More snow pictures, sunny pictures, funny pictures, and old pictures

I have almost a week of catching up to do here again.  

On Saturday I decided to make banana nut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Not that we even eat things like that anymore, but I like to have things to give our family.  It's one thing I can do while we can't be together.  I did eat two of them and Dick ate one, but I forgot to take a picture of them.  

I noticed a beautiful sunset that evening, but I didn't feel like going out in the cold, so I just took a picture through the slider.  

The next morning I took another picture through the slider!  I'm assuming this was a male house finch.  So beautiful!  Maybe the other one is his wife.

After church we packed up some things and headed to Lancaster County.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the trees with ice on them as we crossed Seven Mountains were spectacularly beautiful!

Our first stop was at Alex's dad's place where Destiny, Alex, and Elizer are living now.  I had gotten some cute baby boy clothes at Goodwill, so we dropped those off as well as some cupcakes.  Actually Destiny wasn't there because she had just left with her mom and cousin.  They were driving straight through to Ocala, Florida to get Destiny and Alex's things moved out of their mobile home, which had to be done before the end of the month.  I asked Alex if he felt ok about taking care of Elizer till she gets back, and he said, "Oh sure, no problem."  On Monday he sent me this video.  How absolutely adorable is this???  I just love the bond between them.

When we stopped at a gas station on Sunday we were amused by this.

I texted it to Destiny and told her that if they couldn't fit her futon inside the van they could always tie it on top, haha!!

We also visited Grandma Arlene that afternoon.  This time we went up to her apartment to visit.  Both she and us have had our first vaccine, but we did all have masks on.  Not interested in taking any chances when we're this close to getting our second vaccine!  We had a great time together, but no picture this time. 

WE also made several stops to pick up pictures.  We met my sister Mary Ellen, who gave me some old pictures from our childhood that she has had in her basement.  We also stopped at my stepbrother Gary's place to pick up my flash drive which contains the slide show that was shown before Grandma Mary's funeral. And last we went to our nephew Josh's house, which used to be Grandpa and Arlene's house.  There were still boxes of photo albums and framed pictures there that no one has done anything with since the auction a year ago.  It was fun to see the renovations Josh and Jill have done to the house.  I didn't take any pictures inside, but I did get some at the front of the house outside.  I made this collage of before and after.  They've added shutters and a black front door.

  

On our way back home we stopped to drop some cupcakes off for Sammy and Bianca and then also for Austin and Hunter.   When we got home we had SO MANY things to carry in.

We've been having so much fun looking through old pictures this week.  I've scanned some, but have many, many more to do.  I'll just share these two here for now.  Both of Dick's grandparents's wedding photos!   

Henry and Emma (Snyder) Stauffer, July 6, 1919.

Paris and Maria (Brumbach) Brubaker, October 28, 1921.   No question that the strongest genes passed onto the Stauffer "boys" and grandchildren were from Grandpa Brubaker!  

On Monday we had snow again!  And on Tuesday morning.  I'm tired of snow pictures, but I took more of them anyway.  

I was delighted to wake up Tuesday morning to a text, "Grandma, I'm home," sent at 5:22 am.  What a whirlwind trip Destiny had been on!  They left around noon on Sunday, got to Ocala around 4:30 Monday morning, slept a little while, then packed up, cleaned and were on the road by mid afternoon.   A huge push to get back home was the fact that her other grandpa (her mom's dad) had to be taken to the hospital because of COVID and he was not doing well at all.  His 76th birthday is today.  He's still in the hospital.  Destiny's grandma was also in the hospital yesterday because of COVID, but she went home today.  She was allowed to see her husband before she left, since it's his birthday.  That made him so happy.  Destiny's uncle Steven (age 34) is also in the hospital.  He has very bad pneumonia in both lungs.  This is a really hard time for the family.  Please pray for them when they come to mind.  Destiny's mom tested positive for COVID yesterday, but so far she's not feeling too bad.  

Yesterday (Wednesday) was an absolutely beautiful day with temps in the low 50's!!  It was windy, but I finally went for a walk for the first time in weeks.  And when I got back I sat on the porch for a while and soaked in the sun.  Ahhhhh!!  

First a picture of yesterday's sunrise. 

There's actually some grass showing!!

Here's something to give you a laugh!  Along with the boxes of old photo albums were these wigs that had been Dick's mom's from her chemo days.  Of course I had to try them on!

I'll end with these cute pics that I took last evening while Destiny and I were Face-timing.   Elizer is becoming a little ham with a very definite personality.  He is very interested in whatever others are eating.  Last evening Destiny was eating chicken nuggets and he kept watching her like he wanted some.  She put one to his lips and he LOVED that taste!  After that he just kept watching her like, "Come on, Mom, more please!"  We were just cracking up!

Have a great weekend!

Ice, sunshine, snow, more snow, and a few other things

It honestly feels like this week was a big blur of never-ending ice and snow.  Not huge amounts, but all the time.  So here are the ice pictures first from the beginning of the week.

Actually, on Wednesday we had a gloriously sunny day.  Twenty-two degrees, but sunny!   The day started with a lovely sunrise - the only one all week. 

I looked out at my side porch and thought I could almost imagine sitting out there with my coffee!

My sister-in-law Nancy said I must be sure to take a picture if I do in fact drink my coffee out there.  So I did!  All of two minutes maybe, haha!  I used my sibling mug so I could feel like they were out there with me!

Thursday we were back to snow again.

Dick used the snow blower when he got home from work Thursday evening, and then it snowed more overnight.  I noticed when he left this morning that he didn't even bother scraping snow off his truck except in the front.  I think he's getting tired of it.  

Destiny and Alex are feeling better and are finished with their COVID quarantine.  But there are others in her family that have COVID now.  Her other grandpa has been quite sick with it this week, and I've been praying for him.  He's in his late 70's.  She said he was feeling better today.

These are pictures I took while we Facetimed. 

One morning she sent me this adorable video.  He was so happy and noisy, and Alex was still sleeping, so she was trying to keep him quiet - rather unsuccessfully, haha!

This evening Anthony posted a picture of Austin with a huge icicle.  It reminded me of a picture I had taken eight years ago when he first became enthralled by every icicle he saw.   Both the boy and the icicle have gotten bigger!

I want to end this post with my deepest condolences to my dear blog friend Terri over at Your Friend From Florida.

Her beloved husband Joe passed away on Tuesday after a short bout with COVID.   Many of us were following Terri's daily updates, and things were looking quite good.  So we were absolutely shocked to find out he had passed away.  Shocked and devastated!  Dick and I have very fond memories of our lunch with Terri and Joe a few years ago when we were visiting Lisa and George in Florida.  

Please keep Terri in your prayers as she walks this unexpected journey.  

Have a good weekend! 

Ice, a birthday, and Valentines Day

Some of you have been asking if Jeremy and Mike's power came back on since I posted on Saturday morning.  If you looked at this picture Mike sent me this morning you would probably think "no way!"  But thankfully, it was already restored on Saturday afternoon.  They had freezing rain all last night, and this picture was taken this morning.  

Here's what their street looked like last evening! It's a good thing that their temps are going to go up into the 40's today. 

Today is Jeremy's birthday.  He missed Valentines Day by 45 minutes, but we realized last evening that if he had been born in Portland he would have been a Valentines baby, haha!   I never thought about how time zones could determine birth dates.

Jeremy's was a home birth, something I wanted very much and convinced our doctor to do.   Here's a funny story from that day.  

That week I put an ad in the newspaper “drapes for sale.” We had just redone the family room and had gotten new ones. On Valentines Day I took a call about the drapes. A lady was interested in them and wondered if she could come to see them the next day at 2:00. I told her she could, not realizing that I would be going into labor in a few hours. I didn't even tell her I was expecting a baby. 

So the next day the lady did come at 2:00 to see the drapes. (She bought them.) Imagine her surprise when I also showed her the new baby I'd had overnight, haha!!

