
overcast skies
winter wind, a light breeze…
after-breakfast napwarm thanks for fuzzy blankets
puppies sleeping on my feet
Copyright © 28 Nov. 2019, by Lizl Bennefeld.
All rights reserved.
Stray Coffee, Tea, and Thoughts

overcast skies
winter wind, a light breeze…
after-breakfast napwarm thanks for fuzzy blankets
puppies sleeping on my feet
Copyright © 28 Nov. 2019, by Lizl Bennefeld.
All rights reserved.
Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)! Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about?
A thank-you to our host, Eclectic Alli, whose post for this week can be found HERE, along with links to other people participating in this week’s Weekend Coffee Share.

Welcome! We have hot tea, Toddy coffee, and 90% chocolate to console us. This week marked a transition from early autumn to early winter, with highways closed down across the state and from Fargo, N.D. to the Canadian border. Officially, our blizzard ended today, Saturday, at 1:00 p.m. The rivers are rising to flood stage, and wet snow has brought down large tree limbs still sporting leaves still mostly green.

If we were visiting together, this evening, there would be lots to eat. We stocked up on groceries, Wednesday morning, and my husband stopped in at a hardware store to pick up another shovel. A shovel for the workshop, in case he would be snowed in, there, sometime during the coming winter weather. The Scampers and I slept a lot, once the bad weather started (Winter Storm Warning, upgraded to a Blizzard Warning somewhere along the way.) Highways were closed, activities canceled, roads became impassible over a wide area, and here and there, power lines came down under the weight of the snow or snow-filled tree branches. We slept a lot, the Scampers sharing the blankets and adding a bit more warmth during night.
I did finish my 10Q questions at doyou10q.com. Found it to provoke various trains of thought. Definitely worthwhile. Looking forward to doing the same next year, and going back to review this year’s responses when they become available.
More coffee? Chocolate? The virtual shelves and carafes are not yet empty.
While I did not get the side garden cut back for winter (yet), I did cut down the flower stalks and tall grass in the 50 sq. ft. back garden. I shook out the grass and carefully spread it over the rabbits’ paths through the garden, where they’d established two burrows. I always hope they will remember spring flooding and have a place to move to when the time comes. Our temporary 6-foot fence separates the garden shed and cotoneaster trees from the main yard, and so any burrows within that enclosure on the east end should be safe until we get a permanent privacy fence installed. Obviously, we’ve run out of time and good weather, this year.
I also took the seed pods from the common evening primrose on the north side of the house and scattered the pods and some bare seeds into the backyard wildflower garden. I’d hoped to transplant some of the poppy plants. Have to see how they look when/if the snow melts without killing them off. May still be time.
I admit that I very much enjoy winters, even though taking photographs of the summer flowers is absorbing and reworking them can be challenging. And water drops. I wonder if other people experience changes in sleep patterns with the changes in temperatures.
I have noticed that once the weather has cooled off, I feel much more relaxed. Instead of sleeping in naps and abbreviated sleep periods, I can drop off to sleep right away, most nights, and sleep in until the dogs wake me in the morning. Using the app on my telephone to track sleep patterns is…interesting. 😀
Thank you for dropping by, this weekend. I always enjoy these opportunities for sharing and listening. Probably don’t say that often enough, but is true.
Best wishes for your week!
Love & hugs,
Lizl

This week, show the same thing — an object, place, or person — presented in several different ways.
Variations on a Theme: Hoarfrost
On Wednesday, I assembled a Variation on the theme of Blue Wild Flax Flowers at The Art of Disorder.
snow shoveled
neatly piled in rows…
fresh wind gusts
by Lizl
Shoveling out in eastern N.D.
2015-12-16
Woke up an hour or so ago to “Winter Storm” in progress. Fortunately not enough wind, yet, to give Samantha second thoughts about going outside to potty. I could feed her, now, and take her out again before the wind picks up.
Or I could make coffee, now, so it’s ready when Al wakes up.
Amusement of the day: I got the tracking information for Samantha’s glucosamine tablets, which I’d ordered during the weekend. I’d chosen the 5-10 business days delivery option via UPS, because I do have an appointment for a haircut, tomorrow. They promise delivery by end of day tomorrow. If the package is transferred to USPS, it will arrive on Friday or Saturday instead. What are the chances?
I have, actually, always loved winter. My mother used to stuff us into our snowsuits, tie scarves around our necks up over our noses, put snow boots and mittens on us, and shove us out the door to “play”. Years later, I had brothers and sisters to play with, making snow forts (and snowballs) and snow angels, and also dragging our sleds and skis a block and a half from home to slide down the hill and trudge back up again until we couldn’t feel our feet or fingers.

I don’t know how much help I was, but I enjoyed moving snow.

Living in a basement house, the thick layer of snow on the roof did provide a little extra insulation.

No coffee during childhood, but mugs of hot, chocolate Ovaltine. As we got older, we walked (in our ice skates — no warming house) four blocks to the town skating rink. In spite of my weak ankles, I did manage to turn corners and skate backwards. Nothing any fancier. I think I twisted my ankles, trying to not poke the ends of the blades into my hind side whenever I fell backwards. Frequently.