Big Snow! Birthday Ikea Trip/ Holiday Decor Downsizing, Preparedness & RX Shortages

 

Big Snow!

Our first big winter storm is arriving! Woke up to about 1/2" of snow and 21 degrees this morning. We're talking lots of feet of snow in the mountains in the next week. This is our first really big snow storm to hit. I've seen there's more weather problems up in Canada and Washington, sad. We usually get snow November/December, but it varies every year. So far nothing big down here in the valley, but look at the forecast! 

Birthday Ikea Trip/ Holiday Decor Downsizing-

It's that time of year! I started putting up our winter decor about a week ago since I like to take a break after Thanksgiving. I also had my birthday! I won't say which one, but a BIG one. I like doing something fun since I never had a birthday parties as a kid. I always got combination birthday and Christmas gifts, what a bummer. Dave and I did a one-day birthday drive to Salt Lake City Ikea so I could buy some holiday goodies for my birthday present. I did about 95% of the driving, perfect weather. I know it may seem crazy but I've wanted to buy some of their winter decor, and you can't buy it online. We never go to the Portland Ikea for family visits in winter. So we went! We never got a vacation this year or last year, so we didn't feel guilty. Just gas, a couple meals, and shopping. They were out of a few things but I got most of the fun holiday items-

Finally a Dala horse! And a Tomten with deer (ceramic)

Fox and tree candle holder, ceramic too 

I really wanted their 3-piece glass mushroom set, but were out. I found one on eBay for a bit more, I was thrilled! Three sizes, heavy glass with heavy clips-

 Red and white mushrooms were said to be the basis for Santa's hat! 

I added to my display, I love the nature look with the greenery-

Bigger shot here-

Also from eBay, an Ikea LED mini candelabra, battery operated, $10.00-

I stocked up on their amazing whole grain/Rye crackers, cookies and a little Swedish cheese. Got a mistletoe table runner, some mini star lights and some stocking stuffers. I really love Scandinavian folk art and natural types of holiday decorations. So there's a sneak peek of what we have out. Our Christmas decor will be coming out this weekend! 

Dining room farm window

Kitchen window, thrifted new prim snowman

Dining room

Living room

Entryway Gingerbread theme

Living room window

I moved my Jul decor to the living room this year! 

Holiday Decor Downsizing: 

Phase two was letting go of some winter  decor. I decided I wanted to get rid of at least one or two chunks. I always start off with putting winter decor out first. Then I add Christmas things a week or two later. First thing I did with the winter stuff was spread it out and open the totes which created quite the mess! Then I started going through things that I really love versus things that I was ready to let go of. Since a lot of my holiday decor was thrifted there wasn't a huge amount of financial investment. I looked at what do I really love, how much storage do we have, etc. I wound up emptying out one complete tote and donating all of it. Next phase will be going through all the Christmas stuff. The biggest part of that is our artificial tree, wrapping paper, ditto. The rest is tree decorations and tabletop things. Over time I'm liking something less cluttered looking, although my style might be more cluttered than other people's. That's okay. I think decorating for winter is my favorite thing because I've always loved snow! Probably from growing up in Southern California where I didn't really see any except way up in the Sierra mountains.

Preparedness & RX Shortages-

What's new here for preparedness. I have noticed some distinct shortages in the grocery stores and escalating prices. I saw some bell peppers for a $1.75 each, instant noodles ramen type of foods completely off of all the shelves. This was in a Walmart Market. I see our gas prices here are going down a bit which is good. I was happy to see the Walmart Market did have some canned Keystone meat on hand. I picked up a couple cans of chicken. Keystone meat comes really really highly recommended, it's affordable only meet in a lightly salted Brian no other flavors and big chunks. Still getting a few eggs here and they're usually about one a day, glad I had some frozen! When we were getting four per day in the summer I decided to start freezing them. I did also buy some sprouting seeds in case the quality and price of greens gets really exorbitant. I have noticed some quality issues with some things like romaine and spinach . Not sure if it's from the trucking shortage? I also found a nice deal on a bread proofing basket (Ikea) with a cloth cover-

I also bought an Ikea knife sharpener, has a well for water to wet the sharpening stones-

As for RX shortages- I'm hearing this from some of my medical employers insurance  members, more RX's are getting more backordered. This is a sobering list from Drugs.com Drug Shortages, what's scary is it's so long, and growing. Wondering how are you doing in your neck of the woods as far as availability of foods and products, prices? 

