frigid weather, some general chit chat, and a little more christmas

As I write this post, I can hear the winds howling outside my house and I'm watching gusts of snow fly past the window. The sun is shining but the wind chill temperature is already below zero. I know this is a horrible photo - I just grabbed my phone from where I was sitting and zoomed in outside the living room window to capture this photo of the sparrows lining the fence and fluttering about the bird feeder (and the mourning dove sitting on the branch on the left). The birds are all sitting there like the wind is a gentle summer breeze. They must have some good feathery insulation and super grippy claws in order not to blow right off the fence!

Earlier in the day, I went to open the side door (I can't even remember why now) and I heard this ripping sound and felt the door opening slowly. I was wondering what was going on and when I got the door open, I saw that the velvet ribbon from the wreath had adhered itself onto the ice on the inside of the door! The ribbon pulled away from the wreath as I was opening the door.

Inside, the cats and I have a better idea of trying to stay warm and snuggly, especially in the long, dark, cold evenings. I'm not much of a TV watcher so I've been doing lots of reading.

Last night I was reading on the couch and didn't realize at the time that the cats were each perched on the back cushions. When I got up and saw this, I grabbed my phone to take a picture. Zippo was in a hurry to get up and take my warm spot on the couch, so that's why he's blurry. 

On Monday, Brian was working a later shift so we had a chance to go out to breakfast. There's an old-fashioned diner in town that's been there "forever", but yet in the 26+ years we've lived here, we'd never been there to eat. I had a coupon for a 1/2 off breakfast, so we decided to give the place a try. I have to say, I give the place five stars for ambiance because it looks and feels like hometown Americana. But unfortunately, the food wasn't the greatest. Oh well, you live and learn. Sometimes it's fun just going to a new place instead of the usual.

A few more touches of Christmas around my house...a collection of Santas at the end of the hallway.

Every Christmas season, I put this special bunny on Phil's memory shelf. You'll see that on his scarf it says, "Joy Phil". As for the photo of the heart with the hand on it...when Phil passed away seven years ago, Tim painted that heart on Phil's bedroom wall. As an artist, that was Tim's way of expressing his pain. A few years later when we were painting Phil's bedroom, we asked Tim if he wanted to keep the heart on the wall or if we should paint over it. He wanted us to paint over it. So I took a photo of the heart and framed it for Phil's memory shelf.

In the main bathroom, I added just a few simple touches with angels, a bottlebrush tree, and a bathtub full of mini ornaments.

 Hard to believe Christmas is only 11 days away. I got some gifts wrapped today, which is actually a bit of a miracle. You see, I loathe wrapping (and I'm truly lousy at it), so I usually procrastinate and do that at the last minute. I'd like to make a few different Christmas cookies, too and get those in the freezer. 

How are your holiday preparations coming along?