Hello!

It is so cold here in this part of WI today. It is -14 this morning with a windchill of -30 degrees below zero.. This little cutie is all bundled up to play out in the snow but she could not go out today! It is too cold - school closings because it is too dangerous for little ones to be outside. It seems like winter has been forever already but we have many months to go until Spring. This is a Mo Manning digital image - one of a set of 3 called "Valerie in Winter" and you can find them at http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/. 

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog today! Wishing you a happy one!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

Computer Buddy

Hello!

It is very cold here in this part of WI. Our high today will be -6 degrees with a windchill of -23 below zero. Once again we have the frigid weather with more to follow. The winds make it worse with the blowing snow and drifts. I think that tomorrow the windchill is to be close to the -45 again with no school because of the danger of being out in this cold. 

I will be staying in today - spending time with my new computer buddy Jimbo. He is the smartest little guy - a quick learner and so inquisitive. He loves to watch me work the jigsaw puzzles on the computer as he watches intently the cursor move the colored pieces across the screen. I am amazed at his patience and how long he will sit on my lap and watch the screen. He has learned that the computer itself is off limits and that he cannot climb on the table no matter hos cute he is. But here we are - computer buddies.

He is also such a cuddle buddy and has to take a little nap once in awhile. He loves to be by me and follows me to whatever room I am in. He is so small and when you hold him he seems to not weigh anything at all and he seems so fragile. He has my heart of course.

After a short nap he is ready to go again. His interest in everything is fun to watch. He always has to have at least one paw on my when he is near. Even when cleaning his fur he has to have an "anchor" to me. So funny.

Some times he doesn't sleep, just happy to be. Wonder what he is thinking. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope that you have a great Monday!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

Meet Jimbo

Hello!

Meet Jimbo - a 10 week-old kitten who came to live with me on Wednesday. He was part of a litter that some idiot left in a box by the curb in WI in the winter! Two of the litter died and Jimbo was one of two that survived but he was very ill and in poor shape when the shelter rescued them. But now he is healthy and full of the devil and yet so sweet and cuddly you forgive him anything! :<) This is his 'Uncle Jim' with him on the day we brought him home. I am a dog person so this is a new experience to have a kitten. I have had to make a number of changes in my apartment as to what I have setting out! It is going to be a fun journey!

This was after he knocked everything off of my computer table and after 'typing' on the keyboard. It took me 5 minutes to delete everything and get a normal screen back. Do you think this little guy has my number? 

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog today! I have been ill and not creating but hope to make something this weekend to share. I do have my new doll stuffed and sewn together and hope to draw the face on and start her hairdo today. It is very cold here in this part of WI today - dangerous windchill again and below zero temperatures. But I am having such fun with this sweet little ball of fur that has come into my life. He is something else! Wishing you a happy weekend!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

My Orchid Is Blooming!

Hello!

It has been about 2 years since I received this orchid as a gift from my son Jim and I have been babying it all these many months, hoping to see it bloom again. It was so beautiful when I received it and the flowers lasted a long time, but I had never owned one before so was not sure if it would bloom again. All this time I have cared for it faithfully - one cup of water once a week - and kept the leaves dusted and one day a stem started to grow! I have watched this now for weeks as the stem grew and the tiny buds formed and became larger and now it is blooming! 

Today the first bloom is opening! It is such a miracle!

Thank you for visiting my blog today! We have heavy snowfall here in this part of WI - supposed to snow for most of the day. A good day to work on my doll and maybe a card or two! I received a crock pot for Christmas and I have been having great fun creating meals with it! If you have a favorite crock pot receipe maybe you would share it with me? :<) Wishing you a happy one!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

Indoor Play

Hello!

Some indoor play for this little girl - too cold to be outdoors much of the time here in this part of WI. This little cutie playing at being mommy with her baby doll is "Kady" and you can find this digital image of Mo Manning's at http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/. I am entering this card in Mo's current challenge where the theme is "Flowers". Go to http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ to see all of the great creations to inspire the Monday morning and enter your own!

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog today! Wishing you a happy Monday!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

And Then . . . We Had No Heat!

Hello!

