Snow Day and Poof

I am currently snowed in from our first snow of the season. We got 4 inches of snow. Ok Northerners, before you laugh. Yes, it was only 4 inches of snow but there is 2 inches of ice underneath it and another layer of ice on top from the 5 hours of sleet and freezing rain we had after the snow. 

When we say “snowed in”, it means we do not want to attempt the hazardous roads. People around here are not used to driving in ice or snow, so we aint that good at it. But, we can actually drive or walk to the grocery store half a mile away if we needed to. 

I have been wanting to crochet a poof ( foot stool). The other day I went to my local craft store and right in the center of the isle were bins full with the type of yarn I needed to create such a project. It was on sale at half price so I grabbed four skeins of blanket weight yarn. I wasn’t sure how many I actually needed. Yellow was the only color I could find with four of the same color. 

I followed THIS PATTERN. 

I only needed two skeins so I will be returning the other two. 

I worked on this poof a couple nights while watching some of my favorite shows. Today since I wanted to stay in from the winter storm, I cozied up in my recliner and finished crocheting my poof. 

This was also great way to get rid of some old raggedy blankets I had stashed away. They were some old ugly crocheted blankets from Nicks grandmother. They did not hold much value to him but I felt bad to throw them away. They worked great to stuff my poof. This saved me from the expense of polly fill stuffing and I was able to do some decluttering. 

I like the way if turned out though I have no idea where to use it. I just wanted the challenge of making one. I suppose I could use it in the camper or just let it take up some space in my room. It is sorta cute sitting in the corner of the bedroom. 

I also found the bottom of my laundry basket and dyed my hair.

What is the weather like where you are? Are you experiencing cold or warm temperatures? 

Crazy Weather

The weather here in North Carolina has been all over the place. I think we experienced every season in one week.

Last Friday we had our first snow. It was more of just a flurry but it was enough to have everyone hyped up and noses pressed to the windows. 

Then Monday came. The temperatures shot back up into the 70’s. I went to a dental appointment that morning to have my permanent crown applied. Afterwards, me and the husband went out for a nice long walk. It was 74 degrees and sunny. I wore shorts and a tank top. It felt so good to finally get out of hibernation and get some warmth of the sun on my face. 

Tuesday and Wednesday it continued to be warm spring like weather. Then Thursday hit. When I say “hit”, I mean it really hit! I went to work in the pouring rain. Soon, I began to hear weather alerts going off on everyones phones. People were starting to get anxious as we had a tornado watch and then several tornado warnings. This went on just about all day long. 

It wasn’t until I left work for the day that I really saw the damages. There were trees down in some areas and roads were flooded due to low areas and creeks rising. This storm was not only in my area but in all of North and South Carolina. We were getting reports from the beach campground we stay at during the summer. Here are a couple photos I copied from the facebook group page. These are not my own photos. 

You rarely see Palm trees damaged by storms. This campground has survived several hurricanes with no damages but whatever came through on Thursday sure took a toll on it. 

These picnic tables are not light weight. 

They are very heavy and each campsite has a shelter with a table under if for each camper to enjoy during their stay. 

It scattered items all over the place. There were campers even moved from their spots.

Now it is Saturday and the temperatures are back down in the 30’s again and it’s snowing at 39 degrees. 

We will not see any accumulation but the furries are beautiful making it a perfect day to stay in and snuggle on the couch.

Note: In case you all are wondering how my new job is going?

I quit yesterday. Quitting a job is out of my character as I love to work and desperately need a job. But my three days there were extremely overwhelming. I really tried to keep going but things were mentioned and stories were told that threw too many red flags at me. I finally accepted the fact that this job was not for me. They were not totally honest with me about some things I agreed too before accepting the job. I also didn’t feel safe around the work and donor area. Something finally tugged at me during a company meeting on Friday morning that told me to get out of there and quick.  

For now on, I’m going to stick to office work. I now realize thats were I belong. 

So here I am still job searching. Luckily, I am still in the interview process with another place. This one will take several weeks before I know anything. It is more stable with regular full time hours and a better work environment. Keep praying for me. 

Clodhoppers

Despite the warm weather we have been having, the temperatures finally dropped and we got our first snow. Here in my neck of the woods, we got about 3 inches of snow and about 2 inches of ice. That's pretty much par for us.

My work was closed on Monday due to the weather conditions. The main roads were being cleared but the neighborhoods and side roads were untouched. This made it hard for our employees to get to work and our carpet cleaning trucks to get to any customers homes. I stayed in and got caught up on cleaning and gift wrapping. I also made cookies and a snowmen.

