Monday, December 31, 2018

New Year's Eve Monday-noon

Okay--I just now got all the pictures and videos in here and am only beginning to write and it is 9:45pm.  It has taken me all day to sort through all of mine from this last week and then to download and go through all of Leah's she got to me last night.  After that to upload the videos to youtube, which seemed to have been very busy and sluggish today.  Then move them all over here.  Plus I need breaks and did laundry and ate lunch and dinner.  Not exactly in exact chronological order but I don't think that matters all that much.  ;)
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Why have I plugged away at this all the livelong day?  Well, you know I do have my OCD tendencies and I really, really wanted to get all the last pics and videos from 2018 included today.  Start the new year out fresh!  So, that is why this will be a very late Monday post and I will have to wait until tomorrow to do my New Year's Eve ceremony and draw my card for 2019.  :)  But the post is mostly for your eyes.  I won't chat too much--promise.  But you are forewarned--this is one long happy post! 
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Wednesday night we had a regular old snowstorm, which was the first wave.  
I took these photos at 11pm.
All that white snow made it almost bright outside!  Love it!
Thursday morning the snowstorm subsided and we had a break for a little while before the second wave moved in.  The blizzard.
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I took this video in the morning.  Wanted to be able to show all of you who don't get to see snow!
In the few minutes I had the patio door open to take that video you can see how much snow came in over my stocking feet--LOL!
I was thrilled to see it so white out there!
Yes, I am a snow lover.
I could see where the birds had tried to dig down for seed on my patio.
During the lull the little snow plow came through to clear the sidewalks.
Funny that doesn't scare Annie.
A few hours later the wind was picking up again.  I took this video around 4pm--from inside--LOL!  Was afraid I might not get the patio door closed again.  Gets dark early so I couldn't really wait until it was going full strength with the 40-50mph winds because it was going to be hard to see soon.
Anyways, you get the idea.  I blizzard is determined by wind speed and not snow, really.
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Annie slept peacefully through it all in her new favorite spot in the apartment.
The next morning...
...you can see the winds lifted the snow away to make a grass patch about three times the size as normal.  

I LOVE snow drifts!!  
Went out in the hallway to take some pictures.  
Can click on them to enlarge.
I love the way there will be bare spots and yet drifts four feet high!
The snow is sculpted.
I love the high crisp edges.
The wind is as much the artist with snow...
...as the painter with his palette. 
The Girls and the sparrow flocks were here eagerly grabbing meals off and on all day.
In fact, there was evidence later that The Girls had settled in for the night on my patio!  They like to dig down into the snow and snuggle together for warmth.
They dig for seed in the center of the patio where they know it gets tossed.  Sure looks like these could be sleeping spots.   ;) 
The snow banks are on the rise...
...from the plowing of the parking lots across the way.
It hasn't been snowing but the wind keeps moving things about so we've seen snow plows a few days.
I actually got some pictures fairly close of The Girls.  I think this new phone takes better pictures of them.  
You can see how pretty they are with their stripey sides and rust colored cheeks.
Okay--those were my pictures.  Now Leah's.  :):)
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Remember they went down to Minneapolis for Dagan's new pacemaker post-surgical tweaking?  (We're about 250 miles or more north of the Twin Cities.)  They made a visit to Ian's favorite place to go at the Mega Mall (Mall of America)--the aquarium!  I finally got to see how that big bubble works in this video.  Liam likely didn't remember being there before, but he was.
Ian loves the bubble with all the Nemos and Doris!
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They visited my mom at her new place, too!  She's u on fifth floor.  You can see my brother, Blaine, on his cell talking to them.
Dagan, Mom, and Blaine ready to go out to eat at Baker's Square.
Really looks like this will be gorgeous in the summer with a pond and gazebo.
After eating dinner they went back to Mom's apartment.  It's still a bit on the empty side.  She wanted to go couch shopping after the holidays.
Her dining set is from Florida.  The little desk you see here under the TV on the wall was my Grandpa Johnson's.
Mom's chair and end tables are new.  You can see she loves her music and has quite a CD  collection.
Her bedroom set is new.  So pretty, I think.  Leah made a tour video.
When they left Leah took a couple more videos for me.
I love how cozy and inviting the whole building is!

