Happy Snow Day

The weather man had been hinting that we might be due for a flurry of the white stuff towards the end of this week but I hadn't really given it much heed since his forecast has been a little wonky lately but when I awoke this morning this was what I saw out the kitchen window.

I must be being punished for having started turning over the soil in the garden for spring planting to early *grin*. I knew full well that there was still the possibility of frost and snow when I got in there to weed and make the beds but still seeing it covered in 4 inches of fresh snow sort of sucks.

Hubby had to go down to the wharf in the afternoon to check on his tug so we tagged along and enjoyed the scenery. You can't beat the clean, bright look of fresh snow. It just makes everything look so pretty :)

Halfway to our destination we spotted flashing lights from a local police truck and the fire and rescue truck lodged in the ditch. It seems that he had a little incident and slipped off of the road. No one was injured except for maybe their pride.

The kids had a blast outdoors building fortresses with giant snowballs for the walls and building snowmen all over the front lawn. The snow was heavy and wet, just the perfect consistency for those lovely 'slush angels' of the wet west coast *grin*. Mega fun was had and now I have 3 sets of sopping wet snow dripping and drying in front of the woodstove :)

How's your weekend shaping up?

Hugs,
Rosina

Winter Wonderland

***Please note that there are a few graphic photos at the end of this blog entry showing the butchering of our cow and I just want to let you know in case you would rather not view them. ~ Rosina***

I am absolutely smitten with the beauty of winter :)
The snowy weather has continued here all week. While it hasn't amounted to much more than 5 or 6 inches it has tried awful hard and the temperatures dipped as low as -14 freezing our back door permanently shut for 4 days!! Thankfully we have another door so we didn't have to try to hard to get it unthawed *grin*.

I had been holding off heading into the city for groceries and errands since the highway has been covered with slush and hard packed snow but the fridge was mighty bare and hubby has been home from work due to all the wind up this way so we bundled up and ventured out with the truck.

Normally the trip takes us just under an hour but it was over an hour this time before we got into town as we slowly made our way over the mountain, through the fog and sometimes rather slippery conditions.

The trees covered in snow and the silence that it brings made the trip so enjoyable though that I could have gazed out the window for much longer. You just can't beat a the winter wonderland that snow brings :)

The cold weather has also brought with it the perfect temperature for killing our beef cow. We raised him from a little calf on our own pasture and it will be so nice to have yummy homegrown beef in the freezer again since I never buy any from the supermarket.

We didn't have a cow for butchering last winter so we were behind. We always try to have one cow ready every second winter so that we don't run out of meat but it didn't quite work out that way this time.

With the hide removed Hubby and my dad worked on taking out the gut and all of the organs so that they could cover the meat and raise it up high where it will hang for 2 weeks before we do the big job of finishing the butchering and all of the wrapping.

My daughter was really interested in watching the men work and was not squeamish about it at all which was great and we got to have a really good look at the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver.

I should have thought of it sooner but it would have been really cool to have done a biology block for our homeschool courses so I'm going to have to think ahead next time and get a bunch of materials ready so that we can do a full dissection class. Every moment can be a learning moment *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Snow & Winter Storms

Wind storms, power outages and snow are back as winter creeps closer :)

On our way into the city for swimming lessons this morning I creeped along through slush and a mini blizzard for nearly an hour before it finally turned to rain again. Thank goodness we were behind the snow plow for part of the way so that we had a somewhat clear lane. I am so envious of those of you who have squeaky dry snow for traveling on. It seriously makes such a big difference *grin*. If hubby could run his tugboats on the prairie I think I'd head eastwards LOL.

As we traveled further south the snow and slush disappeared and the white gave way to dark gray clouds, wild wind and waves.

We stopped at one of the rest stops and joined in with some other storm watchers to snap a few photos but we weren't brave enough to actually exit the car to catch the perfect shot of the waves though. We barely managed to keep the window down as the rain blew in sideways and soaked us immediately LOL.

It was beautiful to watch the waves crash against the beach spraying water and sea foam into the air and we managed to miss the power outage that was going on at home to :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Snowball Fight

Hubby made it home last night just in time for the first big snowfall of the winter :) When the kids woke up they were so excited to see all of the snow that had fallen overnight. We got a little over a foot and it was just calling them to come out and play *grin*.

Hubby headed out to shovel a path from the woodshed to the house so that we could bring in some wood and ended up caught in a massive snowball fight! The three of them ganged up on him pretty good and at one point he tried to make a mad dash for the house but he didn't make it unscathed *grin*.

It was tough going for the little guy with the snow up to his knees but he didn't seem to mind. He is CRAZY about eating snow. So we've had the 'don't eat yellow snow' talk a couple of times this winter and I think it's pretty safe to let him munch away LOL.

