Sunday, January 4, 2009

Snippets and scenes from a wintry few weeks


Happy New Year!!

I haven't been good about posting much lately, but it's certainly not due to a lack of things going on. The crazy, snowy weather of late really threw us all into a bit of a dither - so much so, in fact, that between being snowbound, being electricty-less, and having various holiday and family events cancelled or postponed, it's hard to believe that the holiday season is actually over and the new year has begun. Time to move on, right?

Well, as I try now to get caught up to it truly being January 4th, 2009, here are a few highlight/lowlight shots from the last couple of weeks.

December 21st, the first day of winter. Normally, there are bushes and gravel paths and benches and things. Oh yeah:

The coop. I love this shot. It might look cool framed and in black and white:

My husband, digging his way out to the car. You can just barely see our holiday lights on some of the bushes under the snow:

One thing is for certain: we've learned how to quickly transition from having power to being in the dark:

This is what I would do every morning for almost two weeks: Carry a really heavy water bucket filled with hot water down the steep hill to unfreeze the water in the chicken coop:

Wait! Not just water. Hot water *and* hot oatmeal:

The hens were always grateful:

Even when I sometimes substituted rice for oatmeal:

I put holiday lights on my metal rooster. Nobody noticed 'cept for my son's girlfriend, Alana. I really like her:

Here he is in the daylight:

Right about the time we made the call to cancel the big family Christmas Eve at my house and I was feeling really low, I got this in the mail. It was a wonderful surprise reminder that I've got friends out there, even if I can't get to them. This cute, handmade postcard came from my blog friend, Robbyn, of the Back Forty (sorry, robbyn, the snow kind of smeared some of the pretty ink):

Can you see my chickens all toasty under their chicken coop heatlamp? Spoiled birds:

This is my husband decorating our the tree. It's an artsy shot that was a complete accident:

Then the electricity went out again.
Here are me and Jim making the best of it:

And here are my new best friends. Yes, indeed, the technicians from Portland General Electric are *the* folks to know when your house goes dark. Our power came back on about an hour after this picture. Yay:

So, we were warm and well-lit on Christmas Eve. Plenty of lights to light up Roxy while she opened her present from Marcee (Fancyin' the farm life) and family:

Then it was my turn. You see, Marcee likes me, too, and not just my dog:

Oh, oh! I got new placemats for my table. Special, made-to-order, one-of-a-kind placements. Anyone care to venture a guess as to who the incredible artist/craftswoman on these was? (I *love* them):

Of course, Jim got something from Marcee, too. She knows how much he hates onions, so she got him his very own plastic one:

As if that wasn't funny enough, this onion came filled with his favorite dark chocolate!:

Of course, my husband knows the way to my heart is with all things "donkey". He gave me the newly published and ultimate resource on donkey care:

My son, Aidan, knows how to tickle his mama, too:

Uh oh. And then with the slightest of flickers to warn us, everything went dark again. Here's me after the seventh time in five days that the power has gone out. Check out that expression on my face. Priceless:

So, I suppose it's worthwhile for me to introduce you, then, to my second new best friend. This one has proven himself more trustworthy than the electricity *or* the PGE people. I think I'll call him "Truman" (Coleman is just his last name):

So. There's my recap. Almost up to the New Year. I'm signing off now, but before I go, here's Roxy in a basket:

24 comments:

  1. What a horrendous wintry time you've had this past week. Oh-my-gosh, unbelievable, eh? I love your new placemats, they are so cute. And I love Marcie's sense of humor with the onion filled with chocolate, too cute! And I love Truman. May he be by your side throughout any future storms coming your way, God forbid. And I love the warm oatmeal you so lovingly bring your chickens!

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  2. LOL...I have that exact same rooster and put lights on it too. Does that make us great taste or both dorks??????? Kim

    BTW, glad you are surviving all of our lovely snow!

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  3. Wonderful photos. You have some really nice snow shots there. I love your sense of humor. It was really good to see your metal rooster again. Loved that you decorated him with lights! I sell some really nice beeswax taper candles that burn brightly and last a really long time. Great for when the power goes out. Maybe I should send you a couple.

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  4. Oh I love all the photos as I sit here in 30 degree heat,The snow looks lovely but yep cold alright...Brrrrr.
    I love your chooks and your special chook placemats!
    Love your blog in fact....I'll be back

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  5. Here's hoping this wicked winter will all be a memory soon Danni. Time to get one of those big a** generators that come on automatically when the power goes out! What a great investment!
    Hang in there girly, I love that last picture of Roxy my girl.

