Daydreaming While Snowed In

I am taking sometime to enjoy my pictures on Picassa since I am snowed in.We shoveled out our driveway today but waiting till tomorrow to try and get out and about.The plow came through again today and scraped the road but it is still snow and ice covered.Maybe with the temperature raising into the upper 30's tomorrow we are hoping that the ice and snow will melt on the road.

We had such a nice time on our trip to Canada back in July.We stayed in Niagara Falls Canada and took one day trip to Toronto.Once we saw what Toronto had to offer we were wishing that we had planned more time for Toronto.

We went up in the CN Tower while in Toronto.This is a view of part of Toronto's skyline taken up in the CN Tower.It was amazing to me to see all of the different shapes and sizes of the high rise buildings from up so high.

I enjoy watching the TV show House Hunters on HGTV.It is such a thrill to see the CN Tower in the background whenever downtown Toronto is featured.

After The Storm

Here in the mountains of southern West Virginia we ended up with about a foot of snow from the storm system that went up the East coast.

I took this picture earlier today looking out our front door.The sun came out and blessed us with some much needed sunshine.It was rather deceiving though.The temperature was around 20 but with the brisk wind the wind chill was only 5.

Hubby Ken and I went out to shovel the driveway as we did last Friday and Saturday.Glad we did the shoveling then which has kept down the amount to shovel each time.We could only stay out there 1/2 hour.We didn't realize how cold it was going to feel out there.Made some progress on the driveway and will finish the job tomorrow.It is a light powdery snow.

Tomorrow we are suppose to see a high in the low 30's which will be such a blessing to get dug out.

We are suppose to see a warm up as the week progresses.May even get near 50 which we haven't seen in ages.

Snowy Christmas

I took this picture this morning looking out our back door.It wasn't snowing then but picked back up this afternoon.

Hubby Ken and I went out and shoveled our driveway once again to make room for other cars.This is the second day in a row that we have had to shovel our driveway.

Daughter Kimberly came over with grandson Jeremy and granddaughter Mariah.She has 4 wheel drive so it isn't that bad to drive on the snow.The snow picked back up in intensity on their drive over.Needless to say they didn't stay long.We were so disappointed.

The timing was a little off so our other daughter Karen and her hubby Brian arrived just a few minutes after Kimberly left with Jeremy and Mariah.Kimberly wanted to get going before the roads got much worse since she was with her children.They left before they could even eat anything.

Karen and Brian had spent sometime with Brian's parents earlier in the day and ate there.I planned that we would eat a little later so that they could eat with us too.We had a nice time sitting around and chatting then eating.Just disappointed that we couldn't have all of our family together at the same time.

I looked back at pictures I took last Christmas.Doesn't look like we had a snowy day but there was snow on the ground and our road was clear which made it much nicer to get out and about.

Christmas Eve 2010

Is that the sun that is brightly shining outside? I took this picture a few minutes ago.I want the picture to remind me that we actually saw the sun a few times in the month of December.

This has been a very snowy month for us here in our area of southern West Virginia.We will end the month setting a record for the amount of snow in the month of December.We broke the record last December and will break that record this December.I won't be surprised to see the amount of snow for this December to be at 30 inches or above.

We need to get outside and finish shoveling out our driveway.We had only shoveled the lower part of our driveway but now that Christmas is approaching we need to get the rest of the driveway shoveled just in case some family can make it to our house.

The snow on our car is left from the snow that we got Wednesday evening and yesterday.

Merry Christmas!

First Day of Winter

Today is the first day of winter which arrives with a nice blanket of snow on the ground.We will have a White Christmas even if we don't get the snow that is suppose to start Christmas Eve and continue Christmas day.

We really don't want to see the snow Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.We have had our fill of snow already and today is only the first day of winter.Our area has already experienced over 2 feet of snow this month with more expected.We will be setting a record for the most snowfall in the month of December.We broke that record last December and here we go again breaking it again.