The front yard was turned into a battle field as snow forts were erected on opposite ends and battle lines were drawn. It was great to see them all get to enjoy the snow. Usually we get a huge snowfall like this and it immediately turns to rain but so far it is staying cold enough and tomorrow should provide another day of fun in the snow :)

With any luck we may get a whole bunch more! It is snowing a bit again tonight and it is so pretty :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Piecing Pinwheels

I'm getting closer to finishing my holiday table runner and I'm loving all of the red :) The pinwheel blocks have gone together quite well although I did have to put my seam ripper to good use and pull a couple of them apart to adjust the centers so that the points aligned better :)

I decided to modify my pattern just a little though after running across this really cute peppermint twist table runner :) So I just finished cutting 48 little squares in a tan linen to place on the corners of my pinwheel blocks to round them up. I know what I'll be working on tomorrow *grin*.

Happy sunday!

Hugs,
Rosina

right now, I AM

...smiling.
Winter has finally arrived with gusto and the sledding, snowball throwing and snowmen building marathon has begun. My days will now be filled with squeals of delight each morning as the height of the snow is re-measured, breakfasts gobbled and children being stuffed into snow suits multiple times :)

I love this time of year most of all.

Hugs,
Rosina

Click the frog to learn more!

Holiday Package Ready To Ship

Ta-Dah!

All finished :) My little holiday ornament turned out even better than I could have hoped and I'm seriously going to have to make one for myself now *grin*.

Here is everything that I'm sending to my secret swap partner for the holiday edition of the potholder pass. Both of the potholders have the appliqued bird design on the front and the candy cane striping for the backing. I wasn't sure how I was going to add the potholder hooks but I decided on using red rik rak and embellished them with a tiny red heart and to accompany the potholders is my little stumpwork ornament.

I sure hope my partner will enjoy it as much as I did making it for her :) The whole package is all wrapped up and ready to be dropped off at the post office tomorrow morning and I can't wait to see what I get *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Stitching Away

The potholders are coming along nicely :)
I decided to leave the more christmasy fabrics on the bottom and mounted them all onto the white linen background adding a red border with little linen squares in the four corners. I think it compliments the little birdies perfectly!

This may be the fastest that I have ever completed a swap. No I'm not done yet... darn close though *grin*. Both of the potholder tops are stitched and quilted to the heat resistant batting and all that needs to be finished tomorrow is to add the binding and whip up my ornament :)

I can't wait to see what my partner makes for me!
My mom was teasing me about putting so much work into a gift for a complete stranger but you know I have received some of the nicest things from ladies all across the globe that I have only met through emails :) It's like Christmas all year round to have little surprise packages of homemade goodness arrive!

Hugs,
Rosina

Dream Bathroom Makeovers

I'm toying with the idea of giving my bathroom a total overhaul since it's sort of stuck in the 1960's. You know, the time when everyone was totally nuts over harvest gold, avocado greens and dusty rose colors for all of their bathroom fixtures. Well I've got a lovely shade of pink for the tub, toilet & sinks and it's really got to go!

I want classic white, maybe a touch of the new and totally hot greens that are out there with some subtle turquoise accents perhaps? Oh heck I'd love to knock out some walls and expand it twice the size, have one of those super roomy bathrooms with built in sitting areas *grin*. I'll have no need to ever leave it! LOL.

The top photo is just stunning. I love all of the white, the touches of nature that they brought in and do you see the glass paneled floor around the tub? It looks like it is filled with grass and flora. So beautiful :) And oh look there in the lower left hand corner is my sitting area *grin*. Those lucite chairs seem to be everywhere these days to! I'm not totally sold on them but they do give the illusion of more room which is neat.

I also found this circular shower. I know I don't have enough room to add this in addition to a bathtub but I can just imagine having it with that heavenly rain shower head in the center and maybe some hydromassage shower heads for the others around the perimeter for an utterly relaxing spa treatment every morning. Ahh, to dream :)

To see more photos of the top bathroom visit styleture.com and the shower is from Euro Bath & Tile.

~ Rosina

Valentine's Garland ~ 'Sew' Easy To Make!

We are totally into Valentine's Day mode around here! I know it's a little bit early but if we don't do it now we may not do it at all *grin*. I love paper garland and thought it would be so much fun to make a Valentine themed one.

I made some quick cardboard templates of X's, O's, hearts & kissy lips. Of course we had to have big kissy lips to go with our X's & O's which if you aren't familiar are for kisses & hugs. Perfect for Valentine's day :) I made the templates out of an empty cereal box and traced them onto construction paper and then my little crafty helper, L, cut them all out for me :) Kids and scissors just seem to go hand in hand so this was one fun project.

Then came the fun part for mom :) I took each piece, repeating them in a pattern and sewed them all together with the sewing machine. So easy!! I mean there is no work involved. The machine stitches through them without any trouble and as I finished each one I gently pulled it and the thread out in equal intervals between each piece.

Done :) We swapped the kitchen curtain and put up a fun red gingham one, hung our newly made valentine garland & added some cute little tin birdies that I attached to the curtain to :)

It is so stinking cute and anyone can make this! Have fun creating one of your own :)

~ Rosina