Snow, snow, snow. The boys love it!

2nd big snow of the year. This one was taken at a park near here. I wanted to take more pictures, but they were clearing the parking lots. Had just started so will have to go back.

Our Harry Lauder's Walking Stick really caught the snow in his branches. It really shows up the twisty branches and catkins.

A spruce in the yard behind us. Hangs over our fence.  Pretty with it's caps of white.
 

I have arms and I am going to get you!!! Weeping Norway Spruce. I had this one at my house before we got married. I dug him up and brought him with me. He is a dwarf so he does grow slowly. I also dug up a small Japanse maple. Also a weeping tree. We have 4 different kinds of  weeping trees, so I guess you would say that we have a collection. One has bright pink cones in the spring. I love the form.

Neighborhood trees.

Tanner digs his own trails. You can see the one that Jeff dug. Tanner makes branches from there.

Tanner! Were you rolling in the snow again?  Snow doesn't stick to him as badly as it does to Murphy.

Another path started. A lot of work for the little, short legged guy. Maybe that is why he makes a good snow plow though.  :)

 Just a minute, I have to clean my face off. YUMMY.

See what I mean. Murphy's coat is a snowball magnet! :(   They are NOT easy to remove! He looks like he has mini snowballs coating him!  But he loves the rub down with the towel. He gets all excited and runs through the house and slides across the carpet.

It seems that now that it remembered how to snow it doesn't want to stop.  I guess the nice thing is that as soon as it starts getting grey from dirt we get a nice white layer again. We had 3 difficult driving days so far. Snow is not my favorite thing to drive on. But our boys sure love it.
I can't believe that a New Year starts at midnight tomorrow! I have to work tomorrow night. I am so hoping that I get home before all the drunks leave the bars! But should be o.k. as I get done at 11:30. I will get home just in time to see the New Year roll in. There are some changes I would like to make in my life and lifestyle. Things I could change about me. I seem to be getting more negative about some things and I would like to change that.  But I need to think about the steps I need to make to do that. I am determined to be a better person. Anyone making any big changes in the new year?
Anyway I hope everyone is blessed in the New Year.
Hugs, Teresa

Merry Christmas!

Murphy loves his new hat. He get all excited when you put a hat on him. Thinks he is all that. Then run for a treat. I had the hat out tonight and he kept nudging my hand to put it back on him.

Tanner could care less. He kept flipping the hat over his back. I finally got him to wear it long enough to get a picture.

We bought this nutcracker when we went to The Nutcracker At The Mansion a couple of weeks ago. I love the Hershey kisses on his feet. At least he isn't scarey looking like some of them. We also saw a mouse one that we really liked.

A friend of Jeff from work made these for us a couple of years ago. I love how the fork tines form Santa's beard. The handles turn back to form the hooks to hang them with.

I was trying to take a picture of Tanner and he moved. I like how the Christmas tree lights look like colored lightning. Or electricity. I think it would make an interesting puzzle.
Today was productive. I baked a ham. made truffles and dog treats. Also vacumned and wrapped a couple of gifts.
Jeff had ham, mashed potatoes, veggies ready for him when he got home from work. I decorated the kitchen table and had candles lit. I told him that that was our Christmas meal as it is hard for him when we eat at gatherings. He has to be gluten free. Mom usually makes him plain chicken or buys a gluten free ham. But for Thanksgiving she made chicken and  forgot to take his with her when she left home. She felt so bad. She doesn't have to do this of course. She knows that but likes to make sure that she makes something for him. I always make things to bring that he can eat so he didn't go hungry. lol. Jeff is the type that he made sure that mom knew that he wasn't upset. He felt bad that she was worried about it. We are renting a building at the school again. Small outbuilding that they use for scout meetings, etc. Works out great for us.
I hope everyone has a great Christmas and very Happy and Healthy New Year.  Hugs, Teresa

Afer the snow. Our yard and a road trip

Stormy, stormy night. I took this one about 12:30 am the night of the storm. Thursday Dec 20 2012

Jeff made some trails for the dogs. As you can see they made some of their own.

The trees are plastered with snow. It was VERY wet. We received about 10 inches. If it were a fluffier snow it would have measured at least 12 inches. Plus with the winds there would have been white-outs. We could hear the wind slamming against the house. I felt like the drive to work was worse then the drive home. More snow to grip the tires. The drive to work was slushier and slippier.

It really piled up on the spruce.

Much more and the angel would be blowing her horn for help!  That spot always seems to have less snow then the other parts of the yard.

This building is on the Fox River in DePere Wi. By the dam. I don't know what they use it for. Wondering minds want to know. :)  I think it is a facinating house. I would love to see the inside. It would be a cool dollhouse!

Horses enjoying a nice sunny day. Their coats just glowed in the sun!
 



A creek in the Chase, Wisconsin area.

