Happy New Year, friends. Grayden and I welcomed the New Year with a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. I'll be sharing our trip there soon, but first I want to share the snow storm on our first day back home!
It's a marshmallow world out the windows early this morning. Considering just a few hours ago it was pouring rain, the heavy wet snow accumulated fast! The temperatures have been so warm, I must admit I didn't think the snow would stick.
As we are eating our breakfast and enjoying talking to our eldest grandson, the lights begin to flicker! After going off and on a couple of times the electricity goes out! Yikes we all say along with each other. Surely it will return soon!
Seeing the weight of the snow on the leyland cypress, my heart sank. These trees are not known for their longevity. We planted them years ago and have slowly had to remove the many that occupied our back property. They were planted to avoid putting up a fence, but we still had to do that as they proved not to be a great choice.
As the morning wore on we realized the power was not coming on in time for dinner. I was planning to make taco soup that day so I started it on our gas grill. Thank goodness we have a grill to cook meals and gas logs to keep us warm.
The snow continued as my soup bubbled away on the grill. The weight of the snow continued to weigh down the dogwood trees and the crepe myrtle.
The feeder saw many customers as the snow continued as well as the spoils that fell to the ground by the juncos.
Although we enjoyed the quietness of the week we were thrilled to have our power restored yesterday! I even reheated our taco soup on our hearth by the gas logs. Yes, necessity is the mother of invention or as my Mama always said, "I've never improvised a day in my life."
Having no power from Monday to Wednesday was interesting to say the least, but as we all talked about this experience we consider ourselves fortunate. Tonight we are expecting more snow! We're prepared!
That was quite the adventure, Martha Ellen! While we have a gas heat pump, a gas fireplace, a gas cooktop, and a gas grill outside, I would really miss having hot water for my shower! We are under a winter weather advisory here today, though the snow hasn’t been much of an issue in our area. I love Williamsburg and would love to visit there more often! Take care, be safe, stay warm and cozy!
ReplyDeleteNellie, I had my first hot shower since Saturday last evening and it was like heaven! Our gas furnace doesn't work without electricity to blow the fan and engage the burners.
DeleteColonial Williamsburg was wonderful to visit. It's been over 2 years since our last visit.
Stay safe and warm, Nellie.
Your snow is beautiful, Martha Ellen. You didn't mention how much snow you did get, I'm curious! It looks so pretty covering the bird feeders and the trees, and looking out your window is the nicest view of all. I LOVE to see the first snow as I look out my BIG front window. I always feel bad for the birds in this cold snow, but they always find something to eat in nature. I'm sorry your power went out for two days, that's quite awhile. Taco soup sounds warm and delicious, and I've been having soup also during this cold Winter season. I love your red iron pot, that's charming as ever. Thank you for sharing your snow with us, Martha Ellen. I am in awe with this white wonder, as it's all new to me. And I love how you compared it to a marshmallow world. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Sheri, I didn't measure our snow but it was quite deep. Our son said a friend of his measured 15 inches. The worst part about it was the lack of power in the evenings when we went to bed. We didn't want to leave the gas logs on overnight as that would have been dangerous. Lot's of blankets and polar fleece pjs helped. Enjoy your marshmallow world, Sheri!
DeleteOh my goodness!
ReplyDeleteThat is quite the amount of snow!
And you are so smart!
If I ever need to, I will remember your tips!
Hope you are cozy as can be, my friend.
Billie Jo, thank you and I am very cozy today indeed! When we need to I believe we can all come up with means of survival in tough circumstances. Have a cozy evening, friend.
DeleteI've been through a power outage for multiple days in the winter and it's no fun. I am so glad you had the grill. That's a pretty brilliant idea, doing the soup on the grill! I heard about the storm in the DC area and I don't know if you are in VA or elsewhere but that one is a doozie! I hope you had heat. The photos are wonderful and it IS beautiful but... yikes! That's a ton of snow -- and you said more is on the way? Pack the larder and get an ergonomic shovel!
ReplyDeleteJeanie, we are expecting just 1-3 inches this evening, but are gun shy about the possibility. We are in VA and this snow was different than any I can remember. Having a two handled snow shovel and another one that the guys used to clear our driveway and porch makes it easier for them to move the snow. Our heat source was our gas logs that kept our home okay during the day, but we turned them off when we went to bed--that's when it got cold of course, but we felt it dangerous to leave them burning all night.
DeleteGoodness me! That snow certainly didn't mess around in sticking and building up to chaos! Leyland Cypress were the "go to" tree here, often councils had them as required boundary hedging, but they started causing a great many problems and now you hardly see any. You certainly handled the inconvenience well, my friend, but we all hope it doesn't reoccur! I bet Taco Soup never tasted so good, or welcome!
ReplyDeleteI recall driving in totally unexpected heavy snowfall from Richmond to Virginia Beach as we arrived in the state after driving cross country from California in 1986. Deb in Wales xoxo
Leyland cypress were the "little darlings" of the plant world years ago, but proved to be otherwise. Along with the Bradford pear trees they have given many grief. Our snow seems to be over with this morning and I am thankful to say the electricity is still on! Deb, I'm sure you remember such a snowfall in 1986, as if I'm not mistaken, was a record year of snow in VA! Sorry to hear you were driving then! Take care and stay cozy! xoxo
DeleteOh my! You really got caught with all that heavy wet snow. Lost power always makes me nervous. You did well to improvise. I'm sure that there is more to tell of this story. May you keep your power in this storm. No one needs that.
