Snow Bunny...er, Rabbit!

I guess I shouldn't call Nicky a snow bunny!

We drove to near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the troop ski trip to Ski Liberty. What a fun place! Cold, though, and too much snow. :)

I'm not sure why their mascot is a pig and not a bunny, but he was friendly and fun!

Here's my skier in action. Unfortunately, he only made one run and then got sick, so we had to leave and head home...with several stops along the way. But Nicky did a great job, and maybe we'll try again next year!

Getting Back to Normal

The roads are looking pretty good here...there's still no school because it's taking so long to plow all the parking lots and clear the sidewalks. But business is back to normal in our little burg.

First stop: Safeway. The parking lot was about half cleared and no ice on the road or sidewalks. The shelves were a bit empty and there were no bags...we got our groceries a la BJ's/Costco/Sam's Club: in a box! But they had milk and deli turkey, and that's all I cared about!

Next stop: McDonald's for my fountain Diet Coke. I just love McDonald's Diet Coke! Right before the last blizzard they were out of soda, but that wasn't the case today.

McD's had some killer icicles hanging from the roof:

I'm glad I was in the drive-thru!

Next up: an Alberta clipper that will deposit another 2-5 inches of snow on us Monday night into Tuesday.

Are you kidding me? Jack Frost, it's time to head back to the North Pole: Santa has reported you missing in action!

Digging Out

We are free once again! It took over an hour for the 3 of us to shovel the driveway, but the cars and driveway are passable.

Nicky hard at work--he got the job of crunching up all the ice left behind by the snow plow.

JJ digging out the cars

Me shoveling the driveway...it was hot work! My coat is off to the side.

We had lots of long and dangerous icicles way up on the 2nd story, so JJ refreshed his baseball skills and tossed snowballs up to knock the bigger icicles down.

Then he had a taste.

Ew...tastes like house!

It Just Won't Stop!

The snow...it falls and falls and blows around and just doesn't let up. I've never seen anything like it. JJ got out to attempt to shovel and we had 6 1/2 inches...on top of the 24 we got over the weekend.


By the time he shoveled the walkway it was already covered again. I told him to come on inside and forget about it for now.

The snow plows all over the DC area have been told to stop for now, as it's a worthless effort, with all the snow blowing around. Our street hasn't been plowed since last night. Baltimore City and Harford County in the northern section of Maryland have declared it against the law to drive in their jurisdictions unless you are an emergency vehicle. Against the law! Serious stuff here...

This is all the snow on our roof. I pray it's strong enough to hold all that weight.

The snow on this section of the deck railing began falling over from the weight of the snow a few days ago and froze into place. It's really leaning now!

All the inconvenience and hazards and loss of school time--school has already been cancelled the rest of the week and we have used up 7 of the 5 allocated snow days so far. The rest of the week off will put us at 9 nine days, 4 to make up. But still...I just love this picture of the trees in my backyard:

Just beautiful...so peaceful.

Bracing for Blizzard Number Three in One Winter!

Yep...another blizzard is on the way. It's already snowing, after a couple of hours of freezing rain and sleet. Just enough to make it dangerous.

This happened after the last blizzard, last weekend. Mount Snowza is in my neighbor Vicki's yard, made by the front loader that cleared our cul-de-sac. It's at least 15 feet high. And if you look carefully at the top, you'll see that it's been claimed in the name of the United States of America! :)

What's this going to look like tomorrow? I'm afraid. Very afraid.

Happy Anniversary, Boy Scouting!

100 years ago today Boy Scouting was born. American William Boyce was assisted by a British Scout while in London and brought Scouting to America in 1910.


Our family has been a Scouting one for 11 years. JJ joined as a Tiger Scout in 1998 and I ended up as his den leader. Nicky followed 3 years later as a Tiger Scout, and I became his den leader upon moving to Maryland in 2002. Now, 11 years later, JJ is an Eagle Scout and Nicky isn't far behind as a Life Scout with 2 merit badges and an Eagle project to go. I gave up my den leader days in 2006 when Nicky became a Boy Scout, but I'm a registered committee member and a Unit Commissioner with our District. Eric has been a committee member for 6 years and volunteers for most campouts when he is in town.


Here is a nice picture of both boys in 2008 after earning the Ad Altare Dei religious emblem for Boy Scouting in the Catholic Church:


Here's to another 100 years in Scouting!

Super Snack

The Super Bowl is playing on the big screen next to the computer and Eric is shouting at the TV, as is the norm during football season. His chicken wings are marinating, but we've had the first course already: yummy Cajun-style potato skins, right from this week's Weight Watchers Weekly.

You will need:

Cooking spray, 2 large baking potatoes, cooked chicken breast (I used pre-cooked chicken breast strips), part-skim mozzarella cheese, smoky barbeque sauce, and hot sauce.