Tuesday came and I was getting behind and needed to go into work. There was only so much I could do at home from my iPad. I threw on my britches, sweatshirt and clodhoppers and headed out the door. In case you don't know, Clodhoppers is a Southern word for large heavy shoes, britches are pants and that's just how I talk.

Here are my clodhoppers. They have had their day but are my favorite snow shoes.
This is also me standing on the ice that covers a couple inches of snow.

Before heading out, I got word that the parking lot was a sheet of ice so I may need to have Nick just bring me and drop me off at the bottom of the parking lot. That he did.

Here I am after the struggle of climbing the ice slick parking lot and still had quiet a few feet to go to get into the building.

Not sure why the owner never hires someone to scrape it for us but this is what I dread most about the snow. Climbing that hill into the office. This side is always shaded so the snow and ice will hang around for days.

I hope this is all the snow we get this year but I wont hold my breath. It's only December and we don't usually have our real Winter weather until February.

If you are fighting the snow and ice today, be sure to throw on those clodhoppers before you go out.

"My snowman Sue"

Snow Candy

We woke up Sunday morning to about an inch of snow. The weatherman got it right. Snow is something we do not see but maybe once or twice a year here. People will get into a panic and rush to the stores and close businesses with the slightest threat of the white stuff. We rarely get just plain snow, It’s usually mixed with sleet or freezing rain. In fact, it has been sleeting here for hours, laying a blanket of ice to seal the snow. Basically, we get our Winters in bundles. It can be 70 degrees one week and 30 the next. But I will not complain. Nothing is prettier than a snow in December.

I really miss my daughter being home on snow days. We used to rush out and build a snow man followed by making snow cream, then settle down inside to a warm cup of cocoa. Now we snap photos back a forth. 

The kid in me still likes to go outside when it snows. While I was having my breakfast and coffee, I came across a recipe for Maple Snow candy.  I could not wait to go outside and try it. Holy Moly it worked! 

I am 49 years old and have seen every Little House on the Prairie episode and still never knew about “snow candy” until today. I bet my mom knew about this, but with four kids I can see why she kept it a secret. 

Supposedly, Snow taffy or Snow candy is a traditional favorite in Canada. When maple syrup is boiled to the right temperature, it is poured onto a blanket of snow creating a taffy or hard candy. I guess it depends on the heat of the syrup. There is an art to making candy just like making peanut brittle. But ill save that one for another post. 

I did not have any Maple syrup so I used the optional recipe of honey and brown sugar. 

SNOW CANDY

1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup of brown sugar. 

Bring to a boil while constantly stirring. You want the temperature to reach about 235-240 degrees.

I did not have a thermometer so I let it boil for about 5 minutes. It will foam up but the foam will disappear as soon as you take it off the heat. 

When the syrup is ready, pour strips of the honey mixture into the snow. With straws (or wooden sticks) roll the candy to make pops. This has to be done rather fast because it quickly turns into a hard candy. If this happens its ok, the kids will have fun picking the pieces up to get a sugar fix. 

I’m sure the real Maple syrup would have tasted better than honey but a poor girl only has so much to work with. 

WARNING:  Use adult supervision at all times and be very careful. Boiling sugar can be the worst burn ever if it gets on you because it will stick while burning your skin off

Sunshine and Snow

I was just bragging last week how warm it was around here in North Carolina. I spoke to soon.

Thursday I woke up to temperatures in the 30’s. I have already put my Winter clothes to the back of my closet and packed my boots away  actually gave my boots away to the local thrift shop. I was done!

While I was at work I peered over to my tiny window of my office and noticed blue skies and sunshine. Then I seen puffy white flakes dancing in the open air. I said to myself  “what? Is that snow?”  I made a post on my facebook to let everyone know it was snowing (as if I was the only one that saw it). I had to get the news out. Then I ran outside to get a photo of the falling snow (you know, as proof) because no one is going to beleive me. I mean, it has been warm all the other days.. 

As I positioned my little 6s to snap a photo, It stopped. I didn’t even get a picture. I had no proof.

Everyone started sending me messages that I must be going crazy. However, there were some that commented on my post that they too had seen it snow for a brief moment. 

My sister sent me a photo. Thank sis! It was of the ONE little cloud that passed through like a rain cloud, dumping a powder of snow across some of the viewing area. 

Yep that was the extent of it.

Crazy huh?

Don't laugh at the exitement. We don't get to see much of the white stuff around here. 

Now its back in the 50’s on this beautiful Saturday morning.