Sadly,we live on a hill which makes it next to impossible to get back up our hill if we venture out with ice on the road.We found that out again this past Saturday evening.We got down our hill just fine.Had a nice day seeing Yogi Bear the movie with our grandson then out to eat and finally the much needed trip to the grocery store.We hadn't been able to get out in a week.We started up our hill and got stuck.A nice gentleman came by in his pick-up truck wanting to get up the hill.He got out of his truck and gave us a hand.Got us dug out where we were stuck then told Ken to back down the hill and give it a better start.Ken tried and made it up the hill just past our neighbor's driveway but couldn't get any further.Thankfully our neighbor has two driveways so the kind guy helped Ken shovel out an area of our neighbor's driveway so that we could pull in there.

While they were shoveling out our neighbor's driveway I was going back up and down the hill with our bags of groceries.What a chore that was.

I've been quite surprised that with all of the shoveling and hiking up and down the hill with the groceries that I haven't experienced any aches and pains the following days.I haven't minded shoveling the snow.I don't like the cold air that goes along with it.

By the way,I took this picture looking out our back door just a little bit ago.As you can see, we have plenty of snow.We had ice on top of the snow so it is nice and crunchy when you walk.We had a dusting of snow this morning but so far our weather hasn't turned out as bad as they had feared.They were predicting snow,sleet,freezing rain then rain.For now I would just as soon see plain ole rain.

Snow!

This is the scene on my back deck as I look out my back door.We have had non stop snow since this past Saturday.The sun is shining brightly today with this being the first day without snow coming down since Friday.

We went out on Friday and got prepared for what they were saying 3-5 inches of snow.They weren't saying anything about the snow continuing on past the weekend.The forecast then changed from a Winter Weather Advisory to a Winter Storm Warning.

Schools are finally back in session.They had been closed through yesterday.

Last year the snow didn't start till December 18th which was our grandchildren last day of school before their Christmas break.Now they have two days this week and maybe 5 days next week till their Christmas break.

The reason I say maybe is that another storm is brewing for this weekend.It is suppose to start out as rain on Saturday then change over to snow on Sunday and continue on with upslope snow showers on Monday and Tuesday.

Our grandson's holiday music program was cancelled due to no school this past Tuesday.Our granddaughter's holiday music program is scheduled for next Tuesday evening.Wonder if it will happen?

Oh..it was only 0 when I got up this morning.

Thankful Thursday

This is a picture of a lovely church in downtown Philadelphia PA.I took this picture in June of 2009.Been thinking of our visit to that wonderful on a few different occasions the last few weeks.

I am thankful for freedom of religion.Our grandson is studying The Constitution in 4th grade.I've been going over his reading story in regards to The Constitution this afternoon.I am so thankful for The Constitution that gives us freedom of religion amongst other things.

I am thankful that we have the freedom to travel our country and learn about our history and vast land.Our trip to Philadelphia has really helped our grandson as he studies The Constitution.We visited Independence Hall and saw The Liberty Bell.I took a picture of our grandson in front of The Liberty Bell.

I am thankful that I grew up in the Washington DC area and had the opportunities to visit the national monuments and museums as often as I did.That helped me in school when it came time to learn about our country.The sad thing is that I never visited the historic area of Philadelphia until a year and a half ago.So glad I had that opportunity.

Another place that we visited in downtown Philadelphia was Macy's Department Store.What a beautiful store that one.About a week or so ago I watched a You Tube video of a combined Philadelphia area choir singing The Hallelujah Chorus in Macy's Department Store.Really enjoyed that video.What a magnificent place to sing The Hallelujah Chorus.I really appreciated that video.

A Sick Day

I rarely ever get sick so thought I would blog about it.Wanted to share a picture of our vacation to Niagara Falls Canada back in July to help cheer me up.

I have come down with a stomach bug.Can't even remember the last time I was hit with a stomach bug.I know it wasn't this year and really don't think it was last year either.

One of our daughters was sick with the stomach bug last week.I was hoping that I wouldn't catch it from her to be sick on Thanksgiving.Thankfully it waited a few days.

