Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

February 12, 2015

Cold, Grey Bucket of Suck

We continue to have snow dumped on us in vast quantities on an almost daily basis.  Still no access to the deck except that square in front of the door and what I walked on to try and get the snow off the roof.  I have an ice dam up there that will not budge. 

I really miss covered parking and so does my poor car.  The wiper blades are up because it's just easier to clean the windshield after storms when they aren't frozen to it.  We are getting storm after storm, every other day.  It's soul-sucking, it really is.

No access to the front yard either.  Dogs have no choice but to go in the driveway, which is turning a gross shade of yellow and brown, even though I shovel the brown out of the way.

Snow piled against the pole and my neighbour's house.  They used to come down on weekends but they haven't been around since before the blizzard a few weeks ago.

The town of Bourne seems to find it amusing to come along after driveways have been plowed and bury the end of your driveway again.  The DPW got an earful from me after the blizzard.  Luckily we have a reliable plow guy who will come by and clear the end after Bourne buries it.  This is looking down to the end of the street.  So much yuck.

Have to keep the path to the shed clear in case the power goes out.  My back, neck, shoulders and arms are in so much pain....I don't think they'll ever feel better again.  I manage to get out to get errands done about once a week, but backing into the drive has proved difficult.  I got my car good and stuck in a snowbank on Sunday.  I sat in it and cried and cried before crawling out the passenger side and digging the wheels out.  We also try to get groceries for my mom between storms too, since she's completely snowbound.  Her driveway is a skating rink.

Since I'm housebound, I'm trying to do what I can to stave off despair.  I'd bought a bunch of candles before the blizzard.  Fortunately we didn't lose power.  We've continued to have high winds with the snow storms so I decided why not decorate some of them.  If we're gonna lose power, at least I can make it pretty.  

This is a confetti ball project I saw on Pinterest and then checked out the Crafty Chica tutorial HERE. I found it a lot more time consuming than the artist showed.  First of all, I used white glue, as she recommended.  I usually use clear floor wax to make stuff stick on the inside, but I tried that first and the sequins didn't stick well with it.  Cleaned out the ball and poured the glue in and started sprinkling sequins, multicoloured mylar confetti and glitter for filler.  The glue was clearly going to need some help to dry, so I baked it in the oven on 200 for 45 minutes.  Didn't work. I set it in the sunny south facing window for hours (which still gets warm sun even in the cold) every day that we had sun.  It's been 3 weeks and the bottom still hasn't completely dried. 

It also took a really long time to find a picture that looked good on the ball too.  I cut out pics of butterflies and flowers, and none of them looked good at all.  I opted for this angel that I mod podged onto the ball.  Then used glitter puff paint and clear rhinestones around the edge.  See how the glue is still white down the bottom?

My friend Fernanda asked me if I could stitch a kit she bought.  I said sure, so she sent me the kit, cloth and floss.  I started it but with my back hurting, I've had to put it aside b/c I can't hunch over the craft table.  There are a lot of colour changes and mixed threads that require a solid surface rather than my recliner arms.


This one's much easier to do while sitting with the heating pad.  Well till I get to the beads anyway.

The weather has also been quite conducive to comfort food.  I made a quinoa cheesy bread and a broccoli, mushroom, onion and 3-cheese quiche.  DELISH!

Finally got around to getting a bundt pan.  It's been my intent to make Russell a pineapple upside down bundt cake for his bday, and it occurred to me that it's coming up a bit fast.  So I wanted to give it a whirl.  I used a cinnamon swirl recipe found HERE.  I was afraid that the cake would come out of the pan in pieces but it came out pretty good!

It cooled for a couple hours before I made the glaze.

The only thing I'd do different is increase the cinnamon sugar in the center.  Other than that, it's wicked good!

I really hope this snowy nightmare ends soon.

