Here's the reason.........

......the cars look like this.....

This is the back of the cabin.......note the garage doors are under the cabin....
The doors are at the end of a steep incline.....know as our driveway.....and behind a retaining wall...

This area we jokingly call the "Ice Bowl"

Snow and ice just loves to fill this area....

Snow and ice from the December snow storm reached approximately 26-30 inches in the "bowl"....

These are pictures of ... "the Digging Out"

Now .....we're native Floridians...!!

Sand we can deal with.......but.....snow!!

This is our first reallllly bad winter in the high country.....

We have no snow blower........no ATC with a snow blade......or tractor...

All things that are now on the "Wish List!"

Thanks to the kindness of a neighbor......and his tractor...

After the third day he came up and dug our cars out of the garage...
So CityBoy could go to work.....

Sooooo....in preping for yesterdays storm.....

When the white stuff began to fall....out came the cars......

Stay warm and Enjoy

Ooops!.....it did it again.....!.

Note.......cars were taken out of the garage this time....

Lesson learned....

Nine inches and still counting!!

Snow should stop sometime tonight...

Stay Warm...

Enjoy

I'm Sorry Babies........

Yesterday...while doing the "snows coming...stock up" shopping....
I grabbed a bag of...what i thought was....the fur babies favorite treats...

See that blurred small print on the way far side of the bag...."Actual Size"...

I have little dogs...big barkers...but, little mouths.......these are made for Great Danes...!!

The ones i usually get are about 2 1/2" long and 1/2" in width....
These are huge!!.....twice the size!!

I think i heard Max's jaw "pop" when i tried to give him one this AM!!
and Mia gave me the "don't think sooooo" look.....

What's a Mom to do....????!!

Dig out that 30 year old electric knife.....the one that's only used at Thanksgiving....
The one...your now glad you didn't throw out in the big move.....

And you start cutting away.......cause a trip back to WalMart ..... on the morning before a major snow storm ....is out of the question!!

Hey Look!!

With a little "sawing" away....you can make "little" dog treats...!!!

The fur babies are happy.....
And that's the name of the game!!

Enjoy

"My Way" Chili.....

With all this blogging about chicken chili.....the taste buds went into over-drive!!

Here's my way.....note "original" chili seasoning......none of that fancy stuff for chicken only!!
And ground chicken.........No, chunks!!

Ground chicken and ground turkey does not separate as well as ground beef......
Soooo.....use that old hand held potato masher to break it up!!
The one that's hidden in the back of the gadget drawer....
...it works goooooood!!

Cook just like normal....no funny business....no special tricks....no gourmet touches
....no butter.....dang!!

Should take about 15-20 minutes...

I serve it on a bed of rice....

Topped with chopped red onions....sour cream......shredded cheddar cheese.....

Yummmmm-o!!

Made a double batch and there's just enough left for "my" lunch!!

Enjoy

Almost wordless Wednesday.....

.....Look who showed up again....

Enjoy

Have you tryed.......

........chicken chili...??

Now ....i'm not much of a chili cook.......for me it's just ground beef....tomatoes.......kidney beans .......and a packet of store brand chili seasonings.......

However........since CityBoy's gastric bypass surgery......ground beef has been replaced by ground turkey or ground chicken.....

And over the last few years i've been making chili with ground turkey....small white navy beans and the same packets of store brand chili seasoning....

Who knew chicken chili had it's own seasonings......!!

There's been alot of chatter lately on the blogs about chicken chili and when i found this packet on the shelf.........brain said "Try it!!"

So i promptly threw it in the cart and happily drove it home.....

What can i say......"Yuck!!!......too much cilantro!!!"

......Sorry.....

I'm going back to ........"My Way"......

OMGoodness....now i'm channeling "Old Blue Eyes".....

Enjoy

Is that the sky.....??!!

Yes.......Yes.....it is!!

And it's BLUE....!!

Haven't seen the blue sky in 3 days....

Time to shake off the cabin fever.......the depression.......the glum.......the doom!!

Time to sweep out the dust.....the mud......the dog hair.....the cat hair.......the chip and dip crumbs left over from watching yesterdays games.......

It's Monday.....my self-proclaimed "favorite" day of the week!!

Like the line from the movie "Hope Floats"

"Time to get up and brush the stink off ya!"

Maybe ....i just need a shower....??

Enjoy

What next....?!!

Do the words.....

"Flash Flood Warnings"

mean anything to you....??!!