This morning I woke up feeling fine.After I was up for about an hour this stomach big hit me with vengeance.I am feeling somewhat better this evening.Hadn't eaten anything all day.I didn't want to suffer the consequences.I was starting to get rather hungry around 7 so I ate some toast and drank a cup of hot green tea.It is now 4 hours later and I feel fine.Hope this keeps up so that I feel much better tomorrow.Guess I will have some toast and hot green tea again in the morning.

Our other daughter wasn't feeling well over the weekend.She must have passed her germs on to her hubby since he was home sick with the stomach bug today.He is also running a fever.I've been blessed to not have a fever.

Really hoping that our grandson and granddaughter don't come down with this nasty bug.

Happy One Month Adoption Anniversary

Hard to believe that we adopted Max 4 weeks ago today from the no kill private cat and dog shelter.Seems like we have had him longer than that.It also seems like he has grown quite a bit in the month that we have had him.

Max has adjusted so well.He has really taken to me so I guess you would say that he is my dog:)

He takes Ken in stride.Don't know what it is but it is taken awhile for Max to warm up to Ken and he was suppose to be Ken's dog! He adores our grandson so we are thinking that maybe a grown man had mistreated him.Another theory is that the owner of the shelter is a female so maybe he might just be more fond of adult females and not adult males.

Max loves to run in the back pen.He allows Ken to play with him there but once we are back inside Max once again fears Ken.I have never seen a dog run and jump like Max does.He is very fast and loves the exercise.He seems to be a very happy dog and has come a long way in the past month:)

Happy one month anniversary Max.We love having you become a member of our family!

Annual Model Train Show

Today was the annual model train show that our grandson Jeremy looks forward to every year.He loves watching the trains go around and around and around.

I took this picture of a circus scene.I love how the flag is flying from a fire truck.It's so much fun just looking at of the little details.

A lot of work goes into putting this show together.We noticed that there were a lot more train displays this year compared to the last couple of years.

Fun Times with puppy Max

We have had Max two weeks now.He is slowly getting adjusted to our home.This picture was taken Saturday morning after we had some snow overnight.Most of it had melted thanks to the sun.I believe we had about an inch of snow which was our first snowfall of the season.

What joy it is to have a puppy when Daylight Savings Times ends...NOT.Max is still on Daylight Savings Time but hubby Ken and I aren't.Max wakes up at his usual time which is an hour earlier now thanks to turning the clocks back.Needless to say we have been losing an hour of sleep the last two nights.Guess it would make things simpler if we went to bed an hour earlier but we want Max to get adjusted to the time change.Until he does I guess we will be getting less sleep.

Max has thrown a few challenges our way.He was suppose to be a dog for my hubby Ken and grandson Jeremy.Well Max has taken a liking to me and seems to be my dog.I have to walk him during the day.Hopefully he will take a liking to Ken soon so that he can do some of the walking too.I don't mind walking Max but he is rather strong and can really pull on the leash at times.

I walk Max to the fenced in area at the back of our yard to run around and do his business.He loves to run and hop and can move rather fast.Ken was playing with him and I was suppose to be watching the open area where we take Max into the fenced area.The gate is broken so one of us stands there.I was standing there watching them play and Max ran right past me! I was dumbfounded that he would do that.He was running loose in the part of the yard that wasn't fenced in.I called for him and he came right back to me and ran into the fenced in area.Wow we were quite pleased with his response.

Our dog Bub who died last June would try to escape the fenced area then run through the neighborhood.We would have to chase him down.Glad Max hasn't gotten that brave yet:)

BE THANKFUL

This is a view of the viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway.The parkway is celebrating it's 75th anniversary this year.We traveled a good portion of the parkway a few years ago.We loved the slow paced drive and lovely views.

Be Thankful
Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.If you did, what would there be to look forward to?Be thankful when you don't know everything,for it gives you the opportunity to learn.Be thankful for the difficult times.During those times you grow.Be thankful for your limitations,because they give you opportunities for improvement.Be thankful for each new challengebecause it will build your strength and character.Be thankful for your mistakes.They will teach you valuable lessons.Be thankful when you're tired and weary,because it means you've made a difference.
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Happy Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween.Grandson Jeremy and I carved this pumpkin Friday evening.This was a first for me.It is hard for me to believe that I had never carved a pumpkin before.I might have done it when our daughters were young but I honestly don't remember doing it.

