More snow

 ⛄     ⛄

Another morning for doing laps around the house.

Ken asked me if I'd make Snickerdoodles so I did and him and 

David ate quite a few of them as they came out of the oven.

Ken went outside again and used the snow blower on the driveway.

It never did get clear though because more snow just kept coming down.

I went out too and shoveled.  Knew it would be a losing battle but

I figured I'd it was good exercise and would get some more steps in.

We all worked on the second puzzle and finished it today.

It was only 500 pieces so it went fast.

There is one miss missing so we tossed the puzzle when we got done.

Can you find the missing piece?

We then started puzzle number 3.

That's been my day so far.

Think I'll go and read for a bit.

Count your blessings and have a happy day.

happyone  💕

Decorations down

Still cold and a bit more snow so today I walked laps around my house.

Not so much fun but at least it was warm and dry.

I always try to wait until New Year's Day to take down the

Christmas tree but very rarely do I make it that long and this year 

was no exception.  It all came down today.

I store the Christmas decorations in these stacked round shaker boxes.

I keep them out year round so there is no having to lug boxes out of storage.

These have worked well for me for many years.

They are a lot bigger than they look in the picture.

There are four more of them but stacked in a different place.

I took the puzzle apart and we have started on the next one.

All winter we have a puzzle out and work on it every so often.

Baked some more Chocolate Chip cookies.  These are a snack for the kids

at Church on the 10th of January.  Baked them a little early and have

put them in the freezer.  There where three left over and Ken ate one

and David had the other two.

The windows and doors couldn't be delivered to the new house because of the weather.

They made an attempt but the truck went sliding on the ice and knocked

down our neighbors mailbox.

We bought the windows and doors from G & W right here in town 

so thankfully they didn't have a long way to go.  

It is too cold for Ronnie to be installing them anyway. 

Everything will get done in time.

Some of you have been asking if we have a move in date yet.

Nothing yet but I haven't asked either.

I'm still guessing in April.

I've made dough for home made pizza in the bread machine and it just about done 

so Ken will be making our pizza any minute now.

Eating pizza in a nice warm house on a Friday evening sounds

just about perfect to me.

Count your blessing and have a happy day.

happyone  💕

Cold

⛄     ⛄

No walking today even in my yard.

The temperature was 8 below zero this morning and the high was about 12.

Didn't have time to walk this morning anyway because we went to

church for a day of working on the Fingerprint Ministry.

A small group of 6 for most of the day and in the afternoon

a couple more people came for a little while.

Even with just a small group we still got 2,015 Romans books done.

We were there from 8:30 til about 3, that includes setting up and

taking down again at the end of the day.

That was pretty much our day.

Nice to be home now in a nice warm house.

Another very cold night is ahead for us.

The puzzle we started on Christmas day has been completed.

We will probably get another one started tomorrow.

Hope your day was a happy one.

happyone 💕

"To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing."

~ Eva Young

A walk in my yard

 ⛄     ⛄

Another cold snowy morning so I didn't go for a morning walk.

This morning I spent cleaning the house and got the whole house done.

Went through it all like a whirlwind but felt so good when everything was

clean and sparkly.  

Later in the day it warmed up to 16 and I bundled up and went for a walk.

The roads were icy, snow plows were out and no shoveled sidewalks

so I decided to go for a walk in my yard!!  😊

I walked up and down in rows in the yard, kind of like mowing the lawn.

I ended up walking 4 miles.

Here's what our yard looks like!

I was unaware of Ken taking pictures of me walking the back yard.

A little bit later I stopped to take a picture.

 This was the picture I took.

I wonder what people think as they pass our yard and see all those tracks!

This morning with all the snow coming down I never would have guessed

that by the afternoon the sun would be shining.

I don't mind the cold as long it is sunny.

A happy day to you.

happyone 💕

"If you search the world for happiness, 

you may find it in the end,

for the world is round and will lead you back to your own door."

~ Robert Brault

Cold Tuesday

Cold, windy, icy so not a good day for a morning walk.

Did some laundry in the morning and we worked on the puzzle for a while.

After lunch we went up to the house site.

The well drillers where there finishing up with the well.

They dug the ditch from the well to the house, put in the pipe and electric

and then back filled it.

Didn't think they would be working in such cold weather!!

Doors and windows will be installed next.

I'll take a picture in the same place as the picture below once the windows are in.