What next.......we've had Snow...lots of snow......Ice.....lots of ice.......Rain.....lots of rain...

and now the Flood Warnings.....

Flood Warnings are not unusual up here in the high country....

but...with all the snow and ice....the run off is raising to heights that have the old timers worried.

The little cabin in the twelve acre wood is about 3200 feet up and the parental units are above us.......soooooo....if the waters make it this high....??....uhg.......??

Anyone got blueprints for an ARC....??

I think I can.....

I think i can see the road...!!

Looks like an inside day to me!

Enjoy

Yikes......Mom...!!!

Another ice storm.....!!

This one quietly snuck in form the Plains and Mid-west...

It started yesterday morning and steadily moved in during the night......

Unlike Christmas.....that roared in with high winds and snow.....
This one used a quiet misty rain....

Not enough ice to down power lines....

But....the schools are closed and the roads are a big mess.........again!!

Pamper time......

It was time........time to pamper the Gentle Giant....

After running for 50.5 hours following the Christmas ice storm.....

it was time to give the little guy a check up..

Soooo....here comes electrician Robert and with CityBoy as a helper.....

They changed the oil......the air filter.......checked and cleaned the plugs....and all that other "guy" stuff you can do to a working engine.....

You know.....the stuff that takes several cups of coffee.......several hours of talking and standing around...."listening" to it run....

At one point i almost offered Robert my stethoscope!

Now....the Giant is ready!!......Ready for what...???!!

The next ice storm!!...........Yikes!!!!

Enjoy

Q & A.......

Yep.....there are jalapeno peppers in two of the jars.......they are for a co-worker of CityBoy's that wanted to try something .... "hot and spicy!"

We use a hot water bath canning method for making our pickles....

And we make pickle juice to put in the jars...

3 C water
8 C vinegar
1 C sugar
1 T mustard seeds

Bring this to a boil and then pour into packed jars..

Once the jars are filled ..... we process them for 30 minutes in the water bath....

Bargain Boxes are the boxes that CityBoy brings home from the store...they usually have apples for the deer or damaged veggies or eggs.......he pays for these boxes......he's been in the grocery business all his life and it hard for him to throw "good?" food away...

We then use what can be salvaged ....... freezing for later use or the making of pickles....
Which we give away to friends...co-workers....neighbors.....

You get the picture......

Hot water bath canning is not hard or expensive......just time consuming...

Could this be a hobby...??!

Enjoy

CityBoy's new adventure........

....pickled veggies....

...Another "bargain box" special....!!

Enjoy

They're up......

....yep....those funny little black and white...rolly-polly guys are hanging on the hallway quilt rack....

They're cute and cuddly looking.......with bright happy faces....

but ..... the best is the fabric i found in my stash for the backing......

Isn't this great....!!??

Don't remember where.....when......or why.....it was purchased

Oh well!!

It made a super backing and

come spring........when the butterflies return....

it'll make a great table runner.....

Enjoy

I flipped the coin......

...and made zucchini nut bread.....

It's a well known fact......"I don't bake"......but every once in a while the urge strikes me and i dig out one of my favorite recipes of all times.....

Magic Bread

Don't know where i came upon this recipe.......Internet?.....friend?.....maybe a camper at the park?....cause it's written on a page from my work note pad....just can't remember!!

But i would like to give credit...where credit is due.....
Soooo...if i got it from one of you......please e-mail me....

Anyway.....i'll share......

~~~~~~

Magic Bread

1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C veg. oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 C fruit.......any type of fruit or veggie...like carrots, zucchini....etc.

Mix all the dry ingredients together......mix in oil, vanilla and eggs.....
Batter will be "very" thick and stiff
Fold in fruit

Bake in a greased loaf pan for 50 minutes at 350*

~~~~~~~

I've made zucchini nut......carrot raisin.......banana nut........peach.....strawberry.......cranberry.......apple....and applesauce bread using this recipe...

Uck Ohhhhh....bread and hot tea are shouting my name from the kitchen......time for breakfast!

Enjoy

Ho...Hummmmm.......

Yesterday's beautiful sun-shiny warm day ....has turned into a dull.....dreary....gray clouds on the horizon day..........ugh!!

Weather gurus are predicting rain and sleet should be starting to fall in the near future........

Like Now!!

How can they smile when they give us a forecast like that...??

