SNOW DAY

The resident fairies have a 

snow day today!

The wind blew last night and the decision was made to call off school. Country roads blow shut because of the drifting snow. There was a school east of Colorado Springs that had to keep their children over night because of the blowing snow. Glad our kids were HOME and safe!  I still need to go out and do some shoveling in the sunshine.

♥♫

SUPER SIZE

School lunches in my day were not memorable. Well, maybe there is one. More than thirty years ago a particular lunch at school had me thinking I was pregnant. I clearly remember THAT lunch. Stewed tomatoes with macaroni and cheese. Almost lost my lunch that day. I HATE tomatoes. And canned stewed tomatoes would be the worst!  Don't even like anything made with them.  I am weird that way.

Turns out I was pregnant!

Lunches these days are quite tasty and our cooks do a nice job, even though there are days I don't eat in the lunchroom. Those would be the days when there is something made with tomatoes. Oh, and I cannot eat canned green beans. EVER!

We have fresh fruit of some kind every day. Like the small apple on the right. The kids can have either a whole apple or just half of one.

The super sized one on the right is what we got on Friday! Apparently the supplier shipped the wrong size! It would be enough for 4 or 5 kids.

The teachers going through the lunch line could take a large apple, if we wished. Almost five inches tall.

I think I'll make an apple crisp

 and enjoy it for several meals!

♥♫

Happy Endings

It was not a "snow day" here, although we all were hoping that there was enough snow to call off school! Besides most everyone knows we NEED the moisture that it brings. I read in a farm magazine that this drought is as bad as the one during the Dust Bowl Days. Scary news!

On to a happier topic-- it just made my day to see this in my mail from Sarah:

 It melts my heart!

I've been trying to limit my visits to the thrift shops, but now I have a new mission! I need more teapots to plant flowers in this summer. Only problem is with our spring wind storms, my wall would need to be made out of soft sponges so the lovely teapots would remain in one piece!

Sarah didn't remember where she found the picture so I'm unable to give credit for the picture.

Hope your snow days have 

Happy Endings!

♥♫

Design Style

Decorating Personality: Take the test at BHG.
Being at home on President's Day gave me time to discover I'm --Country French!?  Really?

"You are drawn to a rustic but refined style that feels comfortable and livable for today's families. Your version of Country French style may be rustic (think glazed pottery and chunky woven baskets) or more refined (think gilded details). Either way, patterned fabrics such as toile, stripes, and fleur-de-lis motifs will help you set the tone. Incorporate details such as stucco walls, wrought-iron accents, and furniture with carved details for an old-world look". 

 

Took the test again, changing two or three responses. Now I'm--Cottage.

 

"Laid-back" best describes your way of life, which means Cottage style is right up your alley. You love rooms that feel casual, breezy, and informal. Consider slip covered furniture and painted wood pieces to achieve a put-your-feet-up vibe. Use crisp white as the ideal backdrop for layers of soft accent colors found in pillows, rugs, and vintage accessories."

Maybe I'm somewhere between the two. One thing I know for sure...I'm not a decorator. I just use what I  like. And it is "homey"-- now that's MY style.

♥♫

Gratitude

February seems to be an appropriate time to share something with the friends that help me with things that I never had to do by myself.

Things like getting the windshield wipers replaced, putting a new battery in both cars, fixing flat tires, changing the oil in the John Deere and making sure it runs so I can mow my lawn and the pasture grass. And a couple of my dear friends from school that will come and get me and/or take me home when there are random transportation issues!

So while my mom was staying with me while my brother was on a trip, I mixed up my cookie dough and started baking some cookies. I'm not finished and need to bake more later this afternoon because I have been blessed by many friends.  I was thrilled to discover the cute paper plates in the Easter aisle at W-Mart. I love the pink gingham and got green plates, too.

♥♫

Bittersweet

Time for the final valentine cards 

of my teaching career... 

Found almost everything I needed in my sweet "suitcase" from a giveaway several years ago that was sent by Bernideen. BTW, she has fabulous giveaways! With all my leftovers from years past, I had enough cards for all my  kids,

except the kindergartners.

This year because of scheduling issues I am in-class support for both the kindergarten teachers. So with 50 cards to make I got busy with the card stock, printer, and some cute stickers. Yes, I know it would have been cute to spell BEE, but "kinder kids" need to learn their words the correct way.

I didn't have enough stickers so each class will either have bees or bugs!

Happy 

Valentine's 

Day!!

♥♫

Pawnee Buttes

Towers of Time 

Icons of the Plains 

Our stone lithograph in the living room shows them looking to the south. We always think of them looking to the north.

Our last visit was right before Sarah was born, thinking a little trip might hurry her along! That didn't work-she arrived when she was ready. Yesterday she had a notion to visit them again.

Google maps did not send us on this more direct route, but we followed it on the way home.

"The tops of the Pawnee Buttes were once a continuous part of the surface of the High Plains. The land surrounding the buttes has been eroded away, revealing fossil bearing rock layers that represent the passing of a hundred million years." from signage at the parking lot.

There is a nice parking area with sheltered picnic tables and a restroom. And off in the distance a lot of windmills generating electricity. Tall monstrous things, gently turning in the wind. If you click on the picture below you can almost see them looking like pins stuck straight in the ground along the horizon.

Beauty on the vast, 

almost colorless prairie. 

Here's a good link with information about the hike to the base: Pro Trails.com. Back in 1981 we drove almost to the base of the towers. Now you must hike a few miles to get that close.

There was a chilly wind blowing, but otherwise a beautiful February day. Deep washes formed by water and time.

We returned home on the more direct route, wanting to be back on smooth paved roads. We did laugh at the horrible washboard road. This drive is not for a sissy car!

The road looks like it goes on forever, but just over the top there are some great curves due to the rock outcroppings and gullies on the prairie.

The air was full of dust from all the oil trucks we passed going to the drilling sites in Weld county. I thought we'd actually be the only ones out there on the road!

Thanks, Sarah and Alex, for the wonderful trip and birthday weekend out here on the eastern plains.

♥♫