Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #18 -- Watching the Clock

Our friend Carly from the blog Ellipsis wants to see timepieces today -- clocks, watches, hourglasses, or anything that tells time. I have included my kitchen clock, which also shows one of my favorite times of the day (for "extra credit"): Just before lunch and at a time when I have usually caught up on e-mail and can blog or take pictures or whatever I want to do. The turquoise and silver watch is my favorite, purchased from the Southwest Indian Foundation, who do good work for Native Americans as well as having products that I like to order online or via their snail mail catalogs. Visit Carly at the link above to find other links to participants in her comments section, and also links to last week's play on her blog entry. It's time for fun!

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- Favorite Toy

As suggested at the Round Robin Photo Challenge site, we intrepid Robins were to post photographs of favorite toys, whether our own from long ago or more recent ones. I didn't give toys to my grandchildren this year, just clothes, and I don't own any old toys from my girlhood. What I do have is this huge bear, who is sitting on and taking up a good portion of the steamer trunk in my bedroom. He (the bear has to be a male) was given to me by my husband Steve a couple of years before he passed away in 1995. I have my Scottish plaid (from my maiden name) tartan wrapped around his neck. He is a comfort to me as he was from Steve and brings back good memories. To get links to other Round Robin participants or to participate yourself, to to the site linked in the first sentence. They're always fun to see!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Silver with the kitty gift

I got the kitties some catnip mice as gifts and wrapped the little cardboard piece they were attached to, then showed it to Silver. This was his initial reaction -- a yawn of boredom!

















Silver then became curious enough to taste the kitty gift.




















On Christmas Day, the gift was opened (Silver came running when I called him and began to open it!) and he played with the catnip mice in turn. He loved them initially but has since become -- you guessed it -- bored with them. LOL!

For more Feline and Furball Friday posts, go to Steven's (sometimes)photoblog, where he will post his Feline Friday post sometime today. (As of this writing, it wasn't up yet, but I'm sure will be soon.)

After yesterday's snowfall . . .

This shows where the planter box was, which I posted a picture of a couple of days ago.

















The location of the tree stump, also pictured two or three days ago.

Today it quit snowing and has almost been up to freezing, according to my thermometer. The snow is beautiful but leaves me mostly housebound. I am now out of bread since what I had in the fridge was too old, I discovered. I have other breadstuffs (bagels, rolls, hot dog buns) so I'm not in too bad a shape, but it feels like I am lacking something, not having bread, even if I didn't eat it often. LOL!

We are scheduled to thaw out on Saturday and my heart is turned to that day, most definitely. I'm not looking forward to whatever snow and/or freezing rain may come in the meantime. At least, I have power, which is a blessing, and a furnace that will keep me warm whether I have electricity or not. (I just don't want the pump to freeze, so my cell phone is all primed for calling the electric company the minute I should lose power, although I truly hope that doesn't happen!) Even the Weather Channel has said that we are going to start warming up, and when they say so, most likely it is going to take place for sure.

A friend in the U.K. told me this morning that a few scientists predicted a very cold winter based on the lack of sun spots on the sun this past summer. Spooky, that. I hope they are wrong and that it warms up to our usual windy and rainy winter here -- that I can deal with much better (despite my dislike of very much wind).

When we thaw out, you may hear me shouting in happiness no matter where you are located!

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #17 -- Holiday Greetings

Carly at the blog Ellipsis has given us the Monday Photo Shoot assignment of creating a holiday greeting using a holiday-themed picture. Here I have posted a card I made, with Silver loving a Christmas gift I am giving him and his sister-kitties. He must know it was made with love for him! Also, I extend my love and best wishes to all of you in this holiday season!

I am presently snowed in and I'm not sure when there will be a thaw but in the meantime, I at least have power and can get on the computer to let you know I wish you a Merry Christmas!

To see links to last week's participants and to get directions on signing up for this week's exercise, go to Carly's blog, which I linked in the first sentence. It's fun!

For extra credit, we could write a haiku. Here is mine:

Soft snowfall grazes
Earth so very gently yet
Is treacherous too.

Can you tell what's on my mind this Christmas season? ;-)

Unusual snowfall for the "banana belt"

The area where I live in Northwestern Oregon -- about 30 miles south of Portland -- is sometimes called a "banana belt" by locals because we rarely get a lot of snow when areas around us are colder and snowier. This winter seems to be an exception! The above shots, which are a little dark because I took them at approaching dusk, show that we have gotten what looks to be between 4 and 5 inches of snow today. That's the most I remember for a very long time! I am definitely snowbound because I don't have chains or 4-wheel drive but I am well-stocked with food (I have chicken breasts cooking on the stovetop and a sweet potato baking in the oven right now) so I am okay for the time being. It's supposed to change to rain tomorrow; we'll see!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie nibbling artificial decorations

Here is my little kitty Socks, who is an adult cat but just of a small stature, which last doesn't affect her ability to be a rascal. She is nibbling on the artificial greenery and star garland around a sock snowman I have out on my coffee table. I am hoping she doesn't ingest it, although cats sometimes seem to have cast-iron stomachs. Merry Christmas to Socks and to you!

