Around Home, and Around WV

6°f/-14.4°C, mostly clear.

So icy, but so pretty.

Meanwhile, around West Virginia:

Then there is the sleet running like water over by my son's house.

This is the pile of sleet he shoveled away from his back door.

Nice and cozy here though. It's about 68° in the house, warmer than that in the kitchen and in the log room where the old heater and the fireplace are both going strong.

Grapes in a 100-year-old bowl because why not?

Another good day to be inside!

Today's agenda: sweep and mop (already done(, change the sheets (done), paint a small table and can more pinto beans. Should be a nice day. Maybe I'll bake a cake too. Just to add a little more heat to the house, you know. 

These Cold Snowy Days

12°f/-11°C, snow flurries all day, with one burst of sunshine.

Bedroom window:

I see that many of you had much worse from the storm than we did, so I hope all is well at your house and that you are snug and warm. We ended up with a freezing drizzle all day yesterday, which covered evening in ice about 1/8" thick. My son reported 4 " of sleet at his house! It piled up and blocked gutters and is an incredible mess. Today we have light snow, which of course is sticking to the ice. We will not be going out anytime soon, especially since temperatures are expected to drop below zero, and never get out of the teens all week.

All 55 county school districts were closed today, and i imagine most will be closed tomorrow as well. 

I have been keeping busy, trying to keep my mind off Minneapolis and Mr. Pretti. I am sickened, disgusted, furious and a whole list of other words, but most of all I am so very sad for his family. My oldest son is a banker and has always leaned right in politics, but he echoed my feelings, and agreed about Greenland too. Neither of us understand the folly of alienating our allies like this. If the weather was better, imagine how many more thousands would be on the streets right now. I am so impressed by Minnesotans. They are showing the very best our country has to offer, strong people who are not afraid of bullies and intimidation.  This has got to stop, and they are leading the way.

I find myself seesawing between the emotions stirred by the senseless killings, and the peacefulness of snowy days at home. Talk about feeling conflicted! Yet I imagine I am not alone in feeling that homely joy while also feeling guilty that I should feel peace. Then there will soon be the anniversary date of my son's death, never an easy time. To say I feel emotionally fragile right now would be putting it lightly. Yet trudge on I must, because what is the alternative?

Being busy helps me maintain equilibrium.  Simple tasks like housework, cooking,  and laundry, then small projects like ironing aprons for the booths,

and canning pinto beans (Larry's favorite, I swear he could eat them every day!). My stove easily handles two canners at one time.

I ended up with 14 quarts, and still have more beans to can tomorrow. It's a good way to add heat to the house too.

I was also pricing stuff and listing on ebay. I listed these 2 pieces yesterday and they are already sold.

This first one is Erickson Glass, made in Ohio in the 1950's and a fairly rare piece. It sold for $150. Note the little "controlled bubbles" in the base, a signature of Erickson, who was a designer for Blenko in the 30s, then left to start his own company in 1943. It stayed in operation until 1961, producing stunning mid-century art glass.

This is another rare piece, made around 1885 by Gillinder and Sons in Putfsburgh. The pattern is called Maple; this is a covered oval butter dish in canary vaseline glass,

which is why it lights up so beautifully in black light. It sold for $180. 

Both were in an auction lot that I was worried I paid too much for ($102), but I think it did okay, and still have a half dozen less valuable pieces from that lot to sell.

This staying home time has meant plenty of time to talk to my sons and sisters via phone, always a pleasure,  and to listen to books as I work.  I just finished listening to Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a tale very different from her usual in that neither Poirot or Miss Marple made an appearance. I read it years ago but couldn't remember the story, so it was fun to revisit it. 

Previously I listened to Twice by Mitch Albom, an interesting story too, about a man who can wish for a do-over for anything that happened in his life that he didn't like---with some very unexpected and perhaps less desirable results.

In the van recently Larry and I listened to short histories of Ireland and Scotland, and Alan Eckert's book about the history of the Ohio River Valley exploration and settlement by Europeans. All three, i have to say, are pretty violent, full of killings and struggles for power and land. Mankind never learns from its past, unfortunately.  This Ohio Valley where I live had more than its share of bloodshed, and it was eerie to hear places named that I have visited or that are very close by, as well as surnames that are still common in the valley today. 

I haven't been cooking much, although I thought I would since we're homebound. I did make an apple pie with pie filling from the freezer, 

but we have been on a soup binge, eating tomato, vegetable, and corn chowder, all from the cellar, while also using up some of the cheeses and crackers still lingering around from Christmas.  I really over-bought, apparently. 

Larry has been outside as much as he's been inside! He putters around with the rabbits and chickens, all of whom are doing just fine including the new bunnies. Then he fires up truck and van, brings in wood for the fireplace, sweeps off snow but not doing any shoveling because the ice on top of the snow, then snow on top of the ice has made it very difficult. We will spread wood ashes tomorrow to make it less slick, at least.

That's about all the news from here. Nothing earthshaking, just puttering along as best we can. And tomorrow? Looks like more of the same!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Well Humph

18°f/-7.8°C, freezing rain. Quickly warmed to 3q°, still raining/ freezing, messy.

Someone posted this on Facebook, West Virginia snow preparation! Even Mothman needed egs, milk, bread and toilet paper!

This morning:

What an underwhelming storm so far. I stayed up until midnight, waiting for the storm to start, but all we had at that point was a light covering. During the night we got a few inches, then early this morning the freezing rain started. We ended up with only 4" of snow instead of the 12-15 predicted, and now the icy rain is packing it down and coating everything with ice. Yuck.

I am grateful really that it was not the very deep snow predicted. This icy stuff is supposed to continue, or may turn to rain, then maybe more snow tonight. A right mess! The potential for power outages still exists, of course, if this freezing rain continues.

The birds have been very busy at the feeders, and I am glad to see so many.  So far I have seen Cardinals, pine siskens, snowbirds, titmice, nuthatches,  chickadees, purple finches, and an Eastern bluebird. Not in the numbers we used to have, but still more than I have seen in a long while.

A slow start for us today! I need to make breakfast, so I'd best get hopping!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.