The Sweet Month Of February

 It's February, and one of our coldest months here!  V. at the grocery store told me it was 17 degrees one morning.  Every time I want to go out and have a little adventure, the cold air has kept me inside.  This is my car one cold morning. 

I seem to cook and bake a lot when we have these frigid temperatures.  Here's a meatloaf I cooked for dinner one night.  You know, I've been cooking for 46 years - that's a long time, so I don't do strict recipe following, I go by looks and feel.  If I'm baking and it requires precise measuring, then I'll follow the recipe, but most of the time, I just wing it.  So, you will never see a long written recipe on here, but I will tell you the ingredients I put in....ground beef, a little ketchup, onions, garlic salt, pepper, one egg, and bake at 350.  (I cook mine for about 50 minutes, but it depends on how much meatloaf you make).

Lumber was delivered to my house, and they are starting to build a new fence in the back yard.  Part of the old one crashed and fell when we had a great wind this last Fall.  A portion of the newer fencing is intact, so it will look nice when it's finished.  I will miss the deer roaming in my back yard that used to come through the large opening from the woods.

Despite the cold, I managed to get out and drive to the little pink eatery on the main street of my town.  My son treated me to a hot pastrami sandwich, crisscut fries, and a coke.  They have the best pastrami subs ever. 

We are in the heart of winter here, and not many birds are coming around yet.  Everything is bare, but these woods around me are still beautiful and haunting, as I think about all the ancestors who came before and lived in this area.

I got a surprise in the mail from my blog friend, Susan.  It was a Valentine card with the cutest Snowbaby.   I saw it on one of her posts, and mentioned how much I loved it, and she thought it belonged with me.  It was wrapped nicely and tight so there was no breakage, and it was such a thoughtful gift.

You are probably familiar with the Snowbabies, but if not, here's a little about them.

*Snowbabies are porcelain figurines that were popular in the mid-80's (when my girls were growing up).  They originated in Germany in the late 1890's.  They are cherub-like children in snowsuits that appear to have flakes of snow over them.  My sister used to collect the Snowbabies, and I'll have to ask her if she still has any.

I have been gathering little things for the kids' goody bags, and having a fun time with that.

I made a batch of brownies to warm the house one cold afternoon.

Every year, I send out the Valentine cards to my adult kids, and now I send them out to the grandkids.  I have so much fun doing this.  I used to love giving and receiving them when we were in school, and I have kept the tradition alive.

Mia making pizza with daddy.  Renecke makes the best homemade pizza. 🍕🍕🍕

Francesca and Mia are into Squishmallows right now.  These are popular ultra-soft plush toys known for their marshmallow-like and huggable designs.  When I saw this cereal at the grocery store, I had to pick it up.

Many of you are anxious for spring to arrive, but we have long winters here, and sometimes we can get snow until April.  So I will try to enjoy the cold and the snow and the rain for a little while longer.

Holiday Hutch

It was so fun decorating my hutch this past week, as I got to spruce it up for Valentine's Day, which is a favorite holiday of mine.  I love the cubbies on this hutch because we have many small treasures we have collected and often wonder where to put them when we decorate our homes.  The small drawers are nice for chocolate and cards, and I put some decorative boxes in the cupboard below that contain things inside that are special to me.  I put out the music box that Mia gave me also, just because it plays a song of love.

I found this cute pink house (birdhouse) this year,

and the Nutcracker I found last year at Home Goods.

I've had these Love blocks forever.

And it's always a must to put those chalky conversation hearts out.

Last week, I showed you the scones I made that were so Yummy.  Well, it was not an orange icing, but a lemon glaze, and I just picked the packages up at the grocery store.  They really are good, you should try them.  *I bought two packs at Grocery Outlet, but I think you can get them at World Market as well.

I came across this quote the other day and loved it because we all have our own story to tell.

"Go back to where you started or as far back as you can, examine all of it, travel your road again and tell the truth about it.  Sing or shout or testify or keep it to yourself:  But know whenst you came."

~James Baldwin

So strange....I had a dream Friday night, and I was looking out my window and the scene was blurry, but could see two big animals on my lawn.  That next morning, I looked out my laundry room window and saw two deer.  They were just there for a few moments, and then trotted off to the woods behind my house.  

Jess loves the flamingo, so when I saw this box of chocolates, I couldn't resist.

Our Francesca chipped her tooth last week, and we were all pretty concerned about it because it was her adult tooth, but the amazing things they can do with dentistry these days comforted us.  She was a brave little girl at the dentist office while the skilled workers repaired her chip, and they did a great job on it.  Uncle b. sent her a couple plush dinosaurs to put a smile on her face. 😊

When I got my new hutch, I gave my old bookshelf to my neighbor, Lisa.  I bought it several years ago at Target, but my house is small and no extra room for it.  She came over to get it, and loved it, and we had a nice visit.  Around these parts, it's all about helping others, and I don't recall having such good neighbors than the ones I have next door and across the street.