To get links to see more interesting cats and other critters, go to Steven's (sometimes)photoblog and check out his entry!

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #16: Autumn Meets Winter

My friend Carly at the blog Ellipsis has created a new Monday Photo Shoot for us, this time with the theme "Autumn Meets Winter". If you go to her blog, you'll find that her shot is very like the one I posted second above. I didn't mean to copy her, but it's what I had! LOL! In order to keep from being a total copy-cat, I also posted the picture above it, of the snow coming down the other day. If you would like to participate, go to Carly's blog and read all the particulars and sign up!

It is very cold here right now so I am going to make this very short. The heater that should be here in the office is now outside and under the house, trying to thaw out the pipes to my bathtub and avert a broken-pipe disaster!

Autumn has met winter head-on here in northwestern Oregon!

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- Hometown Holiday Decorations

Today I am participating in the Round Robin Photo Challenge for the first time in a long time, thanks to this new blog! The theme this time is Hometown Holiday Decorations, which took me on a hunt one sunny winter day about 10 days ago for decorations. My hometown didn't have any. Bummer, no? But the nearby town of Wilsonville, especially around the Petsmart store, had some nice ones up. Here are my favorite two:



















Head on over to The Round Robin Photo Challenge site to get links to the other participants in this meme. It's lots of fun to see what the others have done!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie and the Christmas tree

I put up my funny-looking little artificial tree a few days ago, and right away, Socks was up on the bookcase inspecting it and she pulled it over before I righted it again and got this picture. She has been being a good girl and leaving it alone ever since then.

For more information about Feline and Furball Friday, go to Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. You will be able to get links to last week's participants to go and see what they posted. It's lots of fun!

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #15 -- Pizza Toppings

For this week's Monday Photo Shoot, Carly of the blog Ellipsis (which is the place to go to learn about this fun meme) has assigned the topic of Pizza Toppings. Here are my favorite toppings -- pepperoni, which I took off a Red Baron single pepperoni pizza, and sliced black olives, which I added to that pizza before putting the pepperoni back on it and cooking it in my microwave and eating half for lunch. Yum!!!



For my "extra credit," according to Carly's entry, here is a shot of the remaining pizza half, waiting to be warmed up and eaten tomorrow:

Mr. Integrity

The above picture was taken by my son Jeff, but I had to include it in this blog. I am nothing if not a proud Grandma! Jeff's 6-year-old son, Noah, received it for "Integrity" at his school, where he is in kindergarten. Apparently one child per class per month is chosen for the honor. His mom, Steph, didn't know anything about it until she found the award in Noah's backpack and asked him about it. He told her that he got the award at a "funeral" at school. LOL! My guess is that he didn't know what else to call the assembly. His dad wrote about it on his blog Jethro's World. I have the information he gave here, though, plus some updated info from a private family site. I am happy for this little family!

Monday Photo Shoot -- Autumn Sunset

Carly at Ellipsis sponsors a photo meme called the "Monday Photo Shoot" and I am participating this time for the first time. She asked that we not go to our archives but shoot a fresh picture, even if the weather wasn't all that conducive to a good sunset shot. I got this picture on December 2, a Tuesday, and it is the best shot that was to be had all week, due to there being rain clouds above the horizon that colored the sky near the base of the sunset pink.

Extra credit was for silhouettes in the sunset, and here there are trees silhouetted.

This was fun, and I hope to participate in more Monday photo shoots in the future.

Cute Socksie Sleeping -- Feline Friday

I had saved this picture from last night for posting for Steven's -- of (sometimes) photoblog -- Feline Friday, but I notice that he doesn't have anything up for that, and neither does friend Carly of Ellipsis, so I will just leave the picture up and come back and play if they do participate. I will also include links at that point as well.

Later:
Steven's Feline Friday is up and this is the link to his (sometimes) photoblog, featuring his cute cat Pickle. He has changed the way the meme is done and we have a week to get our pics up, so I am right on the ball!

Holiday heaven -- pumpkin pie

Although this pumpkin pie was store bought, it came from a bakery that makes their pumpkin pies taste as good as homemade -- Cutsforth's Thriftway in Canby, Oregon. I topped it with Reddi-Wip extra creamy whipped cream because I'm lazy. ;-) I had thought that one of my cats might get to the whipped cream before I could take the shot but fortunately a sniff of the pumpkin pie was all Socks needed in order to know that she wasn't interested in what I was putting out onto the cupboard. LOL!

My first Christmas gift of the year

This beautiful wreath was brought to me today by my son Jeff, from him and his wife Steph and children Noah and Emily. It was made by a young woman from church. It is my first Christmas gift of the year! Jeff and his family give me a wreath every year and each year they are lovely. Thank you, Jeff, Steph, Noah and Emily!

A few Thanksgiving shots

This is a test post using pictures from Thanksgiving that weren't posted elsewhere. Here are a couple of shots.




This is son J.D. and his wife Kris.



This is middle son Jeff and daughter-in-law Kris's sister Tiffany.

We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving -- Jeff and wife Steph were charming hosts as usual and Tiff's apple cake for dessert was to die for!

Under Construction

This is going to be my photo blog for participating in photo events online. I may occasionally slip in a personal note or two as well. ;-)