The Aftermath

First Post of the Day

I am working on another Collections within my Collection post. If I can get it done, it will be posted by 11 AM this morning. If not, look for it tomorrow.

In the meantime, we are still hunkered down. Everything is closed today (grateful for the kids who wait outside for buses!) and it is still and quiet. Well, except for a neighbor's snow removal service who showed up at 4:30 this morning and loudly ran their snowblower. But you have to cut them some slack - I am sure they have a lot of places to clear today.

All in all, we got lucky snow-wise. We got 7" or more but the blowing and drifting has not been as bad as it could have been.

I feel for Pepper and Tammo, though. The snow is so deep that doing their business is problematic - their backsides get into the snow when they squat!

And poor Tammo went from tree to tree to bush to mailbox trying to find a place where he could lift his leg and not be "be buried"in the snow when he did. (Ahem!)

We have snow piled up our windows

And the snowplow that did our neighborhood took out a bunch of mailboxes in addition to the snow.

But what we are experiencing is nothing compared to what Cole and Emily are going through in Tennessee.

When we drive down to visit them, we drive right past Nashville Top Golf. You can't miss it; the nets must be 5 - 6 stories high.

The ice they have gotten in the Nashville area took them down.

Todd's parents, Craig's sister, her kids and spouses, and their children all live in the Nashville metro area, too. They are taking a beating. 

Todd shared this picture that his mother had taken of her neighbor's home across the street.

Emily sent us this video Sunday afternoon of their front yard.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IFuwbGKUtJo

She said the noise that you hear is the ice crackling in their trees.

Back here in Indiana, the storm is not yet over. Currently we are under an Extreme Cold Warning. That changes at noon to a Cold Weather Warning. Then, it changes back to an Extreme Cold Weather Warning for tonight until Tuesday mid morning.

And then... another storm, one worse than this one, is predicted for this coming weekend.

Go away, Winter!

Nashville Visit: Tri-State Horseplay

People do a lot of things to pass the time on long drives. They might play the license plate game and try to get all 50 states, or maybe look for "slug bugs" (Volkswagen beetles or vans, extra points if you see a van in Doublemint Gum green, even more points if you see a "pediddle" which is one with a headlight out), and more.

Me? I play Horses Across the USA. This summer's trip to Utah was an exception due to all the car trouble we had. Still I tried, but I only got a few things - that chiming alarm was just too distracting.

But going to Nashville really isn't going across the USA - it's only three states (Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee) so I came up with a new name, Tri-State Horseplay. Maybe a bit lame, but a far better descriptor than the first iteration. (Horses Heading South & North. See what I mean?)

 The point of the game is to look for things that make me think of horses, real or model, as we drive to our destination. 

I thought it might be fun to post some of the things I found and see if you can see how it relates to the horse/model horse world. Generally speaking, I do not count horses in a pasture or a horse trailer going by, so keep that in mind as you take a look at the pictures.

Easy Connections

Not Too Hard But Don't Rush Through (that's a hint, LOL)

The "Seriously, Lynn?" Connections

I'll post my thoughts tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!

 

Nashville Visit: A "Nap" in the Playroom

In order to have as much time together as possible, Craig, Lisa, and I left home early Saturday morning, arriving in Nashville around lunchtime. Kate's baptism wasn't until later in the afternoon so we had a good chunk of time to spend visiting. We also got to see Cole and Emily's new home.

Emily is Swedish-Canadian and was very close to both sets of grandparents. The decor in their home reflects both heritages.

Swedish Dala horses are displayed in many places. Emily even has a crystal bowl that has them going around the sides - I'd love to find one like that for me!

The girls' playroom upstairs had paintings on the wall of Dala horses.

There were lots of other horses in there, too. And a really comfy looking couch which called my name. Worn out from the early start to the day and 6 hour drive, I lay down and shut my eyes for "just a few minutes."

I was awakened by the feel of things being laid by my head and shoulders coupled with some whispered giggles.

"Grammy! You've got unicorns all around you as you sleep!" crowed Susie.

"And a pica but it's not real. It looks like a guinea pig but it's smaller. They live in areas where the temperature is below 70 or they die. No, wait. Below 78, not 70..." she chattered on.

I looked up and saw Kate standing over my head while holding an American Girl unicorn and smiling at me.

Soon the unicorns that could were lighting up, making sounds, and wiggling, while the others were being described in great detail and held up for me to see. 

It was certainly not the most restful nap I've ever had, but you sure can't beat waking up with grands having tucked you in with some of their favorite unicorns while waiting for you to wake up and play with them!

 

Today's Winter Doin's

Winter is dragging on, and it's only really been winter weather here for less than a week!

These are dangerously cold temperatures and schools all over central and western Indiana are either closed or on a two hour delay today. (And I would not be surprised if those on delay put out a second announcement that they will be closed after all.)

My horse fountain cum planter is situated over the crack of the patio where the two big slabs of concrete were poured and then joined.