 Walked a little up the trail behind the house.

 Came home in time to get changed and we then headed out for

some bowling.

Didn't do as good as last week but not too bad,
106
125
      143  🎳
 There were 5 of us bowling and afterward
we went out for supper.

A happy day to you.

happyone  💕

"The level path is easy,

but it will not bring you to the mountaintop."

~Dr Idel Dreimer

A white Christmas

So nice to wake up to see snow falling on Christmas morning.

We sat around the tree listening to Christmas songs.

We didn't do gifts this year.

Our gift is our new house being built. 😊

I usually make pancakes for breakfast but we had something different

this year.  I made a new recipe, Brunch Egg Casserole.

It was very good and another keeper.

We may have just started a different tradition on Christmas morning.

 After breakfast we started our first jigsaw puzzle for the snowy season.

We worked on it on and off during the day.

We ate Christmas dinner at 2:30 and had 

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ham with Pineapple

Beans

But before we ate, Ken went outside to clear the driveway with the snow blower
and I shoveled the parts he couldn't do and also cleared off
the truck and David's car.
Then I took a little walk to the library to drop off a book down the slot.

Snow covered shrubs at the library.

Made a quick trip around town before going back home.

Not much of a walk but was nice to get out in the snow for a little while.

Our Christmas was peaceful and happy.

It was the first Christmas in many years that David was able to be with us

and it was such a blessing.

Happy Birthday Jesus 🎂

Thank you for coming down to earth to

be our Savior and giving us the greatest gift of all,

Eternal Life.

happyone 💕

Merry Christmas

With Faith,

we see Him.

With Joy,

we receive Him

With Praise,

we adore Him.

May all the joy and wonder of His Holy Season 

be yours.

I wish you all and your families a very Merry Christmas and

a Happy and Healthy New Year.

I'm thankful for each one of you and so happy 

 that we have become 'friends.'

Love

     happyone  💕

It started snowing about 3:00 and it is supposed to 

snow through the night and into tomorrow, 

so we will be having a white Christmas.  😊

Saturday's Critters

Linking up with Eileen for Saturday's Critters.

My two horse friends I visit most mornings on my walk.

Two ponies just down the road.

And look what we found in our new house being built.

A Bat

Ronnie found it in the eaves and threw it outside.

Ken took the picture.

🎄     🎄

Didn't leave until 7:30 for my walk this morning.
A warm 48 degrees out and a rainy one so off I went in my rain gear.

Walked through town and then over to the industrial park.
There are only 6 businesses there and it's nice a quiet with no traffic at all
on the weekend.
Cut my walk a bit short and only walked 5.2 miles.
My feet got wet and my toes were cold.

🎄     🎄
Still can't find a gas stove we like for the new house around here
but we did find one we liked on line and will order that one.

In the afternoon I baked sugar Christmas Cookies.
It was a new recipe and I liked how the dough rolled out.
The easiest to roll out that I've come across.

It's been a rainy, dreary day all day.
Too bad all this rain isn't snow.
We are expected to have snow on Christmas day and the day after.

A happy day to you.
happyone 😊

"There has been only one Christmas,
the rest are anniversaries."
~ W J Cameron

A reading day

A little patch of snow

🎅     🎄

The temperature was 42 degrees this morning when I left the house

at 7:20.  20 degrees warmer than yesterday!!

It was a cloudy morning but I did see the sun peek out for a minute or two.

Had my usual walk all over the place.

 Up at the cemetery some people decorate the graves for Christmas.

This little Christmas tree stands on top of a new grave that doesn't

even have the grave marker there yet.

A warm morning and it was so nice to be out walking.  

After walking my 6 miles I just didn't feel like going back home yet

so I continued walking for another 2 miles.

🎅     🎄

I started reading my book right after breakfast and read

till I finished it.
The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner
It was pretty scary at times and a real page turner.
I even had nightmares about it last night!!

Between walking and reading I didn't get very much done today,
but I did enjoy my day.  😊

A happy day to you.

happyone  💕

 

"He who kneels before God

can stand before anyone."

~unknown

At the house

The morning started out quite chilly at 22 degrees.

No wind and though it was dark the sun came along later.

I got to the end of town and ran into my son David (he had left earlier)

and we walked around the cemeteries and the ball park loop.

I only walked 4 miles because I knew I'd be walking again later.

After breakfast when Ken went up to the building site I drove up with him

Hadn't been to see the house for about a week.