And then after I wrote the last post about the water main break - then Sunday we woke up with no heat in the apartment building - that is why we were so cold when we woke up at like 4:30 - 5:00 am! Yesterday little or no heat! And the frigid temperatures continued. Our high yesterday was -11 degrees with that dangerous windchill of -45 to -50 degrees! It was very bad here at the apartments - and with so many of our tenants elderly or hanidcapped - it was so stressful! People were using their ovens for heat or the bathroom fan heater - fire worries - or just hunkering down with layers of clothing. To walk out into the building hallways was like walking into a walk-in cooler. Today a bit of heat finally - I have 64 degrees in my apartment - a sauna! The living room wall board is not heating but the bedroom one is and that is heating the apartment. Our outside temperature is -14 with a windchill of -26 and tonight it is to be -2 degrees.  

In this kind of cold - weird snow patterns form from the wind - and we had so much wind which increased the frigid air! Looking out my living room window it looks like lilly pads across a pond. These are not footsteps - no one has been out and especially not walking in the snow on the side of the building. :<) These raised areas are caused by the wind. Strange, huh?

Also in this extreme cold, smoke from chimneys does not rise and usually angles down. But looking out the window when taking the snow photos I saw this smoke from the chimney in the house across the street - it was blowing straight across. If you look between the slats on the right third of the photo, about mid way down - you can see the white plume of smoke going across. You can click on the photo to enlarge it. I could not get another photo with the blinds up because by then the smoke was going down again. Too cold!

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I wish you a happy and warm Tuesday! Hopefully it will be warm in here tomorrow so I can create something! My tables were pulled away from the wall for two days to get at the heating element so now everything is back in place and I can sit down at my workdesk again.

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

Can You Believe -45 to -50 Windchill?!?!?!?!

And Now We Have NO HEAT In The Building!

Hello!

That's a MINUS 45 to MINUS 50 degrees windchill! Our forecast today here in this part of WI - it is so cold! It is now a -10 degrees here as I write this and our high today is to be a -13 with the -45 to -50 windchill. Tonight a low of -16 degrees. At this temperature any exposed skin can freeze in a matter of minutes so all of the local and surrounding schools have been closed today because of these severe temperatures. This is breaking a record for us as the last temperatures this low were in 1912. 

This little cutie would not be able to go outside to play today but by Wednesday we will have warmer temperatures and maybe snow and she could go out to make snowballs. This is one of Mo Manning's digital images called "Valerie With Snowball" and it comes in a set of 3 wonderful image of Valerie playing in the snow. You can find them here http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/.In cold like this eveything sparkles and so I have added some sparkle to the falling snow in the background and a sparkling snow dusting on her clothes.

We had a very stressful early hours of Sunday morning here at the apartments where I live. The fire alarms went off at 2:00 am and because of the severe cold we are having no one knew what to do as we could not go outside. There are many elderly residents here and many with wheelchairs, etc. so a frightening experience for many. The alarms are so loud and the flashing strobe lights are so bright - inside our apartments as well as in the hallways - and it kept on for so long. Finally the police arrived and started going in the halls where people were standing to tell us that it was a water main break in the first floor back stairway at one end of the building and the rising steam had set off the fire alarm. It took a long time it seemed for the fire trucks to get here and the alarms turned off. There is nowhere to go to escape the loud noise or the flashing lights and it was very stressful. Thankfully we had heat and water all night and the maintenance and inspectors came through Sunday to check all 60 apartments to make sure each one had heat - they had been up all night since the water main break and were all very tired. It could have been a disaster - we were very lucky and although there was a lot of water, no apartments were affected. Hopefully we get through this intense cold over these next two days without incident.

Wishing you a happy Monday!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

It's WOYW? Wednesday and a New Year!

Hello!

How can it be Wednesday again?! The days are flying by! It is time for WOYW? and also the first day of the new year. After major sorting my workdesk is clean and orderly with everything in it's place - ready to start working on some new creations. Go to http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ and see what everyone is doing now that the craziness of the holiday season is over! Maybe lots of 'resting' on this New Year's Day! 

I have also finally begun work on my new doll - hopefully she will soon be together!

We had more snow last night and it is very cold here in this part of WI. Going to stay home today and read my library book and stay warm! Just came in from cleaning off my car and moving it out of the parking lot for the plows to come in. I am so weary already of this and it is only January! Sigh. Wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR and all good things in 2014!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane