She's about to...57, Spring is just around the corner!

They are all beautiful Maggie.

Maggie, I agree, they are all so beautiful!
Thanks for fixing the picture!

they are beautiful and look like fun! I am glad you are feeling better, too!

awwwww what Sweethearts. You refer to your "little family" so often, Maggie. Your girls are so pretty and your boys so handsome! You're a great Mommy.....look at their smiling faces :) Just wait til your oldest ones start dating...lol

well, my sister called me. She is scheduled for a surgery to take that lump out, they tried to draw fluid from it and none came out.. then she ended up in ER for a day and night cuz her BP soarded so high after she got home. I am so worried about her. All she is worried about is money. sheese!
Joe bbq's steaks and lamb chops and porch chops today. Son came over, he was a hungry bunny.
I feel real bad for my neighbors to the south, all their stuff is in the street as the police came over and told them they were ordered to be off the property by tommorrow night. They have no help. Son , who is a mover by trade, is coming over tommorrow to help them get the last load in the trailer so they can get it all gone. Foreclosures are rampant in this area. I told them anything that can be left outside can be stored on the south side of my property .. so I will have another porch swing, and some metal shelves over there, and will prolly move to the garage later when it warms up again.
I wish I could help them more. He hasn't worked for five years as he has been on dissability from a sleep disorder, that startes with migraine and sends in him a sleep coma for days at a time. weird. She doesn't work because she can't leave him while he is in an episode.
I am praying for them and my sister both right now.
On a brighter note, here is some pretty paperwhites to look at that I grew.

Debra, sorry to hear about your neighbors being kicked out like that. This economy is so bad right now! Sending them prayers, that he can get is medical issues solved and get back to work soon!
Beautiful paper whites.

Nita, goodness you are right, what a mess. Do hope you have lots of strong willing men to take care of that big tree.
Debra, I pray that your Sister will soon be well and I pray that her money worries will not keep her from getting the care she needs.
I am so sorry to your neighbors have lost their home. That is so sad, work all your life and suddenly have it taken away because of sickness. That just isn't right.
Maggie your babies are precious. Thanks for letting us see them. Hold them in your arms as long as possible. There will come a time when you can only hold them in your heart. My "Baby" and his family came to see me Sun. Such a wonderful visit we had. Oh! my "Baby" boy is 46 yrs. old. His 1st child is in her 20's and his baby is 14.
Ray is getting better each day. Snese is back to his usual playful self....love my boys!
Hugs, Faye

dahtzu, My "baby boy" is 42 and has a 4 year old son. My grandson's birthday was on Saturday and I wished I could of made it to Calif for the party, BUT I'll be there in May when they take him to Disneyland for the first time.

To bad I can't get my nephew over to you house> He loves using a chain saw and cutting up stuff. LOL

I HAVE A VALENTINES TO SHARE :)
COME CHECK IT OUT :)

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1152693/

SUSIE

Hi everyone, it has been awhile but feels good to log on. I haven't had time to catch up on the forum but hope everyone is doing well.

If you are in the path of the blizzard just hunker down cause it is a dozie and we just caught the edge. DH is shoveling snow in the driveway drifting 5 feet......I will probably get back to work in August when it all melts.....

Well my kitchen is getting closer and I think I will start putting things in the cabinets that are done now. So I will pop back in later. Stay warm and safe you all!

Living in the country you don't have to bend over to shovel snow......

Hey Joyce, so good to see you pop in! Sounds like your busy getting new cabinets? Sounds nice! You stay warm too. Only 20 here today!

Great news on your kitchen, happ. Wow, he could use a snowblower. We got lucky this round and only had a cold rain. All gone, the sun's out, and the chimes are singing like crazy in the wind.

Everybody stay safe if you have to be out in the white stuff.

2.8* by my digetal thermometer. -15 to -20* windchill. We got hit hard by the blizzard. Still in a wind chill warning. Turnpikes, airport, schools, county offices, etc..... all closed. Semi's and passenger vehicles stranded. Ice under the snow. Crews are working on getting the turnpikes cleared for thru traffic, but none of the on or off ramps. It's a mess. And a BIG CHILL.

Skating anyone?

then relaxing by the fire! :-)

Happ good to see you!! We got lucky too. A little sleet and a lot of cold rain. It is pushing 40 here and we are having a melt which is a good thing on my end! Wish you all were here. Just made some sweet potato soup. Now have to make some suet for the birds.

I brought in some feed and containers to make suet for the birds too. I couldn't find any of the right type of lard to make them, so I'll just use Crisco and peanut butter with the seed. With the temps we are having, don't have to worry about the crisco melting like it does in the summer. :-))

Yeah Patti I can't even get lard anymore. I just use cheap vegetable shortening. They eat me out of house and home this time of year. I have to make ever couple of weeks. I make 2 large sheet pans at a time.

