Happy Birthday David!

 

One day last week, while we were snowed in, 

David turned 52.

So...

we decided to postpone the festivities.

We would wait until Saturday.

Surely, the roads would be passable by then.

Thankfully, they "fetched," and we headed downtown to...

The Melting Pot.

At the Melting Pot, you cook your own dinner at the table.

That whole experience was a hoot.

The boys had no idea what to do.

Basically, you order a dish of raw steak and seafood,

spear it on a long fork

bread it with something called tempura,

and cook it in boiling oil in the middle of the table.

The waiter gave a stern warning not to put the raw meat and seafood on our dinner plate,

 After that, we dove in with gusto.

We all loved it!

The pot was a huge mess when we finished,

 but we laughed till we cried and some great memories were made!

From there, it was back to Gram's house for a rousing game of "Spoons."

Present opening was next, and then dessert.

I made a batch of delicious "Blondies" served with coffee and lots of cream.

All of the kids love when I serve them "after dinner" coffee,

My snowman dishes are out now.

Perfect time for a snowstorm to come upon us.

Happy Birthday to David.

We Love you !

52 looks good on you!

💙

snowed in ~ day #3

This morning, there were diamonds in the snow.

Can you see them?

These are the days that dreams are made of.

Snowed in with everything I need.

Beauty surrounding me.

❄

❅

My backyard...

where the diamonds were sparkling in the snow.

I could imagine myself living in the mountains in a cottage in the woods.

❆

After Christmas every year I bring out my snow decorations.

Never in my wildest dreams 

would I have thought

 that I would be blessed with real snow

 and that it would stick around for so long.

Usually, snow in Savannah doesn't last past the first day.

❄

This afternoon, David brought Archie and Gus over to shovel my driveway.

I thanked them profusely BUT,

I don't really think I want this "snowed-in" time to end.

I'm not quite ready for real life to start back.

❄

Gus with the snow shovel David had when he lived in Chicago.

We are all very glad he kept it.

Archie had another shovel.

As you can see, the job is almost done.

❆

David and I shuttled pot after pot of water that we boiled on the stove.

The ice that fell before the snow came caused the snow to stick like glue.

It was an arduous job.

Thank you, guys, for a job well done, 

But I may not leave the house quite yet.

I'm content to be a hermit for a few more hours.

😍

 

whiter than snow

There is a large snowdrift on my front porch.

It formed from snow falling off the eaves of the roof.

This morning, 

none of the snow that fell yesterday had melted.

It was still hard-packed.

The low temp last night was 21 degrees.

There are four more nights forecast to be in the twenties.

This snow is not going anywhere fast.

Savannah,

 in my memory, 

has never had a snowfall like this.

❅

This morning's view during my prayer time.

I love the solitude of snow days,

the silence.

The earth is wiped clean, and all is pure for a moment in time.

Jesus died for our sins. 

He made us whiter than snow.

Thank You, Lord.

The ice formation on the table on my patio started to slide this morning.

A good sign that some melting was taking place.

More on this later.

Today is David's birthday.

We had to postpone his party.

The city of Savannah has warned people not to get out on the roads today.

He will have to wait to open his gifts.

More sliding.

Almost done.

This slide-off was completed in about six hours.

Slow-melting ~ slow movement.

This is what you do when you are snowbound for two days.

You watch the melting process of snow on the glass table in the yard.

😉

I probably won't go out tomorrow either.

Why?

It's freezing.

My driveway is frozen solid.

and,

The city of Savannah is shut down.

❄

"He gives snow like wool;

He scatters the frost like ashes;

He casts forth His ice as fragments;

Who can stand before His cold?"

Psalm 147:16&17

❄

Thank you, God, for the gift of snow.

It's been 8 years since we had any come our way.

Bubba was still with me when it came.

We lived on Pinebrook.

You are the giver of good gifts.

I 💗 snow.

 

Last night, before I turned out the light to go to sleep, the sleet started falling.

There was a big gust of wind and then ice,

falling from the sky

Temps were to be in the high twenties.

We were promised snow.

When I woke up before dawn this morning,

the picture aboce captures what I saw.

God sent this blanket of two to three inches of white, pristine snow.

It took my breath away.

It took me till after lunch to settle down.

I kept going from window to window taking in this gift.

When the sun came up I ventured outside.

It was freezing, of course, but I didn't even feel it.

The snow was packed hard on a bed of ice.

Very crunchy.

The snow has not melted at all.

It will freeze over again tonight and the roads will be impassable in the morning.

Temps in low twenties,

Here are some pictures I took...

Looking out the front door.

Yes, my Christmas wreath is still up.

Back patio.

My beautiful climbing rose is encased in plastic.

I hope it survives.

View to the backyard through my bedroom window.

When I ventured outside.

Notice the snow pile-up on the front porch.

My footprints in the pristine snow.

I didn't want to disturb it but wanted to take a picture of my house.

View from the sunroom.