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  6. Oh oh I know! I know! The mats are from Sugar Creek Stuff!!! I have a llama bag from her and it is wonderful. It is my new bag for keeping all my crochet things in. I just adore it and it makes me smile every time I look at it. Great post - made me laugh! You certainly have a skill at making the best of a dark day!

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  7. I'm sorry about your power being out so much. That has to seriously suck, so I'll try not to be jealous of the pretty snow.

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  8. We've missed you, Danni, and are very glad you are back with your unfailingly positive posts. Not many folks can make the best of a holiday season without electricity. Those are the coolest placemats ever, btw.

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  9. Sorry your Holidays were canceled and you had too much dark time. Just remember that every day is getting a little longer and soon all of that yucky white stuff will be gone. (I know...NOT soon enough)
    I hate power outages too! I have an older version of TRUMAN and he gets way too much use as far as I'm concerned. I am glad you are blogging again and still have your sense of humor. And your right; the experession on your face was PRICELESS...a true Kodak Moment!
    I love the Roxy in a basket photo.
    She is so photogenic.

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  10. Theres that coop picture again. I LOVE that one.

    And I am so glad that Alana noticed your lit up rooster. Cuz I know I sure got some grief for not....even if I had the fact that it was almost 2 am when I pulled into your drive on my side....and having traveled for a full day...with a 2 year old....and 2 more kids...im just sayin.

    Always good to make friends with the power people when you live in a rural area. Do we know their first names yet?

    So happy to see you are *slowly* getting out from under all the snow and wintry mayhem....Oh and great expression by the way.

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  11. Seems like a nice few weeks even with the loss of electricity.

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  12. lovely photos Danni. Glad you're back and here's hoping no more power outages for you this winter!! :)

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  13. Wow! I grew up ina place like that...the power went out all the time and would stay out for days sometimes. Not much fun for a kid. Probably not much better for an adult though you can "make the best of it" as you say if you sig other is there. Anyhow, glad you survived the blizzard. we usually get some weather but not too much yet...kinda strange. I think the Ski areas in WV have good snow, but we're still just soggy!

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  14. Thanks for the update. I've been wondering where you were. Those photos of you in the dark really capture your sense of humour beautifully. Of course, I still love Roxy. Give her a big squeeze from me. :o))

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  15. LOVE the placemats, and all the donkey things...esp the stuffed animal!
    Hope the weather is getting better for you.
    Happy New Year!
    Tracey

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  16. Oh you poor thing...I had a similar experience thru the holidays so i can sympathise with you. No power, crashed plans, endings...but still we keep our sense of humor! I LOVE your Roxy. What a great picture....

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  17. You're still among the living, yayy!! I love the picture of the lights under the snow, and the rooster in lights is great :) ooooo, can we say LOVE the chicken
    placemats?? Looks like you stayed warm despite the snow :) (and another awww..glad you liked the card :))

    Happy New Years from our family to yours, Danni! Can't wait to see what 2009 brings :)

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  18. I LOVE your winter landscape!!! Hope your critters can enjoy it while it lasts! :-)

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  19. Hi californiagrammy, It's hard to believe winter only started a little over 2 weeks ago. We've got a long way to go. We got another 3" of snow last night....according to our neighbors, though, this is the most snow they've seen since they've lived here (13 years), so maybe this won't become a regular thing...

    Hi inadvertentfarmer - Why, we have great taste, of course. :-)
    Although, my husband found my rooster (his name is Rusty) hidden in some bushes last February, shortly after we moved here. I wrote about finding our new farm mascot here: http://critterfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2008/02/surprises-in-my-garden.html

    Hi Farmer jen - Do you have a catalog? If so, I'd love to see your stuff. Candles that burn brightly and last a long time sound like *just* the thing I need to be stocking up on!!! :-)

    Helloooo A Bite of Country Cupcakes - cute name! Thanks for commenting. 30 degrees celsius, let's see, I think that's right around 86 degrees Fahrenheit, right? Ohhhh, how I envy you! :-)

    Howdy eve - We *totally* need a big a** generator, but I doubt it will be the kind that turns on automatically and runs the entire house. Those are wicked expensive, I hear. Do you have one of those? Just think...soon your days of frigid cold will be behind you!

    Hi Claire - ding, ding, ding! You are CORRECT. Sugarcreekstuff did indeed make my wonderful, new placemats. She's got an incredible signature style, doesn't she? I also have one of her chicken bags that I won when she did a blog contest. I carry my sweet chicken bag around proudly!

