Snow Can Go Away

I've enjoyed it enough.  Although I was glad not to have to get out in it, I got tired of being cold.  This place is not insulated well, and it was hard to keep all the rooms at a comfortable level.

Elise couldn't possibly have gotten my car out to drive to work this morning while hers is in the shop, so she called in, and they told her they were sending Uber for the ones who couldn't make it.  Ryan had offered to take her, though, so she caught a ride with him both ways.  She'll have to do Uber tomorrow.  So funny.  It's only about 5 blocks away.

I think we got another two inches of snow off and on during the day, and that's enough.  In one place this afternoon after the snow plow had been, it was up to Katherine's waist, and she just waded right in.  Ryan brought them over because it was Emily's long day.  I really wish she hadn't had to go in, but I think she was ready!

The girls and I made clay things for a while, ate some lunch, and read all our new library books.

One-eared koala.  She took a lot of time scalloping his ears just right.

Katherine cut out a bunch of leaves and wanted to make a bottle.  What kind of bottle, I asked, a baby bottle?  No, a cylinder, like a water bottle.  She even put a little straw in the top.  Now she wants me to bake all the little things she made.  I'm afraid they'll be nothing when I take them out of the oven, so I keep putting her off.

 Then I let them play with ABC Mouse and didn't feel guilty about screen time.  They have so much fun with it, and Graysen is a little teacher, picking out learning games for Katherine and helping her earn tickets to trade in for pets or furnish their rooms.

I worked hard on the sewing room during the day and then completely redid the top half of the little pantry in the kitchen.  I bought these and was really worried I wouldn't be gaining any space with them, but I'm pleased with them.  At least we know what we have on that bottom shelf.  We have two cans of coconut milk, and neither of us knows what we bought it for.

I should have a before picture to make this more impressive, but I forgot to take one.  Probably better I didn't.  Elise and I both think it makes things more visible, and maybe we won't duplicate so much.  I like the fact that it expands to fit the whole width of the area and holds even big cans.

I do have a sad before picture of the bottom half.  For someone who gave up flour and sugar, I sure have a lot of it.  I did some baking during the holidays, but I need to relocate most of it to give us more room.  The main use is for cat food and the crock pot plus a few vegetables and large baking dishes.  I'm not going to bother with all those matching canisters and cute labels.  I've learned what's in there if I ever need them.  They just need to be sorted through and organized.

Because of where I store my spices, I have to touch multiple jars to pick them up and find the right one.  That's probably why I have 3 jars of chili powder and 2 of oregano.  I try to keep them alphabetized, but somehow they end up all mixed up.

I thought I was so clever for finding these, and they would be great if spice jars had smooth tops.

Like these.  Which I rarely use.

Instead all the other brands have little busy ridged tops that self-stick labels cannot attach to.

They go on with this result.

And don't stick.

So before I abandon these or cut them smaller, I'm trying an experiment.  I pour a little Modge Podge onto the top of the lid until it reaches the level of the rim and let it spill over a little.  When it dries, there is a clear even surface to stick the label to.  I tried one, and it worked fine.  I also coat the whole label with Modge Podge for extra protection..

I don't see myself having the patience to do many of these but maybe the ones I use most often.  I can't imagine how nice it will be to pull this shelf out and see what I want at first glance.

That was earth-shattering, but it made me feel like I had done something useful today besides worry about the people on the roads.  About 2:00, there was a big snow dump on the interstate between where Emily works and home, and people were having a terrible time with no lanes and icy roads.  I called her and told her to come home now, but she said she was going to wait until it stopped and it got plowed.  And she did just that.  She got on at her regular quitting time and drove straight home with no problem in just a few minutes.  Shows how much I know.  I need to find my things that I put on the bottom of my shoes to walk on ice.  They're difficult to put on and look silly, but if I'm ever going to check my mail, I need to get out and walk a few feet.


More pictures.  Nothing new, just more of the same.  Somebody needs to thaw that hummingbird feeder.  We saw one come up and try to eat while we stood there.  And there's a little blue fleeting blue sky!

I'm counting on all this to be melted by the weekend.  I think we're going to get a few more inches before then though, so my whole apartment might get organized.

Snow Finally

I think most everyone thought we were going to be bypassed for a little snow this time.  First it was supposed to begin at 3:00 p.m.  And then 5:00.  Then we see maybe 6:00.  Elise came in from the grocery store and said she saw only a flake or two, so we didn't check outside any more until bedtime, and when we did, the ground was covered, probably about 2 inches.  I think it snowed during the night, because this is what I saw first thing this morning.

It continued pretty steadily all morning, but I only have pictures from these same windows.

Layla was interested in going out but not by herself, and she didn't have any volunteers to stay with her.

The Steller crew were totally excited and hyper and spent most of the day playing and going in and out and drying clothes and going back out and drinking hot chocolate and hopefully have wound down by now.

