And snow it goes

Now wouldn't that just frost you! We thought the snow was melting and then we go and get a new 14 inches.

Joyce was given an Elmer Fudd hat by our friend, John. It has turned out to be her "go to" hat when the weather turns. But, really no matter what she wears, she makes it look good.

The blob beside the garage is our propane tank. We don't think we will need it filled for a while. At least we hope we won't need it filled for a while.

Christmas '08

We were pleasantly surprised when Cole, Sharon and Garrison arrived early for our Christmas get-together. Presents were able to be opened early (always a treat for Grandpa) and the Christmas meal was able to be eaten early as well (always a treat for Grandpa). We played a couple of rounds of non-competitive "Crack the Case." I was impressed with the questioning skills of Garrison and Kylara. It looks like we have a couple of budding detectives or lawyers.

The holiday season, Thanksgiving through Christmas, is a great time for me. I like to reflect on how grateful I am for the goodness of our family and friends, and how deeply blessed I have been to be able to share this life with Joyce.

The day after Christmas Joyce boldly braved the "day after" crowds to do a bit of shopping. Of course I volunteered to be her chauffeur and her lifting goon. I also "volunteered to stay out of her way by sitting in the pickup  while she was "enjoying" the experience. What a guy, eh?

Merry TubaChristmas

Friday night was a fun night for the two of us. Joyce was able to play in her only concert of the year. The concert is for low brass instruments only. I am always amazed how so many musicians, about 50, can come together once a year, practice for only one hour as a group, and end up sounding as good as they do. The concert is free for the public to attend. It lasts for one hour and everyone leaves in a great holiday spirit. Of course it takes more than a few days for Joyce's lips to recover from the experience but she looks forward to it each year. She was also pictured the next day in the St.Cloud Times.

Of course the next day was back to reality with snow blowing and shoveling. 

she is her father's daughter

Today is bright sunshine and cold, -35 windchill. Yesterday was a different day. We received our first big snow of the season. Of course Joyce was chomping at the bit to get out and snowblow. After all she is her father's daughter. As it turns out she is glad she did the work yesterday. Besides the cold, we ran into a problem with the snow blower. I will have to work on that on a warmer day. I'll probably have to bring it inside to have a good look at it. Just kidding, about bringing it inside, but the doorway is large enough for it to fit through. I could just set up shop in the entry way.

speaking of turkeys

Joyce reminded me today that Al had wanted to see what kind of truck I drive. Here are a few pictures, The truck the cargo and the destination. I like to refer to the destination as the "spa" and I like to refer to myself as "the good cop." :-)

Turkey Day in December

When I got home from my 500 mile drive today, Joyce said she had been invaded by turkeys. She said there were about 60 of them in the yard. I have a feeling they are getting ready to eat from her winter buffet table. Last year she set out a "table" and I swear every creature in the woods thought they had been invited. I guess the turkeys thought they should get here to make sure there would be a place at the table for them instead of them being placed on the table.

semi-officially hibernating

Well, we can now say that Gary is semi-officially hibernating. How do we know? We know because he moved most of his woodworking tools to the basement. I have a couple of projects to do this winter and I figured this would be my motivation. I still have to get the air compressor down the stairs, but that is a task for another day. I am setting up shop so that I can work on the rustic room. It is technically the only room left to be finished in the upstairs area. It is called the rustic room because it will eventually, hopefully, look rustic. I have decided on cedar wainscoating. I am still struggling between vertical or horizontal orientation. I am also struggling with the complimentary color for the top half of the room. I am open to any suggestions. so far MOUNTAIN SAGE is leading the voting. Of course only two of us have voted :-) 

Winter arrives

Well, that didn't take long. All I said was that we were waiting for winter to arrive. We woke up today and what do you know, there it was. Joyce will be out snow blowing later, after the Vikings make up their mind if they want to win today or not.  Of course I will be there to make sure her snow blower is working correctly. But, for now we will enjoy nature. We did see a fox this morning. Funny how the squirrels were not around until after the fox moved through the area.

And, yes, that is a black squirrel you see at the end of the video.

Hello, world

Having been inspired by our niece, we are giving this blog experience a shot. First, everyone should know that it will be our "view" from peaceful pines that drives the blog. As you can see we are driven by the beauty that surrounds us. 

We are waiting for our first "big" snow of the year. I am waiting so I can hibernate. Joyce is waiting so she can fire up her snow blower for the first time this year.