Valentine's Day

Love is the beauty of the soul. ~ Saint Augustine

Happy Valentine's Day!

blessings

~*~

Happiness

Sleet came during the night and packed down the snow.  When I woke it wasn't quite as pretty as when I went to bed.

 Still, it is lovely.  Those of you that live with snow like this all winter are probably shaking your heads at me.  I'm a winter girl living in the south.  Snowfalls like this are pretty rare around here.  I can't help but be excited by it.

We are still getting snow.  It died off for a while late this morning and in the last two hours has picked up pretty heavily.  I did go out and shovel my walk for our mail carrier.  (Although I'd rather they let the mail carriers stay home where it is safe.  The mail can wait a day or two.)

I also took some time to have a little fun.

Fake flower stems for arms, acorns for eyes, a twig for mouth, carrot for nose and little paper glitter heart I'd made for a project that didn't get used.  I didn't have a hat for her.  I almost used my witches hat but I didn't want it to get messed up.  So I wrapped her in a scarf that I never use.

I'm naming her Emmie, in honor of a new friend.  :-)

I took another leap today, submitting a piece of art for a publication.  I hope they like it.  I'm pretty pleased with it.

Remember that soup I mentioned the other day?  Well...it is delicious!

I'm off to cuddle with the kitty and watch the snow fall.

How are you staying happy today?

blessings
~*~

Winter

Winter has come to visit.  Pull up a chair and stay a while, I say to her.

This is what she had shared with us just an hour after her arrival.

 

This is three hours after she arrived.  I am so, so happy to have her here for a visit.  It looks as if she will continue to shower us with her loving tears until tomorrow night.

My heart just soars to look out the window and see the beauty of white.  I miss my beastie boy very much right now.  We would play in the snow together so often.  Okay, he'd do his business and I'd toss snow balls to him, but it was so fun!  

I really think there will be snow person building tomorrow.  Today is for watching, soup making and painting.  And smiling...lots of smiling.

Ah.  This is winter.  Thank you Mother Nature for bringing winter to visit.  I'm so happy to have you with us for a while.  

What is making you smile today?

blessings
~*~

burrowing

It appears that winter is finally ready to share her bounty with the area I live in.  We are in for a pretty good winter storm if the meteorologists are to be believed.  And all the signs have been pointing to it lately.  Several nights ago there was a huge ring around the moon (a sign of snow and/or trouble).  The wildlife has been scrounging around in a flurry for extra food.  

The image below is from the weather channel's web site.  If you look at the map and find the word SNOW,  I live around the W.  We are getting forecasts of anywhere from 5 inches to a foot of snow.

I bet you can guess which I'm hoping for.  :-)

Yesterday was tax day for me.  So now I have that done and don't have to worry anymore about it.  I also saw the doctor about that episode from two weeks ago and the resultant problems.  I must say, I wasn't very encouraged when I left.  In fact, I was in tears when I left the hospital.  He didn't seem at all concerned about the word retrieval, confusion and disconnectedness I'm experiencing.  He wants me to have all the MRI's, etc., test results that I have had within the last year sent to him and then go back to see him in three months.  I am trying to get in to see my regular neurologist but the earliest appointment they have is May.  

I guess the only thing I can do is just keep plugging along and being careful.  I don't know what else to do.  

Anywho...

As you can see by the photo below, I'm ready for the snow.

It snowed almost all day yesterday but didn't accumulate at all.  I still enjoyed it.  Going to and from errands, being out in the snow without a threat of slipping was great.  I even took the time to visit my friends at Green Hill Cemetery.  

During my house arrest after the fall, I went a little stir crazy and rearranged the living room.  I'd been wanting to be able to sit very close to the fireplace so I would feel the warmth when it is on.  Now I can and it is quite cozy. So I'm all ready for the storm.  

I have plenty of food, am going to make Senate Bean Soup tomorrow.  I found it via Jaz at Octoberfarm.  I've been wanting to make it for weeks and this seems like a great time.

I think I've rambled enough for now.  I'm off to make certain my camera batteries are all charged, get my beans soaking,  experiment with an ice cream recipe and do some blog reading.

