Wednesday, December 29, 2010

GOOD MORNING FROM WINTER LAND

Here's what it's like at Gilbert this morning -- 29 degrees (down from 31) and snowing. The wind is blowing. Looks like a blizzard to me. It rained yesterday, turning to snow last night. During the night I could hear the snow slide off the roof -- not cold enough for it to adhere, I guess. 
 "Here they come," I called to Mike Monday afternoon as I noticed Nick's little black Subaru making the approach to our lane. I guess Nellie knows what that phrase means because she was immediately at the back door. We let her out on the porch while Mike and I watched the little car from the kitchen window, picking up a little momentum as it approached the steep part of the lane. Whew! They made it, slipping only a little. But yesterday -- Tuesday the 28th -- Mike got nervous that we might not make it out on Friday, and we took both vehicles to the top of the hill and left them at the neighbor's place. The forecast is for snow and then a temperature drop.
 Here's our tree. Mike and I had waited to open our gifts while Nick and Hallie had already had Christmas with Nick's mother. Well, we had an embarrassing amount of gifts to open while Nick and Hallie sat and watched. But an inspirational Christmas was had by all, I think. Amongst other things, Nick and Hallie received books on culturing berry bushes and fruit trees, which they commenced at once to study. I received Vintage Notions by Amy Barackman, which will be the subject of another post. And Hallie gave Mike the usual -- a selection of history/adventure books. and he has started reading The Last Canyon by John Vernon. 







This environment is not appropriate for a piano, but we are so happy to have it anyway. Hallie got tired of putting up with some sticking keys and decided to see what she could do about it. Well, key's will stick when wood swells, and I figured there wasn't much we could do. Imagine our surprise when Hallie discovered a quarter stuck between those keys. Easy fix. The mint date on the worn quarter was 1982.

Here's a night shot of the house in Christmas readiness. In retrospect, we might have prepared a little better for the photo op, but you get the idea.

Oh -- and if you go to the Mile High Warnocks site (linked to the right), there's a cute video of two-year-old Emmy singing "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer." KW

6 comments:

drMolly, the BeanQueen said...

I am so glad to hear your family made it safely. We came to work today knowing that the highway might be closed by the blizzard and SURE ENOUGH it has been closed as of 12. We hope it will be open by this evening so we can get home.

Chris said...

Great pictures!! We are buried under snow up here. We've been over helping Ann and Eric and came home for a quick lunch and for Dan to cut some needed trim parts, and then we're back over. So glad we have 4-wheel drive and that it's only 2 1/2 miles to their house!

Did Hallie get to keep the quarter? :-)

And I've already seen the video of Emmy--I clicked on their link the other day, just to see what they were up to and there was the video, so of course I had to watch. It's very cute!

Kathy said...

Mike is so worried about the road conditions, but Hallie says she can't think of a better place to be stuck. Anyway, our vehicles are up on the flat, and if we have to walk out and leave things behind for another visit, that will be fine.

Chris, thanks for peeking in on the "Mile Highs." Kelly doesn't post frequently, so we get out of the habit of checking. We so enjoyed Emmy's facial expressions. You can tell when she understands the words and when she doesn't.

I'm holding you all in God's pocket. Be safe.

Unknown said...

What wonderful parents...to wait for Hallie & Nick to celebrate Christmas. Love the night photo of the farmhouse.

As long as you all have food and warmth, getting stuck at the farm might not be the worst thing that could happen to the 4 of you.

I wish all of you a wonderful New Year.

debdog42 said...

I love the pic of Nellie pretending to be a "lap" dog! She sure loves her Hallie!! LOL! I assume Hallie came loaded with pigs ears?

Kathy said...

Oh yes! Nellie gets a pig ear every morning. :)