I like the touch of a seashell necklace on this snowlady.  I hear it was too powdery to do much building with.

So that's the first school snow day and probably tomorrow too since the temperatures are still at freezing now.  There's a lot of ice under the snow, and Emily said I should not worry at all about going outside.  I don't have to be reminded!

 It's so nice and quiet and beautiful.  I really wish it would come and go though and get back to safe driving and walking, because I think there's going to be another big storm Friday.

I took this from the Snoqualmie Ridge FB page.  So pretty.  I might try to find some more pretty ones since I have the same view year after year.

I also found this.  Someone asked why there was a baby kangaroo being strolled around in Safeway.  Looks like Elise went a day too early.



There's a wallaby farm up the road, and I guess this one must have just needed some alone time.

I need to text Emily and find out the plans for tomorrow.  I know where I'll be, but I don't know who will be with me!

Waiting for Snow

This is how they passed the time this afternoon.  The little pinkie is held perfectly in place.

Yesterday I did nothing to write about.  Not that I ever do much, but I did only what I wanted to the whole day.

I finished the book I had checked out by Maria Semple because I enjoyed Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and I didn't have enough to read in case we get trapped inside.  This was is Today Will Be Different.  She's funny, but I can't keep up with her.  She writes like my brain works in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.  Too much, too crazy.  Some of her descriptions of people are wonderful, but the pace of the story is hard to keep up with - all happening in one day with flashbacks.  Anyway, I'd still like to see the Bernadette movie.  It just came out, so maybe one day.  I never heard anything about it, so maybe it wasn't any good.  I'm not really in the know when it comes to movies.  Reading this, it seems like her books have been quite popular.

I've started on another one now, Mine by Courtney Cole, just because it was on some recommended list, and I had about 200 people waiting in line before me.  It came at just the right time for me have time to enjoy it.  I can't think of the name of the other one I checked out, but it's a nice big one, so maybe I'm all set.  I still have the NYT Crossword to finish (or play around with) and many housekeeping tasks to keep me busy.

I started cleaning the sewing room yesterday by picking up one thing and holding it and finding a good place for it.  Most of the stuff in there doesn't even go there.  It's just a convenient place to put overflow.

I found a cross-stitch pattern with all the threads in a little baggie that I meant to do, and I'm so glad I did this because I found the little scissors that Barbara sent me 3 years ago.  What a treasure!  I went back to find our email conversation so I could make sure she's the one who gave them to me, and it brought back so many memories.

It was the day we took Mike to Issaquah to the hospital before he was sent to Seattle, and I didn't know things were as serious as they were.  I had come home to pack up some things and found the sweetest package waiting for me.  Barbara knows exactly the kinds of things I love, and that meant so much to me.  I'm sure I took pictures, but in all the confusion later on, I never posted them.  I'll look.  And this clears up a little confusion about the princess coloring panel that I credited Sherry with.  I'm sure neither one of them remember, but they always things about me when they see something cute.

These are the scissors I misplaced before I even used them, so now they're new to me again.

I worked about 30 minutes, and that's all my mind could take.  I just don't know what to do with all my stuff, what to leave out, what I'm maybe going to be doing as far as sewing.  I feel like I can't work on the quilt until I restore a little order here, so here is the section I'm working on, just so I can be held accountable.

The girls like to go in and pick pieces of cloth and ribbons to play with, and I don't mind that.  I just need to neaten it up later.

I don't know if I'll ever do much cross stitch again, and I don't know if I will continue with machine embroidery.  I like it, but I don't really have much reason for it right now - or time.  I'll probably hang onto the machine just in case.  It's not really in the way, and I know I would never buy another one.

I worked on this shoe bag on the back of the door and threw a few things away.  It's all my stabilizers and spray glue and regular glue and ironing things and other things that have awkward shapes.  I just need to not forget what's back there.

It's a start anyway.

Elise is going to the grocery store for us now that the Seahawks tailgating crowd has cleared out and hopefully the last-minute snow frenzied shoppers.  We have maybe 10 things we need, and we could probably do without them, but it will be good to have enough.

Guess I'll go see how the Seahawks are doing and drink a cup of coffee.  Not too well, it seems, but I can't drum up that much interest.  I'll need a few more years, I guess.  I like their colors though.

And wait for the snow.  I think there won't be much until the weekend, but we'll see.

Friday Gloom

Outside, that is.  Inside, we're just as cheerful as can be.

Our easy snow day turned into a yuck fest this morning.  Just rain on the Ridge and getting mixed with sleet and snow by the time we got to Rooster Valley.  Add wind and cold, and it was just not a good trip from the car and back.  The children were loving it, splashing in puddles and looking like little Pillsbury doughboys.  Katherine came home in somebody else's pants, so I think the mud puddles won in her case.