I hope you are having a great week.  I'll get back soon with hopefully some snow photos.  (Not that a lot of you really want to see more snow!  Haha!)

blessings
~*~
 

this & that

I've been sitting here for a little while, curled up on my sofa watching the clouds roll in.  There's a storm coming in the next few days.  We may get a bit of snow, possibly ice.  I am really hoping for snow, lots of snow.  I keep seeing all my blog friends with their photos of the snow they have.  It makes me want to move to a place that has a real winter.

I purchased a bundle of hyacinths to refresh a couple of nosegays I had.  The greenery was still quite fresh but the flowers in them had dried up.  I think they look pretty.  Plus they smell divine.

I used what was left and still fresh to make a small offering for outside.

 

I had a showing yesterday and was finally able to get into the website to see feedback from previous viewings.  I kind of wish I hadn't.  All night I just kept thinking about all the negative comments people made.  I don't think I'll be going back to that sight again.

I tried an experiment the other day.  I took a regular cookie recipe that I had found and converted it to something I could eat that was gluten and refined sugar free.

They aren't what I'm used to, but they are pretty good.  I do think they need some more refining.  If I can get them to delicious, I'll share the recipe.  :-)

I see the doctor tomorrow.  Almost two weeks since the incident and I'm still having problems.  I hope he'll have some answers for me, that don't involve invasive tests.  

I really appreciate the comments and emails about my last post.  You guys make me feel like there is someone in the world who cares.  In my offline world, there really isn't but a few (very few).  So it means a lot to me when you take the time to comment or send me a message.

I hope you are all having a great weekend and that this coming week will be good for you.  

blessings
~*~

ps...I finally succumbed and joined Pinterest last night.  I spent three hours playing around without realizing it.  That type of time vanish is why I resisted joining for so long.  I'm going to have to set time limits each time I get on.  Otherwise, I'll never get anything done!  :-)

 

getting back up

I hadn't meant to be away for so long.  Things happened and got in the way and I couldn't find my way back here until now.  You see, I fell.  Not down Alice's rabbit hole, although it feels quite a bit like that.  I literally fell.  In the middle of Barnes & Noble.  During a book reading/signing.  And I didn't just fall.  I passed out.  Sigh...

I'll try to give you the short version. 
I went last week to see Sarah Addison Allen (one of my very favorite writers) for a reading of her new book and a signing.  I thoroughly enjoyed her talk and reading and just as it was ending, had what felt like a hot flash.  I moved out of the way of others to cool down and then a few minutes later I got that numb face/tunnel vision thing.  Next I know, I'm waking up face down on the floor.  Only I felt like I was sitting up.  I was very disoriented and confused.  I checked my blood sugar and it was fine.  I couldn't seem to talk and explain things or answer questions.  I couldn't remember how old I was.  I couldn't think.  I couldn't grip things and I couldn't breathe.

Finally calmed down, EMTs took me to hospital where I was poked and prodded.  Several EKG's showed no issue with my heart.  Blood work and CT scan were normal.  Blood pressure was quite low and I did have a small infection so they gave me an RX for antibiotic and sent me home after about 4 hours with advice not to drive for a few days.

It was and honestly still is very scary to me.  You see, eight days later, I'm still confused, discombobulated.  I still feel dizzy often and can't find words.  I have a call in to my Neurologist, per my therapist, because earlier in the day that the whole ordeal happened, I'd been having the worst headache I've had.  That is a lot of pain.  Oy!

So I've spent the last week, just resting.  Reading a little, a bit of cooking (cause if I don't cook, I don't eat), practicing crochet, and just being. 

Then there was this...

We finally had a measurable snow fall.  It was so beautiful and really cold so it hung around for several days.  That worked out great as I wasn't allowed to drive anyway and didn't even have my car.

Once I was able to drive and went to get my car I also stopped to pick up my book.  The manager at B&N had held it for me so I wouldn't lose it.  He even had it signed for me.

I am so sad that I didn't get to meet her.  Hopefully I'll have another chance.  I have a couple of library books to finish, then I'm taking a trip to Lost Lake.  :-)

I have tons of missed blog posts to read and need to get tax stuff ready.  That should keep me occupied for a few days.  I hope it won't take weeks to get back here again.

What have you been up to?

blessings
~*~