What a strange winter we're having here in Southeast Texas! We can go years without seeing hardly any kind of frozen precipitation and during the last 2 1/2 weeks, we've had 3 days of a combination sleet/snow/freezing rain. It was pretty funny to see the entire area almost shut down because of a little sleet on the roads, but probably a good thing. Before they closed the bridges and overpasses there were a lot of wrecks because most people here are just not accustomed to driving in such conditions.
The poor birds looked pretty miserable!
We didn't have snow here so we drove up to the lake where we keep our trailer so we could get a few snow pictures. They had a couple of inches up there.
Snow in the campground.
No camping this time.
Back at home - just a few icicles left.
Sweet little mockingbird trying to stay warm.
More of something frozen again today!
Wish we could have had a good snow fall here but
winter's not over yet! Maybe this will be our year!
We might have to make a winter trip up to K.C. to see Jill and Jason. There's plenty of snow up there and I don't think it's going away any time soon!
I guess “blue norther” just isn’t good enough for today’s
weather forecasters.They’ve got to make
it sound like something unusual and scary!Polar Vortex!!Oh my!!What do we do now??
Well in Southeast Texas we’ve always
called them “blue northers” and they’re not new or scary.Just cold!!And this last one was no exception.I love seeing a blue norther blow in when the sunny sky darkens and the
wind direction suddenly changes from the south to the north dropping temperatures 20 or 30 degrees -
time to put on an extra blanket and make a pot of chili.
Polar Vortex Did This!!
This is another recipe I found in Taste of Home –
Heartwarming Soups.(love this book!)
Chipotle-Black Bean Chili
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - finely chopped
(I added only 2 of the peppers and all of the sauce)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs tenderized stew meat
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. dried oregano
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Optional toppings: Shredded cheese
Reduced-fat sour cream
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
Avocados
The recipe is for a crock-pot but I just put everything in a
pot and cooked it on the stove for about an hour.We ate it with rice and topped with cheese,
sour cream, cilantro and lime.Also
served it with oven baked tortilla chips.It was delicious!
What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
Isn't it about time for some sunny days and warmer temperatures??? We're so spoiled here in the south with our mild winters and normally I don't complain about the cold, but after this week I think I'm ready for Spring. We were in the 20's two or three nights this week and the days were mostly in the 40's. And now two Sundays in a row we've had COLD and RAIN. I'm SO ready for some SUN!!! I can't wait to see that YELLOW ball of sun shining again!
Some interesting facts about YELLOW:
-Yellow is psychologically the happiest color in the color spectrum.
- Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts.
How the color yellow affects us physically:
Stimulates mental processes
Stimulates the nervous system
Activates memory
Encourages communication
"How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun." - Vincent Van Gogh
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
This is a pretty good description of our March so far.
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens
My plant cemetery has a pretty good collection of pots to be re-used soon. I lost several plants this winter including a pencil cactus and a bougainvillea. Our winters are usually not bad enough to do much plant damage, but this winter was a killer!
I brought my favorite plants inside a few times to save them - including this little geranium.
We were teased with a few warm days and some early signs of spring. The Narcissus are popping up everywhere, lots of trees already budding out, doves cooing and birds all around scoping out nesting places, but now it's cold again.
I just can't stay warm but a cup of hot tea or coffee in my very favorite cup does help! My friend Sheila gave me this cup for my birthday last year and I just love it. She's so nice and she knows how I love little birds!
"There's a grassy slope not far away
Where thousands of Narcissus bloom,
And I catch my breath, as I watch them sway
Tossing their sweet perfume.
Gaily they nod their dear little heads
And smilingly welcome me,
As they spring up fresh from their winter beds,
Eager for company.
Their round white faces fair and clean
Are purer than frost or snow,
And I thank the hands, tho' now unseen;
That planted them, long ago."
- Nora McFarlane, Hillside Narcissus
We've had a few days of beautiful weather and I enjoyed it so much but I've heard that winter is back on its way. It's already started clouding back up with 100% chance of rain on Friday.
I'll just have to think like little Annie and remember that "the sun will come out tomorrow." Sometimes that just doesn't seem soon enough though!
Associated Content has some great ideas to brighten up the grey days of winter:
Keep the house well lit. Incandescent bulbs are more effective than fluorescent. Some places sell light bulbs called "full-spectrum" light, which closely mimics sunlight. These bulbs are even more effective at boosting mood.
Have a cup of hot lemon tea and sweeten with honey. Lemon is a proven mood booster.
Stay active. Exercise releases chemicals in the brain that can boost mood and lift your spirits. Even when you're stuck indoors, there are still plenty of ways to get enough exercise to stimulate your brain into releasing these "happy chemicals." Try running up and down the stairs a couple of times, or doing jumping jacks. Maybe this will be a good time to get the treadmill going again or even vacuum the living room. Any kind of movement will help lift your spirits.
Eat healthy food. Avoid junk food on a rainy day - even though ice cream may seem like a good "comfort food," it does not supply the body with essential nutrients, and can actually lower your mood even more. Eat more proteins and whole grains, and remember to take your vitamins. Avoid sugary snacks and caffeine if possible - these can be temporary mood boosters, but when the sugar and caffeine are filtered out of your system, you are likely to "crash," making your mood even worse than it was before.
Social contact may be the last thing we want to do when we're feeling down, but it is one of the best ways to defeat the blues. Call a friend with whom you haven't spoken in a while, or just go to a public place such as the grocery store. Depression is a nasty beast - it causes us to withdraw from other people, even though social contact is the single best way to eliminate depression. Even if it's just a five-minute phone call, that connection with another person can be the ticket to pulling you out of your funk.
There's no need to suffer through the rainy-day blues. Get moving, turn on the lights, eat healthy food, and get in touch with a friend, and you're sure to kick that sour mood in no time.
And just remember Spring is only 7 weeks away!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
This is the water fountain in the courtyard at our church this morning. It was so pretty all frozen over with ice cicles and it was something these children have probably never seen. I think maybe we are heading into a more normal weather pattern now. We had beautiful sunshine and it has warmed up into the 40's this afternoon.
Since we don't have any snow to show for our cold Arctic temperatures I thought maybe this would show just how cold it is deep in the heart of Texas. I was not going to venture out this evening to walk Sadie, but Johnny and Sadie bundled up and went out on their own. The temperature this afternoon was about 38 but the wind was howling so it felt like it was much colder. Our low Saturday and Sunday morning is predicted to be about 18 which doesn't happen very often here. It's too bad we're not getting some snow this time. I guess we'll just have to go see Jill and Jason because they have about a foot on the ground. I've made a big pot of White Chilithat should help keep us warm. I got the recipe from Ree at The Pioneer Womanand it's really good!
