This or That?? The Spring (?) Edition

Hi friends! Well, the calendar may be saying that we are officially meteorologically in spring now, but we're having a difficult time getting there in Nebraska! We've had more snow and wind and downright chilly, dreary weather than some winter months! Just last weekend, we woke up on Sunday to snow AGAIN!!! So, would you rather have THIS?

Or would you rather have THAT? I sent a photo to my son in Florida and look what he sent back! First day at the pool and temps at 87! Wowzer! I think those palm trees are calling my name! You know my choice!

Plus, Rickster had been in Seattle for a client the week before and was anticipating chilly, dreary, rainy weather. Nope, he had sunny skies and warm temps while the chilly, dreary, rainy weather stayed here! Praying for a warmup soon!

Seattle during the day and at night!

How's your weather?

Happy TWOsday on 2/22/22!

Had to put a post up on this TWOsday - 2/22/22 day! For the weather update - we hit 65 degrees the other day -- it was such a wonderful preview of spring! This morning, it's 9 degrees and some snow on the ground! UGH! WE want the warm weather back ASAP! On that warm day, I took a long walk and there was an old guy driving his tractor around the neighborhood!!!! Guess he's ready for spring and getting out to the farm too. BRING IT ON!!

In other TWOsday news, I saw this most adorable doodle on the page of the breeders where we found our Frannie Doodle. So cute and named after my sister Amy! I sent it to her and suggested she contact them immediately. She wanted to, but Iowa is pretty far from Florida and she already has two dogs. I truly think that dog was meant for her though!

My cousin sent me this old photo -- I know it's hard to see. There's my dad, one of my brothers, my Mom and me and my twin - dressed alike! So cute and such short bangs! I look a little afraid there clinging to Judy's arm! Time sure does fly by. It just makes my heart happy to see my Mom and Dad in this photo! :)

Happy TWOsday Friends!

Temperature Thursday!

On my word -- we have been having such a brutal cold and snowy time for at least the last 4 weeks! Every. Single. Weekend. More snow and cold! I think we are up over 25 inches and for the last week, the highs have been zero and lows bottomed out one day at -24 not even counting the wind chill! BRRRRRRRRR!!! It's not like Texas, but we did have rolling blackouts the other morning due to the heavy usage of power. Praying for relief for Texas and everyone there! It gets cold inside the house fast when there is no heat! However, our temp is supposed to be maybe 18 today and maybe 30s on the weekend, so we feel like celebrating!!

Last year at this time, Maddie and I were in Orlando on a quick trip! We were so happy to have some nice sunny days and enjoy our favorite place. And after we returned home, the shutdown occurred, so we were doubly happy to have had a little getaway before that happened.

We are definitely hoping for another trip there later this year.

Stay warm friends!

Frannie and the Snow!

After some wonderful, wonderful warm days last week (60 degrees plus) -- we are now back to more normal winter weather -- snow and 5 degrees! However, there is almost always a bright side -- having Frannie run around in the snow and wear herself out!

A tired dog is a good dog! I think this dog will be a puppy for many, many years! She hates wearing a sweater -- heck, she hates wearing a collar and putting on a leash for a walk! However, she kind of loved the snow.

Run Frannie Run -- her ears are flying behind her -- not sure how Maddie got this photo -- probably had a cookie (treat) for her.

Hope your December is going well. Are you like me and breathing a little sign of relief that the election is over and the vaccine is being distributed. Next year -- all good things coming up - right!!

Adios March!

Are you as surprised as I am that March is 

already coming to a close??

Sadly, we are ending it in Nebraska just as we started it -

with snow forecast!

Just say NOOOO!

Bye Bye March!

In other random news, little granddaughter Dorothy

turned 3 yesterday!

Ahhhh - I remember the day she was born and I spilled

the beans that "it's a girl" before they told me not to tell

the kids!  OY!

They'll never forget how Mimi screwed that one up! :)

We'll be celebrating Dorothy's birthday on Sunday

with pancakes, waffles, Eggs Benedict and bacon! 

Always bacon! Yum!

(These photos were borrowed from their family b-day celebration!)

And next year, we'll have another March birthday to celebrate -

Baby Gloria is now 3-1/2 weeks old already!

In more random news,

Mads and I  tried our hands at a crafty little Easter egg

project recently!

Craft eggs with Modge-Podged designs.

Gorgeous, right?

I hope to get a few more done over the weekend . . . 

instead of cleaning closets and drawers.

Avoidance is one of my best attributes!

How about you? 

 What's up this weekend?

The Never-Ending Winter . . .

Unfortunately, this year we seem to be stuck

with a never-ending winter!

I've heard of never-ending french fries (from Red Robin)

AND

never-ending Root Beer Floats

(also Red Robin)

and I'm in favor of both of those!

YUM YUM!

BUT  . . . this never-ending winter

with over 50 inches of snow

this season is really too much! 

The snow-packed and ICY streets are frightful

(and so is my driving)!

Please Mother Nature -

  have pity and send us

some warm temps to melt away the ice and snow!

