snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow.....as far as the eye can see

it''s bad..
cold
windy
snowy
did i mention COLD
so cold we put the ducks into the main basement, (the quail too)
i am keeping the door open and running the kero heater in the main house
dripping the faucets
but it's still cold
we've covered everything we could with plastic,
even the storm windows!
so until further notice

remember that it's really cold and i'm up with the stove just trying to keep us warm

i got the fever................ WARNING PHOTO heavy

spring fever it would seems......AGAIN
so these thankfully were on sale at homedepot.....i got three and really would have liked to get more (light blue, a clear purply purple and a white with yellow)--- they looked healthy and are loaded with buds..so they're here now---i have to repot the old ones i have..... and i am going to see about a pebble tray for them
meanwhile we're bracing for a storm..... up to 8'' of snow possible overnight tonight-20 with windchill

i am still wanting a terrarium, but maybe i'll do a water one...... with water plants instead of tropical?
now for today's look back to the archives humor post.......HERE
it is so appropriate for today as it happened during this time of year.....
in painting news.....the quail painting is progressing

oh and...... we have a new duckling..... she is about 3 months old, and had damage to her foot with the extreme cold ......so she came here to live.... bernie is torn about it.....he feels bad for her but at the same time, doesn't want another duck
she's very very scared..... she saw her nestmate/brother get dispatched and processed right before she came. they don't forget that.
so she's resting in her crate..... today i have to bath her and clip her wings
i think she'll be ok, and if i could only convince one of the girls to accept her we'll be great.....it would be best if the younger girls accepted her.....as she is their niece
and we're going to need a name for her i think.....no?

in cooking......i am working my way through chopmeat, (1.99 a pound at giants- i got about 20 pounds and then they ran out...so i got a raincheck too)

chili
meatloaf
salisbury steak
enchiladas

all for the freezer

ok everyone....those who are facing this storm......stay warm and safe
those who aren't
enjoy your week
i am going to start cooking now while watching the snow get heavier

take good care......

zom·bie noun \ˈzäm-bē\

: a person who moves very slowly and is not aware of what is happening especially because of being very tired

: a dead person who is able to move because of magic according to some religions and in stories, movies, etc.

so this is pretty much me today..and the past few days.
bernie's got this now-.......well he is fighting it off now..... he of course didn't get anywhere near as ill as i was.
everything i do, i get the cold clammy sweats, i get super weak and have to sit for a while.....
he's still doing wood,
he told me YOU DON"T BRING THE WOOD IN

ok

believe me i can agree with that one

so today is the start of another marathon cooking session...but it'll have to be slowly done over a few days
this batch is as follows

1. roasted chicken with leeks sauce
2. tomato sauce
3. baked ziti
4. beef stew
5. potatoe with leek soup
6. chicken enchiladas (from the roasted chicken)
7. split pea soup (just for me as he hates it)
8. beef pot pies
9. chicken and dumplins

i am working on it all starting in a few minutes

i will roast the chicken, while that is roasting i'll do the veggies for everything else, and start the sauce.
i'll make the seasoned flour for the beef as well
and roast the potatoes tonight for not only our dinner but for the potato soup
tomorrow i'll make the ziti
the soup
and start browning the beef in the flour mix
sunday i'll shred up the chicken for the enchiladas and i'm going to add some really finely minced veggies to that too
and so on......

i love cooking this way, not only for us for the week but also for us for the freezer
i just hope my strength holds out

the doctor said this was viral......and checked me also for pneumonia
i can tell you that i feel like a damn zombie......the walking dead
only they don't have to cough as much

the plague has arrived........

coughing.......aching.......
dripping, sneezing........ gloppy stuff out of my nose
and of course i can't see well

so........ in case you all wondered......
i'm dead until further notice......

what a difference a day makes.......

