A Snuffle Mat

Amazon just delivered an interesting new toy for me.   Mom was at Luke's blog and the Snuffle Mat is one of his favorite things to do to keep him busy when it's cold out so mom decided that I needed to have one too.     I have never had a Snuffle Mat before.

 She unrolled it and hid 6 treats underneath the woolly rolls for me to find.   I "think" I found them all.   I need to be sure~

Thank you for letting mom know about the Snuffle Mat, Luke!  What a SuperFun toy this is!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Mini-Monday

It's been cold here and mom decided that today would be a good popcorn and mini-series day.    She has been watching Call the Midwife and LOVES it!

 She's gotten into a lot of the PBS mini-series and is thoroughly enjoying them. Before Call the Midwife was Poldark and before Poldark was Mr Selfridge.  She loves them all!
 It's fine with me as long as there is popcorn once in awhile!

 Yes, please.   I'm up for another one, mom!

I just love popcorn!

It's been seven years since our sweet Maggie left for the Rainbow Bridge. We think about her all the time.
Maggie and her best friend, Mitch♥

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Nature Friday

We are joining Rosy and her daddy this week for Nature Friday.

These pictures were taken on Tuesday after our ice storm.   We were so happy to be able to get out and walk once again!

 There are icicles hanging all along this fence rail~

 The Weeping Cherry tree was so pretty all covered in ice crystals!

 We couldn't believe we saw a snowman.   It was brutally cold yesterday and there was more ice on the ground than snow.   The kids that built this snowman get high praise from us and he's a great looking snowman!

Yesterday we had lots of rain and winds and warm temps for this time of the year and our snow is all gone.
  
Mom didn't bring the camera on our walk with us this morning and guess who we saw.   The llama out for her walk - and her name is Carousel!     I got within 8 feets of her but was afraid to get closer. I kept sniffing the Aire from where I was but I wouldn't go near her.  She was so calm and her peep was so nice.   I hope we get to see her again soon.

Happy Friday, everybuddy!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Walkies on Tuesday

Mom decided at 11 am, when it warmed up to 17 degrees F, that we would go for our walk!  YAY!
It took FOREVER for her to get ready to head out the door.   She had to make sure that I had Musher's Secret on my paws and that she had her Stabilizers on.   
She decided to play it safe and go through the garage and out the back door to avoid the icy steps.
 I am one happy girl to be outside and going for my walk!

 You can't tell by any of these photos and it's really a shame but all of the ice covered bushes and trees look they were covered in diamonds and with the sun hitting them it was blinding and so sparkly and gorgeous!

 It smells like Christmas out here~

 We are 100% positive that this is the tree branch (what's left of it) and fell on the wires and caused us to lose our electricity.   A couple of hours before we lost our power, a fire engine went by the front of our house with his siren on and he stopped at the corner just a short ways down the street and we could see a backhoe moving to the scene.    
We feel so fortunate that we were only without power for 3 hours and it was at the beginning of the storm so the temps weren't that frigid yet.    One of mom's friends on facebook that lives in Bethany, CT,  about 20-25 minutes away from us, lost her power and she was without for 28 hours!   We can't imagine how cold it got inside her house.  Luckily, her electricity has been restored and they are warm and happy.

 That a beautiful day even though it's cold and nothing is melting.   The wind is not whipping today, which makes it feel almost balmy!

Don't post that picture, mom.  It makes my hiney look HUGE!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Bitter Cold

We lost our electricity yesterday for 3 hours.  By 5:30 pm it was back on and mom and I were doing happy dances but not long after the dancing stopped, mom and I both had fingers and paws crossed tightly that we wouldn't lose it again.  So far - so good.    It's minus 3 degrees F here with minus 15 and minus 20 degree wind chills.   brrrrrrrrrr

When the sun appeared, mom couldn't wait to go outside and take pictures of all of the ice covered EVERYTHING!
This is the first time she's wearing her Stabilicers and she couldn't wait to see if she slipped on the ice.  BTW, she is not wearing winter shoes.   The Stabilicers run small and she should have bought the size larger for her winter shoes. 

 The pictures don't do it justice but it looks like a crystal palace with the sun shining through the ice covered branches.    It's just beautiful! 
She happened to spot a man walking his Golden Retriever and all mom could do was stand there with her mouth open.   She couldn't believe what she was seeing.   She wouldn't even consider taking me out on the road today.   Not only is it too cold but there is a safety factor with traffic and slick roads and downed trees.   Hopefully, the dog had boots on.   He wasn't wearing a coat.

 The wind has been fierce and the bark on this tree is covered in shiny ice.    The branches on the tree right outside our kitchen window are ice covered and they are scraping the aluminum siding on the house and every time the wind blows, it sounds like someone scraping their fingernails on a blackboard☺

 This is the first time she's been in the front yard since the storm.

 On a scale of one to ten, how did she like the Stabilicers?   She gives them a TEN!   She never slipped once and she was walking on ice covered driveway and ice crusted snow.   But she still took me out through the garage and out the back door.   She knew that I would slip on the stairs and we can't have that.  

