HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes for a year of happy memories in 2012!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

On this Thanksgiving Day, as we count our many blessings, we are in awe of all that the Lord has provided. We are especially thankful for his protection through storms, a local earthquake and two major power outages this Fall.

We wish all our friends and family an especially thankful Thanksgiving Day!

THIS IS OCTOBER???

Archie had the right idea from the very first snowflake as he watched snow accumulate on the back deck from his cozy leopard bed. At first, around 11 am, it was very wet and melted on the roads. Not too much later, it started to stick and pile up rapidly. By 3 pm, the power went out--along with phones, internet and even cell phones. The heavy snow weighed down the autumn foliage we had been enjoying just the day before, causing outages all over the tri-state area.

By morning, we were under 10 inches of the stuff, with the sound of generators echoing throughout the neighborhood. Rick knocked the snow off some of our trees before the branches broke; but there were fallen limbs up and down the street. The worst was down the hill where a row of tall hemlocks broke and fell on power lines, snapped 3 poles and blocked the road.

When the sun came up and we checked for damage on our property, we were thankful that nothing landed on the house, cars or outbuildings. Rick had only to repair one section of fencing. A few days later, we got the phones back, then the DSL for our computers. Another day or two later we had cell phone service back. Electric power was out until 3 pm this afternoon (Sun.) after 8 days--"one-fifth of the time Noah spent on the Ark, and longer than Jonah was in the whale," says Rick.

If this is what happened in October, I can hardly wait to see what happens in December!

Back in Business

The power came back on, and the Jets and Giants both won their games--all in the same afternoon! It was a good day on the mountain...

Power Update

Since there are 3 poles that snapped beneath the weight of snow-laden pine trees down the street, they say it will be next week before our end of the street is back up. Thankfully, the weather is still sunny and mild, which is a big help.

I think the one thing we miss the most is hot water; but so thankful for the generator which has run the oil burner and refrigerator. We have a little propane burner to boil water for tea, dish washing and " bird baths."

One of my friends who got her power back let me use her washer/dryer yesterday and treated me to a hot lunch. Another friend let me wash my hair in her kitchen sink and use her blow dryer and curling iron.

God is Good.

Without Power

We got ten inches of snow last Saturday and have been without power since! The phones were restored on Monday, the Internet on Tuesday. They say power will be back up by Friday.

Thankfully, our generator has kept the refrigerator, oil burner, TV and 2 outlets for lamps and battery recharging going...when it's running, that is.

THIS IS NOT FUN.

We'll post some pictures when we have full power back, so stop by again on Friday or Saturday.

LOOKING UP, PART 2

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me the other night on the way to Technique Class. There was a beautiful rainbow overhead. After all the rains and flooding we've had lately, it was comforting to be reminded of God's promise never to flood the earth again.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!

The sun is shining, the heat and humidity are gone, and the weatherman predicts more of the same through next week--YES!! I consider this a nice birthday present.

Power Is Restored!

We finally have our electric power back after Hurricane Irene! No damage to our house or cars, thankfully. I'm so glad we acquired all the many camping skills during our youth that came in handy during the five days of roughing it. Having a generator helped, of course; but we ran it mainly to keep food from spoiling and the TV going for storm updates and news.

Preparing in advance of the storm was also a big help. First, I caught up on all the laundry ahead of time while Rick cleaned up the yard. We gassed up both cars and 3 gas cans for the generator the morning before Irene arrived, which was a good thing because many of the local gas stations ran out by the end of the day. Later, some had no power to pump what they did have.

Next, I stocked up on cheese, crackers, fresh milk, meats we could cook on the grill and snacks--also extra batteries for the radio and flashlights. I hardboiled some eggs for myself (Rick is allergic to eggs.) Then I ran the dishwasher in advance of the storm so we'd have room to store dirty dishes out of the way. I decided we could use an extra flashlight, but Walmart was sold out; so I came up with an even better idea: a bicycle headlight! It's small, flat and very bright. Best of all, it runs on 3 AAA batteries and has a life of 50 hours. There were several on the shelf, so I guess nobody else thought of that (heh-heh).

Then I vacuumed and decluttered so there would be nothing to trip over in the dark. We also charged up electronic items like the I-pad, cell phones and DVD player. By the time we lost power Sat. night, we were prepared--just like the Boy Scout motto advises!

Thankfully, the weather after the storm was sunny, cool and DRY! We ate like kings with the grill--steak, roast potatoes, asparagus and even Pizza. We used our single propane burner to boil water for tea and for washing dishes the old-fashioned way. We watched the Yankee games, went to bed early and managed to take care of ourselves without any governmental intervention--imagine that!

After five days of all this, however, we are thankful to have our power back! (...and HOT showers!)

Final Meal with Cousins

All four cousins had a wonderful time together during their visit, but the time came for Laura and family to return to Prague. Elliot loved playing with Kristen, while the two older boys had sleepovers and lots of time with each other. Freddy even allowed Owen to play his drums--a big hit!