24 little hours...........

today bernie started his permanent shift
in all the commotion i forgot an appointment today
i could have sworn it was tomorrow
and while there i got some bad news

meanwhile, the first set of prints i've sold are on their way to their new owner
i hope she likes them
the weather is brutal still
and this morning when i went to check the stove, discovered that not only was it out
but that the house had cooled down to dangerously low levels
we aren't sure why at this point as monday when the temps were lower....the house was warmer!

now i am thinking of offering some of my series as 'print of the month'
with a subscription of 3, 6 or 12 months
depending maybe on the series (cause some series are bigger then others)
i know if i do the crow series it's currently at ten
while the goddesses i think is four or 5 (funny how you forget ....ok funny how I FORGET)
anyway, in addition to looking for representation ....i am thinking of doing this as well
if anyone has any comments on that please let me know. i need you to help me brainstorm.
either by email or use the comments
the other thing is....if i increase my readership i am thinking i should hold a contest.... another thing to consider huh?

i am also hoping for a thaw soon as i need to get back to painting and i can't when that corner is always frozen

 i am also grateful that i cooked ahead in anticipation of not only bernie's schedule change but also that due to the weather we could lose electric (we did but it wasn't long) when transformers overloaded and exploded on the mountains here..... which normally happens every winter that it gets so brutally cold

in other news, today i turned on the kero heater all by myself..... which if you knew me....that's huge!
i am terrified of that thing
but we needed that extra heat this morning........so i turned that on and ran in to throw wood in the stove out back here.

to say i am tired today is an understatement
i'm totally exhausted....
and my eyes are bad again
really bad again
oye

i'm thinking it's time for another miracle
no?

not quite balmy.......but we're warm! and tuesday lookback humor

new scarf

(and i edited to add tuesdays archival humor click HERE)

we got a new back up kero heater.
i ordered it sunday online to be picked up at lowes
bernie ran to get it, we prepped it monday, and set it up yesterday
ran it a few hours in the living room- turned it off when we went to bed
wow
this morning the studio was 74...
the woodstove didn't have to work as hard
the birds water wasn't frozen
and it was actually warm
not florida in august warm.......more like PA in May warm
it's -4 this morning out side and windy!

we did do a few other things... covered the basement windows with plastic
etc

now i know it's been a few days since i posted, bernie and i have been rushing around working to make sure we get through this latest cold snap.
i cooked a lot of stuff ahead due to his schedule change and also ....with the cold snap we used to hear transformers exploding all over the mountain, and we'd lose power
so this way with the food already cooked, it's just fast to reheat on the woodstove
i finally was able to uv coat my digital prints to fill my order during a brief heat wave of 45 degrees
(i didn't open the etsy store yet but i am starting to get orders anyway! which shocked me!)

over the years we've acquired more and more emergency equipment and experience.
we've got oil lamps, and candles, flash lights ( i am really liking the 'headlamps)
water storage, food storage, back up heat
(for back up heat you need to have things that either don't need electric to heat you....or have a battery start.......so woodstove and kero heater for now.... and maybe adding a pellet or biomass stove in the front room for later)

and over the years i've also realized that having food cooked, and waiting helps too....
boy it sure helped us during the power outage of sandy! and we had that generator!
i found it takes a few days to get used to the 'new normal'

anyway.... we're warm, we're fed and we still have electric!

the other good news is that even with the really frigid temps plus windchill, the water buckets did not freeze.....
so i know that the birds are ok
although i am still a bit worried about the quail....but they have a LOT of hay, and each other
plus a lot of food so they should be fine
another thing i noticed is that the birds eat a LOT more during cold weather
i give the chickens extra stuff like suet or even chicken fat....

(they are omnivores and even cannibals so i don't feel bad about it as they will eat each other or a weaker chicken given half a chance - actually that whole 'vegetarian chicken feed' is not healthy for chickens, as they will and should eat bugs etc, it's natural and healthy for them)

i should probably figure something fatty for the ducks....but since i have muscovy and they don't actually have fat layers....relying instead on down to keep them warm,--- they too love their protein in the form of worms and bugs.... small mice, small birds..... reptiles etc..... they also love greens.... so they get some scraps from the kitchen too

we've been putting leftover cooking fats and stuff out for the wild birds and animals too
and luigi the button buck was back but i am hoping he's moved on now...