They went to Lego land.  (Probably when they went to the Mega Mall?)
Ian LOVES legos!
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Meanwhile back to regular life.  ;)
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Ian's preschool had a party when they went on winter break over at a roller rink.  I had never seen these "walker-like" things they can use to help them learn to keep their balance!  The short video is a little grainy, but I thought those were really cool!  I wish they had them when I was a kid.  I never could stay upright on either roller or ice skates--LOL!
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They discovered that just pushing the chairs in can't stop Liam from getting things off the table any more.  He's gotten taller--LOL!  
Here's Liam pushing Ian on the train...
...and the whole family on cookie making day.
I remember when Dagan used to help me roll butterballs in the sugar.
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We had our early Christmas on the 22nd.
Liam got a red push car from me.
Ian got Lightning McQueen slippers.  They were a big hit!
In this one Liam is opening a boring present (diaper liners), but he cracked me up when he took off to go put this little scrap of paper in the recycling bin.  And Ian was still thrilled with his slippers.
I got a board book called Mog And Me about a boy and his cat.  Liam actually let me read the book to him!  He's been in that not liking anyone but his "home-family" thing for quite a while.  Over the course of the day I got eye contact and had some interaction and even got a few smiles.  So--at least for that one day--I wasn't so scary.  ;)
Was just a wonderful Christmas!
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And here's a picture of Ian with his slippers on AND his Lightning McQueen t-shirt I got him, too.  
McFamily was snowed in for a while.  Tried to hire a company to do the driveway but they were so swamped they finally said they couldn't get to it till maybe Monday!  So Dagan and Aaron shoveled it out yesterday.
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And here it is 11:15pm.  Almost the new year!!!  I am going to make my Monday post by the skin of my teeth.  Goodbye to 2018.  Hello to the brand spanking new year!!!
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We have all been sick up here.  All on the mend now.  What a fabulous holiday season it was.  Alexa played Christmas music for me.  I have lots of snow!!  It's -13 F right now (-25 C), but I'm inside safe and warm with Annie (who has not been happy I haven't been in my chair all day long--LOL!).  
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Wind chill warnings, though.  This afternoon when it was -8 and said it "felt like -32" I brought out trash and went to the garage for bird seed...and my glasses frosted over completely so I couldn't see where I was going--LOL!  So funny!  Don't worry, I was bundled up well so only my nose got really cold and I had a scarf to hold over it off and on.  But next time Dagan gets bird seed from Fleet Farm I am taking him up on his offer to bring the bin inside to the pantry.  ;)  How can that not make you smile--and wonder why we didn't think of it before--ROFL!  
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Anyways, happy happy new year!!!
I need to proofread this quickly and post it before midnight!  Oh heck--forget it--going up as is.  Whoohoo!!
Welcome 2019!!  :) :)
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"And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust in the magic of beginnings."
Meister Eckhart

14 comments:

Rita said...

Comment on this super long post to get comments. ;)
Happy New Year!! :) :)

Anonymous said...

Your post DID make me happy (that I'm not freezing my butt off in Fargo)!! The grandbabies look like they had a wonderful Christmas. I love your mom's new apartment. What a neat aquarium. Happy New Year!!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I started reading this before midnight. Yes, this post is even longer than mine. It looks like your mom is going to enjoy that new apartment. I loved that desk.

What fun to watch the boys. They are a adorable. And they got to go to Mall of America? WOW.

Almost forgot that I watched the weather last week and thought of you when it told how much snow you got. Hope the new year has started off right for you, dear Rita. Here's to a safe and healthy art inspired 2019.

DJan said...

That is an epic post, Rita. Happy New Year and congratulations for getting it done before the calendar turned over a new leaf. Love all the pictures, and yes your new phone does take great pictures. :-)

Bonnie said...

I sure enjoyed your post! Love all the pictures and videos! Small chidren make Christmas extra special. That snow is something - Wow! We had several snows in the Fall but none for Christmas. It is dark and dreary here. How nice that your Mom is getting all settled in and is a little closer now. Happy New Year Rita!

Serena Lewis said...

The white snow scenes are lovely, Rita! I remember being stranded in our truck once, in the middle of a blizzard white-out, when we lived in Wyoming. My husband had missed a road-side marker and we ended up stuck in a ditch. Aaron was only a month old and we had the other kids with us too. We had taken them snow-boarding. It was scary stuff! We were lucky that another truck passed through that country road and spotted us so the people were able to pull us out of the ditch.

How sweet that the girls hunkered down for the night on your patio! Nice close-up pics of the girls.

Your Mum's new apartment looks nice...I hope she likes it there.

Those walker-supports are a great idea for kids learning to skate!

Liam liked his car and Ian's slippers were a big hit too...cute! It looks like you had a lovely time with McFamily for Christmas.

Wishing you a very Happy and Blessed New Year, my friend. xo

My name is Erika. said...

Winter has sure arrived for you. I can tell it was a real blizzard because of those snow drifts and those practically bare spots. I wanted to wish you a happy new year with lots of fun time with those adorable little ones and good health too. Hugs-Erika

Divers and Sundry said...

I can't express my pleasure at seeing your snow photos and videos! A wonderland! We don't have an aquarium like that here, but I'd go if we had one. The one we saw in Chattanooga was well worth the price of admission. Your mom's apartment looks comfortable and that she's settling in nicely. When I think about the possibility of relocating when I get older I wonder about moving furniture. So much of ours is so heavy, but I'd miss it if I had to leave it behind. I've had another FB friend leave FB, so maybe it's a trend. I think she's mainly going to be using Instagram, but that platform doesn't work for me. Happy New Year, and I trust it'll be filled with good health and good times for you and yours :)

Carol said...

Great photos! we don't get too many really big snow storms in Missouri at all. 4 to 6 inches is a major storm for them.
Christmas was good here in spite of Dad being sick. He was feeling pretty good on Christmas day.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

So many amazing photos of one happy looking family

Joyce F said...

Loved the videos. Wouldn't mind the snow so much but sure wouldn't like the cold. It's been in the 50's here in KS until yesterday and now is more seasonable but no snow on the ground or in the forecast.

GrandmaG said...

I watched all the videos on YouTube. Thanks for sharing! How did they finally get your mom to move north? Glad to see you were able to spent some time with the boys during the holidays. Take care and thank you for the holiday card! :)

1artsychick said...

Happy New Year Rita!!
I'm glad you are all feeling better and had a nice holiday.
Here in Tucson I was upset when it went below freezing one night. I dont deal well in the cold, have been loving the 70 degree days....they'll be back next week.
Love, Wendy from Picnic with Ants...Wirdpress wouldnt let me post from my phone, so dumb. xo

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

That was quite the wind and storm you had there! Very cool looking snow drifts. We had unbelievable cold and winds too. I'm happy that polar vortex has moved on. It's always nice to be inside watching the wind than being in it!!