• A promise of Spring…

    February 25, 2013 / 4 Comments

    There may be snow on the ground – and evidently more in the forecast – but there is a promise of Spring on my table, a sweet gift from my precious daughter.   These are Long Life tulips from Bloomaker.  They will be a gorgeous shade of pink and I am looking forward to seeing them bloom!

    My daughter purchased one for me and one for herself as she, too, looks forward to Spring and planting all 32 varieties of vegetables and herbs that she has ordered!  Her plans are to rent two large gardening plots in a local gardening co-op.  My beautiful, artistic, athletic daughter has turned into a homesteading, cooking-everything-from-scratch goumet cook!  She would love a farm on ten acres or more!  Maybe that will be in the not too distant future.

    In the meantime, we’ll watch our tulips grow and wait for Spring in the midst of an Iowa Winter…

  • Longing for Spring…

    February 20, 2013 / 20 Comments

    I long for Spring.  I long for warm sunshine and a thermometer that proudly proclaims 72 degrees.  Granted, I’m not a fan of hot, humid Summers.  I would be happy if there were just two seasons – Spring and Fall!

    Native Iowans sagely comment that “it’s been a mild Winter”.  Two snowstorms and a few other snows here and there were enough for me, thank you.  Evidently, it isn’t over.  This morning, it is cold and windy and the thermometer appears stuck at 10 degrees!  We’ve been warned that “a ‘blizzard’ is coming tomorrow about noon (they can now predict the time?!) and will last until the following day with heavy accumulation”!

    So, yesterday I reconciled myself to the fact I’d better prepare just in case.  I headed out in yesterday’s 18 degrees accompanied by a brisk wind and the bright sunshine that fooled me into thinking that it was warmer.  I went first to the wonderful library about 3 miles away and stocked up on a stack of knitting books and the new book by Earlene Fowler.  I have 8 new skeins of wonderful yarn for my next project after I finish this one.

    The large, wonderful West Des Moines library.  Designed in a Craftsman style…

    Next, it was to Walgreen’s to refill a prescription and stock up on a few toiletries.  The last stop was the grocery store.  Milk in a glass bottle, bread, a whole roasted chicken, a dozen eggs, organic mixed lettuce and a few other things.  Last night was roast chicken with my meal…today I will make chicken salad with it.  I also baked the Ozark Mountain Apple Cake last night.  If I’m going to be “snowbound”, I may as well have dessert, huh?!

    I hope wherever you are, you’re staying warm and enjoying these days before Spring eventually comes…

  • Snow days…

    January 30, 2013 / 11 Comments

    Little did I know on Monday when I made the dreaded trip to the grocery store and trekked up the two flights of stairs with bags and bags of groceries…that I would be glad on Wednesday when another snow storm hit!  Here’s the door to my humble abode.  Before I get to this point, however, there is a secure entry that I must unlock (and I’m really thankful for that).  Over the course of the past few months, I have figured out it’s faster to just go down to my garage, get the groceries, bring them up the two flights of stairs and leave them at the door.  Repeat the process as many times as required…then take them all in at once!  NOW, if I could just get motivated to cook for myself…

    Snow photo above:  the view from my porch.  This photo was actually taken during the last snow storm but you get the idea!  I’m beginning to think:  you’ve seen one snowstorm – you’ve seen them all!  😉

    When I was at my daughter’s house the other day, I noticed that Kiana didn’t seem to be feeling all that well.  My daughter said that Kiana had not eaten well for the past few days.  Kiana was clearly much more lethargic than her usual exuberant self.  My daughter took her to the vet the next day for an expensive office visit and tests.  Come to find out, Kiana has an extremely low thyroid and is now on medication!  The low thyroid explains why Kiana can’t seem to lose weight (I know the feeling) regardless of all that running (well, okay, so I don’t run).   Maybe now, I can give her treats again.

    In the photo below, she is sitting in front of the cabinet (above the refrigerator) where the treats are kept.  She is one smart dog and she knows Grandmom will give in.  Kiana will look at me and then look UP at the treat cabinet and look back at me…as if to say “you know where they are – now get me one…purty please!”

  • Snowfall…

    December 20, 2012 / 18 Comments

    Snow fell last night.  I awoke to a beautiful blanket of  white…over a foot deep.  Snow was banked high against the doors of the garages and the tarmac looked icy.  Only one garage had been shoveled out – that of a young man about the age of my younger son.  (Most of the people living here are retired.)  I wondered what this young man does for a living that required his being out in this.

    Of course, I remember the days of snow storms and severe thunderstorms of years past before I became a “retired” Registered Nurse.  It didn’t matter what the weather was…I had to be there.  I’ll never forget coming out of the hospital one January night after midnight.  It was -18 degrees and snowing like crazy.  A few of the nurses had automatic starters and stood at the window on our floor, pointed it in the direction of the parking lot and started their automobile.  They came out to a nice warm vehicle.  I didn’t have one!  I just prayed my automobile would start…thankfully, it did.  I’m glad that my little 154,000 mile Camry is now parked in “her” garage.  Maybe not warm – but dry.

    Snow always brings back memories.  Sledding with the kids, building forts and snowmen, snow “cream” with vanilla and sugar (we didn’t know to worry back then and were always careful where we got the snow for it!).  If I could get to my daughter’s house right now, I could be playing in the snow with my grandchildren as I did during a visit a couple of years ago.  I’m sure there will be plenty of snow here in the Midwest and time for that over the next few months!

    The featured photo above was taken on March 22, 1968.  Sixteen inches of snow had fallen in a rare snow storm in Memphis, Tennessee!  I wrote it about it in My Southern Heart…the Stories.  I wrote My Southern Heart…the Stories for my children and last Christmas published it in book form for them and the rest of my family.