now with bernie's new schedule, and his location, he can stop at the provisioners to pick up the bulk chicken breasts when they are 1.65 a pound (not bad for boneless skinless, and not injected with saline either so you get what you paid for)-- i can call it in and it will be ready at the dock for him to just pay for and pick up

so are you folks staying warm? safe? i hope so
it's brutal weather out there
i know that the midwest and mountain regions are really in the deep freeze.... arctic type weather so you all stay safe

a week of meals....*** almost

bernie moves to his new schedule on wen.
he had last night and has tonight off.... goes in tomorrow
then has monday and tuesday off
so since i don't do well with schedule changes, i cooked today
here is my list (don't be too impressed )

• pork stew (from scratch today)
• honey mustard chicken legs (froze the chicken in the honey mustard sauce two months ago or so)
• stuffed peppersn ( from scratch today)
• parmesan chicken (from scratch yesterday)

i am going to root around in the freezer as i am pretty sure i have a chuck roast that is just begging to be a stew

and i am going to most likely roast a chicken as well......

possibly a turkey 

and i sure need to bake soon... 

i may also make him a few pizzas and freeze them already made and just ready to reheat

we'll see

now the weather is supposed to again take a nose dive

bernie was home last night so he baby sat the woodstove

today we got another back up kerosene heater...... this one for the front room- we did the prep today and will set it up most likely monday (maybe sunday if it seems it's going to go down to 0 or below then)

and we did some more work on the winterizing downstairs, since i found the water buckets in the duck room frozen

oh and one of the quail got out.... bernie was chasing it through the basement

and i know i shouldn't laugh but it cracked me up to watch that quail run

i cleaned the woodstove today as i have discovered that a coal bed makes for a very inefficient burn in there----

i am really longing for a new house now......all one floor and much more draft proof and energy efficient

i would like a few sources of heat too..... passive solar, geothermal, biomass........

and possibly if we are in an area for it...natural gas

i really would also like tankless water heaters

i would LOVE 14'' of insulation in the walls and maybe 3 feet in the ceiling!

i'm a bit tired of drafts now on my old bones

okey dokey now...

bernie's out of the shower, so i am going to feed him now....stuffed peppers!

on the 3rd day of new years.....a snowstorm dumped on me........

so i was out shoveling us out while i let bernie sleep
he worked over time and hasn't been sleeping
i didn't do too much, just from the van to the street
the snow blower is in the house in the duck room so i used the shovel
then i forgot to make supper (it's in now but is going to not be ready in time)
eggies to the rescue i think
or maybe enchiladas......or even stuffed peppers?
i did manage to keep the house warm during this cold snap
i am extremely proud of me

however then i forgot to put the supper in....
it's always something huh?

i was raised to take pride in being able to do a lot for myself (for ourselves)
i remember my father telling me how fortunate i was that i rarely needed help

so even now that i'm disabled i do as much as i can and i figure i will keep doing that as long as i can

last winter doing it ALL myself was a bit much but doing things here and there
yeah i can do that
so i did

ha
bernie when i finally woke him (late cause i was outside late then did dishes)
got pissed that i didn't wake him
but really he worked very late
and had a rough night himself
he was out in this mess on road calls

i am however letting him get the wood in for me
(which he just went out to do...if he hadn't gotten out there soon i would have done that too)

oye

so....those who got this storm....... how was your snowstorm????

sooooo on the first day of the new year???

well, i exploded a stockpot of ham broth (takes REAL talent to do that......believe me)
while i was not paying attention (cleaning the woodstove)
followed by finding out that the CC had doubled charged me for the truck rental that Ryder screwed up in the first place
followed by luigi the button buck returning to the fold....and wanting bernie to 'open the gate dad' for him to get to our yard

bernie didn't (there isn't a gate) and we're thinking we may have to call the game warden to get luigi to move on
it's dangerous for him and for us to be so tame
which also makes me think that someone has tamed him...\

meanwhile i am having issues with my eyes still so a trip to the doctor is in my near future
other then that we're waiting for this big storm
stay warm
stay safe
(bernie has to work but i think he'll pass the storm in the shop, and by the time he's ready to leave.....it'll be plowed)