Jeremy had his heart set on carving a pumpkin this year.He and I enjoyed this special activity together and will be making it an annual tradition.

I was noticing in the picture how the pumpkin looks opaque.Funny how the light shines right through the back of it and you can see the brick wall through the jack o lanterns smile.

I went with our daughter and one of her friends along with a nice group of children Trick or Treating last night.It was nice going as a bigger group this year.Grandson Jeremy was the first to complain of being tired so I headed back to his house with him a little early.He doesn't have this drive to get candy like most children do.He has never really had a fondness for candy until this year.His favorite candy is Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.Our granddaughter will eat any and all candy.Wonder how she stays so tiny?

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone:)

Happy Birthday Granddaughter Mariah

Yesterday was granddaughter Mariah's 6th birthday.Here she is beside her cute Cinderella Ice Cream cake.She was born 6 years ago on a Saturday which fell the day before Halloween like this year.

It was a busy day.After her party she and her big brother Jeremy had to get ready for Trick or Treating.Here in our small town rural area they decided to hold Trick or Treating on Saturday evening which really works out better for everyone.

Our daughter and family live in a neighborhood that gets lots of Trick or Treaters.Since we live on a hill we may get only a few trick or treaters so we buy candy and take it to our daughter's house.That way they have plenty of candy to give out.

The hours for trick or treating were from 6-8.It was still daylight out when we started at 6.Grandson Jeremy got tired a little early so I headed back to their house with him.His daddy had stayed at the house to give out the candy.His mommy and one of her friends continued on with younger sister Mariah and the friends children.

I remember way back when I was a child how we didn't go out trick or treating till it got dark which was around 6:30 or 7.We were allowed to stay out till around 8:30.We couldn't wait till it got dark to get out and trick or treat for candy.One house gave us a banana every year.

One thing in our grandchildrens' trick or treat bags that I thought was rather odd was a piece of political mail.There are some hotly contested races in our area so I am figuring that this household wanted to get their candidate's message out.I honestly think that trick or treat bags is not the place for promoting your political candidate.

Our New Dog Max

This past Sunday October 24th 2010 we adopted Max from a no kill shelter.He is a black Labrador retriever mix.He has some white on him too.

It is taking awhile for Max to get adjusted to us.He was suppose to be a dog for my husband but Max has taken a liking to me.We are thinking that is due to the fact that the owner of the shelter where we adopted him is a woman.

Max is a sweet quiet dog.He sleeps through the night just fine.We haven't heard any whining from him.He's about a year old and has been neutered.We wanted a dog around a year old so that we wouldn't have to go through the puppy stage.

We adopted our dog Bub from a different animal shelter.He was a year old when we adopted him and lived to be 12 1/2.Bub passed over The RAINBOW BRIDGE this past June.He has really been missed.

The Cascades

We hiked to the Cascades waterfall two years ago in July that year.This is one of my favorite pictures of the waterfall.I would look at the picture when it was so warm this summer and it would refresh me and help to make me feel cooler.

It was such a nice hike that July afternoon.The day was rather warm but the canopy of trees cooled it down in that area.Believe it was a mile or so hike to the falls walking over weather worn natural rock steps along the way.

Don't know if I shared this same picture two years ago but if I did it is well worth sharing again.

Looking forward to taking pictures of our fall color.Not much in color change yet.Should be happening soon:)

A Big Welcome To Autumn

Autumn officially begins today at a little after 11 P.M..I took this picture last year on October 2nd.

We don't have much color change yet.Just thinking that the date of last years picture is only 10 days away.Wonder if we will see that much change in only 10 days.Took a picture of the same area a few minutes ago.It shows mostly green color with a hint of yellow.

I love taking pictures of the fall colors.We are taking a trip to Richmond Virginia the first weekend of October for a Autism Speaks Virginia Walk for Autism.Wonder if the trees will be showing much color for our drive East?

