Outside my window....it's 34 and there is rain coming out of the sky.  I have deliberately drawn the curtains and refuse to be a part of this fickle weather situation.  Yesterday it was 25 and snowing.  I'm not saying that I like snow better but let us make up our minds here.

I am thinking....this house and family could use a good airing.  Everyone is sick except for Doug.  I don't know why he has been spared but I am thankful.  We have a house full of coughs, sneezes, runny noses, and fevers. Even Layn, poor soul, is sick.

I am thankful for....Puffs tissues, Tylenol PM, orange juice, and a husband who is willing to rub my feet to help me sleep.

From the schoolroom....education will continue, albiet at a much slower pace due to illness but it will continue.

From the kitchen....that is a good question.  No cooking happened over the weekend so all of our leftovers are effectively gone.  Guess I need to take something out of the freezer.

I am wearing.....long flannel jammies.  Everyone is wearing jammies.  Everyone is curled up and comfy with pillows and quilts and hot mugs of tea.

I am creating.....all creative activity is on hold at present.

I am going....to stay home.

I am reading....King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table by Howard Pyle

I am hoping.....that everyone will be quite recovered by the end of the week.

I am hearing....the printer in the other room printing out MK's schoolwork,  Matthew coughing while he writes in his journal, and the sound of the bubbler on the fish tank.

Around the house....everything is quiet.  Layn is napping and everyone else is in quiet mode.

One of my favorite things...hot cups of tea and clean tissues.

A few plans for the rest of the week....this week there are no plans except to take each day as it comes.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you......

My new diningroom table.  It wasn't in the house ten minutes and it was already being pressed into service.

The view out the front window of my car.  Somewhere down that road (yes there is a road in front of me) is my home.

Only to spend and hour in front of my Lord would I have ventured out on a day like this.  Now I am safely home and I have hung up the car keys and changed into my comfys!

Piles of fluffy heaps

misshapen, sodden, wet, white.

Unwanted kleenex.

Outside my window....it is 16 degrees and bet no one is surprised to hear that it is snowing, again.  The snow started up late last night and Ian got the call to come out about 3:30 this morning.  The roads must be kept clear!

I am thinking....about flowers and vegetables and sinking my fingers and feet into newly turned soil.  Right about now it is all a pipe dream but I know that in another week I can turn over my cold frames and start planting some seeds so that I can get an early start on the planting season.

I am thankful for....the presence of young people in my life.  It is their presence and perspective that keeps me from losing mine.

From the schoolroom.....Mary-Kate and I will be hard at work.  Matthew has to work today so he gets the day off. (besides his teacher needs to get caught up on some grading.)

From the kitchen....plenty of leftovers!!!!!!

I am wearing....jeans and a grinch tee shirt.

I am creating....more works of art for my new virtual storefront.  Check me out at this link http://www.distributistexchange.com/sew.html.

I am going....to stay at home where it is warm and cozy, especially since Matthew will have my car so I have no way to get out anyway.

I am reading....Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

I am hoping....that the cold that has robbed me of my voice and sleep will be departing soon.

I am hearing....morning sounds, some of my favorite in the world. 

Around the house.....each of the inmates is about his business of starting the day.  Melissa is getting ready to go to work, Matthew is out doing barn chores, Mary-Kate is taking care of her animals, and Layn is back down for his first nap of the day.

One of my favorite things....listening.  I like to listen to the morning sounds of this house as it is getting up for another day.  I like to listen to the slumbering sounds of this house after it has settled itself for the night.  I like listening to the bustling sounds of this house when everyone is about his business and things are running as they should.

A few plans for the rest of the week......schoolwork and family work and house work.  I have to make sure that Doug gets to his Dr. appt. this week as well.  He has a tendancy to forget such things.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you.....

Layn all dressed and ready to face another day.

I wasn't being a pessimist, I was being a realist.  This is what I woke up to this morning.

Temp. 21 with 40-45mph winds.  The snow is coming down only it is coming down sideways.  We live at the bottom of a hill so I cannot imagine what it is doing at the top of the hill.  Ian isn't home and I have no idea how long he has been gone but judging by this wind I don't think he is coming home any time soon. 

Welcom back to Old Man Winter.

The thermometer got up to 59 today.  The sun came out and shone for all it was worth.  It was almost enough to make the uninitiated think that spring had come to Upstate New York.  Alas, to all those who have never spent a February in this part of the country, this is what we call a February thaw.  If anyone out there is thinking that I am being pessimistic and lacking totally in the hope that is supposed to accompany days such as this one; look at our weather forecast for tomorrow.  Tomorrow our high is supposed to be 32 with a chance of lake effect snow (with accumulations).  The winds that have been coming out of the south/southwest today are supposed to shift into the north/northwest. 

In spite of my knowledge of the vaguaries of the weather in this part of the country, I came home from my errands today and banished MK and Layn to enjoy the fine weather while it was here to enjoy.  I too took advantage of the sunshine and warmth to soak up both and store it for the coming cold tomorrow.  We even opened some windows to air out the house and are risking the wrath of the men by ignoring the fire and letting it go out.

One result of the warm weather this week is the amount of snowmelt that we have experienced.  When I took my walk I checked the creek and discovered that someone forgot to tell it to stay in its bed.

This willow tree is totally stranded on an island composed of large blocks of ice that have floated downstream.

On the other side of the road the water comes out of the culvert and boils its way down the valley.  The sound is exciting and frightening all at the same time.  It reminds me of the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

It really is a fascinating sight.  I think I could stand on the bridge and listen and watch the water until the creek was calm and back in its bed again.

when grandma has the camera pointed at you.

Happy birthday to my dear brother David. 

Edit: My son the poet and accomplished writer informs me that the first line was short a syllable. I therefore have amended my haiku.

Green spikes pushing forth

without fear in cold. Taste of

hope in hot butter.