I'll confess this, but I wasn't happy about it at the time.  Today was Early Release Day - every Friday - and it looks like I would remember what time it was.  Emily, Ryan, and I all have trouble remembering that it's at 1:36.  Emily texted me about 12:15 that she would pick up Katherine at 3:15 and I wouldn't have to get out three times today.  I thanked her for that small favor and started bundling up for the walk to the school.  I could hear the rain pouring and the wind blowing, but it's just not worth it to drive two blocks and still have to walk two more anyway.  So I trudged on toward the school, feeling pretty warm and glad I would be inside to stay in just a few minutes.

But then I noticed that I didn't see any kindergarteners walking home or the rows of cars parked in front of the school or any signs of people at all.  It started dawning on me that maybe I had the time wrong.  I looked at my phone, and it was 12:36 exactly - the time I had it in my mind for the pickup time.  As it became clear to me that I had walked through the pouring rain for nothing, I was not happy.  I walked on past the school just like I was out for a walk and went home.

Needless to say, the second trip was horrible.  The wind had picked up, and there were drops of sleet hitting my face.  Ugh.  Even Graysen came out with her coat zipped up to her nose, asking if there was a short cut we could take.  Once again, we threw our coats and socks into the dryer when we got home and sat by the fire and read books.

Emily left the girls again while she went to yoga, and they were fine.  I was just ready for 5:00 and the beginning of my weekend.

I took no pictures today, but here are the ones from last night.

The tzatziki, which look like a delicious dessert but is really just yogurt and cucumbers with a few added ingredients.

It's good but not good enough to strain yogurt and grated cucumbers in cheesecloth.  If I ever make it again - and that's doubtful - I'll use the food processor.  Grating cucumbers with the peel on is not fun to do.

I tried it on my leftover salmon last night, and it was pretty good.   Then I served it today with hummus, pepperocinis, feta, and green onions with a few tomatoes and green peppers.  That was more like it, and I'll have that every day this week for lunch.   

And Layla again doing just what I'm about to do.

Just Right Snow Day

I know we have another storm coming in a week or so, but this was a nice easy introduction to the pretty white flakes.

After I saw the picture of the girls playing outside last night, I looked out my window and saw some cars with a little snow on their windshields but not a significant amount.  Whenever I woke up during the night, I could hear rain and the temps were in the high 30s, so I didn't expect anything at all.

I texted Ryan and told him I was good to drive unless he thought there was ice anywhere, which he didn't, so I got bundled up and got the girls ready for school.  It's just about like herding cats to get everything on them and ready, except cats don't have to wear socks (two pair), gloves or mittens, hats/earmuffs and a warm coat plus have lunches and water bottles and book bags ready to go.

By the time we got outside, there was a good bit coming down, and it took a minute for them to dance around and be all excited.  Finally they were strapped in, minus those puffy coats, and jabbering about the snow.  I love it that they get so excited, and so do I.  It's really pretty, coming down so fast and covering the grass - but not sticking on the streets and making driving dangerous.

We heard about a new dropoff spot behind the school that is dropoff only and no parking and walking in, and it's much less stressful not to have to watch for kids and parents and dogs and bikes as you maneuver around near the Y.

There's my baby in the middle of the picture, so excited to be going to meet her friends.  I still can't get used to leaving her.

I think Katherine wins the prize for the tallest, biggest hat in the school today.  They have to be careful about pom poms and bows because of the goats, but she wanted this one today, and I don't blame her.  I think I might have worn won if I'd had it.

Kate and her BFF, sweet Makena.  We sign her in every morning so her au pair won't have to take her baby brother out of the car, and this makes both of them so happy.

James is always cool and not easily excited, except when one of his friends started Star Wars talk, and then both of them were gesturing and talking over each other.

One of the new puppies in the pre-K building decided to make a break for her freedom, but it didn't last long.  Just long enough to bounce through a couple of puddles.

Simple pleasures.  

It was a nice ride home and looked worse than it was.  I knew it would stop in a couple of hours.  I did stop by the library and get two new books.  I need to make sure if we get snowed in next week I have plenty to read.

And it did stop and was almost melted by 3:30 when I picked up Graysen.  She managed to find a few patches to play in and also a hole in the sidewalk to examine.

She remembered I had promised them we'd make cookies, so they did.  Katherine's are on the right - dainty, well thought out.  Graysen's, on the left, are for maximum sprinkles and not for looks.

I can't say enough about my Skechers furry boots.  They're so comfortable and have made such a difference in my attitude, just to have warm feet.  They're slipon with elastic too, which is nice not to have to fuss with them much.  I'm not sure they're available any more, but they've been perfect for me.

I haven't looked at the weather for tomorrow, but I don't think any snow is expected.  I'll get the girls to school, and then my long weekend will be here, and I don't care if there's a blizzard.  I might be in the majority of folks wishing for one.

Layla doesn't mind either.