This is one time I hope the weather man is wrong!

Here we are at the end of January with still no end to winter in sight.  The past two winters, by mid-January we had a bit of a reprieve.  We were past the bitter cold and most of the snow.  We got 10 inches of snow 12 days ago, and it has not all melted yet.  Another storm of "historic proportion" is supposedly headed our way.

Here's the word from one of our local news stations, KSDK:
"A Winter Storm Warning is in effect Monday morning through Wednesday morning.  Significant ice accumulations (.25" to .5") Monday into Tuesday will be followed by a powerful snowstorm Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon with most areas getting 8" to 12" and some, especially north of St. Louis, 16" or more. Tuesday night through Wednesday morning very strong winds are likely further stressing trees and power lines."

Ugh.  James and I spent a little while this evening getting prepared for the worst.  If we loose electricity, we will still be able to cook on our gas range.  It just has to be manually lit, and we tested it today with no problem.  We will still have some heat too, thanks to our gas fireplace - it has to be manually lit no matter what.  I went to the grocery store to get my staples for bad weather: canned tuna and peanut butter.  And, no I do not eat them together :-)  It is going to be so cold that we will just move the food in the fridge out to a cooler in the garage, if need be.  James went out to get some other items.  We've got plenty of candles, flashlights, and batteries.  We should be OK.  I'm just ready for winter to be over.  I've got an appointment in the city (40 min from home) tomorrow morning, and I really want to be able to make it there.

My Birthday

James and I had a good day yesterday celebrating my birthday. He brought a bouquet of flowers home for me and we went out for dinner at The Melting Pot. 

Opening a gift from James' bother and his wife.  It was a little ceramic sign from The Mustard Seed.  It is an organization for adults with developmental disabilities.  One of the ways they raise money is by the sell of ceramics that have been painted by the adults that they serve.  The sign has the last part of Eph. 3:18 written on it.  I'm not sure where I want to hang it yet, but I think it would look cute in Samantha's room.

This is my camera bag, and while it is very functional it is not very pretty.  The backpack style bag has served me well for hiking in the Grand Canyon and walking the streets of NYC, but I was a little tired of taking it to for formal events like weddings.  James got me a new camera bag that was designed by a photographer that we went to college with.  You can find her collection at Kelly Moore Bags. 

Here's the bag with the camera, three lenses, memory card case, and battery charger in it.  There are exterior pockets for keys, a wallet and other small necessities.

I also got this pretty handmade scarf from my mom, but I opened that package before James got home so I don't have a photo of me opening it.  It matches a hat that she gave me last year.

My birthday cake.  James got it at a nearby bakery called French Gourmet Cafe.  Carrot cake is one of my favorites.

January Snow

We had snow on Christmas, but we were not here to see it.  It started snowing last night.  I took the day off, and stayed inside for most of the day.  I think the snow is beautiful, but my body doesn't adjust well to these cold temps.  Growing up in the south, I never thought I would ever come to think of 30 F as "warm."  Well, 30 degrees is warm to me now.  In fact, I make myself get outside with the dogs and walk them along our walking trail whenever it is above 30 F in the winter.  I cannot stand to be outside long at all when the temperature is below 20, and that's what it has been today.  I wanted to take a few pictures of our doggies playing in the snow, so I bundled up and went outside.  I put on long socks that went up to my knees, two pairs of pants, two shirts, a hat, a jacket, and hiking boots.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

 backyard

 front yard

 I want to go inside!

 We are going to mail the photos of the two of us and one with both of the dogs in it to our Compassion child in Ethiopia.  It never snows in Ethiopia.  There is not even a word for snow in their national language.  So, I think he will enjoy these pictures.

Meramec Caverns

James and I both had Friday off, so we decided to visit Meramec Caverns.  It is about an hour's drive from where we live.  The temperature inside the cave is 58 degrees year round, so it was a nice outing where we didn't have to be outdoors in the cold weather for very long.  It snowed here off and on all day yesterday.

They were not very busy while we were there.  There were only three other people in our tour group.  We had a nice tour guide, and I noticed early on that he had an accent.  An accent that I love to hear during the cold winter when I'm missing Baton Rouge.  I whispered to James that he sounded Cajun.  After the tour was over I asked the guide where he was from.  I was right.  He was from Lafayette, LA. We told him that we used to live in Louisiana, and chatted for a moment.  Two of the other people in our group overheard us, and they told us that they were also from Louisiana.  What a small world!

We enjoyed the tour.  The cave was very interesting.  We picked up a few postcards to send to our sponsored child in Ethiopia.

