Snow In Washington DC

John and I planned to take a few days ahead of our scheduled leadership conference to do a little sight seeing for 3 days before so we flew to Washington DC on January 21.  Yes, I know that a large snowstorm was predicted over the weekend for the east coast but the airline tickets were purchased and besides a lot of times the weather people are wrong or mother nature changes her mind….not this time though.We arrived, unpacked and then went exploring.  The hotel was only about 4 blocks from the capitol so enjoyed our walk over to see it late afternoon that first day we arrived.  It is a beautiful building despite the scaffolding around the dome.  The dome getting a major restoration inside and out. 

The next day my niece gave us a tour of the inside.  She is working for a Nebraska senator and has been through it lots of times and given tours to other constituents so knew all the things to point out to show us.  Loved hearing the history and seeing the beautiful building.We were thrilled to also tour the White House.  We had to put in a application several months ahead of time with all the proper credentials and had to show those credentials at several security check points before allowed inside but it was worth it.  The photo above is the front hall as we area about to exit the White House.  I especially love this photo below I took from inside the White House looking at the Washington Monument.We did all this on Friday morning and so far no snow so everything was great.  My brother and wife (mom and dad to my Washington DC based niece) just happened to be in DC too.  They were vacationing and were staying closer to where my niece lived but we had met up to do the tours and eat lunch together that day.  After lunch we all took the Metro to Arlington Cemetery.  We knew government offices and all the Smithsonian museums were closing at 1:00 pm but since it was not snowing we headed off to the cemetery anyway.  There was a sign outside that said the visitor’s center was closed but the gates were open so we walked in.  Graves were still decorated with the wreaths laid on them at Christmas and it started to snow while we were there, very beautiful.  We didn’t get much of a chance to but glimpse at the Tomb of the Unknown Solder before we were asked to leave as the cemetery was closed.  Rather disappointing as it would have only taken us a few minutes to pay our respects, watch the guard and snap a few photos but we hiked back out without protest.We said goodbye to each other and took the Metro to our separate destinations.  The evening brought more snow but unlike Nebraska it fell straight down – no winds to drift it into hard mounds but a deep blanket of it was laid over the city.  The next morning (Sat.) everything was shut down in the city.  All government offices, all museums, the Metro, Amtrak and all airports were closed and not running, stores and a lot of restaurants were closed too and the city didn’t want people out driving either.  The snow was maybe about 8-10” deep at this point so after breakfast we bundled up to hike down to the Capitol and National Mall.  What else was there to do?We had such a good time and it really wasn’t so cold that we got chilled so we walked around for 2 hours or more both Saturday and Sunday.  The streets were deserted so everyone was walking right down the middle of 4 and 6 lanes that are normally very busy streets next to all the government buildings.  It was so quiet and so surreal feeling. There were lots of other people out walking and hauling sleds to the east side of the capitol where kids of all ages were having fun sledding down the hill. This was a once in a lifetime experience for us so we took advantage of it and got out of the hotel and saw DC at a standstill.I won’t bore you with a lot more photos of the snow storm in Washington DC but do want to show this last one.  It was taken near where my niece lives and was taken on Monday after more snow fell on Saturday bringing the totals in DC to 18”-24”, mostly straight down so was rather deep to walk through where streets and walks were not cleaned.  Some kind soul ran their snow blower down the middle of the street so people could have a clear place to walk if they wanted. Needless to say, but our conference was canceled and there was no way we could change our flights so were in DC for the originally planned duration.  The Metro opened up partially on Monday so met my family members that came in for lunch at a great German restaurant a few blocks from Union Station then ventured out on the Metro to where they were all living or staying.  We had a great time and so glad we are able to walk comfortably as that is what we did from the Metro station to the accommodations of my niece and brother, to the great Pizza restaurant then back to the Metro then back to the hotel once we got back to Union Station.  Walk, walk, walk – if I lived here I would be in great shape for sure!

The trip was not a total loss as we were able to see one senator to present our concerns on some farm related issues and saw staff of the other two.  This was part of our assignment for the leadership conference and the appointments were already made so went ahead and kept them.  Photo below is of Senator Deb Fischer and us at her office after our visit with her.Since so many of the museums were closed we did more walking and looking at the buildings from the outside than inside.  Did get a chance to visit 2 on Tuesday and one Wednesday morning before we had to get to the airport.  That was disappointing as we had planned to visit more of the museums this trip but guess it will have to wait for another time.

Felt good to get home after a week away and get back to normal around the farm.  I have said it before I am sure; I love to visit cities and see areas away from here but I love getting back to the quiet of our rural home in Nebraska.