The Weather

Yes, I am already commenting on our wintery weather!

The last four (4) weekends in a row, we've had bad weather.

Rain, ice, snow, cold and frigid temps have descended upon us.

I admit there have been a few times when the temps 

warmed up a little bit during the week and melted the snow and ice.

But the very next weekend -- repeat -- more ice and snow!

It's not even officially winter 

and I'm getting tired of it!

Our pup, Muffy, thinks it is a real treat to go out 

and rub her Scottie nose in the snow and roll around a bit!

Lately, she's taken to going outside and barking

at the snow too!

What a treat!

A warm weather vacation is looking better and better every day!

Be Careful!

Friendly Reminder . . . 

Be Careful What you Wish For!

We were wishing the rain would stop!

Oh yes, it finally stopped and then --

SNOW!!

Really!

On Sunday, October 14, 2018,

we received 6-7 inches of snow!

Soooooo crazy!

And so wet and heavy - goodbye flowers and plants!

Poor trees in our neighborhood that had

barely started to turn color

were hammered!

All those leaves covered in heavy snow and ice 

led to lots of branches going down!

You could hear tree branches cracking!

Some areas looked like a war zone.

Mr. Tennis went out and knocked the heavy

snow off one of our favorite smallish trees.

It bounced right back up -- YAY for our little tree.

The sun came out and finally after a day or

two of dealing with slushy messes and

the snow melted away!

Praying it stays away until approximately

December 20 - the day before M's bday as

she always wants snow on her birthday.

The Weather in Nebraska

I haven't really chatted with you about the weather

very much this winter, have I???

After learning that our very own Nebraska groundhog

predicted an early spring, I've been eagerly awaiting

sunny skies and warm temps!

I've been sorely disappointed! :( 

Usually in February, we have some really warm (for February) days. 

Not this year!

We've had frigid temps and more snow this month

than we've had the entire winter season!

AND -- even worse --- more ice!!

We had at least 2 inches of ice last night on top of 3 inches of snow!

The side streets are like a lovely, chunky ice rink and very slippery!

Guess what -- more snow is predicted 

for Saturday afternoon and evening!

I am not so patiently waiting for spring -- 

hope the weather is better where you live!

It's going to be a while yet before we see daffodils but we are

keeping the hope alive!

Happy New Year Y'all!

Happy New Year!!

Sharing another of the wonderful photos Jennifer Schultz
took for us. Must say I loved every single photo of M!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have been able to enjoy some

lovely, lazy days between Christmas and New Years! 

 It's gotten frightfully cold here just like in 

other parts of the country, so we're bundled up under blankets reading,

 watching tv and thinking about taking down the tree - thinking is the  key word here! 

 It hasn't happened yet!

  I came down with the always fun (NOT) end-of-the-year cold, 

so Kleenex and Nyquil have become my very best friends!

Maddy got her wish and we had a white Christmas!  It was so pretty

and now with these ultra-cold temps, the snow is sticking

around for awhile!  

The great thing is . . . yay snow!  

The not-so-great thing is -3 highs with windchills way lower,

those temps don't make me want to go out and
not a lot of sledding or ice-skating is happening.

Looking forward to a warm-up into the teens and maybe even 20s by the end

 of the week!

So, anyone else have a weird superstition about odd-numbered years???
I do! 
Looking forward to an even-numbered year! 
Although many wonderful

things have happened in odd-numbered years, 

I just like even numbers better!

Guess I'm the odd one, eh!  :)

Happy New Year friends!
Best wishes for 2018!!

A Little Snow and a Birthday!

Our winter weather has been a bit strange!

We had 6 days in February with temps in the 70's!

Most of us were very happy with those

warm and sunny days!

Ahhhh-- felt like spring!

Two days after hitting a record high of 76, we had

thunder, rain, hail, sleet and snow all in the time frame of 2-3 hours!

That's the beauty of living in Nebraska -

the weather can change very quickly!

Our little Scottie thinks she is a snowdog -- she absolutely

loves it and spent a lot of time rolling around in the snow and rubbing her 

face in it every single time she went outside!

She has so much fun that I don't mind (too much) the messy towels 

and blankets she uses to dry off when she comes back into the house 

only to want to go out again in a very short amount of time. 

Who knows what the weatherman will bring us in March and April?

I'm ready for the warm-up to hang-around!

Happy last day of February

and Happy Birthday to my firstborn son Philip today!!

[He'll love that he got to share a blog post with the dog!!!]

I didn't make this cookie-cake, but wish I had a bite of it!

Holiday Wishes

Hello Friends -

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Maddy's wish came true and we had a white Christmas!!

So happy that the weatherman was wrong and

we got some snow!
Bonus -- we're now enjoying very cold temps!
Ha -- just kidding -- that is not a bonus in my book!!

Those warmer than normal temperatures we enjoyed earlier this month evidently

moved East and now the Polar Plunge has arrived!

I neglected to post my Christmas Card earlier.

