A Bright Spot

We took a much-needed break from picking up road kill for a visit to Tad, Carrie and our 4 month old granddaughter.  Kata is, of course, delightful.  Growing like the proverbial weed.  The big question this visit:  "Do you see/feel her first tooth coming?"  It's a bit early, but Carrie got her teeth early, so it is possible.  No formal conclusion, but there is much drooling going on.

Yes, I see the reddish hair growing in, too!

Stephen King

Pick any Stephen King movie that you've seen and remember the scene that you thought "this is crazy."  That is Hayward, Wisconsin today.  In the next four days we will be receiving between 7 and 13 inches of snow.  Two on the ground right now from overnight.  This is, of course, in addition to the mounds we already have.  In fact the snowblower can't throw it any higher.  Continued desperate times call for strawberry shortcake for breakfast.  Bought the first of the strawberries on Sunday from Plant City, FL.  Made my famous homemade shortcake.  Add Cool Whip Lite and you've got breakfast!  All my usual Tuesday activities have already been cancelled.  Wood is in the stove.  (Thanks, Case.)  Books and sewing machine at the ready.  I'm set for the day.  Retirement is wonderful.

Picking Up Road Kill

It's not what you think...we're picking up fallen branches/limbs along the road from the winter storms.  Our wood supply is dwindling.  Because we heat the house with a woodstove and because the winter has been brutally cold, we see the log pile will not last until warmer weather.  Drastic times mean drastic measures....so we have taken to picking up fallen limbs which I have dubbed winter road kill.  We don't walk on anyone's property - just along the road or in the ditch.  At this point we haven't gone more than 3 miles from our house since there is so much of it.  Of course, we do have a propane tank as a back up and also for our hot water heater, clothes dryer and stove.  We only fill up once a year.  We are not "living off the grid" by any stretch but we enjoy using sweat equity. 

Odometer

There is bit of a thaw going on so we took a road trip.  Driving the magenta-colored NEON, we had the excitement of pulling over into a church parking lot and driving in circles several times to achieve the following photographs.  This event is all a tribute to Case's ingenuity and perseverance.  He bought this 1997 NEON for me in 2007 because everyone else in the family had a NEON except me.  We traveled to Kokomo, IN and back on a Saturday in January to pick it up.  After many months of restoration, it was truly in drive-able condition.  I have been using it for my daily ride ever since April 2007. 

      200,000 miles!

Lent

Case and I attended a Lenten study this morning and then received our ashes.  We need the somber tone of Lent to keep us from going wild-eyed silly crazy about the amount of snow now plus another storm on Friday.  Our church here in Hayward has provided us with a good environment for worship, service, study and fellowship.  This is such a blessing for us. 

This is our 1/4 mile lane to the road after the last storm. 

Winner of State Low...Again

Hayward has earned the honor of the Wisconsin lowest temperature this morning at 14 degrees below zero.

A wonderful time to enjoy jigsaw puzzles.  Here is the the latest one we have finished - extra fun because it is round.

Better Than Olympics

Olympics is watching - as enjoyable as that is.  I prefer doing in real life.  Case served as a race official for the Barnie - Birkie, a ski event (not race) for ages 3-12.  I spent my time registering the children that morning for a 12:30 pm start around the golf course.  Approximately 600 joined in the fun decked out with race bibs like the adults.  The bitty kids just went a few blocks.  That was on Thursday.  On Friday after digging out from a 12 inch snow, we went to town to serve spaghetti to about 800 skiers and families at the church hall.  Case bussed tables and I plated desserts.  Wonderful fund raiser for St. Joseph Church!  Then the day of the big race (19 or 33 miles), we sorted and returned 2,600 large luggage bags to skiers as they finished the race with members of our Lions Club.  We serve is the Lion's motto and, boy, did we ever serve that day. 

Doing is better than watching.