Snowed In.

As predicted by the many weather guys,

we were hit with our first real blast of

Winter. And it was big! Thankfully, in

our region, we just got tons of snow.

Some areas had power outages and wind

storms too. We prepared to as soon as we

heard the news, only going in to town on

Friday to meet a client, and got groceries.

Then we came home and settled in for

the next few days. The snow started on

Friday, continued all thru the night and

then all day and night on Saturday too.

It ended late last night but then did add

in a few more bits today. We've stayed

in, except to go out to shovel the very

light fluffy snow. Later in the day on

Saturday, our sweet neighbor came to

clear our driveway so we don't get stuck

in the snow. He did the lane too and it

makes it so much easier in the Winter.

We thanked him with ale and freshly

baked cookies that had just come out

of the oven. Truly, they are the best

family ever to have as neighbors! It

is not just because he has a tractor

but because they have been out here

longer and have so much experience.

We are so thankful for their kindness.

Have you been snowed in yet?

~ Chy

The Storm.

Weeks after the wildfire in our region,

we finally had a big storm that moved in,

doused the flames, purified the air and

brought back the green to our trees. So

very thankful for the firefighters who

ensured our homes were safe. Bravo!!

~ Chy

 

After the Storm.

After a big storm, the evening light through

the windows in the guest bedroom. Love.

~ Chy

Incoming Storm.

We woke up to the news yesterday that our little Province is under a weather warning with a Special Weather Statement. A big storm is on it's way from the West Coast. After finishing up my work yesterday, I worked out in our little gym and then went outside to ensure that we'd be ready for what is on it's way. We cleaned all the furniture and placed it on the back porch, the two lower decks and the front veranda. We laid out the foundation pieces for the greenhouse we ordered to start building the base this week. Then put the remaining wood in a tidy pile beside the deck, covering it with a tarp to keep it somewhat dry. We made sure the rain barrels were set up well and ready for an overflow of water. We put tools away and laid out the last tarp to dry in the sun. Today we woke up to blue skies and no clouds. The original time for impact of the expected high winds (damaging is the word used in the statement) and at least 50 mm of rain, with snow possible in the mountains, is 4 pm. But as I was laying here reading and thinking about the day, the sky has changed to clouds and I can hear the wind picking up. I re~checked the forecast and now it looks like we could have rain starting as early as 11 a.m. So I'm off to fold up the tarp and tuck it away safely in the garage. Hoping that as much as rain is good at this time of year that we don't end up with a severe storm and damage. Wish us well! I'll check back in later with a progress report. Stay well, my blogging buddies. Stay well.

~ Chy

Another Storm.

Scary skies and reports of funnel

clouds all around us this evening.

Downpours and then 2 hours later, the

sun shone until it set. Crazy weather!

~ Chy

Brewing Storm.

Tonight, we thought we were going to

get a wee thunder and lightening storm.

Even though it looks light in the pictures,

the darkness began and filled the sky.

But not long after, we looked out and

saw the sun shining bright. So off the

lamps went and we continued on with

our quiet, at home, no agenda evening.

How was your evening tonight?

~ Chy

Frozen with Sun.

It is ridiculously bitterly cold here in Western Canada. Winter has been kind to us, until this week. Snow started on Friday and though we didn't get the predicted 40 cms to 50 cms, we did get the predicted - 40 degrees Celcius to - 50 degrees Celcius. For my American blogging buddies, I have no idea how cold this is, but the Extreme Weather Warnings issued by Environment Canada continues to carry messages about frostbite occurring in under 2 minutes. Yikes! The Big City down the road is opening up the LRT Station (underground/subway) overnight for those who live on the streets. Many won't go to shelters (there are beds available) but they will head for the station to survive the icy night. 

I'm thankful that the Sun has come out and it's helping us to not feel so closed in while we wait out the extreme weather in our warm and cozy home. Other than I've run out of my beloved chocolate milk (I do have a back up with white milk and a powder to mix in), our food supplies are keeping us well fed. Heat is doing well, no concerns with any systems in the house. We do venture out to start the cars about several times through the day. They start just fine but we don't want to take any chances. Truly too risky.

It's dark now but I took these pictures earlier today. If it wasn't so cold, it would be so pretty! I love fresh snow before anyone walks on it. We noticed more footprints from the deer and a bunny or two this afternoon. No prints since Friday but today, movement. Like us, they've probably stayed huddled up in a warm, sheltered spot. In between keeping up our normal works hours, we've been busy continuing our purging. Closets are done, Christmas storage room is done, our master bedroom is done, our master bathroom is done, the guest bedroom is done, so now it's the art studio. I've got a tub of items no longer needed that someone else would love, I'm sure. The tub and maybe a second one, will be off to the charity shop, along with all the bags of extra clothing we no longer need and have sorted. I get so much joy knowing someone who doesn't have a warm coat will soon sport my old but functional and very warm jacket. Someone will find comfort in the fuzzy blankets and the new "but not my color" socks. Someone will enjoy the old books, the art supplies that I had doubles of, and the containers useful for storage. Feels good to give our items to someone who will benefit. No landfill, no garbage bag, no guilty feelings of throwing something out that is still good but we don't wish to keep any longer. Extra space is always good too. Not to fill, just to have no clutter. With purging, everyone wins!

