Big Chill

 Thurs 2/2/23 - It appears I won't be leaving the house for the next 2 days. Those negative numbers make me shiver just thinking about how cold that is. I will have the most organized house unless I decide to walk. The daytime temps don't look too bad, but I think the wind will make it feel much colder.


I have hikes on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday to look forward to next week and hopefully a start to my February bike rides as there are some 40+ days in the long range forecast. 

Friday 2/3/23 - It is 8 am and the temp of 8 degrees is the highest of the day. Today's plan - Yoga With Adriene x3, a large batch of chicken enchiladas pulled pork, and plant 3 pots of arugula and cilantro. The planting could be an exercise in futility as my first trial of winter gardening ended in my surrender to the fungus gnats.

I had a nice 45 minute FaceTime with mom. It was good to hear that my four siblings in her area are all taking good care of her. They pitch in with cleaning, groceries, and visits, which all keep her happy and occupied. I may send her some cotton yarn as she just finished a crochet project and she exhausted her supply.

So, why am I drinking half a bottle of Guinness at 2 pm? Because I had a craving for pulled pork with cole slaw, and all the ingredients to make it. Adding Guinness into the barbecue sauce was my own particular brainstorm, but it sounds so... savory. And I have a lot of cabbage to shred - with the hand guard in place. Cooking with a nice beverage is my preferred way to cook so there is my afternoon agenda in the deep freeze.

Saturday 2/4/23 This morning started out at -12 degrees, so I planned a day of indoor activity. At 10 am though, my sister in law texted that she and my brother were in town visiting my nephew and did I want to join them for dinner. After many texts my sister in law and I decided to go to the Home Show in Albany while the guys worked on some building projects at my nephew's new house. The Home Show was a mere shadow of its former self. It was held in a much smaller venue than in the past and took only a half hour to get through. So we wandered over to the observation tower to find it closed and locked. In past times you were able to wander up there at will. Finally we headed to the museum which was mildly interesting so we mostly chatted and caught up. 

At the Emporium Farm Brewery with family.

We picked up the guys and headed out to a brew pub for an hour before heading out to dinner at Chez Mike's. It was nice to spend the day with family.

2/5/23 Sunday

So today I was very content to stay at home rearranging furniture, doing yoga, and getting finances in order.  I haven't used the fireplace all winter, or even sat in that area so I hauled in the rug, the recliner and set it up as a cozy sitting area and moved the dining table as a sort of buffer between the kitchen and sitting room. I'll try it out for a while to see how it suits me. Maybe I'll even lay a fire!



Comments

  1. MargaretFebruary 6, 2023 at 1:00 PM

    Looks cozy! Getting out in those kind of temperatures is tricky but I'm glad you got together with your brother and SIL. I go nuts if I'm cooped up too long in the house.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Rainy Weekend

Image
Another rainy Saturday to contend with, so I decided on a Van Morrison playlist while I cleaned out the garage and danced and sang. My gardening supplies and planters and pots that need sorting and recycling  were cluttering up my space. They are now sorted and the garage is cleaned out for at least another week or so. I think the shed in the back yard needs to be a project to get it into a more useful state.  The amount of rain we've had is remarkable. May was one of the wettest months in eighty years and June is starting to look the same. I would rather have too much rain rather than a drought though.  After dropping around 3 inches of rain, the skies cleared up later in the afternoon. I loaded up my bike for an impromptu ride on the Electric Trail with the thought of dinner or ice cream at Samascott's.  The first of many turtles on the bike path. Now I see just how rough the path was and how I had no business riding on it.  The trail was very wet on the way s...
Read more

Summer Solstice

Image
Vroman's Nose overlooking the valley. Summer has begun! To mark the solstice, my hiking group held a picnic at the top of Vroman's Nose, which is a short little hike up a 657 foot hill. It overlooks the Schoharie Valley and has a beautiful rock 'dance floor' that easily accommodates our group of forty. The weather was a perfect 74 degrees with a breeze to keep any bugs away. A pleasant gathering on the dance floor near sunset. I drove Sue Ellen who had her gall bladder removed last week, and we hiked up with a guy who has spinal stenosis. As I listened to them discuss their ailments, I silently gave thanks for my health and thought about how 'mature' our group is becoming.  Once at the top, the party began with burgers and dogs, salads and desserts, and great conversation.  Most of our group made it into this sunset picture. Saturday started with me being woken up by my neighbors chatting down below in the street - it was garage sale day. I didn't join since...
Read more

Random Thoughts In My Little Life

Image
 The orchids I bought in February (!) catch my attention each day and I have to marvel at their longevity. Four months of continuous flowers? What other plant does this? I just may become an orchid collector. A new stem with buds is forming on one of them too! This long horn beetle was inspecting my snow peas. They have blooms, so peas are not far behind! I drove up to the Plateau to meet a friend for a paddle. The wind picked up for awhile so we got a nice upper body work out paddling into the wind. Then we just floated near the dock when the wind died down and the sun was shining.  This wetland was covered in yellow flag (iris) on the way to the Pond. Enjoying the calm water after the gusts. This is not proper paddling form, but it was so relaxing. This angle makes my kayak look tiny! Thursday was a nice dry day - perfect for lawn garden work. I'm diligently putting the plants I keep buying into the ground. I have a dozen sunflowers I grew from seed that need planting, but t...
Read more