So, if you didn't see it on FB or IG,

here it is again!

Mr. Tennis insisted that our Scottie be in the photo too 

or he wouldn't be in it!
Luckily (for the photographer) both cooperated for photos! 

It's been such a busy and fast month - don't you agree?
I am woefully behind on updating the good old blog, but
hoping to catch up soon.

Just in case I don't get back here by the end of the year,
Best wishes for a Very
Happy New Year!

The Polar Plunge

Baby it's cold outside!!

Brrrrrrr!

We went from 50 degrees to 10 degrees overnight last week!

That was a rude awakening!

There is just no easing into cold weather this year!

And then we had some snow . . . on Saturday!

Miss M was thoroughly disgusted!

While she likes the snow well enough, she really wished for a LOT

of snow and on a school day -- yes please!

However, Maddy and Muffy just had
to get outside and enjoy some
fun in the snow!
Scotties love to rub their faces in snow,
don't you know!

And we were happy to see that Muffy's favorite
bench for terrorizing squirrels that dare to walk
along the fence is still available.
Squirrels beware!

Dreaming . . .

 

Living with this [again]!!!

But dreaming of . . .

and a trip to see . . .

Weekend Update!

Well, I did it . . . I jinxed our lovely fall weather. 

 Yep, since I mentioned how nice it had been in my last post and re-posted photos from the 

 2009 Christmas blizzard, history repeated itself and the weatherman's predictions were actually right on target! 

Friday night, Mr. Tennis, Maddy and I attended a festive Christmas concert.  Do you remember Mandisa from American Idol?  She and Matthew West put on an incredibly beautiful Christmas concert. 

Loved it!

We were hoping to rake leaves and do power shopping on Saturday, but that's when we got hit by the triple header -- sleet, ice and snow!  It was so beautiful -- but cars were slipping and sliding, especially at intersections!  Not the most confident driver in good conditions, my big red Jeep and I slowly made our way home from the mall and only went out again on foot!

A dog needs a walk even when it snows! 

Gotta love our sweet little Scottie.

Dear Mother Nature:

Dear Mother Nature:

Okay, that's enough now . . . let's go back to our regularly scheduled winter! In case you haven't noticed, it's only the first week in January! You've dumped over 30 inches of snow since November, maybe October actually. I haven't forgotten that surprise snowstorm you sent us the first weekend in October!! I should have known then to stock up on the Fuggs (fake Uggs), mittens and gloves. And, what's with the Arctic cold temps and wind chills? This is Nebraska, not North Dakota! Are you kidding me -- the low temp predicted to be -22 -- that's minus 22 degrees -- I don't even want to guess what the wind chill will be!!! Can you say BRRRRRR!!!! Kids can't even go out and play when it's this cold! Yes, we are starting to go a little stir-crazy!

Okay, I'll admit that the newly fallen snow is pretty, but it's really not pretty for long. Please don't tell me these photos are blurry -- it's because your snow was coming down so fast and furious!

Guess what -- your snow and cold is not all fun and games, snowmen and snow angels! It also means frozen gutters, incredibly messy floors, wet boots, worries about water pipes bursting due to the extremely cold temps, not to mention high heating bills. Add to that the few days of melting a few weeks ago and how that led to water dripping through the master bedroom ceiling! Yeah, that was fun! With all the new snow, I can hardly wait for melting again!

Even the kids want to get back to school, especially since they've had so many snow days already that they'll have to make them up if we have any more. So, Mother Nature, let's be thinking early spring! I'm talking really early -- like February! What happened to global warming anyway??? It's the first month of the new decade . . . come on Mama Nature, can't we be friends??

Love, jboo

Sing Along -The Weather Outside Is . . .

Frightful!

Yes, the weather has been frightfully snowy and cold!! That manic drive home on Sunday was nothing compared to the dumping of snow and the Artic frost we've been enduring the last few days! Shocking -- the office closed early on Tuesday -- totally unheard of and school has been out for 3 days now! Luckily, my little red jeep gets us around pretty darn good. Mr. Tennis doesn't want to take his newish vehicle out in this snowy and icy weather, so he's put on a new hat and become Mr. Chauffeur! Really, you should see his hat -- it's something else. I'll try to sneak a photo some time. I do love home to office curbside service!

Luckily, the snowblower is working, even though it had to go in for a quick service call on Tuesday. The Rickster is one of those neighbors who likes to do everyone's front walk (yes, he is sweet like that). But, after he did that Tuesday afternoon and had just started on our long driveway, a belt blew! AAACK!! Off to Ace Hardware. I'm so happy that they were able to fix it. I did manually shovel the front steps and walk to the house and that was plenty for me!

If you thought I'd get some holiday baking or something useful accomplished during the snowstorm, you'd be wrong, unfortunately. I did do some Internet shopping, but am still a bit behind due to the bad weather. Think I will try some marathon shopping, baking and wrapping this weekend!

My updated wreaths and garland by the front door look even better with a bit of snow on them, so I guess there is a bright side to the snow!