Wine Glass Charms

I did a little crafting over the holidays.  Whenever we have a party, we always have the problem of "whose glass is whose."  I had been looking looking for some kind of charms to use for a while, but I wanted something that appealed to our interests.  I finally decided to make some for James to give to him for Christmas.  James is an electrical engineer, and he likes math.  So that was the theme I chose - engineering and numbers.  Now, if you know me, you know that I have far more business with a paintbrush in my hand that I do a math book.  So, I was kinda kicking myself for getting James to take all of his textbooks to work.  I have taken physics, but I don't remember that the symbols for a diode and resistor are.  I did a little searching on the internet and found what I wanted though, thanks largely to Wikipedia. 

Supplies
1/16 inch hole punch
jump rings
wire hoops
glass beads
needle nosed pliers
acid free paper
acid free glue stick
laminator
5 mil laminating pouches
1 inch scalloped circular hole punch
3/4 inch circular hole punch
scissors

I got all the supplies at Michael's, except for the laminator and laminating pouches.  We already had those. If you don't have a laminator, you could take the charms to an Office Depot and have them laminated there.  They don't change much for that service.  The other items can be found with the jewelry making or scrapbooking supplies. 

 James was so funny when he unwrapped these.  He didn't know what they were, and he said, "You got me earrings!?!"  James has never had a pierced ear, and I can't envision him ever having one - although it wouldn't bother me.

I told him to guess again.  Then he saw what they were.  He has encouraged me to sell these on etsy.  We'll see.

Sewing to meet a Need

 This might be a post with a little "TMI" for the guys out there, unless you work in the medical field, so feel free to stop reading now.  I've started a new sewing project.  Andrea at Babe of my Heart inspired me to do this.  GO read her post, if you have time.  It will tug at your heartstrings!  Until my trip to Haiti last year, it never crossed my mind what women in less than fortunate circumstances did when they got their period each month.  Lets face it, feminine hygiene products are something that no one here enjoys shopping for.  I've see more than one woman who has been embarrassed to buy those items.  I saw women in Haiti who were in such need of those items that they were willing to steal them.  I've heard of women using old mops and newspaper when they did not have access to pads or tampons.  I can't imagine having no other choice than newspaper.  It tugs at my heart as a pharmacist. . .newspaper is far from sanitary & it puts the women at a high risk for infection.  So, I decided to do a little something to help.  I'm making reusable pads that can be washed reused.  We are going to donate them when we got to Ethiopia.  I'd love to have some of you join me in this project too!  The pattern and instructions that I used can be found at Ask Pauline.  Refer to her website if you need more detailed instructions that what I gave.  Her pattern is also available for no charge.  I made one last night, and I hope to make some more this weekend.  This is pretty easy.  I'm not much of a seamstress, so if I can make these I think most anyone who knows how to operate a sewing machine can make these.

Here's what I used:

100% cotton batting (Don't use polyester because it is not as absorbent.)
1 yard of flannel
1 yard of Rip-Stop water-resistant fabric
1 old towel
sew-on snaps

I bought the supplies at Hancock's.  I spent about $35, and the batting was the most expensive item.  I got one package of crib-size batting and it was about $15.  

Cut out the batting, towel piece, and the top and bottom.  The top will be from the flannel and the bottom will be from the Rip-Stop.

towel

flannel

Rip-Stop

 Layer together the flannel, batting and towel.  Sew a zig-zag stitch down the middle.

Sew a zig-zag stitch around the outer edge of the towel and batting.

Pin the Rip-Stop to the side with the flannel.

 Place the pad on the sewing machine with the towel side up.  Sew a straight stitch around the majority of the edge - wings too.  You need to leave about a one inch opening so you can turn the pad right-side-out.

 Turn the pad right-side out and sew a straight stitch all the way around it outside of it.  You can close up the opening by doing this, if you care careful.

 Sew on the snaps.

 This is the backside.

It snaps closed into a handy little pouch.

Potato and Corn Chowder

I've been trying to add a few more meatless recipes to our regular rotation.  Vegetables are cheaper than meat, and we just don't eat enough of them anyway.  I made this yesterday for a friend who had a baby on Christmas Eve.  She's a vegetarian, and I hope she liked this.  I saved a little of it for us, and we enjoyed it.

Prep time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients
4 Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
3 stalks of celery
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
30 oz niblet corn (drained)
2 (14 3/4 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups 2% milk
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (cubed)
1 tsp. Zatarain's liquid Crab Boil
1 tsp. Tabasco
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Melt butter in large stock pot, add the green onions and celery and simmer until done.  In another pot, boil the potatoes until tender and drain.

Once the green onions are cooked, add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir constantly until everything is well blended and the cream cheese is melted.