They are still working on the grading of the land.

This is the driveway.  

Instead of a 45 degree turn and going straight up to the garage it will have 

an angle coming off the road.

 Straight, it would have too steep.  This way gives it a nice

curve to it and also will be a nice smooth transition from the road 

to the driveway for my car.

Lots and lots of dirt to get it up to the level of the garage.

Walked all around the house and then went inside.

The shower.

The is in the closet and looking to the left once you are in the closet.

 It is over the stairs going down to the basement.

Ronnie built nice wide shelves to hold large totes for storage.

After getting a good look at the house I walked back home which added 

2 1/2 more miles for walking.

By that time the sun was shining brightly and had warmed up to the

high 30's.

Home for a bit and then walked over to the library to drop off

some cookies that I made for the library staff.

This afternoon I made a new cake recipe which I got out of the
Taste of Home Magazine.

Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce.

Got some more reading done this afternoon too.

A happy day to you.

happyone  💕

"He who has not Christmas in his heart
will never find it under a tree. "
~ Roy L Smith

Lunch at Uno's

Took my normal morning walk today. 

 Weather windy and quite warm and cloudy, but a nice walk. 😊

🎅     🎄

Did the usual morning chores around the house and then I read a bit.

Reading a book called the Perfect Husband and he is anything BUT 

a perfect husband.  It's a page turner for me and hard to put down.

Then for lunch we went to Uno's. 

Our Pastor and his wife Kathy invited us and some other couples out for lunch.

They take different people from church out every so often just to say Thank You.

 Such a nice thing to do but certainly not necessary.

We had a very nice time.
Pastor is not just our Pastor but a good friend too.

The afternoon brought with it some sunshine.
I'm home this afternoon doing a bit of this and that around the house.
Ken is up at the house site watching dirt get moved around.
The grading on the land around the house and the driveway has started.

A happy day to you.

happyone 💕

"A Christmas candle is a lovely thing:

It makes no noise at all,

But softly gives itself away."

~ Eva Logue

Bowling again

All the snow is gone today.

This picture was taken this morning in the same spot as the one on Sunday.

 Very windy this morning.

These next few days are the darkest ones and I look forward to 

brighter mornings.

 Had my usual walk around town.

🎅     🎄     

Had the surprise of opening the lid on the washing machine and realizing
that a couple of tissues got washed along with the clothes.

We haven't been bowling for quite a while and it was nice to get
back to it again this afternoon.
David is still here visiting and he went along with us.
 I had a good bowling day. 🎳
136
148
180
in that order.
It is always fun bowling but when you do good it is even more fun. 😊

We usually go out for supper after bowling but I had planned on
making a chicken pot pie for supper so we just went home.
I'm glad we did because supper was delicious.

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone  💕

"And so Christmas comes to bless us!
Comes to teach us how to find
The joy of giving happiness
And the joy of being kind."
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham

Barn Collective

Linking up with Tom for his Barn Collective Series.

These two barn pictures I took on my walk.

This is another one taken on the drive to Staunton the other week.

🚜     🚜

Back to my normal morning walk today.  😊

🎄     🎅    

This morning I baked Pumpkin Bread.

The recipe makes 3 regular loaves or 6 or 7 small ones.

I made 7 small ones.

A few I will give away to neighbors and will keep a couple of them for us.

Lots going on at the house today.

Heating guys finishing up.

Plumber getting started.

The kitchen sink was delivered.
The shower was delivered.

And the electric work has begun.

Haven't been to Brenda's for a couple of weeks so off we go

in just a bit for some half price pizza. 🍕

A happy day to you.

happyone 💕

 "Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles."

~unknown

Walking 😊

This morning in church was the Christmas program entitled,

'The Greatest Story Ever Told' which we enjoyed.  

Everyone did a terrific job, and the best thing of all was that 

at least 2 people who were visiting came to know Jesus as their Savior.  

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, you shalt be saved.
Romans 10:9

 ⛪     ⛪

This afternoon when we got back from church I finally got to take a walk. 

I sure have missed it.

How nice to be outside walking again.

I walked all over town.  

It actually felt like morning because of the cloudy skies and by the time

I got home it was starting to get dark.

 Hope your Sunday has been a happy one.

happyone 💗

Roads

The last couple of days have not been conducive for walking 

so I've taken laps around the house for some exercise.

A busy day yesterday and no time for blogging.