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:46 AM

    That bundt cake looks amazing! Ugh, why can't I be your neighbor? Never mind, I wouldn't' be able to handle that much snow. I'd be insane by now. I love what you did with the candle. The colors are going to pop when the candle is lit. Good job!!

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    1. I would love it if you were my neighbour. At least we could eat baked goods, have tea, chat and laugh. We're getting another small storm tonight and a blizzard on Saturday to Sunday.

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  2. That does look like so much snow, hard when there is no relief between storms but they just keep coming one after another. I do like though what you are trying to do while trying to wait for the weather to get better, that cake looks yummy.

    Betty

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    1. I'm trying so hard not to stress eat but it's difficult not to keep shoveling food in my face. Can't even go for a walk b/c I've already fallen once. I'm in no hurry to do it again, and not close to my house. To add to my misery, I have to worry myself sick about my husband on the road all week too.

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  3. Man, that's a whole lot of snow!! Here's hoping Spring arrives.....soon!

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    1. We're all hoping......but it's not looking good at all. We still have to slog through the rest of this month and March has been known to be snowy too.

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  4. You really are having a rotten time of it. I assume Russell is an experienced driver and he wouldn't want you worrying yourself about him, so relax. Bundt cake looks good, so does the rest of your cooking. I like the candles too. I know lots of people who would love some of your snow, what a pity we can't send it around. At the moment we don't have as much as you (we did last year) but it still could come.

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    1. Well it's not so much his driving I worry about, it's the yahoo who thinks he can speed by in bad road conditions and causes an accident. He can't stop that 18 wheeler on a dime and a 4 wheeler will NOT win that battle. Then the truck driver is always automatically blamed. We've talked about him getting a dash cam.

      Thank you! You are the queen of recipes/cooking so your praise means a lot! I am giving away most of the bundt cake though; I don't need to be stress eating. lol I, too, wish we could truck (or send by train) all this snow to the west coast. They need it so bad!

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    2. You're so right JoJo, there are a lot of those yahoos around, especially up here. They seem to think because they are Canadian and we get snow in Canada, they know how to drive in it. Damn fools. Best wishes to Russell. I think a dash cam is a good idea.

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  5. My sympathies, JoJo and continued well wishes.
    I'm impressed with the way you pretty everything up. Hang tough!

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    1. Thanks Robyn. This really is soul crushing. :(

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  6. It's hard to be buried under all that snow, and the sore arms/back makes you feel the weight of it in a very personal way. Spring will come. I know it seems a long long way off, but if you just hang in there you will see green and flowers again!

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    1. I'm beginning to think it's never going to be spring or stop snowing. I keep thinking of Laura Ingalls Wilder's, 'The Long Winter'. Blizzard after blizzard...of course they dealt with it for months and months and ran out of food and fuel for the fire places and all...still though. This sucks.

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  7. Today my wife said she wished she were back east in all that snow. Really since she's spent her all of her life in L.A. and Ecuador she has no idea. We've been back east in the snows and she enjoyed that, but I think the novelty would wear off after a while. Meanwhile it was sunny and in the 90's here in L.A.

    The bread and cakes look fantastic!

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Is she insane?!?!?! lol Yeah the first snow is always pretty but when it drags on day after day, week after week, it really starts to wear on you.

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  8. I love snow, but I can imagine there comes a time - and I'm thinking you're there - when you've really had enough of the stuff :(

    I'd recommend a dash cam. We have one, primarily because when we travel to my brothers in France, if we have an accident, the language barrier wouldn't be an issue. But it was useful when some idiot cut us up on the roundabout! xx

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    1. Yes I think a dash cam would definitely be prudent for him. There are so many idiots out there and they ALWAYS blame the truck driver. I used to too, before we got together.

      Oh yeah, we've definitely had enough. And to think we have more coming this week too.

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  9. I missed this post somehow - hope your snow is melting off now? Had to say that I LOVE your stitching projects :D They are looking great!
    And... your food made me hungry! Must go cook XD

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