Saturday, February 8, 2014

Miscellany

1. Forget the Olympics, weather seems to be the great unifier. Everyone wants to talk about it.  Polar Vortex, storms in Texas, how cold their run to the car was that morning - it seems to have a flurry of chatter going on. Have you ever had the moisture from your eyes freeze leaving you with some kind of odd white mascara look? This is winter, gentle readers, winter. 
Walking down the road from my house, the snow is piled so high on either side, I can't 'see out'. It is like walking through a tunnel with the big sky above me. With the drifts looming above me, at eight or nine feet, I feel like if I'd scale up the side, what would peer up at me on that big open field?
Snowy Owl - Twit Twoo - It warmed up to -25 C when I took this photo today. Balmy really, compared to the past few days.

Please note, this is the top strand of a barbed wire fence peeking above the snow. Please also note the put, put snowmobile tracks. Where the snow was too great to push with a tractor and a blade anymore and the snowblower hadn't gotten into the leases yet, men were checking the oil & gas wells on snowmobile. 

2. I loaded up my children and hauled them a few miles down the road so we could watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The Olympics make me want to get TV - for each room of the house. 

I remember helping in the local Kindergarten room years ago, and at the beginning of the year you'd ask the children what province or country they lived in and maybe one kid would stop picking their nose and take a guess. When the Olympics were on, they would come to school cheering about what medal Canada had won or in deep discussion of the previous day's hockey game. They became globally aware. I loved it. 
source

3.I like Kirkland disinfectant wipes. A lot. In a random discussion over doing dishes, my sister in law claimed her love for the wipes as well. She says she would go as far as to wipe the bottom of her children's feet off with them as they came in the house in the summer months.  I can't say that is too looney tune, as I stashed them into my big satchel to take with me to the hospital this past week. A little scrub, scrub around a hospital sink never hurt anyone. One can never be too careful. 

One may not get out enough either. 

4.My son, he is six months old now and the apple of every single eye of this house. Do they make Weight Watchers for babies? Brother Bear is weighing in three pounds heavier than both of my girls were on their first birthdays. 

Dear Baby Bjorn, 

Would you please sell a sling/baby carrier that comes with a person to do the actual carrying? 

Sincerely,

Cheyenne


Lately, this wee man has been called Hoss, is anyone from the era that they know what I'm talking about? He is so big. 



5. Glory Hallelujah, we are in the business of feeding birds.The girls seem to whip out these feeders at a record rate and it can keep them busy for quite some time. After a good half hour of cheerful singing and making their little feeders, I realize that the two year old wasn't chiming in anymore. Do you think eating copious amounts of bird seed is a bad thing? I don't either. 

Let it also be noted, I do not normally buy unsweetened peanut butter, but when it comes to feeding the birds, I thought they should have the most healthful option. My husband laughed when he heard me say I wouldn't feed that gross stuff to the girls! Nope, the healthy stuff is for the birds, my friends, just for the birds. 
Slop a little peanut butter on some pine cones and toss on your bird seed, tie up with a pretty ribbon, raffia, binder twine - whatever - and throw on a tree. Your kids will be so pleased and you can watch the birds while you eat your breakfast. 





20 comments:

Gumbo Lily said...

Dear friend, I loved every word of this. First, before I forget, I am of the generation who knows who Hoss is! Your lil guy is SO cute and I like his healthy chunkiness.

Goodness, the snow!!!! We've had winters like that with snow over the fenceposts, but that was quite some time ago and I really don't want to go there again. I feel for you.

The snowy owl -- I like them. We saw one down in our country one winter and what a thrill it was to see him!

We're thoroughly enjoying the Winter Olympics. Thoroughly.

Stay warm, dear lady!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...


Well I do remember Hoss... as I had a big crush on his little Brother Joe.. and Joe's horse.

WOW, that's WINTER. And.. are you telling us all right here you do not have one television in your house? If this is true, I give you credit. Especially when you have such harsh winter months and you are inside more than you are outside. I'm giving you HUGE amounts of credit, because I think I would go crazy. :-)

That baby is quite possibly the most adorable little hoss EVER.

Pom Pom said...

Hi Cheyenne! You are a very nice person to give the good stuff to the birds.
On some of the disinfectant wipes it says, "wash hands after using". I just noticed this a while ago and no I am afraid to use them.

Grandma K said...

I love the pictures and the narrative makes me smile! Brings cheer to another COLD day in Alberta! Thank you.

