Sunday Morning

The following two pictures were not taken this morning but rather a few days ago.  Can you see the two deer that are peeking at Mr P as he takes their picture?  Everyday there are several deer that bed down at the side of the house.  Unfortunately, the camera is not always in hand when they are seen and by the time the camera is retrieved, they are gone. 

You can see that this one is in action and taking off for a different part of the wood next to the house.  They are beautiful to look at and it's interesting how they stare back as they are being observed and photographed.

These will be some of the same ones that will visit the vegetable garden and the flower beds.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I purchased an amarylis plant after the holidays.  Watching the plant grow and the flowers begin to appear was fun.  There are two flowers open and two more to open.  It's a big tall plant (I had to use a twist tie to keep the leaves from flopping and pulling the entire plant down) and the flowers are gorgeous.

Last but not least is the first of another pair of fingerless gloves made from cotton yarn for OnlyDaughter.  OnlyDaughter gifted me with a knitting book with 7 versions of fingerless gloves and asked me to make her a few pair.  I started with the most simple style, a rib pattern with an opening left in the seam for the thumb.  This one is a moss stitch with the thumb done separately.  I started the second glove which should go quickly.  Then, a coworker showed me a book she bought on Tunisian crochet and last week we started an informal "class" at lunchtime to begin crocheting.  I'm starting with a simple pair of fingerless gloves for OnlyDaughter in black cotton and hopefully these will go quickly too.  There are lot of other ideas in the book my coworker purchased that I would like to try. 

Temperatures here are devastatingly cold!  Even so, one of my walking buddies and I went out for our walk yesterday and we have plans to go out again today. 

I need to finish lunch preparations - roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy and a steamed vegetable and get the dishes washed before heading out.  Then it's off to the grocery store for a few items including food I will need for our Super Bowl dinner next Sunday.  I fill you later on the menu and where I found some of the recipes.  It will be a simple menu this year.
Hope you are having a good weekend wherever you are and if your caught up in this cold snap here in the US, stay warm!

Whomp!

 In my earlier post, I mentioned that the wind on Sunday was incredible.  That evening, while sitting in the TV room, there was a big whomp.  Knowing something happened outside and close to the house, we peered at the deck thinking something was amiss there but nope, everything was as usual out there.  It was too dark and way too windy to go outside to see what happened but the next day, Mr P went out to investigate and below is a picture of the big tree that came down in the wind.  The tree is at least forty feet tall (or now horizontal on the ground) and the top of it rests just on the other side of some evergreen trees at the side of our home.

The next picture was one I took today which doesn't really show the downed tree well but does show that the snow that was on the ground is gone.

The final picture was taken today at The Puddle Pond.  There is ice on the pond but I wouldn't trust stepping out on it.  

My walking partner and I are headed out in about 1/2 hour for a walk.  The temperature is 44 degrees F, the sun is out and the wind it blowing, but not fiercely.  We didn't get out yesterday because of the rain so it's nice to be able to get out today.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

The Polar Vortex is gone!

No pictures on this post.  Last weekend saw a large part of the US shivering in the cold and Central Pennsylvania was no exception. 
My walking buddies and I managed to walk on Saturday but not on Sunday.  Sunday evening it was windy and suddenly there was a tremendous boom outside.  Too dark and much too windy (the earlier incident that took me out of action for a while was related to a tree branch which makes me cautious about walking in the woods when it's windy in the future) to go outside and investigate but a quick look on the deck showed all was as usual there. 

Cold, cold temperatures moved in and on Monday as I was driving to work at 6AM, the temperature indicator in the car showed 1 degree F.  Brrrrrrrr....   No walking at breaktime in the morning and it was even chilly at work.  A look around outside on Monday revealed that a big tree came down in the woods next to the house the night before and missed the side of the house by about 25 feet.  In the four decades of living in these woods only one small tree has fallen onto a shed next to the house causing minor damage.  How lucky!

Tuesday morning the temperature indicator in the car showed 8 degrees F and it was so chilly in the office that I wore the sweater that I keep at work over the sweater I wore to work.  By Wednesday temperatures began to climb close to freezing and it actually felt balmy.

Up early this morning, one load of laundry is done, breakfast is finished and it's time to start on the usual weekend chores of cleaning, preparing to grocery shop, ironing, etc.  It's gloomy and rainy outside today with heavy rain forecast for later today.  A perfect day for getting things done inside. 

I started knitting another set of fingerless gloves for OnlyDaughter which I will work on this weekend and am almost finished with a book that I checked out at the library on Tuesday evening called The Scavenger's Daughters.  The book is a good read.

Hope you are had a good week and have a good weekend wherever you are.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Happy New Year from The Puddle Pond (and Chance).  Our wishes for a healthy, prosperous new year to all.

New Year's Eve was quiet here.  No resolutions made except to keep in touch more with family and friends.
January 1, 2014 photo of The Puddle Pond.  It was 21 degrees F when I walked down minutes ago to take these pictures.  There is ice on the pond but I can't tell how thick it is. 

For several years as my gift to my coworkers, lunch was on me in the circular dining room at The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, PA.  The atmosphere and buffet was a treat that we all looked forward to each year.  In 2013 the hotel made major renovations, one of those being and "update" to the circular dining room.  Gone was the atmosphere that we all loved and while I think the buffet was still available for lunch, I decided to do something different for Christmas for staff.
Taking an idea from an old Martha Stewart Living magazine, I made a template of a slice of bread, Mr. P cut out, sanded and oiled the bread boards for me and I included a weights and measures kitchen towel and a small loaf of Cream Cheese Nut Bread.  My coworkers loved the gifts which made me happy.
Based on my projected retirement date from my work, there will be one more Christmas (2014) to celebrate with them so I must put my thinking cap on for ideas.

Happy New Year to All!
Stay warm, be safe and healthy.