Full Moon, Candlemas, and some small changes

 

 

 

 I believe the February full moon ( Snow moon) was at its best the night  before last but we had clouds. Last night I was able to see it during a rather brief time when the clouds cleared. Now it is raining again but according to the forecast we will have better weather as the week progresses.

Today is Candlemas , the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It is also the feast day commemorating the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Known as the "Feast of Light" it features the blessing of candles symbolizing Christ as the light of the world.

Since the winter solstice on December 21 we here in  British Columbia have gained approximately

30 to 40 minutes of total  daylight each day.  Daylight increases by roughly 1–2 minutes daily, with the rate accelerating to over 2 minutes per day by early February, making mornings noticeably lighter. 
( Both the image and information are from the internet) 

 

I put away the winter decor from the sideboard and put out a few Spring things. The tulip painting is one Eldest Daughter did a couple of years ago. Now I must get some tulips to fill the empty spot in the front :)   (That's a good excuse, right?)
 

 

Today is my laundry day and when I saw this on Pinterest I took my chances and copied it. I know there is supposedly a way to neatly fold  fitted sheets but so far I have not mastered it. 

I hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for coming by!!

Chit Chat

 Did you know that today is International Zebra Day?  That's okay, I didn't know that either. Apparently it's always some designated special day.  

 

We've had very hard rain this past week. That may have had something to do with the added traffic at our bird feeders. Besides the usual visitors we've had a pair of Towhees...pictures from the internet

...and this little Nuthatch

When we last walked at Willband we saw this immature Eagle sitting maybe 20' from us. He seemed to ignore us completely and only flew away when some people with dogs came by.

 

 As I mentioned in my last post I'm confused about what right I have to different images on line especially from Pinterest where I find the best ones. I feel confident that bird ID websites would be okay with my using their pictures, also the weather network and such. I'm just not sure about other sites.  I  read the following statements  and they seem to be saying 2 different things. 

 Pinterest allows you to post content, including photos, videos, comments, links, and other materials. For the purpose of these Terms, anything that you post or otherwise make available on Pinterest is referred to as "User Content."

 Pinterest is great for inspiration, but in order to use those photos for your marketing you need to have written permission from the original owner of the photo.

What do you think? 

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

Baking and Flowers

 

 

Happy penultimate day of January.  I had a really cute graphic for the day but I have found out that I may be using other people's graphics  without their permission. I wasn't aware of this so until I've sorted out what is and what isn't permissible my posts will be much plainer. *big sigh*.

It's raining today. So far I haven't done much except I did make an apple pie,  I'm so glad I used a cookie sheet and parchment under the pie because it bubbled over.

 Yesterday I baked Banana/ Chocolate chip muffins.  Four of my grown children came by at some point and each took some muffins when they left. DH and I each had one and they were gone.  I'm not very fond of banana muffins but I had some bananas that were very ripe and rather than throw them out I made muffins.   There's always someone who will want them 😋😋😋😋.

 When Eldest daughter came she brought me pretty flowers. I'm truly spoiled.

Did you know that it snowed in the Sahara Desert for the first time in 37 years?  That's amazing!!
( I believe the pictures on the weather network are okay to repost. If you know otherwise please let me know).

 That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting💖.

 

 

Tuesday Trivia

 After another night with temperatures dipping into the minuses I think we've moved into our more normal winter weather. We had 11 dry days in a row which is a rare winter streak for our area. However, the next week is forecast to bring 30 to 50 mm of rain along with milder temperatures.
Because the porch got so cold even though it's closed in I was bringing my store-bought Primroses in for the nights.  Now they'll be okay staying out and in a few weeks I'll transplant them into the dirt.

 

 I made a simple banner for the front door. Because it get used a lot and tape wasn't enough to hold it I used my powerful little magnets ( those black blobs)
.On the outside I hung a wreath that I've used for many years.

This is the latest puzzle that we finished.

 I hope you're having a lovely day. Thanks for taking the time to visit.

 

 

A Cat, Flowers, Food, and a Book

 Hello my friends on this wintery Sunday. We went over to GD Kate's to meet her new cat, Peaches, who is quite adorable. Although she looks like a kitten she's actually a full grown cat.

Another lovely bouquet of flowers.

 My Saturday baking....lemon scones and Carrot muffins

 I requested this book from the library but it isn't quite what I had hoped it would be. The recipes are far too fancy for my kitchen even though the author's story of how she left New York to live with her husband in rural Ireland are interesting.

 That's it for today. I hope you're safe and warm wherever you are. Thanks for visiting.

 

 

Cold Weather and Small Changes

 

 All of Canada is experiencing colder than normal temperatures as a Polar Vortex has descended from the North Pole.  Of course here on the west coast our cold is nothing compared to the prairies and East coast where frigid temperatures are bone-chilling ( think wind chills of  minus 40 C which is the same as -40F ).

 The sun is shining again today.  In spite of the cold Youngest Son came to wash some of the outside windows as well as the sky lights. The sunshine is lovely but one can certainly see how dirty the windows are when the sun shines.

When I opened the back door to give Kitty her breakfast I was greeted not by Kitty but by a raccoon. I chased him off and fed her but barely had gone back in when he was there again. I suppose he was very hungry but to feed one raccoon would soon have every raccoon in the area in our yard wanting food.

I decided to change the things on the old sewing machine.  This is the 'before' picture.....

...and this is what it looks like now.  Small changes. Next I'll get out some Valentine decor. It's not that long any more.

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

 

Finding Room for a Table

 

 When I saw this picture on Pinterest I had to think back to a similar experience when I was about 4 or 5. A cantankerous turkey gobbler took after me and I ran screaming blue murder trying to get away from him. Fortunately my Dad rescued me but I remember how scared I was.

Our cold mostly clear weather continues. On our walk we just saw all the regulars at the lake. 

I decided to rearrange things in the sunroom. After Christmas we had to find room for a table that my DH built a number of years ago and which was being used by M for a desk. Now he has a proper desk and since we were not going to part with the table we had to put it in the sunroom.( Where I've already run into the corner no doubt this will give me quite a bruise.) It's very close to the door which we don't use in winter. We'll see if it has to be moved in spring.

 . I have bread dough in the breadmaker now.   With such small projects my day gets filled.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my new doll's name. Last night before I turned off the lamp I said Good Night, Mary Ellen and grinned as I thought about adding Good night Jim-Bob, Good Night John-Boy......