Lynn

Snow

It snowed and granted the roads and highways were a mess but look how beautiful my back yard looked the next morning.

Lynn

Snowy Day

This isn’t a recent photo but one I took in December when we just had a snow storm.  The cows, calves and bulls were still across the road as well.  I love the way the trees frame the grazing cattle and the look of the snow laying on the branches.

Until Later,
Lynn

Happy New Year

Wishing you a very Happy New Year!  Yesterday it snowed all day and blew a little while it was coming down.  I took these photos through the windows of our home while it was still snowing as it was so cold outside and I didn’t feel like getting all bundled up to go out.  They didn’t turn out too bad considering that some of the windows were a little dirty on the outside and the one storm door window kept steaming up.

Think I figured out the Trojan Virus that my virus protection program kept catching.  I finally got to read what it said and it was coming from the Patsy Thompson link I had on my blog.  I have removed the link for the time being and will contact her in case it is coming from her webpage.   

Until Later,
Lynn

Morning Moon The Day After A Storm

A week ago we got a snow storm overnight but luckily we didn’t get too much snow with that storm.  The next morning as I was walking through my sewing room at 7:30 am, I looked out the window and was amazed to see the large moon hanging in the western sky.  Grabbed my camera and took this photo through my dirty window.  I am surprised that there were no blotches on the resulting photo from the dirt on the window.  The moon was full and really pretty and I was in no shape to go outside to get the photo.  With my arm in a sling and a limp from my healing ankle it would have been like me to fall down if I would have ventured out to get a better shot.   This one turned out pretty good despite the dirty window.
At 10:00 am the state snow plow came along cleaning the snow that did land on the highway.  The truck was moving along pretty fast since there wasn’t much to clean off this time.  We are thankful the highway gets cleared off early each storm, sometimes we hear them go by even before we are out of bed in the morning.  So a big thank you to those road employees for the hours they put in keeping our roads in good shape!


Clear and cold today,  there is a chance of a storm tonight but the rest of the week the temperatures are supposed to be above freezing.  We sure hope some of the snow laying around the yard melts this week as we do have a few small drifts in the yard from the wind that blew that snow around over the weekend.  I keep telling myself this winter isn’t as bad as last year but it is hard to feel it is better when we have had so much really cold weather and snow storms or nasty weather about once a week.

Until later,
Lynn

Luggage Tags Ready to Stitch

A couple of my quilt guild members donated fabric to make luggage tags so got them all cut out yesterday and prepared to start sewing today. I got fabric cut for 58 more tags from what they donated. I like to cut a bunch of the rectangles, press under the one end and cut the ribbons then stack them ready to sew.

All I have to do then is pin in the ribbon, lay in the interfacing and stitch them together. I got 34 stitched, pressed and plastic sewn to them yesterday, so another batch is done. Think I am up to around 80 tags finished now.

After I stitch the tags around the first time I take them into the family room and sit in my chair to trim corners and turn them right side out. That way I can take a break from the sewing machine for a while. By the time I got the 34 done yesterday I was pooped! Don't think I will get all 58 stitched today as that is a lot to work on at one time and I still get fatigued from the surgery so have to rest once in a while.

This silly photo below is what was left of that HUGE snow drift behind my sewing room. It finished melting yesterday but look at how ugly my brick patio/sidewalk is. Think I will have to take John's power washer and give it a good clean!

Sunshine today makes me happy. It was overcast yesterday again but we lucked out and didn't get any rain but it stayed cloudy all day anyway. Today is bright and clear and the temperature is up to 41 F (5C) and should get warmer by this afternoon.

Lynn

Melting Snow - One Day At A Time

Thought you might like to see the huge snow drift outside my sewing room melt and disappear. I certainly was glad to see it melting day by day to be sure. I started taking photos every few days so here is a story board of the "Wonderful Spring Melting of the Snow."

Jan. 7, 2010----------------------- Feb. 24, 2010

March 03, 2010

March 07, 2010------------------ March 08, 2010

March 09, 2010--------------------March 15, 2010

March 16, 2010

So glad the snow is almost gone but it did do some damage too. Either the weight of the snow or freezing/thawing did the damage, but what ever it was it caused one of the caps on the railing to shatter. The bowl of the cement bird bath is broken into 4 pieces as it too couldn't take the weight of the snow and broke.

The ground where the snow drift sat for so many months is pretty compacted and now is super saturated. The melting snow soaked in and soaked in. I am hoping it will dry out before too long as my garden plot back behind the house was also under this drift and is very, very wet.

On the south side of our house I have tulips and jonquils up about 5". I still have last year's flower debris in the flower beds so will have to carefully get them cleaned when it dries out some. I just hope they don't get frozen as it is still getting cold at night and some snow is predicted for later in the week.