Another View of the Vehicle

Here is another view of the vehicle.Wish I would have been closer to take another picture.We would pass the vehicle then the vehicle would pass us in the bumper to bumper traffic.The woman sitting in the rear part of the vehicle looked to be quite comfortable and enjoying the ride.

What Would You Call This?

I've been pondering what to call this vehicle as seen through our car as we were in bumper to bumper traffic leaving Pigeon Forge TN on Labor Day.

It was the cutest thing.The front is a motor cycle.The back is a covered area on a VW chasis.Two passengers can sit in the back area.It looked like one lady was sitting in the back area wearing a helmet.I will post another view of the vehicle.

A Myrtle Beach SC Memory

I took this picture a few years ago when we were in Myrtle Beach SC.Wish I could remember the year.Anyway,I thought that I had lost this picture but came across it today so I am very happy.

I have loved this picture since the day I took it.We didn't make it to the beach this year since we went to Canada.I have truly missed being at the ocean this year.

When we drove to Niagara Falls Canada part of the drive was on the NY Thruway which is next to Lake Erie so we got to see a few glimpses of Lake Erie.

One day while in Canada we took the drive from Niagara Falls to Toronto.The Queen Elizabeth Way is beside Lake Ontario part of the way so we got to see glimpses of it too.

Sure did miss Isle of Palms SC this year.That is where our favorite beach is located.It is a quiet family oriented beach.Maybe next summer?

Our Granddaughter's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was our granddaughter's first day of kindergarten.She rode the big yellow bus to school.She is tiny for her age.When the bus driver saw her she told Mariah to sit the seat right behind her with another little girl heading to her first day of kindergarten.

Her big brother is in the fourth grade in the intermediate school.They ride the same school bus but get dropped off at the two different schools.Our granddaughter is at the primary school which goes through 2nd grade.Her big brother is at the intermediate school which is grades 3-5.

We asked our granddaughter about her first day of kindergarten.She didn't have much to say.She went to pre-k for a couple of years so she should do OK.

Her big brother is all excited about 4th grade.His best friend is in his class:)

Lemonade Day

Today was a Lemonade Day in our small city.Our Chamber of Commerce has a special promotion that whenever the temperature reaches 90 or above free lemonade is served the next business day.This promotion has been going on since the 1930's.

We are in the mountains of southern West Virginia where we experience mild summers compared to other areas.We have had a rather warm summer as most of the country has also experienced.We have had many days near 90 but haven't had very many days at 90 or above.

Some of the days near 90 have felt warmer due to the high humidity.Last Friday it went up to 91.At a local bank I saw of reading of 108 on Friday.

Since the promotion began in the 1930's free lemonade has been given out 201 times.That's not too bad for 70 years!There have been some cooler summers where we haven't reached 90 or above so free lemonade wasn't served.

More Elephants in Natural Habitat

Here are a few more elephants in their natural habitat at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Elephant in Natural Habitat

I love this picture of an elephant in its natural habitat at the Pittsburgh Zoo.Looks like it is out in the wild.

Scenes from Pittsburgh Zoo

The top picture is a lion sleeping.The second picture is some flamingoes and the bottom picture is a tiger.

Pittsburgh Zoo

On the way back home from Canada we stopped over in Pittsburgh PA for 2 nights.We wanted to break up the long drive home.

While in the area we wanted to go to their zoo since our grandchildren were with us.Using the Navigator program on my Blackberry I asked for an easy route to the zoo.We wanted to avoid the traffic on the interstate roads.We were taken through downtown Pittsburgh which was so nice.

Downtown Pittsburgh has roads made of bricks.So very historic looking.We loved being in downtown Pittsburgh and since it was a Saturday the traffic wasn't too bad.Another area that we drove through looked to be their China Town area.It had such a nice appeal to it.

We found the zoo without any problems.Don't know what happened but the Navigator took us a different route back to our hotel.This time we were on their different interstates with a closed tunnel thrown into the mix.I have never been in such a traffic mess in all of my life.I have lived in major cities so that is saying a lot!

We wanted to do some other things in the Pittsburgh area but thanks to the tunnel being closed and the traffic mess, we decided to stay put at our hotel and leave directly from there.

I will post more zoo pictures in another post.