It’s been so cold this week that yesterday my front door actually froze shut! I got out the hair dryer and thawed it enough to get it open. Now that’s cold. Needless to say, it was a good week to stay in and puzzle (after the shoveling was done.) I finished this 750-piece puzzle called Farmer’s Market in three days. I loved all the color, and it had so many fun little details. Made me anxious for summer and farm fresh veggies 🙂
This was another library puzzle swap find. I’ll admit, as I got toward the end, I kind of held my breath until the last piece was put in. Happily, they were all there 🙂
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
Psalm 62:5
My little world looks so beautiful this morning. The trees are sugar coated and the air is still. On mornings like this, I am reminded of a favorite quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God…
It looks like winter’s not done with us yet, here in Southern Ohio. A few days ago, they started warning us that Snowstorm 2.0 was on its way. I’m so thankful to be (mostly) retired and not have to deal with getting up and out on these cold, snowy winter mornings. However, I did have plans for this morning. Today is my sister’s birthday and I had planned to stop by with coffee. So, at eight o’clock, without so much as a whisper of snow in the air, I headed to Tim’s. (Have I mentioned that I love our new Tim Horton’s, lol?)
I grabbed a couple of lattes and some strawberry cheesecake muffins (yummm) and headed out to Marge’s house in the country.
What better gift for a crafter than a gift card to Michael’s? (I love that you can see Marge’s husband in the background, sliding the birthday cake he made her in the oven!)
I also crocheted her a scarf, because aren’t handmade gifts just the best?
I like to pick up pieces of old costume jewelry at garage sales and thrift stores. Especially pins. They are nice to have on hand for jewelry art. I thought this sweet bird pin would give the scarf a little extra punch!
She loved it!
The scarf was the first I had picked up my crochet in probably three years. Working full time while putting out a book a year, there just wasn’t time for everything. I’d forgotten how much I missed it. I need to restock my yarn supply for future projects but thought I’d use up my odds and ends by making some headbands.
I had a lovely little celebration at Marge’s house this morning. I had been there just over an hour when the skies let loose and the snow began to fall. I don’t enjoy driving in snow, especially on country roads, so I cut the visit short and headed home.
But I made a lovely memory today. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of sisters 😊
Well for Pete’s sake. I was so excited to start this cute puzzle I got at the puzzle swap earlier this month. Even though it was 1,000 pieces, about twice as many as I like to do, I could not resist the scene and got right started on it. And it was fun. I spent almost three weeks on it. Some parts went together easily, like the flowery hat and the red coat. Some areas were more challenging, but each section I completed brough a sense of satisfaction. Until I got to the very end last night and discovered there were twelve empty spots and only ten pieces left in the box. I couldn’t believe it. The pieces were all sealed up in a freezer bag inside the box when I opened it.
I even got out the flashlight and searched in the dark corners of my living room to make sure I hadn’t dropped any on the floor. I hadn’t. So though it was thoroughly enjoyable, this puzzle will forever be unfinished business. I know that in the grand scheme of things, this little upset is not even worth mentioning, lol. But I so hate to not finish what I start 😦
Looking for a positive, I will say this puzzle gave me a lot of hours of enjoyment. But I really wish the person who swapped it would have made a note on the box that two of the pieces were missing. I still would have brought it home and put it together, but knowing ahead would have saved me the disappointment. I’m not sure now what to do with it. I don’t want to swap it back at the next puzzle swap with missing pieces. I could write a note on the box and donate it to Goodwill and maybe someone would still want to do it. Or maybe I should just throw it out.
What are your thoughts? Would you start a puzzle knowing there are two pieces missing??
Wow, has January been a wild ride, or what? Monster snowstorms. Subzero temperatures for days. Sheets of ice that closed roads, schools, churches and businesses. And a new experience for me. My pipes froze this week ☹ But even in the midst of the storm, God was faithful and I found so much to be thankful for.
After dripping the faucet faithfully every night for a week, I forgot on Wednesday night and woke up Thursday to frozen pipes. No coffee. No water for Miss Emma’s bowl. Barely enough in my water bottle to brush my teeth! My landlord came over and after about an hour, he managed to get the pipes thawed with no damage. I’m so thankful for the gift of running water!
After forty-four years in the workaday world, I retired this week. Could I have hand picked a better time? No getting up early to clean off the car, fight the snow, and trudge off to work! No need to go out at all, but I found a reliable plow man to dig me out, just in case 😊
I’ve stayed pretty close to home this week, I’ve read some great books. I’ve made slow progress on my current WIP, Blackberry Summer. I got out my crochet after a two-year hiatus and actually finished a project! And I made great strides on my new puzzle.
Another day would have probably finished it, but my friend Sharon called and asked if I would like to go out and about today. I’ve barely left the house all week. It was time to rejoin society.
Our adventure started with Tims and a caramel latte.
Then we headed down the road to check out the brand-new Goodwill.
So many cute things!
We love thrifting!
I was pleasantly surprised to turn a corner and see that my sister had the same idea!
Marge and Sharon checking out the books!