This last photo was taken just a few moments ago. Notice how blue the sky is? We had sun for the first time in weeks so it was wonderful to see the sun and blue sky, even though there were a few clouds out there. We weren't too far from the clouds though - notice the cloud line part way up the skyline. We were lucky to be in the sunshiny part of the state I guess.

As you can see all those snow piles along the driveway are gone now - YAY! All those drifts over the split rail fence are gone - YAY!

Until Later,
Lynn

Third Storm Day

Today was the third day of the Christmas blizzard here. The wind did go down some at times but by this afternoon we had more snow coming down and the wind picked up for a little while. I bundled up and went outside for the first time in 3 days and took some photos after lunch.

This first photo is a view east towards the apple tree showing the large 5 foot drift across the driveway. You can see how the wind blew all the snow off some places and drifted large drifts in other places.

John used the large snow blower on the back of the tractor to break through the drift. He started cleaning snow in the morning but quit when the wind came up and everything started drifting shut again.

North west corner of our house - the drift stayed about 3 feet away from the house but the entire yard west and north of the house was filled with snow. The fir and spruce trees had a drift in front of each of them that were about 5 feet tall and the rest of the yard had at least 2 feet of snow in it. Those small drifts looked like pointed igloos in a row.

OK, here is a view of the monster drift outside my sewing room. The black thing next to the house is the air conditioning unit that is about 3 1/2 feet tall to give you some idea of size.

The monster drift ended a few feet from the garage wall with all kinds of points of snow. My dead flower stalks are still in the flower bed next to the garage but are now flat. I should have had all of my flower beds cleaned up this fall but just didn't get it done.

Braving the cold wind and blowing snow in my face I walked through the drifts to the highway and took the next two photos of the snow in our back yard. It really filled the yard but if you would look across the road and behind the house the fields are pretty bare since they were either soybean fields or wheat fields last summer and there is nothing to catch the snow. The young windbreak trees are now about 7 feet tall and are starting to slow down the wind but it is too bad the snow blew right between them then stopped in our yard.

Now I am south of the house, south of our Quonset. The snow really filled in and drifted here too. That drift on the left is about 8 feet tall.

Our lighted windmill didn't get snow under it but the horse trailer has a large one beside it. The strong winds blew the star a quarter of the way around the windmill then it did something to the lights too as they are not on at all now.

Here is our monster drift I have taken so many photos of - notice the photo I posted yesterday as the plant hanger with the bunnies on top was showing but by this morning they are no where to be seen and have been covered up with an even larger drift.

Looking north from my sewing room window - notice all the smaller (5 feet) drifts by each tree.

This afternoon John used the skid steer loader to try to pile more snow on the piles to get it out of the way. There are drifts in the lot and the calves have one beside the hay trailer. They were standing on the drift and they could reach over and eventually some climbed inside. John did get the snow cleared around the fence so they could not walk over the fence tonight plus got the snow away from the feeder too.

Think the storm is over, I hope, I hope. The weather people say we still could get another inch or two but think the strong winds will be gone for good.

My brother is hoping to get out to see my mother tomorrow as he will have to drive back to Kansas City on Monday to catch his flight on Tuesday. We have had to postpone our celebration with our kids, grandkids, my mother, brothers and sisters, and John's sister and her family - everyone. Basically we are still waiting for Christmas - glad everyone is safe but will be excited to get together and give them all a hug.

Lynn

Snow and Blowing Snow

Nebraska got hit with a snow storm yesterday that will definitely qualify as a blizzard. It snowed all day with some wind but not strong winds until after dark last night when the wind just roared. The snow was drifted in places pretty high and other places were blown free of all snow.

First off I want you to know all of these photos were taken from the comfort of my house so some may have smudges or views through the screens so please take that in consideration when looking at them. It was 0 degrees F. this morning and the wind chill temp. was supposed to be -24 degrees F. and this girl is not crazy enough to go outside just to get photos of the snow in conditions like this. Now at noon the wind has gone down a little but up until now it was still blowing the snow and re-drifting the places that John had cleared with the tractor. The sun is shining so it looks nice even though it is frigid out there.

This first photo shows the front of the garage - notice no snow on part of the parking pad but there is a 3 foot drift right in front of the entire two car garage. John had to open one of the big garage doors and climb over/through the drift to get out as the other two back doors were blocked with large drifts.

This next photo shows our deck - the entire thing is covered with a 3-4 foot drift that will have to be hand shoveled off. Too bad the snow blower can't get up there.