Dinners been in the crockpot since 8am.......CityBoy is at work......Male Child, dogs and cat are still sleeping and i've thrown out cracked corn for the birds to feast on.....

9AM and it's a......hoooo.....hummmmm ........ day already!!

Guess i could read or quilt....

Humm.....read.?.....quilt....?

read?....quilt....?

READ?!..........QUILT?!

I'm gonna have to flip a coin.....!

Enjoy

Where was my camera....???

Ventured out to the local quilt guild meeting yesterday.....

After the reading of the minutes....treasurer report......old business......new business.....future plans for donation quilts, workshops and fund raising events.....

The fun began....

Show and Tell...!!

Oh My Gosh!!

What a time to be without my camera.......these ladies are remarkable....

From small coasters made from left over scrape to a beyond king size original quilt that's center was a pieced Rebel Flag...!!

Needless to say.....i'm now a member and i'm signed up for the "Pineapple" quilt workshop in February......

I promise to bring my camera to "ALL" the next meetings......

Enjoy

Goodies.........

....yesterdays goodies.....

We went to Cottage Quilt Shop to pick up the first of the new BOM......

This years BOM quilt is named Sunny Days and is done in blues, yellows and greens!!

Picked up both January and February......woo hooo!!

Of course i checked out those sale bins and found a pack of Halloween fat quarters and the cutest panel with Penguins......those little birds will fit right in up here on the frozen tundra!

And then a pattern for a shoulder bag and 2 yards of fusible fleece...just sort'a jumped into my arms....

Lots to do!!

This afternoon i'm gonna visit a meeting of the local quilt guild....never belonged to a guild before.....should be interesting....

And.....Ohhhhhh Yeah.....Tuesday the state cut my job by one month......so i don't go back to work until April 5th....

Dogs are happy....checking account isn't....but, it's a job!!.....and i love it!

Enjoy

Road Trip......!

Yes....!......Yes....!....Yes....!!

That is sunshine peaking over the ridge of the frozen tundra!!

Time to skip this joint!

Time to fly the coop!!

Yes........time for a road trip!!

Off the mountain we go......down thru the valley......to the mighty four lane highway.......

That will take us to the Cottage Quilt Shop........yeah!!!

What...???

Is there any other reason to leave the 12 Acre Woods...??

Naaaaaaaaaaaa.....fabric!

I'm craving FABRIC.....!!!

Enjoy

Delayed....OK.....?

Struggled out of bed this AM....

Peaked out the window.....ugh!.....snowing again!!

Turned on radio to local station....

Everything seems to be on a 2 hours delay.....

OK....by me.....

Back to bed.....

Love these delays.....!

Enjoy

Life goes on.......

....here they come......

.....there they are.....

.....away they go!.....

If the school buses are running.....you can be sure.....things are pretty much "right" with the world...

Even on a 2 hour delay!!

Enjoy

OK.....see this tree......?

(click on picture to enlarge)

Looks like an ordinary....ohhhh..... say......12 foot Frasier Fur....Right?!

Why am i posting a picture of tree branches??

Well....what you can't see.....'cause my camera needs a better zoom lens.....is that this tree is quivering, there are soooooo many birds in it...!!

Hidden in the branches are cardinals......blue jays......sparrows.....wrens......doves......some sort'a little gray feathered friend.......a few i have no idea what they are and even several crows.....

I just threw cracked corn and birdseed on the hard packed snow and they are waiting for me and the dogs to go inside....

Then the feeding frenzy will begin.......and give the dogs hours of barking pleasure...!

Enjoy

Got Nothing....

Woke up today......to another beautiful......sunny........ bitterly cold day...

Jumped up.....threw on several layers of clothes......ran to the front porch with the camera!!

Same ole'.....same ole'........

...Snow ......Ice......Christmas trees......COLD!!

Even Miss Kitty deserted me!!

I promised treats.......she choose the nice warm house.... anyway.......

Enjoy

Should'a said....

....14* on my front porch....which faces SE and is hit by the morning sun....

Weather guru's are saying.....5.8*!!

Enjoy

Yep........

.......snowed again!!......

14* this AM...but....the sun is a'rising!!

Enjoy

Just......

....laying around....

.....hanging out.....

.....catching a few ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's....

....waiting for more of this stuff.....

It's on the way.......large dark gray clouds are gathering as i write this.....

The pantry is stocked.....the propane tank is full.....

Time to burrow in.......again!

Enjoy



ps........Hollie.....hope you get your snow in GA!!