The Day After

The ice storm caused a lot of problems including many power outages. We had our generator running during the first outage but later we had another that lasted all night during which time we just put on as many layers as we could and went to bed.
. We went for a walk this morning to see what damage the storm had done in the park and were appalled to see many trees broken down from the sheer weight of the ice.

Hard as it is to believe the tiny Hummingbird that hangs around all winter is still alive. A neighbour has a feeder with a light bulb hanging right beside to keep the sugar water from freezing and I think that without that nourishment the little bird wouldn't survive the icy temperatures we have had.

My DIL took these first two photos and the last two I found on the internet. The devastation to the trees in the last picture is like what we saw in the park this morning.  Our old Lilac bush which is probably close to 20 ft. has bent over completely and hopefully won't actually break. So far not much ice has melted but hopefully temperatures will rise soon.

Thanks for visiting on this last day of the year.   Have a safe New Year's Eve!


        Granny Marigold

Winter Weather

We are having nasty winter weather. Freezing rain is covering everything and the power is already out in some areas. The rain is falling on last week's snow making walking hazardous and driving  not much better.  The lights have begun to flicker and I have the feeling I better end this and close down my computer!   If you're having any kind of bad weather I hope you stay at home, cozy and safe!

 Isn't that the truth!!
          
        Thanks for popping by,


           Granny Marigold

Merry Christmas

                May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing    all year through!

     Thanks to each one of you who visit my blog and often leave lovely comments!


                    Granny Marigold

Solstice

                                              Happy first day of Winter

It really does look and feel like winter here. The snow is crunchy when you drive and although the main roads are clear the side streets are definitely not.
We went to do a few errands this afternoon. The car was encased in a very thick layer of frozen snow.
DH cleared off the windows and some of the hood but left the rest. As we drove and the car warmed up suddenly the layer that was on the top of the car came sliding down onto the windshield totally blocking our view. We were in an intersection and couldn't stop so DH just drove blindly until I could see out my side window that we could pull over. Whew! What a relief to know we hadn't hit anyone nor had anyone hit us.

Thanks for coming by today. I hope you're finding some time in the middle of all the bustle of preparations to sit quietly and think about the reason for the season.

             Granny Marigold

Surprise!!!

We had a surprise snowfall this afternoon. In fact it's still snowing and quite likely will continue all night. I'd been wishing we'd get at least some snow this winter....looks like I'm getting my wish. Now, of course, I'm hoping it doesn't stay too long. There's no pleasing some folks.

I took this picture through the sunroom window.  There were a lot of birds at the feeder earlier, now they've all gone somewhere to wait it out I guess.

We decided to go for a walk in the snow. Walking through the park we were about the only people out.

                 Now it really feels like winter.
  
                One last picture ( off the internet). Do you see anything wrong with it?
 

Thanks for visiting, 

          Granny Marigold

Pictures from the Past

I've been posting so much about Christmas that for a change of pace I thought I'd post some old pictures today. This first one is of Kate, our very first grandchild on her very first Christmas. She was two and a half months old.

                              Here she was last year with yours truly.

        This little guy is our first grandson on his first Christmas..

          Here he is with Santa about 10 years ago with their now  departed dog whose name totally escapes me.

            And here he is with me and his mom, Sheila, our second oldest DD  ( photo taken obviously last summer.)

Another old picture with second oldest son J on the left, then DH, youngest son G, then Sheila.

 Cinnamon Bun is fully grown now and as sweet a bunny as I could ever wish to have.
One of her favourite greens is Cilantro ( which I detest).

One last picture, one that I got off the internet and I thought was cute. I hope you don't find it irreverent.

Thanks for coming by today,

     I hope you're having a good week.

            Granny Marigold

Just 2 Weeks To Wait

It's so dark these mornings that DH has our Christmas trees on timers so they are lit when we come down for breakfast. Just two weeks from today and it will be Christmas Day!!!

This is the creche that had baby Jesus on the roof before I put him in the manger.  We bought this set about 10 years ago.

This set is much older; we've had it close to 50 years and although it's been handled a lot not one figurine is even chipped. It has a music box, the 'crank' is on the side next to the third wise man.
Of course it plays Silent Night.

                   Here's what it looks like in the dark.

A couple of years ago I started looking for sheep and found very few. I found a site that showed how to make simple sheep using 2 clothespins for legs and a roughly cut out shape of a sheep that you wrapped in white yarn. The sheep below, the one with the red ribbon, is a bought one as is the ram. I just found him last week ( thrft store, where else?) but he was just make of ceramic so I gave him a wooly coat using glue and cotton balls pulled apart.

Besides the sheep there are also any number of Teddy bears that ccome out at Christmas time and join the shepherds and wise men at the stable.

Have a wonderful week!  I'm glad you stopped by.

                     Granny Marigold

More Treasures and some Stollen

The picture Sheila took of me is a little blurry but you can see me clutching my Teddy and holding a dried flower swag that I also got at the thrift store. That large tan object in the picture is actually in the store not on my arm.

Above... this is where the swag got hung, in the doorway from the living room to the dining room.

Below are two pretty .50 doilies that I couldn't resist buying.

Today I am making a traditional German fruit bread called Stollen.  I make a large recipe and get 5 , 6 or even 7 finished Stollen depending how big I make them. I needed to make them today because DH is taking one along to a potluck lunch tomorrow.
Here are some images off the internet ( mine are still rising in the kitchen).

I hope mine look as good as those. 


Thanks for coming by,

I love to read your comments so don't be shy!


    Granny Marigold

A Fun Day

Dear daughter has this week off work so we went browsing again. We started with a nearby nursery and were not disappointed by the decor.  So much to admire!

I took a picture of Sheila and she later took one of me but I'll have to wait until she forwards it to me as she took it with her phone.

 After the nursery we went to a number of other shops. By the time we were done I felt like I had walked miles ( maybe I did).

 One of the last shops was very near a thrift store I don't often get to go to.  She is not usually a thrift shopper but she sweetly agreed to come with me. To my glee she found Christmas ornaments she really liked...25 cents each! I, on the other hand, spotted this old jointed Teddy who had no price marked. I took him up to the cashier who looked at him and said I could have him for a dollar fifty.
You can bet I said I'd take him!   Then I had to carry him around until we went back. Made some people smile to see this granny walking along hugging her Teddy bear.
 

Another item I found at that shop was this Anchor/Hocking glass dish for $3. It's oven safe but I intend to use it more for storing leftovers in the fridge. I would really like to get rid of all plastic containers but I haven't found enough glass ones yet.

Thanks for visiting today,

       Granny Marigold

Christmas Open House

This old house is on my walking route and I was actually going to walk over for the Christmas open house this afternoon but the rain made me change my mind. So we drove instead. The pictures are a little dark since I couldn't use the flash .

           I think the drying rack over the stove was such a good idea.In the upper left corner you can just barely see the cords  that raised and lowered it.

                              This was the maid's room and was just off the kitchen.

                       Upstairs are 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.

On a totally different subject either Blogger or my computer has once again deleted a number of comments. Last time it happened I automatically assumed I must have done it but this time I'm certain I didn't. Don't quite know how to avoid it happening a third time. I find it frustrating but all I can do is hope it doesn't happen again.

Two final pictures...one of grandson M. putting up the creche that he

gets to put together every year.
When he was quite little he put baby Jesus and manger on the roof and  he's heard that story enough times so now he just has to do that every year ( I go later and put it where it belongs).

Thanks for visiting,


               Granny Marigold