POCONO SNOW!

I enjoy zipping up to Northeast PA (NEPA) sometimes to meet up with my family; It is an excellent mid-way point for us to catch up and hang out. While Betsy (that's the name I kind of gave my hybrid -- mostly from the woman's voice on my GPS) talked me through some back roads of Amish Country, I noticed raindrops changing over to snowflakes. They weren't sticking...YET. By the time I got to the beautiful POCONO MOUNTAINS, that started to change.

I went to bed hoping that the National Weather Service forecast I had heard on the way up would verify "Accumulation possible across the higher elevations." I awakened to a nice snowy landscape outside! I'd say about 1/2" fell. My copper roof outside my window had a nice blanket of white.

I enjoy my visits up here also because it allows me to travel between seasons. While DC is still enjoying Fall, the Poconos are always rushing into the colder months. By the same token, they are always sluggish to move forward into Spring.

Have a great weekend!

MY SCARY FREEZER

Can we talk? I feel like I can be open and honest with you and I want to reveal something personal in this space. It's my scary freezer. You see, I hardly ever food shop. Honestly, maybe 6 times a year I go to the grocery store for a "legitimate" food sh0pping spree. Other than some mustard, baking soda and some left over Bar Harbor Blueberry soda from this summer, I don't have much in there. As for the freezer, why keep ice cubes? Well, I just so happened to need some ice cubes for a protein shake I wanted to make when I made the "beehive discovery" in my freezer.

Yup.

Take a look. I don't understand how or why this happens, but this gigantic ice ball collected in the back right corner of my freezer. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT??? I've never really liked my refrigerator / freezer set actually. I never felt like it kept things either really cold or even frozen (even on the coldest setting.) But since I don't use it much, I just put up with that.

But this ice bomb thing. I don't know what to make of it! In an effort to rid myself of the icy monster, I took a butter knife to it (yeah Kim, nice weapon), but it merely chipped away at the surface stuff that bounced out and onto the floor, causing my cats to scurry. My solution? I just shut the door and pretended it wasn't there.

Thanks for letting me share.

ISIS and CLEO

By now you have met and heard a few stories about my 2 girls -- Boodie & Bubbles. (That's them to the right.) These are 2 calico cats that have MADE MY LIFE. Boodie came to me as a stray and I picked up Bubbles at a shelter in Pennsylvania.

You have also heard and seen my sweetheart, Ben. Wouldn't you know it, Ben also has 2 female felines whom I've gotten to know over the last year. I thought I'd introduce you to them, too. Over the weekend, I helped Ben build a pantry (that deserves it's own blog -- it *will* be a good one!) While taking a break and relaxing on the couch, catching up on Sopranos episodes, Ben pointed out Isis to me.

First I should explain that Isis is the ultimate curious cat. If there is a strange noise -- say, a bag crinkling in some far corner of the house for example, odds are that it is just Isis climbing into the bag. She's a big girl; She packs a lot of momentum barreling down the stairs, racing you to the food dish. I LOVE her.

Okay, back to what Ben pointed out. He had been taking down Halloween decorations and had the big bad ghoul (which had been hanging up in his foyer and kind of freaking me out initially when I forgot it was hanging there -- all 12 fee of it) folded neatly on the floor. Good old Isis decided to curl up ... errrr ... snuggle up next to the ghoul for a nap. I had my camera and snapped that picture.

The other girl in Ben's life is "Cleo", the alpha cat. She is a beautiful, almost blue-gray kitty. She likes to stay up on the bed most of the day, and is kind of chatty. While Isis will let me pick her up (she's not so thrilled but tolerates me lavishing her with kisses), I don't even *think* about picking up Cleo. She's warmed up to me over the months, though. I can now sit on the couch and she might sit *next* to me. But she would rather smell and rub up against my laptop. This way, when I go home, I can transport her scent back to Boodie and Bubbles who immediately take turns smelling and rubbing up against the laptop.

I sometimes think about the day when Boddie & Bubbles meet Cleo & Isis. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Very interesting. God help us!

I have lots of catching up to do with you! Check my blog over the next few days for updates...sorry I've been away...

ISIS and CLEO

By now you have met and heard a few stories about my 2 girls -- Boodie & Bubbles. (That's them to the right.) These are 2 calico cats that have MADE MY LIFE. Boodie came to me as a stray and I picked up Bubbles at a shelter in Pennsylvania.

You have also heard and seen my sweetheart, Ben. Wouldn't you know it, Ben also has 2 female felines whom I've gotten to know over the last year. I thought I'd introduce you to them, too. Over the weekend, I helped Ben build a pantry (that deserves it's own blog -- it *will* be a good one!) While taking a break and relaxing on the couch, catching up on Sopranos episodes, Ben pointed out Isis to me.

First I should explain that Isis is the ultimate curious cat. If there is a strange noise -- say, a bag crinkling in some far corner of the house for example, odds are that it is just Isis climbing into the bag. She's a big girl; She packs a lot of momentum barreling down the stairs, racing you to the food dish. I LOVE her.

Okay, back to what Ben pointed out. He had been taking down Halloween decorations and had the big bad ghoul (which had been hanging up in his foyer and kind of freaking me out initially when I forgot it was hanging there -- all 12 fee of it) folded neatly on the floor. Good old Isis decided to curl up ... errrr ... snuggle up next to the ghoul for a nap. I had my camera and snapped that picture.

The other girl in Ben's life is "Cleo", the alpha cat. She is a beautiful, almost blue-gray kitty. She likes to stay up on the bed most of the day, and is kind of chatty. While Isis will let me pick her up (she's not so thrilled but tolerates me lavishing her with kisses), I don't even *think* about picking up Cleo. She's warmed up to me over the months, though. I can now sit on the couch and she might sit *next* to me. But she would rather smell and rub up against my laptop. This way, when I go home, I can transport her scent back to Boodie and Bubbles who immediately take turns smelling and rubbing up against the laptop.

I sometimes think about the day when Boddie & Bubbles meet Cleo & Isis. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Very interesting. God help us!

I have lots of catching up to do with you! Check my blog over the next few days for updates...sorry I've been away...