Just before the limo arrived, we celebrated their visit with one last barbecue of hamburgers and hot dogs American style!


(Scroll down to previous post for videos of the shore.)

Cousins at the Shore

The second week of their visit here, Chris and Laura rented a beach house at the Jersey Shore. The four cousins had a wonderful time the day we visited there, as these videos show! The weather was perfect the whole week, which allowed for plenty of sun and surf--especially for little Elliot.

Archie on Guard

Note to Jenny:



I'll let you know when you may play with these toys...

Your brother,
Archie

Spring Is Here!

Finally, a warm and sunny day...well worth waiting for!

If you click on the photo, you'll get a closer look at the tree buds against the clear, bright blue sky. It surely is a beautiful, quiet day here on Fox Mountain.

...AND TWO DAYS LATER

After completely melting yesterday, we start all over again today...

FIRST DAY OF SPRING????

This was the scene early this morning!

SPRING FLING

Today was the day of my Spring Fling, which is this year's March replacement event for the February Blues Bash. Everyone came dressed in Ladybug colors to fit in with the theme. In fact, thanks to Jackie's grandaughter, we even had a giant ladybug as our special guest!

The first photo shows Joan, Jan and Joyce enjoying their lunch fare. The second photo shows Lucienne, Ruth, our Ladybug friend, Carolyn and Lorraine. The others who attended, but not in the photo, were the two Nancys, Jackie, Ann, Doreen, Dot, Sandy, Linda and me.

The food preparations took a full day yesterday and last night with Jackie's help. (Thank you, Jackie!) The pink platter in the foreground held tuna/lettuce rollups held together with tiny cocktail forks. There were little cups of baked goat cheese with herbs and a small pretzel rod on square plates either side of the centerpiece. Next, I made puff pastry triangles with cream cheese and caramelized onions (white rectangular platter) and another rectangular platter of pulled pork in corn dippers. The round glass plate held smoked turkey, swiss cheese and pickle rollups, secured with red cellophane toothpicks. (Click on photos for a closer look.)

For dessert, we had chocolate cake squares over a raspberry/white wine reduction sauce with whipped cream and fresh raspberries for a garnish. As an extra treat, there were giant chocolate-covered strawberries.

Notice the absence of snow out the window! It was a sunny day, with temps in the upper sixties. The beverage for today was a mix of peach tea and seltzer served with a sprig of fresh mint and lots of ice, sipped through a straw--delightful!

We played some ladybug games: guess the number of spots on the Ladybug guest, Ladybug Bingo using cards Jackie and I made with my Build-a-Bug stamps, Ladybug Wordsearch and a contest to see how many words could be made from "Ladybug." Since some of the ladies are very serious competitors, we had to promise a car for the winning prize!

HOLEY MOLEY!

HERE COMES THE SUN!

...BUT NOT FOR LONG...














More snow is predicted for Saturday and another storm next week!

Thankfully, there's a warm-up coming over the weekend with temps in the upper 30's--YAY!

Window Wildlife

Cardinals and smaller birds wait in the bush for their turn to dine on the birdseed Rick tossed on the snow beneath them.























Meanwhile, a downy woodpecker takes his turn; but the squirrel pays no attention as the birds come and go. Everyone is bulking up ahead of the snowstorm on its way. (We woke up this morning to 8" of fresh snow.)






I love how the squirrels flip their tails over their backs like a blanket. They really are fun to watch!

Here's a cute photo of Elliot in his PJ's I took during our last visit to Prague. I can't believe he's almost 2 already!

A FUN Place in Prague!

On our last full day in Prague, Laura took us to Becki-Land, an indoor play area featuring trampolines, giant jungle mazes with slides, a huge dinosaur mouth balloon for climbing and sliding, wagons and trikes for pedaling, and much more. They also have a snack bar for the family featuring kid faves like burgers, popcorn and french fries.

As you can see by this video, the kids had a great time. After two hours of laughter and fun, little Elliot was ready for a long nap.

It was a great way to end our visit--thanks Laura!

New Year's Eve in Prague

At the stroke of midnight, the sky above Prague erupted in a grand display of fireworks that we enjoyed from our 6th floor balcony at Mosaic House. The sights and sounds were truly spectacular!

Since the ground floor in Europe is "0", we were actually 7 stories up, which was a good thing. The crowd on the street below was well supplied with fireworks of their own, one of which landed in the snow on our balcony. The next morning, as we walked to the tram stop, evidence of the celebration littered the streets and sidewalks. Amazingly, it was all cleaned up by late afternoon.

Enjoy the video!

Christmas in Prague

This is a video of the tree in Old Town Square. When I learn how to crop a video, I'll be able to zero in on the tree between the two buildings in the foreground. Meanwhile, this should give you a little taste of the sights and sounds of the city.

We were fascinated by the lights on the tree which looked like falling snow. When we got up close, they each turned out to be glass tubes with white lights inside that lit up one at a time from top to bottom in rapid succession.

Notice how bundled up everyone is!

More photos and videos of our activities later...