In the Deep Freeze

 Today is not fit for man or beast. We woke to minus 9 degrees; at lunch it was minus 3 but predicted to start falling again soon. The winds are around 25 mph, but there are definitely gusts higher than that. The birds have enough sense to hunker down somewhere and not come to the bird feeders. We probably have all the snow we will see from this storm, unlike areas near Lake Michigan. It isn't the amount but the blowing of the snow that reduces visibility and drifts roads shut.

This is what my front door looks like currently. Our polywood porch rockers are coated with snow, too.

I put out my holly placemats last night. The Pfaltzgraff Winterberry trivet I have owned several years; the coasters also have been around many years. It is a set with different birds depicted.

Tomorrow I am going to make split pea and ham soup for lunch. I sometimes make this for New Years, but with our blustery weather I decided to cook up a batch sooner.

This afternoon I will have a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie as I enjoy my warm comfortable home. My bathroom scale decided to die (it has a digital display) this morning so I guess I can feast on goodies with no worry of seeing the "damage".

Merry Christmas to you.

Christmas Details

I have been enjoying my Christmas decorations. This holly runner was given to me last year by sister-in-law B. It fits perfectly on my china cabinet. I took these photos without a tripod using my new camera. The close-ups did not blur the way my old camera would have done. Notice the little buttons and wooden holly leaf detail on each end of the runner. I love it.
The little house was a gift several years ago from my sister K. The trees and snowmen were created by my husband. I enjoy seeing the whole scene during these weeks leading up to Christmas.

This little nativity I bought at Frankenmuth, Michigan, decades ago. The coaster is one of 6, four different birds represented. It is sitting in the den on the mesquite table my husband built.

The camera has distorted the color of the poinsettia some. It is more pinkish. I bought the tablecloth on Etsy a few years ago. The seller measured the distance from the middle to the candles. It works perfectly on my glass "patio" table in the sunroom. Yes, that white on the grass is snow. We have had flurries throughout the day and at around 20 degrees they have stuck.

Except for a door wreath and more recently the red ribbon on the pedestal for the green ball, we haven't done outdoor decorating. This year my husband decided to wrap red ribbon around the pillars. Our dear neighbor on the other end of the quadplex did this every year we lived in the condo. He went to heaven in May.

Not only did I use my new camera, but I am using my Photopad image editor that I loaded on to this computer after our old computer died. First time I tried a collage. Still much to explore and learn on the camera and the software.