Our house

Coop's ready too! 

First Real Snow! Oliver's First Birthday

First Real Snow!

We had our first real sticking snow Friday night, about 1"! Pretty-

After a few weeks in an inversion, with gray skies, and dirty air, waking up to blue skies and sun Saturday was wonderful!!! 

Chickens having a treat with some greens in the coop

It's the SUN!!!

Tough little Rosemary plant :)

Oliver's First Birthday-

When Angela went into labor last year snow was in the forecast, and then it started snowing. We call Oliver the "winter wizard". It snowed the night before his birthday this year so he has kept the title! Here's Oliver last year- 

Sleeping on Grandma

Oliver last week, he's growing into his head :)

Christmas Is Coming, The Goose is Getting Fat!

Christmas Is Coming, The Goose is Getting Fat!-
With the Solstice and Christmas coming soon, I'm finally getting in the holiday mood. I haven't been sleeping well lately and have been just really tired everyday. I'm doing better now! I deep cleaned the house yesterday to get ready to put up our (fake) tree today. We both have some allergies, and it's more sustainable too, so why not? We got a nice big tree thrifting a couple of years ago, for $3.00, yes $3.00! It has 3 parts, goes together fast and it's re-useable. Stores in the garage in it's btree bag we got 2 weeks ago nicely. I bought some fresh piney greens this afternoon for that fresh smell. I like to stash those here and there around the house. I will, in fact, (don't tell the hubby) be making a roasted goose for Christmas. I made one years ago, and it's so easy! With all the goose grease involved, there's 0 basting, just roast it up! Add some fruit and veggies and bring it on!

                                                                        Michelle

Birthday Dinner For My Daughter-
It was my daughter Michelle's 26th birthday yesterday, how time flies! She asked me to make Coq au Vin for dinner. It's basically chicken cooked in dark red wine and other yummies. Since I worked Friday I didn't do the overnight soak. I subbed with bacon, and dried herbs. We could find any fresh pearl onions at the store, so I used frozen with peas. The fresh mushrooms were wonderful. It came out spectacular!!! I used a 3 year- old bottle of a good Cabernet I had stashed. The meat fell off the bone, and just melted in your mouth. I served with crusty, hot french bread. Michelle's boyfriend raved about it :)  Meal well done. I'll take pictures of the next batch soon.

Afternoon Snack-
My fave tea, Darjeeling, with a touch of milk and sugar, and a biscotti. Nice afternoon snack on a cold, gray day. Darjeeling has a wonderful, slightly nutty flavor. An ex-employer (British) introduced me to it. Thanks Monica!

Winter coop tonite, the snow just started!

Thrifting, Independence Days, Happy Birthday to Me!

Anya Stole My Warm Chair

 

Thrifting-
I don't have as much time for this as usual, work's busy. We got a great deal today-2 boxes with 2 pond kits, with a floating water Lily with a water spray that shoots up. $12.00 at the Habitat store. It will look cute in our pond! Found some more jeans and cute greenery for the kitchen at the dollar store. Got a great deal on some work clogs at Clogoutlet. about 1/2 price. If you work on your feet all day like I do, your aging feet appreciate good shoes. My last pair (3 years or so ago) are still going, but getting low on tread. I found a nice black suede pair of Sanitas. Happy feet!

Girls Enjoying A Nice Break Between The Rain Storms

Independence Days-
1. Plant Something-
Nothing til spring. 

2. Harvest Something-
Orange rinds, dried them for baking coming up.  

3. Preserve/Store Something- 
Froze some turkey stock for soup later. Made some more refrigerator pickles. 

4. Manage Reserves- Get A Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- 
Got a free turkey from Dave's boss, using pantry a LOT! This part really does work! Bought extra veggies on sale, like celery before turkey day. 

