weekend visitors

While we are off enjoying a visit from friends whom we've not seen since the fall, here are some pictures from this week!

Reese running in the snow :-)

While our Amaryllis flower died a few weeks ago...

We now have new growth on the other side! I have no idea 

if we'll get leave or another flower stalk, but I'm watering it - just in case!

And Snow? While you are fun, I miss summer now. Can we have this back, please?

I can smell the wood smoke and almost taste the toasted marshmallows!

enjoying the new couch - it's so much bigger!

Some Comfy news!

Our living room sofa has been delivered!

 Big Blue is going to a good home with an old co-worker

 She's coming on Sunday, so until then, Jarvis has been once 

again kicked out of the garage to make room for the sofa.

 Since Matt and I moved the couch after dinner, Reese and I camped out in the middle of the seemly-empty

living room to watch TV before bed.  Big Blue is a large sofa. A LARGE sofa! So funny to see the room so empty. BUT! I took the opportunity to vacuum, straighten the rug and pic up Reese's toys that managed to get under the sofa. Once of our req's for the new sofa was that it sits lower so that can't happen.

All clear and ready for the new, longer sofa!

 Matt took these two pics right after delivery - hence the tags and other furniture still all over the room

But he wanted me to be able to see it right away since I was at work - he's so good to me!!

The new sofa is a bit lower (lower side arms too!), a bit deeper (I can sit cross-legged!), but mostly just longer so it will fit more people. Arm to arm it's 104 inches!

Oh! The Snow!

Will it ever stop?? We are truly running out of places to put the snow. Reese got 'stuck' under the deck last night as I was shoveling snow off the deck - he gets serious work-out just going out to do his business these days jumping over/through the snow!
The weathermen all say there will be a warm up later this week and I am really hoping they are right!

Here are some pics after our latest storm (yesterday)
From work:

 Out my office window

 Out the office kitchen window - do you see the mountain of snow next to the not-so-little truck?

And then it snowed again this afternoon - seriously?! This much be a joke

At Home:

 the grill

 the deck. yes, it still has snow on it. 

But I'm running out of nearby places to put it!

 see the pile through the deck railing? 

that's from shoveling the deck this winter

 here's a view out the living room window. 

granted there are raised beds under this window 

but that pile is too close for comfort!

 the front stairs. which now must be carved out of the snow banks

 a slightly further back view so now you can see the size of the snow bank

in relation to Matt's car. yep. 

here is the snow bank on the other side in relation to my taller car

Reese has tried climbing it a few times.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day was a bit smaller all around this year. The Budget at work has been drastically cut as all move-able money has shifted into marketing and new advertising campaigns. And, it was also smaller since there were only 4 out of 9 of us in the office on Friday...well, five :-) Reese came in with me.

Meanwhile Matt went home sick from work, so we had a quiet night of take-out and West Wing on Netflix.
I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this long Presidents Day weekend! :-)

Think, Think, Think...

I've been thinking lately.... (dangerous, I know!) but it's so cold and just when it seems like we are out of the woods, it snows. AGAIN.

We were not meant to spend this much time in the cold and snow. I might sound like a crazy person, but with the Paleo Food Challenge and CrossFit and some of the books I've been reading lately (The Primal Connection by Mark Sisson and a Scottish Genealogy book) I've been feeling like the nomadic peoples really were brilliant in their habits and following the herds and weather. I would love to be someplace warmer with real sunshine and not have to be taking Vit D in order to supplement!
Matt and I have decided that if at all possible, when we get older and retire we will not be spending winters in New England. We both love it here and our family and friends are here, but man! I wonder if those 7 degree mornings I got up and went to the pool this month have attributed to this cold/sinus/throat thing I'm now coughing my way through. And for those of you wondering how truly crazy I am, no, I wore a coat and hat, etc and no, I didn't go in flip flops - I wore boots. But now it's been almost a week since I last worked out and I'm feeling restless and cooped up and yes, slightly crazy - lol!
I've been dreaming of warmer places and of planning a wonderful vacation to someplace sunny. I have also been thinking about what is important in my life. Matt has started Grad School and that has put a serious crimp in his free time - so much so that he is trying to figure out how everything fits. Some stuff might not fit.
Like the basement. Too much stuff came out for the reno and not everything is going to go back in. We are still debating some of those items which is why only 1 car fits back into the garage right now.

So what is important in my life? Before I got sick I was working out 6 days a week between swimming and CrossFit and was spending some serious time of food prep, because Paleo is not usually convenient. It made the weekends a bit fuller of household type things like dishes, grocery shopping, food prep, laundry and errands because the weekdays were just too full and I was too tired at the end of each day to stay up. So, maybe more efficient use of weekends and more sleep? those aren't bad things! But it also meant, little to no blogging, no hobbies and little to no reading. Hmmm. Need to think about this a bit more. Not that I'm giving up working out - no way! But, I might need some re-shuffling. Or just a vacation someplace warm. mmmmm, that would be wonderful!

Here's a link to the blog post that got me thinking about priorities. Granted, it was already on the brain a bit because of watching Matt try to juggle, but this post has less lists and calendars and more pretty pictures and words of wisdom. Enjoy!
ProvidenceDesign

Media Cabinet Delivery

Pardon the time lapse in my post - I'm fighting a somewhat nasty cold-turned-throat-thing that I hope none of you have/get!
In any case, here are some pictures of the media cabinet delivery, set-up and filling :-)

 boxes on the left were all emptied onto the new shelves!

Still in process but already looking better!

In other news, the love seat (seen in above pics), the buffet and large old TV were taken away by friends on Sunday to be enjoyed in their newly rented home close by. The basement is now awaiting it's new sectional!