All of us in who meet for the Blankets for Babies ministry at my church

met up at Sandy's house for a Christmas luncheon.

We had a great get together with good eats and a lot of fun.

In the evening Ken and I went out for Mexican Train Night.

It had been a while since we all got together to play and we had a lot

of fun.  Tricia is a GOOD cook and we had salad, cream of potato soup,

her famous rolls and for dessert she made a pumpkin roll up.

 We didn't get home till just before midnight.

For us old folks that was a late night out.

Today we went down to LaVale to get some shoes.

Both of us need a new pair.

Work shoes for Ken and walking shoes for me.

Sorry to say neither of us came home with shoes.

Stopped in Martin's too and picked up a few groceries for supper tonight.

Not much else happening around here today.

I'm hoping to get some reading down when I get off the computer.

Looking forward to supper tonight which will be Sweet and Sour Chicken.  

Hope your day is a happy one.

happyone  🎈

A couple pictures from yesterday driving down the road.

"Tradition:  sit with husband in a room lit only by tree lights

and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights.

Happy Christmas to all."

~ Betsy Canas

Looking in

This morning at 7:15 I headed outside all bundled up to take a walk.

By the time I walked down the driveway and a block or so from the house

I realized I should not be out here and went back home.

It wasn't that I was cold but the snow was too deep for my snow 

sneakers and there were snow plows around and I would have been in the way.

Ken went out later in the morning to use the snow blower to clear the

driveway and I shoveled the places where he couldn't use the blower.

I actually enjoy shoveling snow as long as I don't have to do it all day.

No walk but did get some exercise in with the shoveling.

Took a picture of my house from outside with the Christmas tree in the window.

After lunch we went up to the house site and marked off where we would

like some of the lights to go and outlets.
The heating people where there putting in the furnace and
the rest of the duct work.
There were a couple of heaters blowing hot air around but it was still
pretty cold in the house.  I had planned on walking around HT a bit
in the snow but by the time we finished in the house my toes were cold
and I just wanted to go home to a nice warm house.
Which is what we did and I started reading another book.

Had grilled cheese and tomato soup for supper.
mmmm good

A happy day to you.
happyone  🎈

"Keep your Christmas heart open all the year round."
~ J L W Brooks

The tree is up

A bit too cold for walking this morning.  It was 9 degrees and windy.

If it was calm and sunny it would be okay but with the wind I decided to stay home.

I finally got the Christmas tree up and decorated today. 🎄

I know not many people put tinsel on their trees anymore, but to me the tree

just doesn't seem finished without it.

It makes me smile to see the tinsel flutter and glisten when I walk by.

 Picture didn't come out so great because of the window

but here it is.

Santa  🎅

We are going to have a gas fireplace in the new house and we went looking

for one today but didn't find one we liked yet.

We've had snow flurries, some sun, but it was stayed cold in the teens.

A happy day to you.

happyone  😊

"The universal joy of Christmas is certainly wonderful.

We ring the bells when princes are born,

or toll a mournful dirge when great men pass away.

Nations have their red-letter days, their carnivals and festivals,

but once a year and only once, the whole world stands still 

to celebrate the advent of a life."

~Unknown

Basement

🎄     🎄

Didn't start walking on this cold windy morning until 7:10.

Walked up the main street through town and around both the cemeteries

a couple of times.  Lisa who usually runs was out walking this morning and she

was walking around the cemeteries too.

Made a loop around the little town pond which now has ice on it.

By this time I noticed some frozen snow pellets falling and could hear

them hitting my jacket. 

Walking past the post office the mail clerk was outside throwing salt

on the sidewalk and told me to be careful and keep warm out in the cold.

Kind of funny because he was outside in short sleeves throwing the salt around.

 By the time I got to the ball park loop the frozen snow had turned into

regular snow.

 By the time I got home the snow was starting to stick on the roads.

 Walked 6.2 miles

🎄     🎄

Did a load of laundry and since it is too cold and snowy to hang the  clothes

outside, they got hung up downstairs in the basement.

Talking about basements, we stopped by the house and here's the
new basement complete with stairs going upstairs.

It was a nice afternoon to sit in a cozy warm house in the front room
in front of the big window reading, and every once in a while look out
the window to watch the snow coming down. ⛄❄

 A happy day to you.
happyone 🎈

"Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
Star and angels gave the sign."
~ Christina Rossetti