Playing in the snow

The Wright Memorial in KDH

I got home around 6:30pm tonight from spending Christmas with my boys on the Outer Banks. It was great to spend time with the family but boy was I glad to make it home tonight. I left the beach around 9:30 am and what is normally a 7 hour drive took 9. The Outer Banks got about 4 inches of snow on Sunday and the Norfolk area got a lot more than that. When I got home I had to contend with the 4-6 inches here in Floyd. The snowy mountain roads are not fun after dark. Any way I am home I will miss the family but I’m HOME!!!

What about the 911 responders!!!!

GOP vote to help them. Give them the Christmas present that will help lives!!!!

Pass the 9/11 responders bill!!!!!

9/11 responders bill defeated by Senate GOP filibuster - CNN

December 16, 2010 - Mike Huckabee - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Full Episode Video | Comedy Central

This winter I have discovered the wonder of the soup/stew. I have been making chicken soup, venison stew and chili this fall and I find these meals very satisfying. Last night it was in the low teens, that’s cold even for me, and I stayed warm with a big bowl of three been chili and a nice wood fire.

The farmer’s almanac said that this year would be dryer but colder than last year. I’m beginning to believe that may be true. Its 10 am and according to my out door thermometer its 18 degrees out side. I can see snow flurries and there is a little more than a dusting of snow but nothing like last year. Heck even the cat and dogs want to stay in I put every one out and they were back in in no time. The sun is trying to come out but the wind is picking up so it’s going to be a hunker down stay in day.

If the Farmers almanac is correct and the cold trend continues maybe I will get all the indoor projects in need to finish done this winter so that come spring the inside of the house will be finished. I also need to get rid of stuff again; the cabin is starting to get cluttered. I down sized and I want to stay that way.

I went to an interesting meeting on Saturday in reference to cohousing. It is a really neat concept, houses are grouped close together on a piece of land. In the case of the “development” I was checking out has about 38 acres located 1 mile from down town Floyd VA. The members of the cohousing organization each will own 1/30^th of the property, there will be a common building with a kitchen and great room and possibly a laundry room. These are to promote group activities and hopefully encourage people to interact. There will be guest rooms in the common building so that the houses in the community can be smaller. One would not need to build a guest room into a house. Any way it is a lot like a condominium community but smaller and built with community interaction in mind. I’m not sure it will be for me. Housing like this tends to be expensive and even though the folks who are organizing this thing want it to “affordable” what is affordable for one may not be affordable for another. I am also very much in love with my cabin and while I would love to be closer to Floyd I’m not sure I would want to give up what I have.

The cohousing group here in Floyd VA calls the community Jubilee, they do have a LLC called Floyd Cohousing but they do not have a website yet. When they get one I will post it.

This is a site that gives some information on cohousing, Cohousing Communities Directory

Its snowing!!!!!

I went out this morning and got a snow shovel..... we will see if I need it. Welp back to the cookie making.

We had a dusting of snow yesterday evening which explains why it is only 30 degrees and not colder. The thick cloud cover helps keep the out door temps “up”; of course my handy dandy wood stove is very welcome for the indoor heat, I love wood stove heat on cold days. I do have to work for that heat but I don’t mind hell it gives me something to do…..

The dusting of snow we got last night was not the only weather I can talk about we had a hell of a storm Tuesday t. Coming home from work that night the rain was coming down in sheets and side ways. Luckily for me the rain let up just a little when I got home so I did not get soaking wet opening and closing the gate to the driveway. That night I was awakened from time to time by pops and bangs. In the morning I found the deck chairs down in the field and a small tree across my driveway. I have been working a lot lately, I leave early and it is dark by the time I get home so I could not do any clean up until today and I have to get things done today including getting that tree out of the lane because it is going to snow 1-3 inches tomorrow. One more cup of coffee and I’m off to start a typical day of living in the country.