Kay (A Ranch Mom) said...

Oh my goodness!!!! You must laugh at us 'southerners' with our piddly 3 inches of snow! :) I cannot imagne...
And kudos on the cutest ever birdfeeders! I will have to do that. I mean, the kids will have to do that. :)
And if you find that person to carry the baby-carrier - please let me know, will ya? My back would thank you. ;)
Such a cutie-pie baby, by the way.

basebell6 said...

I'm always so addicted to the Olympics! The snow you guys have is so awesome; I saw pics of a town in Italy where they are digging tunnels to their neighbors houses bc the snow is up to the roofs (rooves?). Your snowy owl pic reminded me I didn't do a post about the one I saw!! Amazing animals!

TexWisGirl said...

so darn cute - the whole post. :)

yes, loved hoss! he was my favorite. your little guy is a cute one! loved your note to the carrier/sling company. good luck with that...

Nell said...

You, my friend are DEFINITELY in the trenches of winter. Those pics don't lie. We don't have any t.v. channels, but I always want to get cable when the Olympics are on because it seems unAmerican to not be rooting for our guys. I love the Olympics!

My kids love to feed the birds around here, too, and it seems to break up the monotony of the snow when you can stare outside and watch the birds. We'll do just about anything to make winter go by faster.

Have a great week!

Steph said...

No, just no, to the snow. We may get 1-3" and 1/4" of ice here tomorrow night! Help us! Teach us the ways of the Canadian Eskimos! I'm a little behind that era, but I do know Hoss! You definitely have a "little" Hoss!

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Cheyenne, he's enormous at six months !~! WOW !~!

Pinecones with peanut butter and seeds are my fave too. Easy Peasy, quick, effective, easy to tie onto the tree and simple to see when little eyes need to be looking out the window and Not at me.

Snow-scares me, unsettles me, house-binds me? house-bounds me? Keeps me inside for months at a time and I don't like it so I left snow in 1972 'n' never looked back. I am glad that there are folks who love it.

Rachel said...

That's definitely winter, girl. Wow, just wow. Bless y'all, I can't even imagine. But, makes for lots of green grass come spring time. :)

That babe, he's so big and yes, what a Hoss! Love it!

Wish we had tv service for Olympics, too!

Lindsay said...

Eek! That is a lot of snow! We might get more this week, but hopefully not that much.

I think that sweet little baby is my fav pic in this whole post, though. Oooh- I could just pinch those cheeks!! :)

I love the little birdseed pine cone idea. I might pick up some healthy PB and birdseed before the next snow. It would give the kiddos something to do. Although, the last time we had a bird feeder the cats sat underneath it. :(

Stay warm up there, my friend!

Sherry Sikstrom said...

I have not watched the Olympics but sure am enjoying hearing how well our Canadian athletes are doing! Baby Bear is a handsome boy!

Jessy said...

Your son is positively adorable! A fitting nickname. We have a certain fondness for big babies in our family - my 12 mo. niece is currently wearing size 24 mo. Her older sister was the same way!

Sending warm wishes up to you! Have a wonderful week :)

Jessy

Rach said...

Chey- I love this whole post- the SNOW. Your precious little (big) boy. The bird feeder pine cones. The disinfectant wipes? I have them under every sink & that way my boys can help clean bathrooms!! ;) the best thing about it is the germs are gone after a few swipes & there's not any spray bottles emptied in one bathroom cleaning!!! ;)-
The last couple days our snow is melting & turning everything to MUD. You know what my entry & all the snow clothes look like... sigh. Hugs to you & yours.

Alicia said...

Your perspective is rather heartwarming.
Oh man look at his smile!
& I miss watching the Olympics, faces glued to the screen waiting for the medal announcements. What is your favorite Winter Sport? I was quite smitten by the Canadians in their Figure skating love story, 4 years ago.

Unknown said...

What wonderful pictures! I can't believe how high that snow is!

I love Snowy Owls... so beautiful.

Your baby is adorable! Absolutely gorgeous.

Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh.... how I always want to feed the birds..... I never do, why? I don't know it's one of those things on my list that just never seems to happen! Love this post! Nice to catch up with you and the goings on. I know who Hoss is and your "Hoss" is sooooooo cute!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm jealous of your snowy owl picture. I've been trying to capture "ours" for months!

Susan Shull said...

Oh my gosh! That baby!

test
 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...