I didn’t buy anything today. They have not had time to stock a good selection of books, and I really don’t need any clothes. Today was just for the fun of poking around. Afterwards we popped into the Piggly Wiggly next door. Since my spinach adventure earlier this week, I’m kind of on an omelet kick and though I don’t eat a lot of ham, I thought this diced ham would make a nice filling.
Though I am retired, I’m going to continue to work a few hours a week, for a little spending money, and to keep myself from becoming a recluse – which I could all too easily see happening. After a week away, I’m looking forward to working tomorrow. I miss my team 😊
It’s been a long, cold, January, but it has surely shown me my blessings. I’m thankful for my sweet, cozy little home. I’m thankful for food, and for water. I’m thankful for friends and for small adventures. And though my hands are cold this week, my heart is so, so warm.
Like many other states across our nation, Ohio saw some pretty crazy weather on Sunday. They had predicted ten to thirteen inches of snow for our area, plus ice. I don’t know how much we actually got. It was a lot!
There’s always tension in the air before a big storm. Our store was busier than usual on Friday, and the Kroger across the street was mobbed.
Kroger lot at 9am
Kroger lot at 4 pm
Around noon I started hearing reports that the grocery stores had run out of milk and bread. I guess French toast must be standard snowstorm fare, lol.
The snow started to fall at around 9 pm on Saturday night. By Sunday morning we had a good three inches. And then it switched to sleet. And then back to snow. And then to rain. They say the freezing rain kept the snow totals lower than they might have been, but I would sure rather have snow than ice. As it was, by Sunday evening my driveway was buried and the temps were hovering around ten degrees, with wind chills of -10. And it’s not supposed to get any warmer until early February! This morning, we had flurries and 12 F. Much too cold and much too much snow for an older girl with a bad back to shovel. (I have a really long driveway, and at the end of it, the snowplow had left an icy little mountain.)
So I started to stress.
Last year when we got a foot of snow, I contacted a few people on fb who were offering snow removal service. None of them showed up. So I waited it out. The difference was it wasn’t below zero for days at a time last year and the snow melted fairly quickly.
Though I don’t like to drive in weather, and I hate to go out in the bitter cold, I sure wasn’t looking forward to being snowed in until February 😊 So this morning I said a little prayer. Then I got on fb. And the first thing I saw was a post about snow removal services. I didn’t know the man, but I know his wife. I messaged her at 8 am and she had him put me on his schedule. He was here by 10:30. (Thank You, Lord! 😊)
Sometimes angels arrive in snowplows!
He did in fifteen minutes what would have taken me days!
All done!
I’m so thankful this morning. Thankful that the storm has passed. Thankful for food and heat and shelter. Thankful for friends. Thankful for friends with snowplows 😊
Last year at about this time, we had warnings of a big snow coming to Southern Ohio. Up until last year, I hadn’t seen what I considered a “big snow” since I left Western New York. So, I ignored the warnings, the suggestions to stock up on essentials. Guess what? We got a big snow. And I ran out of things. So, when I started seeing this a couple of days ago, I decided to play it smart this time.
Though I hope the storm does not play out this way, I went out this morning and got my essentials, milk, bread, batteries, dog biscuits. And bananas, just in case. Because who wants to be snowed in without banana nut muffins?
I think this thing is going to be massive.
Wherever you are, my WP friends, I pray you will be warm and safe 🙂
It’s 25 F today, with a real feel of 13 and though the wind is whipping, the sun is shining and the skies are the prettiest pale blue. I went out for a bit this morning and it was brutal, lol. I ran up to clean the church and then stopped to enjoy a cup of coffee with my sister. Other than that, I’ve been hanging out at home with Miss Emma today.
This will be my last week of working full-time. After this week, I will drop down to just one or two days a week. But I hope I never get over being thankful for the blessing of a day off 😊
Thank the Lord I am finally starting to feel better. Still drained, still a bit stuffy, but so much better than I have felt in the last few weeks. There were a lot of things I could have done around the house today. I want to do a major deep clean and declutter. I need to start getting my paperwork together for my taxes. And there’s always laundry. But today, I’m giving myself permission to just “be.”
I made a pot of chili.
I lit some candles for warmth.
I wrote a key scene for Blackberry Summer that I’m feeling great about 😊
The rest of the afternoon… I haven’t decided whether I want to work on a puzzle or my crochet project. But either thing will be lovely.
Thank You, Lord, for chili in the crock pot on a cold, windy day. For candles and coffee and faithful old hound dogs. For so many hobbies and interests. And for days off to enjoy them 😊
My last puzzle of 2025 became my first puzzle of the new year. I like scenes with little boxes, a different picture in each one. Though it was 1000 pieces and I’m more comfortable with 500, I loved all the little snowmen so I decided to give it a try. It was a lot more complicated than I expected and I almost gave up on it. With the patterns in the border repeating, I gave up on putting the edgies together first and just started working on random boxes. It took about two weeks to finally get the edge pieces done and another week before I put in the last piece 🙂 I’m glad I persevered, but I think I will stick with 500 piece puzzles. At least for awhile 🙂
M. Jean Pike 