How do you make yours? I just use shortening, peanut butter and seed. I've saved the mold of some of the store boughten ones I had.

Hadn't thought about skating in years, Patti. Course in those days it was roller skating at the local bowling alley with a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. We love a toasty fire too. Hubby and a neighbor went in together last month and bought loads and loads of hardwood cheap from a guy clear cutting and making roads for a new neighborhood. We won't have to buy wood for quite a while. Since turning off our heat pump in mid-November our electric bill is about half of what it was this time last year.

Haven't tried making suet before. Ya'll tell me how. To stretch birdseed though, occasionally I've added raisins, craisins, orange slices and unsalted peanuts. My pinecones are dwarfs compared to the giant happ sent you, Susie, but have used ones from our White Pines, smushed peanut butter between the scales, and rolled them in birdseed. Thank goodness this pic is from last January.

Patti the way I make suet is this:

a large jar of peanut butter and a container of lard melted together. Then add 2 small bags of cornmeal and 1 and 1/2 small bags of flour. stir it all together until it isn;t too lumpy. Then I line a couple of sheet pans with foil and pour errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr]3222[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[] (compliments of Pelydryn the kitty) the mixture into them. Let it set and cut it into pieces with a bench scraper. That way I have whatever size pieces I need. Right now they are mostly eating it out of a long thing feeder, so I can make the suet fit that. Gotta run. Off to have my annual boob squishing today. :))

A lovely sunshiney day and -15 degrees (not wind chill but true temps!).
I do not know how those bird survive this. I have suet hanging all over the place, never tried making my own.
DH got the driveway cleaned but the road going to town hasn't been touched yet. Glad none of you got hit.
I know Joeswife did. Hope everything is ok with her.

Glad you are getting some time to ake a breath. Even if it is a snow day!

Brrr.... that is too cold! It is only 25 today, and we have real light snow flakes falling. Nothing ont he ground, but it is snowing. Something we don't see too often here in Texas!

My Pour froggies

I Now have a path to the road

I feel your pain Susie. Ours looks more like a luge run right now. :))

rvnsbrk, I know what you mean by a luge, on the otherside of the tractor in my picture the driveway starts downhill and goes quite awhile....rofl. Right before it flattens out is a huge ravin down to a creek......don't wanna get off track cause I am telling you it would eat my car and no one would know I was down there. I figured out in bad weather I wear my coat and put my cell phone in my pocket. Least if I hit a ditch maybe I will stay somewhat warm and be able to call for help.

We didn't have any melting today at all. I made some homemade bird suet, hope I don't kill them.....a cook I am not so much. DH is getting stir crazy and so are the dogs. I think I could use about 4 more days of being stuck inside but that isn't going to happen. Looks like back to work tomorrow.

we are plowed out now :) nice wide path :) well time to sit back & take in the NEWS ,
Ya all have a great evening

happ .... we got it too. 14" of snow reported in Tulsa. Today air temp was -6, -25 wind chill. Set a snow record and a temperature record for their respective days.

Skating anyone?????

Hubby called me at 7:15 am to tell me the old cougar broke down. He walked the rest of the way to work in 8 degree temps until about a block away and someone gave him a ride. Thank Goodness he has a newer truck.

My sister called... the consultanting surgeon told her he does not think it is a cyst and she would have had him take a tissue sample, but her BP soard to almost 200. Now we have to wait until Monday. She has just cancelled her cancer and critical care policy three months ago. ;( Dear God, please let it be benign..
I am tired, have a good night.

Goodness Debra, sorry he had to walk part way! Hope it will be an easy fix for the car.
Sending prayers for your Sis, that the results will be negative!

Drat Debra... let's hope you have better news soon about that. All this medical stuff is making me crazy!

Prayers continue going up for your sister, you and your family.

Car is fixed and home, it was a belt tensioner and only a couple hundred dollars. He and I are very happy about that.

How old is your cougar?
Glad you got it fixed!

GM All More snow moving in today their calling for 1-2 inches so that I Can handle :))) starting to snow now .
ANother week starting & Or ending :) Spring is just another week CLOSER :)))

coffee is about gone so off to put bkf on you all have a safe an fun day back later to chat

deejay, i've seen you mention bkf, but don't know what that stands for, breakfast?

We got above freezing yesterday and DH got my car out of the garage. Guess I get to go to work tomorrow. They have narrowed our chances of snow for today, but pretty good chance of it coming in Tuesday/Wednesday.

If anyone wants a good laugh, go to this thread on youtube. It is my granddaughter playing with her Rat Terrier. The funniest part is at the very end when you see the dog look over the edge and you hear this soft little 'ow'. I didn't hear it the first time, I was laughing so hard. Heard it when I replayed it for DH. Be prepared, she is a "squeeler". lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXsh6LDPoKA