The creek on the other side of the road. The sun was going down and was lighting up the trees. It really put some color in the photo.

So many of the trees looked like this along the road. I wish I could have gotten them from the other direction as the sun made them sparkle. But there wasn't anywhere to pull over.  Too much snow on the shoulders of the road. I had to park on the entrance of a side street to get this one.

There were trees like this on each side of the road. So pretty!

It was so nice to get out today! I had to drive out into the country to get pictures of white snow. Getting pretty grey already in the city. But sure not complaining as I like to go on road trips! Just wish I could have started out earlier. But that is the way it goes.
Tomorrow is a ham baking, truffle making day. I never made these truffles, but they look so good. Gluten free so Jeff can eat some. I will also give some to my mom. Truffles are her favorite candy.
I have to work Christmas Eve. But it should be a short shift. I am a housekeeper at a local hospital. But it should be slow in the dept I clean. But other rooms will be used and need to be cleaned.
I can not believe that Christmas is only 3 days away!!!
Merry Christmas everyone.
Hugs, Teresa

Mini give away winner....ME!

I won a give away from Debbies mini thoughts and creation. http://makeminemini-makeminemini.blogspot.com Christmas pillow, clock and picture.   I am so happy with everything! They all have a place in one of my dollhouses. Aunt Gertie is so happy! Now to get back to work on the Bellingham Farmhouse. I don't have a lot left to do on it. But I do know just where all of these pieces are going to go! I love them! What a generous give-away! It seemed like Christmas day when I received the box in the mail.
So far the last 24 hours have brought us about 9 inches of snow. Still snowing, but it has slowed down again. Very high winds. But the snow is so heavy. If it was a lighter snow it would equal about 12 inches. Fluffier. Driving to work was quite slippery. We had 3 people call in. So at least most of us made it. They let us leave though when we were done with our work. It was nice to get done early. It was actually not as bad driving tonight compared to this afternoon. Less slick. The extra snow seemed to grip the tires better. We had predictions for 10-15 inches. It sure was nice for them to be wrong. It is still suppose to be very windy tomorrow. Well actually today as it is 12:22 am.
I can't believe that Christmas is only 5 days away. It just doesn't seem possible!  The last couple of months have really gone fast. Now if winter would go that fast!
Well I just wanted you all to see what eautiful work Debbie does. Hugs, Teresa

Light show at the Botanical Garden in Green Bay Wi

Butterflies everywhere! 

Don't they look like they are actually flying?

 The rainbow and the sun is out after the rain. They actually had lightning bolts.

Looking for the pot of gold!

rudbeckias!

caterpiller

daisey and sunflowers

This arch was beautiful!

The creek. There is actually a stream made up od flashing blue lights.  There is so much to see. Cattails, heron, lily pads with blooms, frogs, and dragonflies.

Me with the dragon. You can see that it was on the mild side. My coat isn't even buttoned all the way. Actually it did get cold after awhile. Also a bit muddy from the rain we have had lately, so am glad that I didn't have fancy clothes on.

Swans on the pond. The water did have ice on it. It hasn't been really cold and with the rain I was surprised that the ice stayed.

 Doesn't this one look like a headband that someone would wear for the holidays. Or a girl's tiara.

We haven't seen a lot of these yet. This has been a weird December. Except that we badly need moister in the ground I don't mind the lack of snow. But as I said we need the moister to break the drought.

Poinsettias

Holly

One of the lines of trees.

Jeff and Me in the catepiller. As you can tell Jeff was freezing. Hood and gloves. I didn't notice until I was done taking pictures. Then BRRRR!

I love all the colors!

I tried to take a picture of the caerpiller from inside the building. The staircase was reflected in the window. I love how it turned out. Just so different.

Love this sign in the gift shop. lol

These are picture I took at the Botanical Gardens Garden of Lights Festival. It has been going on for a few weekends now. But we finally got to go as it wasn't raining for once. Seems like every weekend has been rainy. We haven't gone for a couple of years, so there was a lot of new things to see. Everywhere you looked there were lights. Many more then I have shown.
A lot of the blogs are going silent tomorrow in honor of all the children and teachers killed in Sandy Hook on friday. Let's remember the families, First responders, and anyone else who needs our prayers. Hugs, Teresa

Botanical Garden Christmas tree...Beautiful!

The tree has all natural decorations. Dried flowers, grapevines, wasp nests (hives?), etc. I wish I had this in my house!

Close up of some of the decorations. This tree is so natural.

Another view. Everywhere you looked there was some thing new.

Even the wasps were invited!

Sign in gift shop. Love this one!

We went to the garden of lights tonight. This was at the botanical garden in Green Bay, Wi. I will be putting some pictures up of the lights in the next few days. Being that it is 2am I think I will stop here. I just wanted you to see this tree. Have a great day. Hugs, Teresa