Yesterday morning we participated in our essential staff only online worship service at GGRV.  It was a somewhat icy, misty morning, but we didn't have far to go.  Here's a picture I took from the church parking lot.  

Then we came home to watch Calvary's online service.  I spotted a bird at our feeder while we watched the service.  We still don't see very many.  Maybe it's because I seldom sit on the couch in the daytime.  

I decided in the afternoon to make molasses ginger snap whoopie pies to take over to Anthony and Lori and the boys.  They love those cookies.  I made pink filling.   I test tasted one of them and wasn't sure they were that good.  Seemed like an awfully lot of sweet, maybe because we eat sweets so seldom anymore.  

But after we dropped them off Lori soon texted me that Austin LOVED them.  We got these pictures as we drove away.  These benches look like they have peaked snow roofs!

Dick loves to see his hunting shack as we drive down their road.  He's eager for warmer weather so he can sit there after work and enjoy nature. 

After we left their place we drove further out into the country side just because we had the time.  We saw this massive field of white!

I gotta show you this ADORABLE picture of Sammy and Bianca taken before they left for school on Friday!!  Someday they need to be in their high school plays and musicals!!

Elizer dressed for Valentines too!  Red pants with suspenders and a shirt with red hearts!  

An update on our nephew's wife Jenn Stauffer.  She has now had two chemo treatments through a port which was put in place.  She's feeling very little pain, which is a tremendous blessing.  They are relishing every day that they all have together at home.  They are surrounded with supportive family and friends.  

My sister Betty and family are recovered from COVID. Betty went back to work last week.  She was going to try shorter days.  I hope she was able to do that.  

I'll finish here with a picture of a meal I made on Saturday, one of our favorites.    Skillet Shepherds Pie - I just made that up.

I brown a pound of ground beef with an onion, salt and pepper and Italian seasonings.  Meanwhile I peel and cook a few small potatoes in a small kettle, and I cook a whole lot of green beans in the microwave.   To the browned ground beef I add some tomato sauce and sprinkle some shredded cheese, then I layer the cooked green beans on top.  I mash the potatoes with some milk and sour cream right in the pan in which I cooked them, then spread them over top of the green beans, add another layer of shredded cheese, put a lid on top till everything is all melted together.  If I had some green onions I would have sliced those to garnish on top.  Because there is a lot more meat and green beans than potatoes, it's a pretty good low carb, but tasty meal, which is of course a necessary goal around here.   

I just remembered when I looked at the picture that I actually put some French Fried onions on top and then put the whole skillet under the broiler to brown them and the cheese a bit.   

That's all for this time!  Stay warm!

Updates from here and there and everywhere

Dick and I are remembering the events of a year ago on this weekend.  But before I go into that - talk about remembering, haha!!  Here we were in 1968, our first Valentines Day together.  I was 16 and he was 17!

A year ago, on Friday, February 14, Dick was at work, trying to press on in spite of incredible fatigue, when he received a phone call from our doctor about the results of the blood work he had had the previous day.  He was ordered to go right to the ER.  We still shake our heads that they told him to drive himself there, knowing that his blood sugar had been over 600.  When he got to the ER it was over 700!  And his A1C was 12.  We had no idea.  We just knew he was more fatigued than he had ever been, that he was needing to get up four times a night to pee, he was losing weight unexplainably, and that he could not keep going this way.  We were afraid he might have prostate cancer.  So it seemed like a relief to find out it was diabetes instead.  Our lives changed that day as we realized it would take a lot more thought and effort to manage his diet from here on out.   I think we've done a pretty good job of that.  Maybe living our more slow-paced life due to the pandemic has helped in that respect.  It definitely is easier to eat right at home than anywhere else.  

This morning I'm thinking about Jeremy and Mike and the kids out in Portland.  They're having a snow and ice storm, which is a rare occurrence.  In fact, Brennan (5) and Daniel (6) had never seen snow before!  Unfortunately, I woke up this morning to Jeremy's FB update that their power is out.  I know Jeremy had gotten more firewood on Thursday, but depending how long till the power comes back, it could take a whole lot of firewood.  The power lines in their neighborhood are underground, but I read that trees are falling on power lines further out.  