Ok, now for the back (west side) of our house. The pointy drift in front of my sewing room window is really tall and is probably about 7 feet at the tip. It started at the north side of the house, wrapped around the house and continues through my garden and flower bed.

Another photo of the same drift - this time I was standing at the window of my sewing room. That is the 3 foot air conditioning unit on the left side of the photo.

We have an L shaped house with the garage and back hall on the short part of the L so took this photo looking straight north from the north hall door. The drift doesn't look so big from this angle does it?

Looking north west from my sewing room window. The windbreak trees we planted about 5 years ago are starting to catch snow. Will be nice in a few years to have them be taller and more dense to keep more of the snow away from the house.

Ok, now I am looking out my living room towards the south. See how the wind blew the snow off the front sidewalk. Sunday we had snow too and John had used the snow blower so you can tell where it left a ridge. Yesterday there was probably a foot of snow on the sidewalk but during the night it blew it away.

Last photo - this is looking east-south east at the driveway to our yard/farm. There were several small drifts John had to clear out then this big one that was 3-4 feet high. It almost covered the split rail fence around the lawn.

John was out all morning in the tractor clearing snow drifts and taking care of the cattle. Yesterday they were across the road from home in a corn stalk field. (Cattle are fenced in the harvested fields and they clean up the dropped corn. We haul water to them in the various fields and they get moved to a new field every few weeks.)

We had pickups with the flashers on to warn traffic as we moved them across the highway to the lots here yesterday morning as the visibility was low due to the snow falling. John had the tractor and a bale of hay to get them to follow him. Only one car came while the 100 cows and 100 calves ran across. The older cows remember and lead the younger ones and they knew it would be better over here than where they were. Cattle have a tendency to drift with blizzards and once they break out or walk over the fences covered by drifts they can go miles with a storm so we wanted to get them in more secure pens plus John can feed them here and we don't have to haul water as they can drink out of the tank.

Lynn

Decorating for Christmas

We woke up yesterday to our first snow. It wasn't deep and was melted by afternoon but does give the feeling of winter. The temperature wasn't much over 35 degrees F. all day too. Burr - I am not ready for cold weather. I prefer winters with temps in the 40s and 50s but living in Nebraska that just doesn't happen too often.

Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time to get the house decorated for Christmas. Since we have a Christmas party next Sunday at our house it motivates me to get my decorating done early.

Over the years since I started quilting I have made a few quilted pieces I use only during this season. Will be showing them as I get them photographed and posted in the next few weeks.

This first wall piece I made around 1985 - don't have the exact year as I didn't put a label on it. Looking closely at the fabrics they definitely look like the 80s though. There are small prints and pin dots in this quilt.

I hand pieced this entire quilt made up of 2" drunkards path blocks for the funky boarder, and the 1" triangle squares that make the green tree in the center of the quilt. I put the quilt in a large quilting hoop to hang it on the wall. I hand quilted this piece very sparingly. This year I hung an artificial greenery swag over the top of it - like the way it looks so may do that again.

Hoop measures 24" across.

We had a great time this week at family celebrations. Celebrated Thanksgiving with my brother and his family and my mother. My brother and I even re-learned how to play a card game we used to play when we were kids at home. My nieces had never played Pinochle before so after my brother consulted the Internet we found out the rules of the game. My mother had a nice time playing too. She has Parkinson's disease and her right hand and arm shake so much she couldn't hold the cards so I was her official card holder. Was a really pleasant way to spend the afternoon digesting the wonderful dinner.

Yesterday we went to our youngest daughters home and helped them celebrate their youngest child M.'s 3rd birthday. He was so cute - after opening a gift and looking at it he would turn it around and show it around to everyone else. Wasn't sure about blowing the candles out on his cake but got into it after the first candle went out.

The other 3 grandkids all older (6,7,& 8 years old) had fun watching and helping M. play with his new toys too. I just wish we could all be together more often as the kids are growing up so quickly.

I do have a funny story to share about M. A couple of weeks ago he and his family came down to our house for the day. He and I were playing "kick the ball" outside on the sidewalk and later we were walking back to the garage to find something new to do. As we were walking I told him the next time he comes to my house I would have my Christmas tree up. Of course for an almost three year old his favorite response is "why?" He doesn't remember last Christmas so I explained how I put pretty Christmas things around to make the house look nice. After a minute of silence (I could see he was trying to digest what I had told him) he said "Grandma, I am going to be Darth Vader for Christmas what are you going to be?" It was almost more than I could do not to laugh. He was so serious and was thinking of Halloween I am sure. I told him I might just be a reindeer and he said "that would be a good one". You just never know what the little ones are thinking.

Back to decorating....

Lynn