Finally...SNOW ! !

The weather geeks finally got it right!

I took the first two pictures Wednesday afternoon about 2:30 pm. The snow had just started.

Notice the silly shrub that's bloomin' it's fool head off? (Not that shrubs have heads, but anyway...) That's my flowering quince and it's been blooming for over a month now. Understandable, really, since the weather has been so warm it's kept everyone confused, people and plants alike. Last week it was almost 70 degrees and today it barely made it above 20 degrees.

The next picture was taken about 10:30 pm, and at that time there was about 3 inches on the ground. Look at the difference between the second picture and the last. That's the same bush.

Jessica and Jason came up this afternoon to help me with a project I've been trying to get done for over 6 months, and just never could find a good time.

Bless 'em, they helped me sort through my kitchen cabinets and put everything back. Well, everything I kept, that is. They took home a huge trash bag of plastic bowls and "stuff", for lack of a more descriptive term, plus a big box of china and glassware. It's hard to believe the amount of stuff that was in those cabinets before we started on this project. No wonder I could never find anything in that jumbled up mess!

Besides what Jessica took with her, I threw away a 30-gallon trash bag full of stuff, and I have another 30-gallon bag of plasticware and bowls, etc. for family to sort through. Lots of etcetera. Then there's a big heap of glassware and dishes for the family to look at.

Looking at what I threw away, gave to Jessica and have for the rest of the family to look through, you wouldn't think I'd have anything left, but I have plenty of dishes still yet.

One problem I have is that Lamar is over 6 feet tall and I'm barely 5'3. I can't reach anything in the top shelves of my cabinets without getting out the step-stool, which absolutely kills my knees, so I avoid it as much as possible. Lamar does most of the dishwashing and putting up the clean dishes, and there lies the problem for me.

When I was still able to do the dishes and put them up, I only kept rarely used and seasonal dishes in the top shelves. I kept my Christmas dishes and big platters, stuff I only use occasionally in the top shelves. I kept things I use daily down on the lower shelves. Lamar's system is to put it wherever he can get it, even if he has to cram it in the shelf and slam the door on it before it falls out on his head.

Now I'm very thankful for his help in the kitchen, don't get me wrong, but for some reason this system just doesn't work well for me. Especially when it's my head things are falling out on.

So right now, as of this minute, there is absolutely nothing in the top shelves over my washer and dryer. Nothing.

Until Lamar gets back from Texas, that is. He's there visiting his brother and Dad and going to a huge Superbowl party this weekend. But he'll be back next week, and I just know that it won't be very long at all before he has those top shelves full again. But at least I've got stuff thinned out so that even if/when he starts filling up the top shelves again I should be able to see what I need. That way I can holler, "Lamar, come get this down for me, please!"

Hopefully, this system will work better for both of us. For a while, anyway.Jessica and I had already made plans to do the kitchen project today when the snow became a reality. I hated for her and Jason to be on the roads in the snow, but they were determined to get out in it anyway, so I asked them to stop by the store and get me some bread, a gallon of milk and some canned milk. Why canned milk, you might ask? Why, for snowcream, of course!

Jessica wasn't even in the door good before she was clamoring (gee, that's a good word, ain't it!?) for snowcream. At that time there was only a good dusting on the ground, maybe an inch or so. Not even enough to cover the grass and bird doo, so I told her I'd make it after we got done with the cabinet project, if the snow was deep enough. The whole time we were working on cleaning out the cabinets she bugged me, wanting to know if it was time to make the snowcream. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's going on 20 years old. She acts more like 4 or 5.

Have you ever had snowcream? We love it, and Lamar would rather have it than homemade or store bought icecream. (Ha! He's in Texas, missing this snow!)

Here's an easy recipe for snowcream:

1 egg, well beaten
¾ cup sugar
dash of salt
2 teaspoons of good vanilla
12-ounce can of evaporated milk, such as Pet or Carnation

Combine in a large bowl and whisk well until the sugar is dissolved, then start adding clean, fresh snow. Mix as you add the snow, until it's the consistency you like. This will serve 2 or 3 generously, or more if you're not pigs like us. In the midst of the cabinet cleaning frenzy my telephone rang, and much to my surprise, it was Tammy, Kentucky Gal! I hope I didn't give her the impression that I didn't have time to speak to her. We didn't talk long, but I fully intend to call her back for a longer conversation very soon. I was anxious to get those cabinets done and the snowcream made and consumed so the kids could get home before the roads got any worse. I fear I gave dear Tammy the impression I didn't want to talk to her, and if I did, I'm very sorry. I enjoyed our brief talk and I'm going to call her back soon so we can talk longer next time.

I've talked, emailed and snailmailed with several of my blogging friends and I've yet to be disappointed after getting better acquainted. Anybody that's read my blog for any length of time knows that I'm about as open as it gets, so I don't mind sharing my address and phone number with some of my blogging friends.

It's getting late and I'm getting tired, so I'm going to publish this and put the blog to bed for the night. I'll try to get some more pics of the snow tomorrow, especially if we get more like the weather geeks are forecasting.

My love, and blessings to all.