Poor Watson HATES the snow.  Yesterday the little boys had cleaned the sliding glass door, and when Watson had to go out to do his business, he charged toward the door to go back inside and slammed into it.  It was so clean that he thought it was open.  Poor guy! 

Here's a sweet picture from yesterday morning.

Meanwhile life is throwing crazy stuff at Destiny and her little family.  When they came up from Ocala, Florida to Lancaster last weekend, I had a feeling they would have a hard time leaving.  So many of their things are still in Lancaster, and there are so many more family members in PA for support.  She contacted their landlady in Florida and was told that they could get out of their lease, since they had not been there long, if they would get their things out by the end of this month.  They were working on the plans to go for their things with one of her cousins. 

But this week COVID has delayed those plans.  On Sunday (thankfully the day AFTER we were with them on Saturday) they were with a relative who became sick on Monday and tested positive for COVID on Tuesday evening.  By that time Destiny was already starting to feel sick.  So they went to an urgent care facility in Lancaster to be tested Wednesday evening.  Meanwhile Alex started feeling really sick and Elizer was having fever and congestion.  Friday morning they got their results - Alex was positive, but Destiny and Elizer were negative.  Of course, they had been together all the time since their test, so yesterday Alex's dad took Destiny and Elizer for a rapid test at the ER.  Destiny was positive, but Elizer still negative.  So of course they are quarantining.  We're praying Alex's dad, with whom they are living, stays healthy.  Destiny says he wears a mask all the time when he's home. Bless him for all he's doing!  

Destiny was worried that they could give it to Elizer, but I and also her doctor told her not to worry about that.  She is still breastfeeding him, and I read that a breastfeeding mother who has COVID actually gives the baby aniti-bodies through the breastmilk.  Isn't that the beauty of nature?  

Fortunately, by last evening Alex was feeling much better, and Destiny hasn't been feeling too bad.  They're preparing to play a lot of cards and board games and do puzzles.  She was even considering ordering slime and Play Doh, haha!  

Here are some adorable pictures of Elizer enjoying his high chair and bathtub, baby shower gifts that they did not have with them in Florida.

I hate to always say this, but please refrain from commenting on Facebook about Destiny's situation right now.  Commenting here on my blog is fine or emailing or messaging me.  Thanks!

Yesterday I saw a cute video that Sammy and Bianca's school put together to celebrate "Love Week."  Sammy was in it twice.  I loved this one!  And I really love the grammar posters behind him!  Go, third grade teacher!! 

Sammy and I had fun on a video call last evening.  At one point our connection was poor, and I snapped this and sent it to him.  I called it "Pixelated Sammy."  

It's Track and Field season in Florida, so Sophie and Coach Lisa are busy with practices.  Sophie's doing amazing, as usual.  She's in 10th grade and already hearing from a few colleges!  

Not as well known is her artistic skill.  This week I watched an online presentation by the Pinellas County Art Region of the Scholastic Art Awards.  Other years it is a big in-person event, but this year it was done online, so I could watch!  Sophie received a silver award for this drawing of her childhood friend Noah.  "Noah" is the title of the drawing.  They were childhood friends at school and church since at least kindergarten, maybe preschool.  A few years ago Noah died after a tragic boating accident, and it has had a profound effect on her.  What a beautiful drawing in his memory!!  I'm so proud of her.  

Another grandchild that is now able to connect with me is Hunter!  Not quite five, but now he can text and voice text from his iPad!  I can't even tell you how it filled up my heart to have this conversation with him one morning this week - my first text from him!

Just heard from Jeremy.  They have not started the fireplace yet in hopes of not running out of firewood.  So far hats and layers have been keeping them warm. 

 He took this picture through the window. 

Meanwhile, here we are in our cozy house awaiting our next snow and ice.  Dick's working on his new 1000-piece puzzle.  

I'd rather be making chicken noodle soup and delivering it to our families all over the place, but that will have to remain just a nice thought. 

Well, that's all the news for now!