Saturday Snapshot

 Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home with Books. To participate in this meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
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I was going to use some photos of beautiful flowers from last summer since I am so anxious to see them again. But I decided to use these instead. Here are my adorable puppy dogs and exactly how I found them one recent morning when I woke up. Allie, the golden retriever, sleeps in such odd positions it makes my back hurt just looking at her. Cassy, the chocolate lab, can sleep anywhere. They are both so spoiled and are way too comfy on the furniture. Sadly, this is also how I've been feeling lately and I'm just as lazy as they are. We really need spring!

Allie the lazy dog.

She can sleep like this for hours.

I finally got my son to sort through some clothes and Cassy made a nest of them!

So true!

Come on Mother Nature!

I hate to complain with all that's going on in the world today. This is really just venting a bit of frustration rather than complaining. I do know how lucky I am and count my blessings every day but come on Mother Nature!

We are used to the snow and cold here in western NY state but this has been a tough winter. We have had lots of storms. We do recover quickly though. My house is in the valley out in the boonies and we are one of the last places to have all the snow melt away. Last week that finally happened here with the warmer temperatures. We could finally see our yard with all the mud, sticks and dog poop that are usually our first signs of spring around here. Over the weekend we did a little clean up, played in the sand box and saw our first robins and blue jays. I told my boys that we still had some crappy weather coming since it's only March. Spring is tricky around here and we have quite a variety of weather conditions. Little did I know that we would get hit so hard so soon!

The snow started falling again last night and we have a storm warning until midnight tonight. We've had 10-12" of snow so far and now it's sleeting. We are fortunate enough to have wonderful neighbors who plow our driveway (often!) and earlier I went out to shovel the walkways and toss bread crumbs to the hungry birds. It's great exercise and the blanket of snow is beautiful but I've had enough. Really. I miss my hammock, the flowers and the grass. Gentler weather would be welcomed and appreciated. And I promise, Mother Nature, I won't complain about the hot days of summer or mowing the lawn. Bring it on!

It's so cold...

We've been in a deep freeze in western NY state for much of the winter. Lots of snow and lots of cold. Since I've lived here my whole life I'm used to it, I just don't care for it. I also get very lazy this time of year and that's never a good thing. I've been reading good books and snuggling up by the firsplace but that's about it. I need exercise and fresh air! I also need to pay more attention to my blog and blogging buddies. So sorry to have neglected you. It wasn't personal.











So much snow and ice. Last week it was -20 degrees. Ugh. I am sooooo ready for spring!











Oh how I miss my hammock! It's hard to believe this pile of snow is where it belongs.










Even the girls are way too lazy but they do like to play in the snow. I wish I did.

I hope you are having a warmer winter and are staying safe. I also hope you have piles of great books to read. Bring on the sunshine!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

The last week has been very interesting here in western NY state. Let me see if I can give you the short version...

*Furnace quit, no heat for hours but hubby fixed it.
*Heavy rain, flooded yard, water in basement, no hot water for shower because water put out pilot light on water heater -brrrrr...., hubby fixed it
*Rain turned to snow and lots of it. We had several inches but some places had 2-3 ft!
*Basketball season just started for our youngest son, a senior in high school. We've had games every other day, all away on very snowy roads. I guess we got that bad tire replaced just in time for the winter weather.
*House phone quit working due to bad weather and phone company didn't fix it for days. Bad signal makes it hard to use cell phone. We can go outside in the snow and cold to make calls or try it inside in the kitchen, standing on one foot, with the phone pressed against the window pane, the wind blowing from the north, at sun set, on Tuesdays in months with a "q". Sometimes we get lucky.
*Visit to aunt for two days while uncle is away. She has chemo treatments for breast cancer and wanted company. I was more than happy to do it and wish I could do more. It was a fun visit and was great to have her all to myself. She happens to live 2 hours away near Buffalo and if you've ever heard any weather report in your whole life you know that Buffalo tends to get a bit of snow. (2-3 feet in less than 48 hours) I was able to travel with minimal problems and (mostly) clear roads.
*12 days until Christmas and I have a total of 4 gifts. Four. FOUR. And 2 of them are only stocking stuffers. And my oldest has a birthday on the 22nd. Every time I ask my kids what they want they tell me they don't know. I'm glad they aren't greedy and ask for anything and everything but it would be helpful if they asked for something. After all, I'm pretty sure that Christmas Day is on December 25th every, single year. They knew it was coming. They knew I was going to ask for a list. But, since we go through this time after time I'm not worried. It always gets done.
*Picked out a beautiful tree for a great price. My son helped bring it home, now hubby has to put it up. It sits on the porch, lonely and naked. I do the decorating. ALL of it. But I like the decorating and I love the lights. It's the undecorating that really stinks.
*Read a book and started another. Started several reviews but didn't finish any - yet.

So that was last week. I have lots to do this week and a lot of it is the same stuff as last week. I have lots of blog stuff to work on and lots of good books to read so hopefully I'll get to that. There's more decorations to put up too. I love the lights. Most of the outdoor stuff is done fortunately because this week is supposed to be cold. Single digits cold. Brrr... The first snow was very beautiful though and I did take some photos to share here.

In all of the craziness that comes with the holidays I hope you take time to enjoy your blessings. Even in the hardest times I know I am truly blessed. I have a wonderful family and friends, a roof over my head and junk food in my cupboards. I'm very lucky and very grateful. And I'm happy to have "met" all of you in the blog world too. Enjoy December!

Seasons in Western NY State

I love taking photos in the fall, especially around our house. After another large snowfall this winter I decided to try to take some photos of the same scenes from Autumn. I hope I can remember to do it in the Spring and Summer too. It's so beautiful here and I would love to have a comparison for a whole year. These are the most recent photos. It's hard to believe they are the same place, isn't it?

The hills...

the road...



the porch.

Beautiful!