoln Memorial and looking down at the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument. Such a gorgeous view. We were so lucky with the weather. The air was crisp but the sun so bright and sky a glorious blue.

The Washington Monument construction began in 1848 but wasn't completed until 1884 due to the American Civil War. The monument is 554 feet 7 ¹¹⁄₃₂ inches (169.046 m) tall. It is the World's tallest Obelisk and tallest stone structure.

I managed to persuade hubby and daughter to stop in the National Botanical Gardens. Well worth the stop!

It was great to be in a place where there is an underground system, though it was a lot more depressing than the London Underground! There were no advertisements as we travelled down the escalators and we must have walked past the station several times as they weren't very clearly marked!

It was great to walk along the streets and actually see other people walking out and about!

This is one of my favourite pictures I took as we walked along. Who knew smoke actually came out of the ground like that? Not me!

We walked by the offices below and I must admit to feeling a little funny taking a picture lol.

I couldn't finish this post without posting a timely seasonal picture. We were so lucky to be there at a time when the White House Christmas Tree was up! There were so many people walking around visiting the display. It was so fantastic to see all the people.

It was a fantastic trip. Everything we went to see was free - yes FREE! We saw the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives as well as lots of other historical documents. There is just so much to do. I really would love to go back and spend a little more time there. Definitely worth a trip!

I am going to miss daughter, but with her moving to a new state it means new places for us to visit that perhaps we wouldn't go to. I am already researching her 'new' state and seeing what adventures we can go on!