…..ever goes unpunished.
Neighbor Gifts
I love neighbor gifts
I love everything about them
I love planning for them, and making them, and giving them and getting them and eating them!
I love going to the door and wishing all my neighbors a Merry Christmas, and nothing is more fun than opening up the door to find happy faces and a plate full of goodies.
I love neighbors gifts
(have I said that already?)
This morning we woke up to this:
It was a surprise, there wasn’t any snow in the forecast. By the time it was all finished we got about 6 inches of wonderful white snow.
This is the left overs of the storm that closed the Las Vegas airport and all the schools.
Babies!
It decided to make its presence known in northern Utah, and us Utahans, we just go about our business. It takes about 18 inches to close our schools. (I am sure those in the north east are saying “18 inches??? Babies!”)
Just because all the schools and roads were “open” doesn’t mean that I felt safe driving around today. I live at the top of a hill, and my city isn’t known for getting that hill plowed and salted promptly. I have on a few occasions slid to the very bottom (scary) and spun my tires all the way to the top (scary and annoying). So I decided to clear my calendar (ahem) and stay in for the day. Since I was now free I dived into my neighbor gift making project.
The gift for this year, fresh bread and homemade raspberry jam in super cute bottles.
I made the jam back in September, so all that was left was the bread and some cute tags.
Voila
Neighbor gifts
Merry Christmas!
Finally!
The month of December has been a really hard one for me. I love Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite holidays, and for some reason this year there was a little bit of a let down once it was over. I haven’t been able to get into the whole Christmas thing. We have the tree up and decorations spread about, there is a closet full of gifts neatly tucked away. All the preparations are done and I am going through the motions of a Merry Christmas season, but my heart hasn’t been in it.
I occurred to me last week and I was looking out my window at the dead plants and leafless trees that I was restless for a change. I love the changing of the seasons, there is always something new to look at and to anticipate. I love Spring time when the wind is warm and soft and there is always something new popping out of the ground. I love Summertime when there is a new flower blooming or a new veggie just coming into season, and there is nothing like a warm summer night. I love the cool days and frosty nights of fall, the smell of the harvest and warm soup for dinner. I love the cosy winter nights, when the world is covered in a blanket of sparking snow and we are all tucked inside nice and warm.
This year it seems that fall slipped into winter, the frosty night turned into cold days and all the leaves fell from the trees and lay on brown dead grass.
I needed a change, something concrete to usher in the cosy winter time.
Then finally Monday night I got my wish and we woke up to this:
A beautiful layer of snow. I love the way it clings on everything and changes the whole look of my garden. I love the freshness and stillness snow brings. I love greeting rosy cheeks and happy faces at the door after school, with a hot cup of cocoa. It finally feels like Christmas and winter can begin.
Now ask me in February how I feel about the cold and snow and I will tell you and I am feeling restless for the first buds of spring to make their appearance.
Either my hands are numb, or I am turning into a Nut Case!
The reason I do
This:
On a day like
This:
Is because of
This:
We have used 365 less in kwh less last month than the same time last year.
We are using 15 kwh less on average per day than last year.
That is $1.08 less a day that we are spending on electricity.
A dollar a day doesn’t seen like much when it is 25 degrees outside and you and hanging up wet clothes. However that translates to 32.40 dollars a month or 388.80 dollars a year.
Not too shabby.
10 Random Facts…..
I was tagged by Serial Mom. (As a disclaimer, Serial Mom’s blog isn’t one that I would usually read, but somehow we be came acquainted and I periodically read it, I don’t agree with some of the things she says, but isn’t it the differences that make our world so interesting?) I’m supposed to list off 10 Random Things that are honest about me. I’m also supposed to tag 7 people to follow suit. A few months ago I participated in a tag where I was suppose to list 7 random facts, so I am going to link to that post and add three more. Here goes:
For my first 7 facts go here.
8. I am a Conservative. More so than even my family realises. I boarder on right-wing-nut-job, as in teetering on the edge. Dadzoo and I don’t have an arsenal of guns hidden in the basement….YET! Obviously I didn’t vote for Obama, I didn’t vote for McCain either, I voted third party, and if you want to know who I really voted for don’t even bother asking, I won’t tell you. 🙂 However, if I lived in a state where the Obama/McCain race would have been close I would have voted McCain, but I live in the great state of Utah, the candidates don’t even bother visiting here everybody knows how the races are going to turn out here.
9. I really, really care about what people think of me, I know I shouldn’t, but I do.
10. Dadzoo and I dated for 2 weeks before we got engaged, then we were married 3 1/2 months later. We are a good match.