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipes- 
I can say I've really saved a LOT of money this Thanksgiving with having a well-stocked working pantry. I bought things early for the snack spread I do, since we actually have a Thanksgiving "dinner". I had bought things like crackers, sausages, drinks, olives, etc. over the summer. I paid off having those more gourmet-type foods on hand bought on sale! I love it! Still finishing off the collard greens, turkey and working on the freezer foods. Just made a "Lowlands Boil" (spicy southern seafood stew) with my frozen seafood mix and fresh veggies. Chickens really loved the roasted , free pumpkins we got.

6. Build Community Food Systems- 
Still selling eggs. Thinking about bartering off my IPod 8g, but not sure if I want to get rid of it. Got free pumpkins at a local market on turkey day.

7. Recycle/Re-Use- 
Compost, lots of leaves! Lots of kitchen veggies going to the hens. 

8. Skill Up-
With a sick hen on my hands I learned how to do a simple antibiotic water mix pretty easily. I feel much more prepared now on how to handle these kinds of things quickly. No eggs for a while though. Learning the in and out of Win7 with the new computer. Outlook has more bells and whistles as well.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-
Me- Got a MRI for a sore, puffy knee. Some arthritis, nothing torn. Will work with exercising and more weight loss. I found some homeopathic stuff too for arthritis and the swelling, cheap! Just waiting for the MRI bill, and thankful I have good insurance!

A simple cookie tin and tree branch, I want one!

Winterizing The Home Decor-

I always wait at least a week or so after turkey day to put away the fall stuff around the house. I then put up what I call my "generic winter" stuff. I don't like to jump from Thanksgiving to Christmas in one full swoop, I like to relax after a bit. I think I've gotten burned out too, with all the American commercialism around Christmas. I like some of the European traditions better, keeping it much more low-key and natural. I want to go to Scandinavia some day and see their version of Jul (Yule), it looks pretty awesome! I love the natural colors and materials-

What a great entry or hallway

How simple and elegant

Not "trolls" but Tomten!

This weekend I'm put away the Fall and bringing out the winter stuff. Ironically it was 55 yesterday, not exactly winter weather! We are finally getting some much-needed rain, with hope for snow in the mountains. The ski areas really suffer with these later winter starts. I'll put some pics of of my own winter goodies next time.


                                                         

 Happy Birthday to Me!
Going out tonight for an early birthday celebration, the actual day is Monday. Monday's are from hell at my job, too much on my schedule :(  Going to my favorite sushi place with the kids and Dave, then out for Cheesecake! My new computer, vacuum, etc. are all I need. Pretty easy to buy for eh?

My Middle Decade Saturday and Winter Blowing In

It's one of those interesting mini-transitions: I'm turning 55 this Saturday. Kinda makes you reflective, but not TOO much. One of our school foster Grandma volunteers is turning 90 on my birthday! I asked her today what's she's doing on her special day? She told me about her family coming in from out of town for a big dinner and visit. I thought to myself- they probably think she won't be around much longer. She's so "spry", active and funny! I told her today that I hope when I turn 90 I'm in good shape like her! She's so tiny, about 5' tall, 80 lbs. dripping wet. Last winter when the parking lot was icy or snowy, I'd walk her from her car across the parking lot to the front covered sidewalk. She told me how scared she was of falling and getting hurt. I told her, no problem, I'm out here on morning bus duty anyway. I'd see her pull into the parking lot and meet her. She really appreciated that. It's those little things that make you bond with someone. For me- out for dinner Sat. night with the kids for Japanese food.

Winter Blowing In- The wind is really howling now: 40mph+ and cold. Supposed to about 17 tomorrow morning. I always feel like an animal burrowing in for winter- putting on the flannel sheets, putting the garden to bed. Then, I have to go OUT- get out the warm coats, hats, mittens, etc. Last year it was close to 0 degrees for a week. During my morning bus duty at school I had polar fleece gloves inside my heavy duty mittens, a heavy coat, polar fleece socks inside snow boots. Standing on concrete that cold stinks, BUT I'm grateful I have the those warm items. My heavy duty winter coat is about 9 years old, but looks, and works, great! I have to rave about it, if anyone wants to get one (off season is great time for much cheaper price) - it's the "Insulated Squall Parka" from Land's End. Just throw in the washer and dryer! Lots of pockets, and very wind proof. When I see some people who won't dress for the weather, then complain about being cold, I just smile... and hope for snow!!!

                                       

Mine's red

Samantha loves snow too!