First, bake 2 large baking potatoes and let them cool completely. Eric bought a bag of small potatoes instead of large baking potatoes, so I just baked 2 small potatoes for 1 large. After they cool, slice in half and remove half of the potato from the skin, reserving the potatoes for another use.

Then mix 1/4 cup barbeque sauce with 1/8 teaspoon hot sauce and spread evenly over the potatoes.

Add 3 tablespoons cubed chicken breast to each potato half (obviously a little less here):

Top with 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese.

Place in 425 degree oven and bake for 8 minutes, until potatoes are hot and cheese is melted.

The recipe calls for adding parsley after coming out of the oven, but we didn't have any, so I sprinkled a little ground pepper on top.

Yummy and satisfying!

Cajun-Style Potato Skins (from Weight Watchers Weekly and weightwatchers.com)

1 spray cooking spray

2 large baking potatoes, baked, cooled completely, and cut in half lengthwise

1/4 cup smoky barbeque sauce

1/8 teaspoon hot sauce

3/4 cup cooked chicken breast, finely chopped or shredded

1/4 cup shredded part-skim pmozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Scoop half of the potato out of each potato half and reserve for another use. Combine barbeque sauce and hot sauce in a cup, and spoon over potato halves. Fill each potato half with 3 tablespoons of chicken; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cheese.

Carefuly place potato skins on prepared baking sheet. Bake until cheese melts and potatoes are hot, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

1 potato half per serving, 3 Weight Watchers points per serving.

Enjoy!

Snowmageddon, Indeed!

Good grief.

24 inches of snow? At one time? In one place?

This good ole Southern girl can't take much more of this!

First, an update on the shrub off our back patio, taken about 24 hours after the first one:

Poor thing...smothered by snow.

This big lump is our cute little orange Vibe. You can only see the mirriw and taillights. (And the windshield wipers from the front.)

I'm not sure if this tree is going to make it. A large section has bent over with the weight of the snow.

This bush looks better in the summer when the leaves are on it. This one also may be no more...it's split in half by the snow.

I'm hopeful for this tree...it's bent a bit, but I think this one will survive.

Theses are the woods behind our house...very peaceful and beautiful.

This is the snowdrift formed after shoveling the driveway. It's almost as tall as I am! (Granted, I'm not very tall, but it is for a snowdrift!)

This is my garden flag. It does say "Be Mine" for Valentines Day, but it's been buried.

What's the old slogan..."Neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night keeps the postman from his appointed rounds"? Nobody said anything about a blizzard! The drifts are almost to the bottom of the mailbox. I don't think we'll be getting any mail for a while.

And...it's STILL snowing!

Good grief.

And So It Begins...

Snowmageddon, they are calling it here. I think that's so funny!


We in the DC area are at the beginning of what is being referred to as "an historic snow", one which could set records in the books. I don't see how anything could be worse than what we had back in December, but perhaps I'm about to find out!


Here is the little shrub off my back patio, after about a half hour of sticking:



And here it is an hour later:


Getting a little dark in this one, but this is one hour after the last one--about an inch so far.


With the worst to come overnight, I'm not sure how much of my little shrub we'll see tomorrow!

A Pearl Out of an Oyster

I attended a funeral today. Her name was Pearl and she was a lovely woman. Her nephew was one of my Cub Scouts and I enjoyed speaking with her about soap operas, particularly All My Children. We were both huge fans. I hadn't seen her in a few years; she was suffering from cancer and not up for much company.

She was a great joy to all who encountered her. I am blessed to have made her acquaintance.

Rest in peace, dear Pearl.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalvin!!!!!!!

Eric and I went to the movies today. It's been a while! I think the last movie I saw in the theater was "UP" back last June. We saw "The Blind Side" which was terrific...a real feel-good movie. Plus the boy the movie is based on now plays for the Baltimore Ravens. (Not that we're fans of the Ravens, you understand: just that he's a local boy now.) :)

While we were in line (behind 3 of the most obnoxious women, I might add), I snapped this picture of 3 of the most adorable actors in the movies today:

I tried to get Simon to look my way, but he was stubborn.

Larger than life chipmunks...too cute!

Gee, Thanks a Lot, Phil!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today. So did Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia and Wiarton Willie in Ontario. Guess that means 6 more weeks of winter.

Some of our snow from this past weekend has already melted. But guess what? It's snowing again right now...expecting 2-5 inches throughout the DC area, although lesser amounts where we are. And another "significant and impressive" storm is due to arrive Friday night.

I am REALLY tired of being cold!

Happy Birthday!

One year ago today I began this blog intending to post a picture a day, just because. I went 2 full months before I missed a day. Somewhere along the way the blog turned into a pictorial snapshot of my life and my family. I have greatly enjoyed sharing my pictures with whomever looks at this site.

One year ago today I began this blog with a picture of Muffin. So here's another one:

She just loves to make me smile on Laundry Day!