The ground under one of the slabs has lifted up due to the cold weather and now my planter is leaning. That lifted edge is going to be a real tripping hazard if the ground does not settle down again, and as you might imagine, we don't want any more falls around here!

It took some work, but thanks to Sarah's suggestion on using the Ice Melt and hot water, I was able to get almost all of the blood off the front porch from Craig's fall.

No surprise since she is a nurse who lives in a place that gets snow like this:

Yes, that is her truck. She is on a road near Kent Park near her home in Iowa. Why is she out and about in this awful weather? 

Well, Sarah's hobby is wildlife photography and there are unique pictures of wildlife in the snow to be captured! So what if you have had two feet of snow and these extremely cold temperatures to deal with? (The model horse hobbyist in me sort of understands; the mom in me wants to tell her to forget the snowy owls, go home, and be safe!)

Meanwhile, the Tennessee branch of the family is in celebration mode.

Snow is rare in the Nashville area, but they have also been hit by this monster storm and got a few inches of the white stuff! (That's a very excited Susie.)

And with the cold air pushing in behind the snow,

it was announced yesterday that schools in their area would be closed until Thursday if not longer.

Meanwhile, back here in Indiana, Craig is doing better. Both eyes are now black and swollen, but he felt well enough to go to the eye doctor yesterday to get his glasses fixed. (They were badly scratched during his face plant.) Eating is still painful and the lump over his eye is very tender, but his headache is lessening and he has more energy than he did.

Life is resuming some normalcy despite the terrible cold outside, and I continue to sew and sort. 

Yesterday I finished the last of the 18th century chemises that I will be taking to Kalamazoo in March,

and I had to bring a table into my office to put all the models I am sorting out of my collection for selling or taking to swap meets. (I worked mostly on my sub-collection of Hartlands yesterday.)

Plans today are a bit in flux. Nashie and Molly will be here while Lisa is teaching. She has a doggy door in her home, but in this kind of weather she has concerns about leaving the back door open. It's just too cold.

So, we will have no privacy today,

will be asked to share anything and everything we eat,

and have more (very enthusiastic) help than we need in whatever we are doing.

But that's okay. Hibernating with dogs you love, who are great company and make you laugh, is just what Craig and I need today.

 

Nashville News

Still ill, still not Covid, and still grateful for that! Here is another blog entry that was in-progress and to be posted another time. 

I got a letter from Kate in the mail this week. I flipped it over to open and saw this little note on the back:

(I love the exclamation points turned into smiley faces!)

Smiling, I hung that blue envelope on my tree, feeling an understanding and even a kinship with a character that Jimmy Stewart had played in the 1980 short film, Mr. Krueger's Christmas.

It's a very obscure, dated, and cheesy Christmas movie made in 1980, but it has heart and makes me cry whenever I watch it. 

Her letter made me think of the scene where Mr. Krueger says, "You remind me of everything good about Christmas." (Go to 21:22 for the quote and to see what Mr. Krueger has hung on his tree.)

Kate's letter did the same for me. (Thank you, sweetie!)

I also received this picture of Susie with the Lego snowman she'd just made. I'd found several small holiday Lego sets at JoAnn's this fall and knowing that Cole's family always sets up a HUGE Lego Christmas village every year, I'd bought them for the family and gave them to them at Thanksgiving. They're working on their Lego Christmas village now.

I love his idea of putting the snowman into the Lego village with elves working on building it! 

A video of the 2021 Lego Christmas Village

Another view of the village by Emily. Unfortunately the sound will not work but the views are good and she has inserted some explanatory text.

Some sadder news came out of Nashville this week, too. Tornadic storms went through the area, and a deadly tornado swept through north of the city. We have thirteen family members who live in the Nashville area, so needless to say, we were concerned.

Pat and Carmen are Todd's parents. (Todd is Sarah's husband.) I'd also heard from Sarah about her in-loves' well being.

Because that area of Tennessee is thin soil over solid rock, very few homes have basements. So, when a tornado comes through, there is little shelter from it. Hendersonville, and the area around it, was fortunate that more people were not hurt or killed.

December 11 Advent Calendar Reveal

At last! I guessed right! A rider, although I was not expecting it to come with a saddle, too.

Look closely and you can see that the feet are sculpted into the stirrups for a more realistic effect.

I am really enjoying this year's advent calendar. Dare I hope that Breyer will put out a new one next year?

 

Nashville Trip - Part 3, Whitney's Baptism

Whitney's baptism was the same day as Julie's and held in the morning.

We zoomed it from Cole and Emily's home.

Aunt Lisa, Uncle Curt and Aunt Vanessa, Uncle Cole and Aunt Emily, and all the kids gathered in the living room to watch.

Hello, Uncle Kyle!

Aunt Ashley checks the the feed.

Uncle Cole works to ensure the feed on our end is good.

Opening hymn.

Addie gives the talk on baptism.

Braden and Cory act as witnesses.

Kyle prepares to baptize Whitney. (I stopped taking pictures at this point out of reverence for the ordinance.)

Getting ready to be confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Next up? Julie's baptism. Stay 'tooned!