Snow & Record Lows, Dark Days Meal, Oregon Coast Photos 2 & French Cheese Place, Independence Days

Snow & Record Lows-
2" of new snow here yesterday morning and about zero this morning. Wind chill tomorrow below zero with a "high" of 15. Supposed to warm up by Thursday into the upper 30's. We added a little more heat to the coop, girls look fine. I'm giving them extra treats for the cold. They're staying in the coop and "sun room", perfect for this kind of weather. They take dust baths, eat treats and dig. Anya hangs out by the heating vents! I spent the afternoon putting up most of my winter/Christmas decor stuff, photos coming soon. I like a lot of generic winter stuff out to keep up after new year. Tree will go up next week after Dave's back. Going thru the winter stuff to donate some too. 

sun room, I swept off the snow today for more light

Little Blackie taking a dust bath

Vintage bird feeder

Our heated bird bath is getting visited! A local woodpecker I think? Before the snow fell. A thrifting find last summer, new in the box for $10!

Sunflower in snow

Fairy garden asleep

Butterfly can't take off with all that snow!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree....

 I got out our flannel sheets yesterday, and made sure last week all of our foundation vents were closed (they weren't!). Since Dave flew out today for a week training in Wisconsin, I baked a nice dessert for us last night, a Crustless Cranberry Pie. I added 1 tsp. Orange extract, and used pecans. Delish warm with whipping cream. Opened the oven door during cool down for some lovely extra heat. 

Thank god we got a new furnace this last summer, it's doing great in the cold weather. Dragged out my snow boots, snow clogs, heavy parka, and cold weather gear. I drive well in snow and ice, so off to work I go tomorrow.

Dark Days Challenge Meals-
Last night we had homemade spicy, black bean soup with out tomatoes that had ripened inside, with local bread. I forgot to post the last one a couple of weeks back- homegrown eggs, baked French style, with local bread and cheese.

Oregon Coast Photos # 2 & French Cheese Place Blue Heron "Fromager"-
I love cheeses, so when I saw a sign for the Blue Heron Cheese and Winery  (they also make/sell wine) I told Dave we HAD to go their our 2nd day after breakfast. I should have taken photos inside, but they have a gorgeous store! I could have spent hours there. They Christmas displays were gorgeous, lots of French style farmhouse goodies. I could have spent a ton in there! Self restraint is a good things! On the way out I told Dave we had to get some shots of their vintage truck collection-

probably circa 1930's/40's

 

Independence Days-

1. Plant Something- Done 

2. Harvest Something- Eggs.

3. Preserve/Store Something- Got five loaves of artisan breads from our local grocery outlet to freeze, cheeses (some from Blue Heron), spicy soup packs for quick work lunches. Keeping the pantry stocked.

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Got some IKEA goodies while in Portland. Found some good thrifting stuff recently. 

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- Used up left over veggies for chickens, and soups.

6. Build Community Food Systems- Nothing right now.

7. Recycle/Re-Use- Re-combining come winter decor into new stuff. Getting rid of too much table top decorations, wall stuff. I'm a big believer in less-is-more. I see people with wall-to-wall stuff and it reminds me of "Hoarders", the TV show. Also too much clutter and it's claustrophobic to me.

8. Skill Up- Learned something I'm sure.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Cleaned up the snow off part of the yard, to protect plants ans shrubs from the weight.