ReplyDeleteVee, the latest storm was kind to us. Little more than a heavy dusting coated our area during the early morning hours. If I'm not mistaken, I believe snow is marching your way. Stay warm and cozy.
DeleteThat looks like weighty snow! Yikes glad you got power again. Love the Le Creuset pot sitting in front of the fire. :) Desperate times call for...
ReplyDeleteI received a Blue pot like that after Christmas with no note or invoice and I have no idea who gifted me with it. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Ellen, our snow was the heaviest I can recall ever having here. Sounds like you have a secret Santa that loves you and your cooking! Happy New Year to you and yours!
DeleteQuite the adventure, Martha! Hope you don't need to do all that clever improvising again any time soon. Stay cozy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jean! We are hoping the same, but where there's a will there is a way! It is definitely cozy this evening with lamp light to read by and a warm home in more ways than one. I hope you are staying cozy as well!
DeleteGoodness, that looks like a lot of snow!
ReplyDeleteSorry that you lost power for a few days, not easy, but you certainly seemed to handle the situation well.
I like the colour of your cookpot.
Keep well, keep warm and my good wishes for 2022.
All the best Jan
Thank you, Jan. Life certainly has its twists and turns. We are so happy to have the power restored. Sending my good wishes to you and Eddie for a safe and happy new year!
DeleteYou are a trooper, Martha Ellen, and the same goes for Grayden and Samuel! We 21st century people don't like to be without our power and hot running water and electronic devices. It is good that you are prepared and able to cook and be warm! Oh, but that snowfall is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing about (and seeing pictures of) your visit to Colonial Williamsburg!
Cheryl, you are so right about being 21st century folks! We are so used to modern conveniences. We have underground electrical service and hardly ever lose power. So many in our area had to go to family with power or warming centers as they didn't have any choice. Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments!
DeleteYou had the very heavy snow! Such pretty pictures of the snow looking out. I remember losing lights for a week when we were little with so much ice and snow on the ground. Mom would put the freezer food in the tin barrel or canisters to push into the snow to keep it from going bad. It worked. I have a gas fireplace to but wish we could put it back to logs. Is your fireplace one that you can open the doors or do you have to keep them closed? I know some can stay open to view. I bet we will have much more snow before spring. We only lost our lights for a few hours. My sister in Powhatan lost hers for two days also.
ReplyDeleteBetsy it's good to hear you weren't without power for very long-sorry about your sister! We did a similar thing that your Mom did to save food. We packed our cooler with all the frozen meat from the freezer and put snow and ice around them. We also packed an insulated bag with the perishables and put snow in that as well. Luckily we were able to save all the food! We have three fireplaces in our home. One has gas logs and the other two are wood burning. The gas log fireplace doors are open always which we love. If it wasn't for them we would have been unable to stay in our home. I hope you are staying warm and cozy!
DeleteI don't think we can keep ours open. I will have to check into that as I would love to keep them open.
DeleteWhat a lovely way to ring in the new year with a trip to Williamsburg. My favorite place especially this time of the year with all those wonderful colonial wreathes on the doorways, as shown in your header. Your photos are beautiful and lovely to see your birds at the feeders. We have a le Creuset also in red, my favorite pot. I expect your soup was very welcome on that kind of a day. It’s comforting having the gas logs and gas grill I’m sure, and good to hear your power was restored. Stay toasty and warm :) and I hope the leyland cypress survives the storm.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise for your kind words. When the snow melts we have a lot of clean up in our yard. A couple leyland cypress have bounced back as well as the crepe myrtle! We see we will need to have the tree surgeon help us out with the others. Our dogwoods have lost a lot of limbs that will require more extensive pruning.
DeleteMy red Le Creuset pot is my most used piece in my kitchen. It's wonderful for soups this time of year! That's so nice you have one as well. Take care and enjoy a restful Sunday.
Good to hear about your cypress. Good luck on the others too. Making another soup in favorite pot today :) Enjoy the rest of your week Martha Ellen, and stay toasty and warm.
DeleteWow! You had a lot of snow, Martha Ellen! East coast snow is heavier than Colorado's light and fluffy snow as there is more humidity there. I have gas fire places and often wondered if they would stay lit if our power ever goes out and I was happy to see yours stayed on. It was a good idea to use your grill to cook your soup--I'm sure it was very tasty and welcomed on a cold winter night.
ReplyDeletePat, this is the heaviest snow I can recall. We were out this morning trying to clean up a few limbs and the shrubbery. We are going to be losing many things, I'm afraid. If it weren't for the gas logs we would have had to move out of our home with the loss of power. Our gas furnace relies on electricity.
DeleteWow you were without power a long time! So glad our outage was brief, especially in the winter with cold temps. The snow made for some prettiness, but I can understand your concern about the plants. I admire your skill for making soup using the fireplace!
ReplyDeleteLiz, since we like to eat, ha ha, I had to get inventive! Glad your power was not off long. The worst part was not having power in the dark evenings and the cold temperatures!
Delete