The Blizzard of Nod

The folk who live in Nod are NOT sissies...

...at least not when it comes to winter.

Those of us who grew up here, have seen snow....LOTS of snow and, in more recent years, ice...and, every year, brutal, take-your-breath-away cold.  What is seen as a crippling storm in other parts of the country is, well, just another day in Nod.  Schools and businesses rarely close due to inclement weather, and while winter storm and snow advisories are an every-other-day event, "blizzard" warnings are somewhat rare because, well, we are NOT sissies and it takes something major to be classified as a "blizzard" here (The 18" of snow we got the Tuesday before last, for example, was not considered a blizzard since the wind gusts were only 20 mph and you could technically still see at least 10 feet in front of your nose.)  In fact, the last time a blizzard warning was issued for Nod was 10 years ago.

So, when they issue a blizzard warning, we take it seriously, and we know it's gonna get ugly.  And it DID get ugly this weekend. 

First, of course, we were glazed over with ice....just to make sure neither man, nor beast nor vehicle would be able to maneuver in a straight line.

Then the snow came.... Not like we needed any more considering we had already gotten over 40" this month.

But came it did regardless.

And it continued to come....

A bit of panic actually overtook both me and Snowdog Sunday morning when I could not open either door to let him out to do his "thing."

The snow eased up late yesterday afternoon.  But then the winds came....55-60 mph winds. (By the way, if any of you find my "Happy Holidays" sign that was by my front door, I will pay postage to have it shipped back to me. Given the direction of the winds, I would think it should be somewhere near Pennsylvania.)

The teeny, tiny, house in Nod shook and groaned in protest, and for a while there, I thought we might be air-borne.

  

Then the cold came... This-hurts-to-breathe kind of cold.

This morning  finally came and I was surprised that I was not any where near Oz or the Emerald City. 

I was still here in Nod....and, unfortunately, so was the snow.

(There's a fireplace under there someplace....)

But, we weathered another storm.  Others who were not so fortunate will try to pick up the pieces the best they can.

Little Crow's carport collapsed:

(His truck was trashed....an estimated $12,000+ worth of damage.)

And, despite efforts to keep it clear, the roof on my niece's barn caved in:

(Poor cows....)

Although we are up to our necks in snow... 

(There's another standing deer under there somewhere....makes you feel sorry for the real ones.)

....we will carry on and shovel out, because more snow is coming tomorrow.

And Snowdog's mountain continues to grow.

Monday Mutterings

Some people post about "Motivational Mondays..."

Some have "Monday Musings..."

Nah Uh....

Not here....

Here we have Monday Mutterings..

(They don't call me The Cranky Crow for nothing.)

Anyways....on to the "mutterings."

I have really had the urge to pick up my hook and start hooking again, even at the risk of shocking some people with two unthinkable events (resuming blogging AND hooking) in less than as many months.  So, today I unearthed my hooking frame, complete with the last project I was working on still (somewhat) on the frame.  (Has it actually been YEARS???)

But, I was at a complete loss as to where the wool went that I started with.

Hence, Muttering Number 1.

After wasting several hours to no avail in the rogue wool department, I convinced myself to move on. (That one multiple personality of mine sometimes wins out.)  In the process of organizing my someday-to-be-playroom, I had actually found that I had the floss and linen and other "necessaries" to complete a few stitching projects I had had plans for prior to WWR, and had started on them a week or so ago. (Remember the heart box and the squirrel problem??)

So, in the absence of wool, I decided to finish them up.

Yeah, I kind of goobered the finish by clipping too closely in one spot near the bottom.

Hence, Muttering Number 2.

So, on to Muttering Number 3:

I made this sweet little needle keep to go with the goobered box.

Because I have a kitten who is a floss thief, a ribbon addict, and overall kleptomaniac who steals anything and everything that is not glued down (and sometimes even that which is glued down), I tucked the wee little keep safely in my project box, under some patterns, scissors, and such with the intention of giving it one final pressing in them morning.  Or safely so I thought. 

I woke up to Monday and to Gone Girl...GONE.
(It is still MIA, but at least I took a photo so I KNOW I wasn't imagining that I made it.)

