Blizzard 2015

Getting used to living in New England made it inevitable that I would see a snow storm, wasn't expecting it to happen during my first winter here.
Louisiana and Alabama have taught me well, be prepared for an emergency. And our backpacking supplies serve two purposes: fun when we are in the woods and emergency readiness kit.
Onto the events here. As of this morning, I still have power, heat, and water.
It's hard to tell how much snow fell since the winds are so strong that we have drifting snow.
This is my living room window (my living room is above the garage) and I have snow on the window sill.

 

Look at the third level window on my neighbors' place - see what I mean by blowing snow?

I know the meaning of being snowed in. There is snow outside my front, basement, and garage doors, around 2 ft, more in some places, less in others. The basement door can be cracked, pushing the foot of snow out of the way so I can take pictures.
 















 More snow pictures. Look at the cars: they are not covered but you can see the snow level by their tires.

 

There was no snow on these trash cans before the snow started. I would say there's about 18-19 inches. Look on the right picture, you can see the snow still going up on the right (still because of the wind)

I checked the back door and if I want to shovel, this would be the way to go (about 8 inches under a covered porch).

Then, there was this: my neighbors' backdoor. It is likely that high winds blew the doors open, and there is snow leading to the basement. Boy, I can't wait to see my heating bill.

I'm doing okay. I have supplies, and power. Our office is closed but we are expected to work from home.

Crafting recap

Now that Xmas is over and gifts have been given, here are two projects that I had to keep under wraps:
Link, from Zelda for my father in law (he's a big fan of the video game). He has a sword in the back, and he can stand up on his own most of the time.

 

And gloves for my sister-in-law. When Tom saw my fingerless gloves, he asked that I make a pair for his sister. Hopefully she liked them and gets some use out of them.

Making this place home

While most of the Xmas stuff is in Birmingham, on my last visit, I managed to take a couple of things - the small Xmas tree (and ornaments) and the Xmas sign that Laurie sent us last year. I also fixed this - all the sparkle almost make the plastic bowl look like fancy crystal.

I also fixed this - all the sparkle almost make the plastic bowl look like fancy crystal. 

Happy Holidays

This year, we went with Tacky. Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season!

Hashtags

Here's my attempt at using hashtags:
#minimalistliving #relocation #newplace #openlayout

Living room: TV, bean bag chair, yarn bag, and book

Dining room/kitchen: workstation and storage

crafting lately

I've been in the Xmas spirit lately. These limited edition wreaths have gone out to 3 people who have always encouraged my crafting adventures.

I finished a grey shrug that was intended for one of my close friends but I don't think it looks good. I think it needed to have been done with varigated or colorful yarn. Plus I can't get the size right - it needs to be bigger and it's already >2 lbs. So I'm putting it on the back burner for now.

Finally Friday

After a rather stressful week, where several candy bars might have been eaten, and about 2 pounds heavier, I give you holiday office attire:

:
 Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving recap

So this year, I didn't get to post 30 days of being thankful but it's far from meaning that I wasn't thankful. Even though we are doing the dreaded long distance relationship, we've seen each other 4 times in the past 2.5 months. I've been able to visit with old and new friends and find new hobbies. And to cap it, my new job is very flexible. I was able to work from home in Birmingham for 1.5 weeks.
I left Boston early on Thursday morning (Nov 20). I was able to see friends, attend book club and craft night, and watch two Packer games with hubby. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the beach this year.
We decided for low key Thanksgiving. Tom picked up two great steaks from the local butcher, Mr. P's, and grilled them perfectly to medium rare and I made green bean casserole (yes, the fine china came out).

Two pies, pecan and pumpkin. I may have eaten 80% of the pecan pie, and yes, I'm a few pounds heavier in this fourth quarter of 2014.

Tom made his family recipe for artichoke dip in a bread bowl, and I made a wrapped baked brie with homemade jalapeno pepper jelly.

 

On Saturday, we attempted to replicate the seafood chowder from the Pump House, a restaurant that we went to in Fairbanks. It was very yummy, with our own twists.

It was great to be home, with family and friends, enjoy great food and be comfy. We managed to finish most of our Xmas shopping and I completed a few craft projects, including these fingerless gloves with the yarn from Kelly and Molly.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving.

Snow?

This was a first for me: Driving in snow in New England. Well, it was just a dusting but I was glad for my scraper/brush thingy.

Yes, I will post about Thanksgiving soon.

Weekend Update

Lately, my days have been full of meetings and Friday was no different. Earlier in the day, I had joked with our admin that all this running didn't even get me a balloon. What a surprise to come back to my cube in between meetings to find this: 

After work, I met up with a co-worker and checked out a burger joint in my part of town. At 12: 10 am -ish, Tom landed in Boston and I picked him up from the airport.

Saturday started early - we toured 11 apartments trying to find our next rental, starting at 10 am and skipping lunch. We found one that had everything we were looking for and by 4 pm we were tired and done. We got a late lunch/early dinner, then stopped by the Home Depot where Tom got me a snow shovel and a snow brush. 

Sunday started early again to meet the owner of the house and sign the lease! So we have a place! 

We then went to hangout with family and watched the Packers game. Tom's aunt, Katy, had a birthday about two weeks ago and I knew that she wouldn't let me treat her to lunch. So instead, on Sunday, a bit late, she received a cowl from the merino wool I had purchased. 

We traded gifts as she had a nice cookbook and spices for my birthday that I can't wait to try. She had also ordered a chocolate cake and a raspberry mousse cake. Yum! 

And soon again, it was Monday morning 5 am, and Tom had to go and my meetings had to start again.