I've been thinking of some of my blog friends in the different states who had storms coming through with snow and ice over the weekend.  California is mild right now, but we are supposed to get a mix of rain and snow in February.  It is one of our coldest months here, so I best be prepared.

 

Little Lost Bear

 Hello, and how is your January going so far?  I had planned to drive to the city one day, but that meant waking up very early to avoid traffic, and it was so cold that morning, so I snuggled back into bed, and decided to make it a day of shopping in town.  I'm glad I did, cause I bought myself a little surprise.  I picked up a few Valentine goodies from the store, had a corn dog for lunch, and my next stop was to A's Home Shop.  I got to visit with my friend, A, for about an hour.

  There, standing in the corner was a little hutch - the same white hutch I admire every time and always want to buy. (It's actually a light cream color).  But today I decided to treat myself and get that charming hutch.  A. had her husband deliver it to my house.  And it fits perfectly in one corner near the kitchen.  I'd like to decorate it with seasonal stuff, so I will call it my "holiday hutch."

It has small drawers for notes and such, and spacious room below for storing things.

  Come by next week if you'd like and see it all decorated for Valentine's Day. 💖

Have you ever tried these?  They are soooo good.

We come across some beautiful things when we are in the process of cleaning and clearing.

My son treated me to an extra large pizza, while we watched a movie.  You know, one of the best pizzas I've ever had comes from this little mountain town.  It's so delicious that I had a couple slices before taking a picture.

We watched Under the Tuscan Sun.  I've seen this movie a dozen times, but I never tire of it.  It's a good show to watch in the new year.  Have I ever told you the story about Jess in the little region of Italy?  Jess traveled through Europe when she was younger for three months all by herself.  Brave girl.  She met up with a cousin and her sister for a short time, but most of the time it was just her.  She saw so many wonderful places.  One of them was Tuscany.  When she was in Tuscany, she e-mailed me telling me to watch Under the Tuscan Sun, and that way it would be like us being there together.  I did, and thought about her the whole time.

A blog friend sent this to me, and I loved it.

I baked some gingerbread scones with lemon icing.  Oh my, they were the best scones I've ever had.

 Francesca lost her white bear about a year ago.  Uncle b. gave it to her when she was a baby, and it's her favorite.  She's been missing her bear friend for a very long time.  Jess and Francesca whispered words to Saint Anthony many times during that period.  Saint Anthony is the Patron Saint of lost things.  This weekend, Francesca visited her other grandma's house, and under one of the beds was her beloved white bear!  She was thrilled, as it's been about a year since she lost it. *thank you, Lord.  *thank you, Saint Anthony.  You made a little girl very happy.

That's about it, my friends.  My sister's birthday is this week, and I wish her a very special day. 🎂

You Smell Good

 We had our first snowfall last week,

and I only got a couple pics of it because it was a light snow, but it's always so pretty to see the neighborhood dressed in white.  And a hush occurs every time with the first snow.

Jess gave her brother a gift of imported sea salt and other seasonings because she knows he enjoys cooking.  A plate of ham and Havarti cheese, apples, barbecue rib eye steak, and shrimp with sea salt.

I drove through the coffee shop with my son to get a winter coffee.  He got the black forest mocha, and I ordered the peppermint mocha.  They have such a delightful assortment of specialty coffees that they whip up for every season.

I was shopping one day for Valentine stuff, and when I'm shopping, all my attention goes directly to that.  I asked the cashier for the price of an item, and while she was checking, a distinguished man stood next to me.  I was blocking the isle and said, "oh, go ahead," and he replied, "I'm in no hurry."  As he passed, he said, "You smell good, by the way."  I replied, "me?" (wasn't sure who he was talking to).  He responded, "yea, when I walked past you I got a whiff."  I said, "Oh, thank you."  I thought it was funny because I only use soap and water, I don't wear perfume.  And he probably smelled all the Valentine goodies I was carrying.  I love to get little things for the kids on this special day.  And sometimes for the adults....Jess loves the Sloth.  ; )

Francesca had a Heritage Day at school, and she chose the heritage that came from her grandma, coming all the way from Greece.  She talked a little bit about her heritage, and all the students sang a wonderful song together.

Remember the Panettone that I love during the holidays?  Well, there were a few left at the grocery store, half off.  I like the original one the best, but this one had chocolate inside, and was really good.

A pretty pink sunrise through the tall pines over the weekend.

I wanted to see how filled up the creek was since the rains, so I headed over there one day.  The water is twice as high than it normally is compared to the last few years.  There's three sections brimming with water.

After the snow, we got sunshine, and it has stayed ever since. 🌞 Our mountain looks so pretty.

Well, I'm just trying to stay warm here - it's in the 20's early mornings, but then warms up during the day.  I made some blueberry bread and having lots of tea. ☕

I wish you a wonderful week. 🌹🌹🌹