:-( 

  

So, muttering all the while, I made cookies.

(A LOT of cookies...with a LOT of chips...5 different kinds of chips in fact....)

I figured I can't mutter with my mouth full.

(I want to thank everyone who has stopped by to visit after my long, unexcused, absence, and for some of the sweetest comments ever.  Unfortunately, a few of you are "no-reply bloggers" or have blogs I cannot access, and therefore I cannot respond to you personally.  But to Winnie who asked if I really do like crows, yes...I ADORE them.  I have a "pet" crow of sorts.... I feed him when I can manage the snow and he comes to sit on the pine tree by the end of the drive and caws to me. I always know it's him...even when he brings a friend or two.  I have named him Poe LOL.) 

From My Heart to Yours

I hope the day has been good to you and your hearts are full.

Rest in Piece(s)

Between bouts of -50 to -60 degree windchills, and a bit of freezing rain, it has been snowing here in Nod....

  Snowing a LOT. 

 We had 8" this past Tuesday, another 8+" Thursday, 7-10" today, and an even more "major" storm coming our way tomorrow night with significantly "more" accumulations.  (That's all the farther I looked folks....someone told me, though, there is another one coming later in the week as well...)

My social director  Papa Crow has been in Quebec for the better part of a week now, and although I got out for a bit yesterday, I have been mostly left to my own devices here in the Twilight Zone of Never Never Land (I mean really....I am excited if I see a snowplow go past as it is the ONLY traffic here in Nod these days...and that is a big "if" by the way.)

Except Thursday....in the midst of the storm, a UPS truck stopped in the middle (at least I THINK it was the middle...who knows? It wasn't plowed) of the road outside our house...and honked his horn....

...and HONKED his horn.

After realizing there was, in fact, life in Nod, it slowly dawned on me that this UPS driver was attempting to get my attention.  So, while he continues to HONK his horn, I bundle up.... After all, I wasn't going out there in my pajamas.

After donning my 6 layers of outerwear, I stepped out on the front porch...and froze.

(Not literally, mind you....that hadn't gotten to me quite yet....but figuratively....)

Because you see, with Papa Crow gone, no one had shoveled the walk or plowed the driveway.

The driveway that is made of stamped concrete and that gets incredibly slippery even WITHOUT 2" of ice and 8" of snow.

And because,  just over a year ago, I took a tumble down our staircase and broke my tibia and tore my ACL and VMO (another post, another time), leading to a very unstable knee. 

And because,  my back was deciding whether it wanted to be completely "out" or just partially out, yet still painfully bothersome (yet another post,  yet another time).  In any event, both knees began to quiver...and not from the subartic temperature.

But the UPS man continued to honk.

So, out to the road I ventured slipped and slid....

And the UPS man continued to honk.

(You can't see that I am TRYING to get there? You can't, like, maybe pretend to be a gentleman and meet me halfway????)

I did make it there (and back, thankfully) unscathed.  However, I was not of a sunny disposition when I got there....if you get my "drift" (yes, pun intended).

He said they were working under "EC" ("Emergency Conditions") and, therefore, did not want to chance our driveway. 

Really???

And you know what the real kicker is???

The package wasn't even FOR me.

GAH!!!

Like I said, rest in piece(s)......

(Ok...just kidding....this is NOT really the UPS guy's head.... It's a project I have been meaning to do since several Halloweens ago.... Yeah, you could say I'm a bit stir crazy about now.  ;-) )

Hearts and Squirrels, Squirrels and Hearts

Well, I think h*!! has finally, really, and truly, frozen over.

How cold can it get in the Cold, Cold, Land of Nod???

REALLY cold....Cold enough that no one got mail, no garbage was picked up, and bars closed.

That's right....BARS CLOSED in WISCONSIN.  Now that is DANG cold.

Temps down to -30's and windchills reaching -60.  

YIKES!

Rumor has it, though, that we will be in the upper 30's soon....

A 90 degree temperature swing in a matter of days.  Gotta love Nod....or NOT.

Ok...enough ranting... Yes, I am going a bit stir crazy (I get nervous when they say exposed skin can be frostbit in a matter of 5 minutes in those temps)....