    Hi Nancy M - Oh yes, do not be jealous of the (horrid, nasty, never-going-away) pretty snow! I am a weather weanie, ultimately, and abhor being cold. So no power + snow = cold and grumpy danni!

    Hi 7msn - thank you for missing me. :-) Unfailingly positive, huh? Wait until I tell my mom what you said about her daughter!! :-)

    Hi greywolf - That is true...we've had the shortest day, haven't we...that's definitely a good thought. Roxy's photogenic qualities make up for my lack thereof. Except for that one picture of me with the expression - that's probably the best photo I've ever taken! lol

    Hi frugalmom - um, again? Are you saying I recycle and reprint my photos? I beg to differ with you, that is *not* the same photo. That is merely another one of the 1,800,000 shots I have taken of my pretty lil' chicken coop. I can't believe you didn't catch the subtle differences of this one. The lighting, the low hanging branches, and my MOOD were all different in this one.
    Regarding my new BFFs at PGE, there is Josh and Ed and Caroline and ....
    :-)

    Hi Christy, you know, it probably could have been worse. No, it definitely could have been worse. But at the time, it felt pretty crappy. My family has always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. So not being with them on Christmas Eve this year sucked big time.

    Hi Farm mom - Thanks, Ang. :-)

    Howdy Warren - Somehow I think our weather systems have gotten crossed and we've wound up with YOUR SNOW. Come here immediately and take it back. Please? Yeah, the no electricity thing was a downer. But we did try to make the best of it. This is our first full winter here on the farm (we moved in at the end of january last year), so it was/is an experience we will never forget!

    Hi carolynn, thanks for thinking of me! :-) Love your new profile pic. Squeeze has been given. Rox asked me to tell you that she would prefer it if you just threw her a ball next time. lol

    Hey tracy! Happy New Year to you, too! The placemats are a perfect addition to this chicken-loving household! And the donkeys, of course, fit right in, too. :-)

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  20. Hi mare - Oh wow...I can't believe you had a similar holiday! Ah yes, the important sense of humor...I recall at the time, none of it was very funny, but it seems kind of hilarious now. On off on off on off on off - I started having symptoms of anxiety (palpitating heart, sinking feeling in stomach) every time the lights would even flicker! I tell you, though, it sure made me grateful for heat when it came back on!! :-) Thanks for your comment.

    Hi Robbyn!! Aren't my placemats the coolest?!! Apparently marcee picked the colors and sugarcreekstuff did her magic. They apparently work well as a team, wouldn't you say? :-)
    And I loved the card....it came at *just* the right time, too! lol
    Happy 2009 to you!

    Hi Esther - It sounds like you are enjoying my winter landscape as much as I enjoy popping over to your dry, deserty one in Niger! How I would love to be in flipflops and a tank top right now! :-)

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  21. Uh, yuk! The very sight of the white stuff where it doesn't usually belong (Oregon) sends shivers down my spine. I get all whiney when we just have a cold snap.
    Your humor in the face of such weather is an inspiration. I guess you have to laugh or you'll cry.
    I'm glad someone else gives their chickens yummy, warm snacks when the weather turns cold. I get the "You're going where with all that oatmeal???" from my DH when head out of the house with it.

    I will say, as much as I miss your donkey posts, I'm glad you aren't having to care/worry for them in your current weather situation.

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  22. Hi Lady!
    Your husband made the neatest shovel path I have ever seen! Mine go every which way and never in a pretty line like that.
    Also after I've collected enough cans, will you feed me warm oatmeal?
    And what kind of crazy person wouldn't notice that beautiful chicken/light/art creation you obviously worked so hard to create?

    And that pic of you and Jim, I thought this was a family blog.

    I'm glad you liked the placemats. Good thing Marcee didn't say they were for you, you may have ended up with some ugly ones. ;-) But I do think Roxy got the better gift, it looks so fun!

    Glad you are back.<3

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  23. Oy. We had snow but you had SNOW!!! Goats don't like snow, so you can keep it, if you don't mind. We could send you some wind, though, if YOU like. :) I, personally, think Roxy is much cuter than the downy dirt devil. Of course that may be because she is there and Cabra is here, but anyway...glad you can see now. :)

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  24. We were living with intermittent power as well. Don't you love the country where when the lights go out it pitch black? Because this happens often we are always armed with the coleman lantern and lots of candles. Plus we have a wood stove so we still get some warmth in part of the house. I love all the photos....especially the pictures of you and Jim in the dark. Are you going to frame those? Har har!
    Looks like you had a lovely Christmas, truly a white one.
    Oh! Happy New Year.

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