 No walkies for me today but I will be playing with my interactive toys~

And gnawing on my stuffed bone~

Stay warm and safe everybuddy!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Our Ice Storm

Last night, when mom and I went out do last minute peepee's at 9pm, the snow was just beginning to twinkle down.    We went out this morning at 3am, and it was raining and my beautiful snow was already mushy. 

Now it's almost noon and the rain has taken a break - long enough for us to check out the yard. 
My sissy's boyfriend was here about an hour ago and he plowed our driveway.   Bless him 87 times over!
It's still very icy and very slick and mom decided that there was no way she was heading down the steps with me.

 So we went through the garage and out the back door and past our poor icy Rosemary.

 The Dogwood tree is weeping and covered in ice.

 The Bittersweet berries~

 And the Holly berries~

 This is just wet snow.

 Wet snow is not fun snow.   You can't see from this angle, but 3 long-needle Pine tree branches have already cracked and fallen to the ground and we are hoping that no more fall.

 It's starting to rain again and we need to get ourselves inside, mom!

 Right now, our temps are 30 degrees F.     In a few hours, the temps will drop like a rocket and the wind will pick up and it's possible more branches will fall.     We are praying they don't fall on power lines and we lose our electricity.    There is no generator here. 

Tomorrow, will be an icy cold bitter day and mom says no walkies for either one of us.

 There are many of us on the east coast experiencing this nasty storm.     Stay safe and warm, everybuddy! 

Love ya lots♥
Molly - reporting from icy Connecticut

Scarcely Any Snow on Saturday

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Nature Friday

We are joining Arty today for Nature Friday~

The Christmas cactus was mom's Christmas gift from my sissy last year.   It had buds on it but the buds fell off and it never bloomed.    Surprisingly, mom has kept it alive for an entire year and the plant is rewarding her with beautiful flowers!

  There is more than one bud on the plant but this is the only open blossom at the moment.

  Mom bought this cyclamen at the grocery store.   It was on sale and she figured that it would add some cheer to the winter days ahead~

Today would have been gram's 87th birthday.   Great-gram and gram had Dachshunds and Irish Setters always.  Those breeds were the favorites with both of them.  Mom doesn't know the Doxie's name but the Irish Setter is Lady.

Happy Friday, everybuddy~

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Today is Your Day

Today is your day to practice whimsey,
smile broadly, sing loudly,
paint your rooms in bold colors,
watch wondrous cloud animals parade your story,
search every rabbit hole
for a magical white bunny,
have caviar for breakfast
and oatmeal for dinner,
wear a purple coat with a red hat,
and dance lightly with life.
~Jonathan Lockwood Huie ~

Love ya lots♥

Molly

Molly Monday

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Nature Friday

We are joining Jakey this week for Nature Friday~

Tuesday morning we had a snow-drizzle mix.  I love my walk early in the morning and I convinced mom that we NEEDED to get out and walk and she said yes! 

 OMD - we found a Periwinkle flower in January!

See mom, it was well worth the walk even though we did get a little bit damp!

Happy Friday, everybuddy!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

The January Tree

Mom couldn't bear to put all of her Christmas trees away and lose the festive lights that make her happy when it's cold and dreary and this season, far too rainy, so she took off the red flowers and replaced them with blue hydrangeas☺

Guess what!
Mackie and Jett sent me January pressies!   I have my very own shopping bag!
Let's hit those store for the January sales, mom!

 And they sent me yummy treats!

Thank you, thank you!       You boys are excellent shoppers and I love my January gifts!

Can we do a make-over on the tree in February too and will there be gifts, mom?!

Love ya lots♥
Molly

Making Pomanders

Mom has been making pomander balls for the past couple of days.   Yes, we know that they're supposed to be made BEFORE Christmas to be used as ornies on your tree but mom doesn't always follow the rules.
She bought oranges at the grocery store and she bought a pound of whole cloves from Amazon.
The nut pick on the breadboard helps mom poke holes in the orange to make it easier on her fingers to insert the whole cloves.
She was listening to music and poking and inserting away.  She says it's fun and smells incredible!

 We're getting there!
She fills the entire orange with cloves because she has read that they last much longer when the entire fruit is covered and that's the way she's done it in the past.   Mom made pomander balls YEARS ago when a container of whole cloves was dirt cheap.  Now they're 4 times that price.    She used to make them with apples too.

 You will notice that she does use the powdered orris root.  Some pomander recipes don't call for it but it helps the orange to dry and prevents mold and the pomanders can last a long time.
Martha Stewart has a fun video on pomanders.

 Once the orange is filled with cloves, she puts it in a ziplock bag, which contains the orris root and the spices, and she shakes and rolls the bag till the orange is coated.

Mom headed outside to gather rosemary clippings and cedar greens and holly with berries and put them in a dish with the pomanders on top. The smaller pomander is a lemon.   The lemon slices came from Michael's and are fake. 

 Yes, it does smell good, mom, but I would rather have a yummy cookie from my cookie jar~

Mom had a fun morning on a rainy raw day and our kitchen smells so pretty!   Have any of you ever made pomander balls before?

Love ya lots♥
Molly