There are many things I SHOULD be doing, but it seems a herd of squirrels running through the house always manages to distract me.

After spending a few hours sorting through boxes from WWR (yes, there are still boxes) and not finding any treasures like Marly's, I started working on a new project for which I needed a little painted heart box.

So, I painted the box....and the squirrels came again.

I started playing with paper, and well, that led to Valentine-ish things.

I am kinda liking those little dimensional heart things made with old sheet music and journal papers.

I might have to make a few more.

Something tells me the "box" project might be delayed.

But, I did finally finish my heart and hand punchneedle piece.

I had the punching done long, long, time ago, but the hornbook challenged me at every step.

(If you know me and paint, you might understand....)

Hope all is well where you are, and if it's in the Polar Vortex, I hope you are staying warm and cozy.

If you need any squirrels, just let me know.

*******

(PS...I think I did something stupid and enabled Google+ comments?? But I can't disable them?? I hope it doesn't cause anyone problems with leaving a comment.  If so, please try emailing me and I will do some research....And if anyone knows the spell to undo what I did, please let me know!)

Some Farewells & Some Introductions: The Tale of Four Kitties (and a Snowdog)

I have been gone a good long while and, as I mentioned in my last post, I have some serious catching up to do....and I promised to fill in a few of the missing pieces.

So here we go....and, in this case, the emphasis is on the word "missing."

Yes, Snowdog is still here and doing fine (although a bit preoccupied with the unexpected snow we are getting today).

But this is mostly a cattail cat tale.  In one of my posts before I fell off the face of Blogland this last time, there was a sneak peek at a new addition to the teeny, tiny, house in the cold, cold, land of Nod; but I don't believe I ever got around to formally introducing her.

So, friends, please meet Liza....a/k/a Liza Bean...a/k/a LuciFur (and, trust me, she truly earned that last moniker):

 She came to us as a "rescue" (from my niece's farm where she was found drowning in a pail of water....).

(Hmmm....water seems to be a recurring theme for her.)

 But she did eventually grow into those ears of hers:

*************

Then, about a year and a half later, I had to say farewell to my beloved Lizzi....

She left this world too very young, and oh how my heart hurt.

*************

An unexpected birthday surprise from my husband a month later, however, brought a smile to my heart again....

How could anyone NOT smile? Those eyes, the purr....the unbelievably soft fur, his snuggles.  I don't know who else could have mended my broken heart like Purrcy....or broken it so swiftly and completely when he died two months later as unexpectedly as he had arrived in my world.

I know there are questions...but his story is yet too sad for me to tell.

He was just too good to be true...and now each birthday will be bittersweet for me.

*************

But if my heart was shattered by losing Purrcy, my pain was exacerbated by witnessing that of Liza's.  She did not eat for days...and I would catch her lurking in some of her and Purrcy's favorite "play" spots...waiting...and waiting for her playmate.  You see, those two had bonded beyond anything I ever thought imaginable.  And as surely as you and I have a heart, so does she...and clearly it was broken as completely as mine was.

So, with great reluctance, and quite of bit of trepidation, we welcomed another new kitten to the teeny, tiny, house in the cold, cold, land of Nod: Rajah Roo.

No kitteh could ever replace Purrcy, but Rajah really isn't just any kitteh, and has at least "distracted" us.

I cannot say that Liza Bean has bonded with him as tightly as she did with Purrcy, but Rajah is...well...his own purrson LOL.... 

So...there you have it, 2 years of fur baby history at the teeny, tiny, house in the cold, cold, land of Nod in a nutshell...Ok, a rather "large" and LONG nutshell, but a nutshell nonetheless.

And, yes, I actually started the next part of the WWR Chronicles...but somehow am having some photo issues in that regard.  So, stay tuned...or not! 

The Nine Lives of The Cranky Crow

Yes, the rumors are true....I am "back"...again....

It's hard for even me to believe that it has been almost 2 years since I last posted.

I have visited a few blogs somewhere in that time, but it seemed my own words were stuck down somewhere deep within.  Each of these times that I have "disappeared," it has not been with intent.  I do not quite know what happens, when it will happen, or exactly why it happens....but it does.  And then eventually it seems as though I find myself far "away" and there is always an overpowering homesickness that calls me back.

So, although I am not entirely certain of what "life" I am on...or how many I may have remaining, I am here now and that brings joy to my heart.

So much, and yet so little, has happened in the past two years.  I will try to fill in some of the puzzle pieces as I go from here.  But for those of you I left hanging 2 years ago, as you can see, I did, in fact, finally find the floss I needed and finished up this little pinkeep tuck.  (Pattern by Jenny Hoffman @ Country Rustic Primitives... Finished Marly-style.) 

And, in some chance encounters with a few of you during my absence, I was asked to continue the WWR ("When We Remodeled") Chronicles. So, at the risk of losing the few faithful followers I may have left, I promise I will.

I just need to remember where I left off....and take Christmas down first.  

See...some things never change.

 ;-)

A Marly Kind of Day....

Nod is a considerable distance from any real form of civilization; so, I do my best to conserve trips to town....

But, I was out of SnowDog food and basic food necessities.  In addition, they are calling for major snow by week's end, and, most importantly, I needed some floss to finish this stitch.

Specifically, I needed DMC 730.

So, I begrudgingly started the journey to town... I decided to go to Walmart, since I could get everything I needed in one place rather than multiple stops.  (I hate multiple stops...)  Or so I thought.

WHAT. The. HECK.

Since when does 738 follow 729?  And look as I might, I saw no little cubbie saying 730 anywhere in sight.  Shaking my head, I picked up skeins of two other colors that I need for a different project and headed to the checkout bewildered.

Then....then....you would not believe what transpired.

As I am placing my groceries on the checkout belt, the cashier asks me if I found everything I was looking for.  I said no, as I handed her the two skeins of floss I had found.... I said I couldn't find the colors I needed in the floss.  I then asked her if she knew of any other place in town that carried floss.  She looked at me and says "Gee, Midwest Dental is just across the way, but I don't know if they have the colored stuff or not....I've only ever seen white."

You can't make this stuff up I tell ya.

Happy Hearts Day!

An Apology for Ugly.....

When I started The WWR Chronicles, I said I would be interspersing them with "regular" blog posts...and I sorta tried to do that with my last post....but realized too late that the "S" (a/k/a "white") photos were not any more palatable to most of you (including me) than those horrendous pre-remodel photos.

So, this is a sort of an "apology," if you will, for all those awful photos of late...

The annual antique show in the town closest to Nod was this past weekend....and these are a few of the treasures that followed me home.... (I know some of you will find those photos a bit "prettier" than those in my previous 3 or 4 posts LOL....)

(A heart made from old bottlecaps)

(Cast iron shoes.  The gentleman from whom I purchased them speculated that they may have been from a Victorian-era wood mannequin.  And an old shoe oil can because?? Because I love everything shoes???)

(The best find of the show.  This sampler was made by Eliza Staples....when she was a wee 9 years old...)  (Ok Miss Marly - does this in ANY way atone for the photos of the awful s#*t???)

(Old German rabbits.  The one on the right is a candy container and will join my herd of others.... The one on the left is not a candy container, but should blend in with the herd....and I didn't have a white one.)

(Heart in hand....actually an old glove...with a snippet from an old diary that says "I Love But One"....)

(A girl can never have too many chocolate molds.  ;-) )

(Not sure what I will do with this yet....It's an old iron salvage piece of some sort, but the shape and form intrigue me....)

As my daddy always said, ugly is as ugly does; but do not confuse apologies with excuses, nor excuses with apologies. 

Have a great week ahead!

The Conspiracy Theory

I know many of you welcome February with open arms and hearts....

And, yes, she does bring us a touch closer to spring....

But I believe that February is in conspiracy with January to drive me mad with whiteness.

And if they do not succeed at first, they entice March to join them as an accomplice.

Today we saw a peek at the sun...at least I think that's what it was....It's been so long since I've seen it that I've forgotten her face.

So fill me with hope of spring, and I may learn to forgive you January and February....and let you off easy as well March.

{For those of you following along with The WWR Chronicles, thank you so very much for your encouragement and kind comments....}