From top to bottom, these pictures show our open back garden, and the snow piling up around my little potting shed. In the foreground is our fire pit, almost buried and our wind spinner, still today without the wind. Pretty sun. Calm trees. My favorite picture today. The second and third photos are the rink just outside our back deck. It's a bit hard to see but it is there. Our final layer of water will be brought out by the water truck on Friday morning. Then we can start skating! When it's warmer of course!! Tomorrow and Thursday we'll have to shovel, bits at a time due to the cold, to get the snow off before the truck arrives. The fourth photo is the side of our house looking towards the fence between our land and our neighbors. Usually so many deer tracks here but it's so pristine right now. I love it like this.

That's my update from the Frozen Tundra today. No school buses tomorrow but we're going to venture in to town anyway. I need my chocolate milk, we need to get the mail, get the grandkidlet to school for at least one day this week (they have Thursday and Friday off), and check in on my staff and crew. Hope your corner of the World is warmer!

~ Chy

Snowmageddon.

Our Winter, to date, has been very mild. We've had snow but very little and the bits we did have, keep melting away. That is, until "Snowmageddnn" set in yesterday morning! Thankfully we didn't have to cancel preschool classes but in the afternoon, we all made the decision to cancel our Expressive Arts Program today. It was getting dangerous to drive and many of our families come from the Big City or beyond. All were extremely grateful that they wouldn't be driving out to our little snowy hamlet today. 

The snow began to fall yesterday. First picture is in

town and the second picture is driving our range road.

With a snow day or two ~ hence the title "days" ~ we planned in advance and picked up fresh groceries and placed on online order for staples for our pantry and freezer. We don't expect to actually get totally snowed in but we don't plan to leave the house until Monday, so we're set. If this gets worse, we're well prepared. Bills are paid, cars are full of gas, freezer, fridge and pantry stocked, furnace is working well and we have many little projects to keep us busy while the snow continues to fall and blanket our almost snowless landscape with up to 40 cms of snow and -30's Celcius to keep us inside! I'm still snuggling in bed, warm and cozy and really don't wish to get up. But dd and grandson are in another community south of us for a hockey tournament, dh is watching the NHL game on tv in the great room and dd is up but I have no idea what she's up to, so it's time for me to emerge from my little cocoon. The task list of items that need attention (measuring for crown moulding, Valentine's decor to be retrieved from the storage room) and items that would be fun (re-organizing the art studio, pricing items for the antique booth, working on the dollhouse, hanging pictures) will be the first on my agenda, after a shower and putting away fresh laundry. 

Wind blowing the big trees around outside one of our

master bedroom windows. And a moment, just one tiny

moment of sun earlier this morning, shining on some of

the pictures we need to hang up soon. Progress later.

It's not often that we get to have a Saturday off. It's usually a work day for me and for dh, he takes care of a few things around the house, like washing out our master bathroom, a bit of laundry, shovelling in the Winter, yard work in the Summer. He does tasks while I'm gone and then once I'm home in the afternoon, we might do a bit of shopping or come home early to start "my weekend" which is Sunday/Monday. We do make a big effort to have Sunday as a fun day to relax, sleep in, late brekky, early lunch, scrumptious dinner and no work, as long as there are no large and pressing work filled looming deadlines. 

An apple pie I made this week, just for fun, cause I

felt like it. We had soft apples and all the ingredients.

So delicious! Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice

cream melting on top. I love how my AGA bakes.

Wishing you a love filled February and a beautiful warm day! I'm off to enjoy these snow days and hope I can get all my little projects done. Will fill you in on the progress, especially any work I do this weekend on the dollhouse.

~ Chy

Stormy Skies.

We went in to the grocery store with light

skies and came out a short time later to this .... 

Very fast moving, dark and loud clouds

with intense lightening all the way home.

We were trying to beat the rain but it

began just before we got to our road.

The clouds kept peaking down to the horizon.

There were no tornado warnings were in place.

Just dark, stormy skies and loud thunder

that shook our car, with crazy lightening.

Tonight, the rain has tapered off but we

can see more storms will hit overnight.

Truly we need this rain after a solid week

without any moisture. I just wish we could

have lovely, soft rain instead of the storms

we keep getting. Makes for long nights.

Scary Skies.

Driving home the other day was a bit

scary as the skies became dark and windy.

Lightening started to appear and the thunder

soon followed, booming across the landscape.

We had to quickly pull in and make sure everything

was secure before retreating into our sweet cozy home.

Stormy Days.

We've had weeks of hot, dry and sunny weather but this has finally changed and we're in the middle of some strong, stormy days. When I went to the doctor the fountain was hit hard from the wind. Blowing water all over! The clouds do look quite light in this shot but they were in fact very dark. We had some thunder this morning but tonight we have lots of wind wreaking havoc on our forest and tons of promises of hours and hours of rain. Hoping for the rain so our garden continues to sprout. Hoping the thunder and lightening stay away, far, far away. Hoping for a quiet night and rain tomorrow.

Sparkly Snow.

After a big snowfall, the first since 2011, we

woke up to sun and very sparkly snow today.

Candle Light Bath.

A recent rainy night, after a hot

and busy day, demanded a bath.

I lit candles, put on my favorite

music and grabbed my book.

Settled into the bubbles and began

to devour the words before me.

The candle light was so perfect,

until the lightening began. And

soon a knock on the door, from

dh, who insisted with the storm

that had begun that I get out of

my delicious tub. I'm sure it's

an old wives tale but I wasn't

going to make him worry, so

out I got. Not happy about it

but at least I was safe and dry.

After the Rain.

Once the rain disappears, I love to venture

out to the front veranda to watch the new

blooms carry the raindrops. It's alway so

quiet after the rain, except for the little

drip drops that splatter to the puddles. A

relaxed place to be after the rainy storm.

4 A.M. ....

I'm snuggled in bed, comfy duvet and

pillows cocooning my weary body. A

storm is raging outside and hasn't let

up in over 2 hours. The wind is the

strongest element, making me a bit

worried for what the morning will

bring. For now, we're safe and cozy

in our little cottage, nested and warm.

Dark Stormy Night.

The wind is howling, the trees are dancing

and we're tucked into bed, safe and sound.

The rain is supposed to start soon and I hope 

there won't be any thunder and lightening.

It's strange to be having a storm so early

in the Spring but our winter was pretty mild.

Have you had any wind and rain storms yet?

Is it mild in your neck of the woods or unstable?

Winter Sunset.

Well with our weather warnings (Heavy Snowfall) and my recent pictures to show you what Winter looked like at our Little House in the Big Woods this year, I feel I am to blame for inducing one last blast of the white stuff. So in the spirit of "oops", here's a shot I took back in January of the sun going down on a cold Winter's day. Just a snippet of the sun as it starts to disappear behind the house, peaking through the railings of our front veranda. Blue sky that within moments would begin to darken and the stars would soon appear. Such a different sky out here at night. We will truly never grow tired of looking up and seeing bright, twinkling stars and big planets illuminated in the sky. I may share a picture later of the current snow accumulation but I'll wait until the snow actually stops!

Sneaky Snowstorm!

After a long spell of brown roads and barely any snow in our yard, the snow began to fall last night, every so lightly, slowly to the ground. We didn't check the weather station as it didn't look threatening and was still warm, well above zero. This morning, we woke up to a bit of a shocking surprise. Snow everywhere and a freezing chill. Almost changed our plans but we're doing a good job of giving ourselves lots of time to make decisions with the final items on the new house and we had a meeting at 9 a.m. with the flooring manager. So off we went, plowing through the deep snow, thankful for our winter tires and the lack of vehicles out on the road this morning. 

In just under an hour and a half, we chose all the flooring for the entire house and came home with samples of all to make sure we're happy with our choices. The rest of the day was taken up with phone calls, emails, shopping lists, fridge cleaning, recycling, vacuuming, bottle gathering, then shopping for groceries, meeting someone for a gift exchange, a trip to the library and then a quiet dinner with our girls. Watched a movie and now we're ready to crawl in to a warm bed, while the wind howls outside. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit warmer but for the next week, we'll definitely be more bundled up then we've had to be. Can't wait for the next warming trend!

How's the weather in your community?

Winter Storm.

Hi everyone!

After being stuck inside for the last three days, it was time today to venture out and take a few pictures of the winter storm that snowed us in. The snow began, as predicted on Wednesday and we've been shoveling out every since. Accumulation has finally stopped and today, the sun shone, though the chill in the air is bitter cold. I snuck outside in my woolies and slippers to snap away but chose to stay home when everyone else went out to do a bit of shopping. We picked up groceries and a few extras before the snow, so there wasn't anything we truly needed. I think my family truly just needed to get out of the house after a few days of being home and not venturing out to work or school. I've loved this time, being snuggled up inside our warm house, using the time to become grounded again, preparing for Christmas, catching up on letter writing and taking some time for a nap or two! It was nice to step outside for a bit of sun but just as quick I was back inside in the warmth.

The sun on Wednesday when it first began.

Today, the snow pile is a bit taller.

The cedar in front of our window, buried!

Pretty in the sun.

A drift on the roof.

Pretty blue sky.

This fir always looks so pretty covered in snow.

The sun is deceiving. It's bitterly cold here!

How was the weather in your world today?

Have you been snowed in yet?