More snow pictures

Across the street from our old house.

Behind our old house. The bungalow is not empty, but will be rented soon.  This barn is across the alley in back of the house.

Sleeping Beauties

Sleeping Beauties

Ginger in the Snow and another snow day for school

Our Siberian husky loves the snow!  However, even she didn't like going out in the one degree temps. Here she is playing with Mike.

We're on our 5th day of no school.  We  (in our school district) have not been back since we took Christmas break.  We just used up our last 'snow day'. Yikes!

Today  the reason for cancellation is ice on the roads---we had an ice storm last night. 

Corner View: Darkness

 These photos are on a grey, snowy day two years ago.  I like the play of the darkness in the trees, monuments, and shadows.

For more corner views, go to Francesca's.

Corner View: Motion

We have had a more than fair share 

of the "Polar Vortex"

these past five days.

I have been staying in 

as much as possible--no school--

because the bitter cold is no friend of fibromyalgia.

Mike has been a good sport

in taking our Siberian Husky, Ginger,

out for walks and just to play.

In the above photo

they are in the front yard

due to Mike restocking the bird feeders.

He is getting ready to throw her bone.

In this next photo

they are in the back yard

where Mike usually throws sticks and her favorite stuffed duck

for her to run after and fetch.

Ginger has a cute hop that she does.

You can see her duck 'flying' through the air.

Below is a bigger photo of just Mike and Ginger.

I liked this bigger size as it really shows her in motion,

although the duck is no longer in the pic.

Here are some bird friends in motion seeking seeds.

 One has just landed.

Then there are my fingers--two of which are fastened,

so as not to move.

I fell this past Friday on the last two stairs

of the back stairway leading from the master bedroom

to the kitchen---I misjudged the distance

and landed on my knees and the little and ring fingers

of my left hand.

I thought my  'pinky' was broken at first,

but now I think I badly sprained it

and the area in the top part of my palm.

As long as I don't move it much

or put any kind of weight on it,

it is okay.

However, I could not bear to have those fingers 'done' 

on my bi-monthly nail appointment.

Therefore, I'm setting a new trend:

eight fingers of one color

and the last two fingers of one hand another color!

For more corner views,

head on over to Francesca's.

Thoughts and Monday's Prayer

This car sits out by our old stone block garage.

It was my husband's nephew's.

Hubby's sis gave it to him for our grandkids,

but they are a bit too old for it.

Another sis's granddaughter would enjoy it,

but the nephew can't stand her,

so that is not an option.

It's a shame how something said or written on a bad day

mushrooms into where parts of a family

won't come to a holiday celebration

because it's at a certain person's house.

Now it turns out that the nephew and his girlfriend

are expecting.

He has refused to marry her for years

and it doesn't look like this baby is changing his mind.

At this point, I'm not sure she would marry him.

So a baby is coming into the world 

to a couple who will love him/her,

but who, though in their 30s,

are still in need of growing up (him)

and getting confidence to deserve better treatment (her).

But it looks like this car will go back to its original owner.

I like how one slight turn of a nob on my camera

turns this wheel almost fluorescent.

A view from the cemetery back of our house.

It's up on a hill, so I got lots of shots of my town

from a different perspective.

The red building is actually across the street from the front of our home.

Here is a close up of the building.

It was the town's ice house before electricity.

You would get a block of ice and it would keep in an ice box

in your home for about three days.

Food stayed cold, but not frozen.

You could also rent a spot in the building to keep food in.

Hubby's grandparents were regular customers.

They lived three houses down from where we live now.

I don't know who owns it,

but I would love to go inside.

My favorite part is the weather vane on top: two roosters facing each other.

 Here are signs of spring on the very day that I slugged through heavy snow to the top of the back hill to take pics of our 'last snow fall of the year'.
This area is protected underneath our second floor
screened-in porch.

On the edge of that part of my flower garden, here is my thyme encased in  snow and ice.
I liked the contrast of the two and how each can exist just a few steps from each other:
the plant held still by snow and ice and the plants shooting up green, thumbing their noses at winter, letting it know spring is coming despite
winter's efforts to postpone it.

Monday's Prayer

Lord,

Help me to embrace the moments of my life

that are hard to get my arms around.

Enable my eyes to see You in them.

Help me to always acknowledge the abundance

of Your goodness to me.

I lift to You the deepest struggles in my life.

I trust You to open my eyes to see all

You have for me in them.

Reveal to me the fullness of it all.

Thank You that I can be filled with the joy of Your presence 

in every step I take,

because You have given me 

the light I need for whatever step

I am on.

Amen.

In the day when I cried out, You answered me,

and made me bold with strength in my  soul.

Psalm 138:3

I face a problem student today

and pray for the right words for the situation.

Blessings to you all as you begin this week.

Friday''s Photo Day

Tree across the street from my home

First shot is a pin-hole shot.

Second is a zoom-in with enhanced color.

From my walk through the neighborhood cemetery during our last big snowfall.

This mausoleum fascinated me.

Last day of testing! Hurray!

Bits and Pieces, Prayer Request, and Monday's Prayer

Texas grandson Aaron's 4th birthday is today.

I will call him later this afternoon.

I created a Smilebox card for him and sent it yesterday.

I love Smilebox because you can do so much with it--
I use it to create slideshow cards,

which a certain little boy loves.

This past Tuesday, 

I bundled up and walked up the hill behind our house to the old cemetery there.

It was hopefully our last big snowfall.

Here are a few pics of my town.

I used my zoom lens to take them.

Once again, I was reminded of how much I love this place

where I live.

This is my co-teacher for one period.

He is an inclusion specialist and recently turned 29.

He is a wonderful young man who quickly became like a son to me.

Oh how we have laughed together!

However, he is not teaching right now 

because back in January, he was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma.

He is undergoing chemo.

Next week he will have a scan to see where the cancer stands:

if it is gone, improved, or the same.

Obviously we are praying for it being gone.

He still will have to have two more chemo treatments 

as a safeguard,

and his doctor does not want him to return this year.

But he is on the roster for next year.

Please lift him up in prayer.

State testing begins today.

I will do practice testing with freshmen.

The other English teacher has the sophomores in class,

so she handles their OGTs (Ohio Graduation Tests).

It's a cra -a-zy week!

Monday's Prayer:

Thank You, Jesus, that because I have received You, 

You have given me the authority to become a child of God,

because I believe in, adhere to, and rely on Your name.

Adapted for John 1:12

God, I pray that You will increase and I will decrease more and more.

Adapted from John 3:30

(Guess what book of the Bible I'm reading right now!) :>)

Blessings to you as you begin the week.

Serenity and snow

I figured it was safe enough to venture out

to my favorite photo snapping countryside

out west of our town.

So I slipped out there after a run to the post office

and pharmacy.

Serenity and Beauty at their finest--

just what I needed the day before a return to school.