My Christmas tree has been taken down and stored in the attic.

all thanks to Erika and the kids.

Lots of  very bright sun,

 but it's so cold the snow is not melting.

What a glorious day!

Staying inside surrounded with all this beauty.

❄❅❆❄❅❆❄❅❆❄❅❆❄❅❆❄❅❆❄❅❆❄❅

My tote bag,

very appropriate,

sitting on my snow themed bed.

💙

"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?"

Job 38:22

I wonder where God keeps the snow?

❆

 

 

 

 

the week ahead...SNOW!!!

According to Enki Reasearch@WordPress.Com...

Coastal Georgia is forecast to get freezing temps, snow, and ice next week. 

Right now, it looks like it could start snowing/freezing on Tuesday morning,

change over to rain in the afternoon,

back to snow Tuesday night.

Enki says as of right now, Sunday afternoon, we have to ignore 

all snowfall totals because they are not reliable.

Temps are expected to be in the twenties with a wind chill of 17.

Of course, I am super excited.

This will be the first snowfall at my new house.

I have been trying to figure out how to get the picture without showing my footprints.

I will give updates.

The excitement level is through the roof.

💗☃❄❅❆⛄🌨

As of this Monday morning, 

here is the forecast for our area.

 

Vignette # 5 ~ Christmas Morning & Christmas Evening

Having Christmas breakfast in the sunroom at David and Erika's house.

Bright & sunny, filled with light and love.

Lu made the sweet bread,

I, the egg and sausage casserole.

It's a tradition!

Lots of coffee drinking.

All of the kids drink it now.

Addicted young.

Dodger Smalls loves all the decorations.

Harry got a new "running" book.

He's a bit bothered that I took his picture.

David reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 before we open gifts.

Lucy was with Red Smith, who had to be "put to sleep" the next day.

😢

Grammy and Daisy.

At 2:00, everybody came to my house for games and snacks.

There were more gift openings and a steak dinner.

I didn't take many pictures...

worn out by this time.

Festivities!

The traditional bow on the head picture.

True statement.

The boys all got dress clothes.

The boys all love my pantry.

They go in there and spend a while just looking around.

They are amazed at the goodies therein.

I made each one a "pantry" of their own, consisting of some of their favorites.

They loved it.

I posted this picture already, but I wanted to put it on the day it was taken.

Christmas Day,

December 25, 2024.

The end of a wonderful day filled with joy and happiness.

God is so good.

We celebrated Jesus' birth with love and thanksgiving.

🎄💗💗💗

 

Vignette # 4 ~ Christmas Eve ~ Sun going down

What is it about Christmas Eve?

There is a strong sense of anticipation 

There is joy and excitement about what is coming.

Everything glows.

Jesus is coming soon.

When we wake up on Christmas morning He will have arrived.

Our Christmas Eve service at Hope Bible Church was amazing.

All of our people showed up with their families to celebrate Jesus' birth.

Everyone was excited.

We sang carols, listened to God's word proclaimed, and lit candles.

Candlelight is so fitting.

It was a dark, cold night when Jesus came.

but,

there was a star that shone brightly. 

It led some shepherds right to where Christ was born.

They Worshipped Him.

We worshipped Him, too, on this beautiful Christmas Eve.

How blessed we are to be "In Christ."

We came home to a simple meal of soup and bread.

Filled with Love, we gave thanks and ate.

Christmas Day is coming.

💗

.

 

Vignette # 3 ~ roses ~ Christmas Eve

David was here in the afternoon.

We were putting the finishing touches on our Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas Eve Worship was scheduled for 5 o'clock...dinner would be after.

I had come to grips with the fact that Amanda and her family would not be present this year.

She is having a new beginning...

A full-time job at a brand-new fitness center in North Plam Beach,

opening a few days before Christmas.

I was sad but understanding.

When the doorbell rang, I was surprised...

I was not expecting guests or any more Amazon deliveries.

There on my front porch stood a young guy with a huge box addressed to Mom.

The box had more red roses than I had ever seen in one place before.

tucked away inside was a note...

She was there in my heart in a big bunch of red roses.

With no time to arrange, 

I put them in a big pitcher of water and headed out the door for church.

(there were more in another container.)

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

*More about Christmas Eve later.

 

Vignette #2 Christmas Eve Eve

We decided to spend Monday evening down on River Street.

David made reservations at Graffito, a pizza restaurant at Plant Riverside. 

We were full of excitement.

Let the fun begin.

We had early reservations so that we could do a little last-minute shopping after we ate.

It was a gray and gloomy afternoon, and as soon as we arrived, so did the rain.

It was also freezing cold with wind blowing off of the river.

As a side note,

Walter was battling with a nosebleed sustained in a tussle with Harry earlier.

He powered through and was a real trooper.

The pizza was delicious, and the service was great.

We looked around at all of the beautiful trees and decorations in the hotel lobby

Then, we headed outside to browse the Christmas Market.

Of course, there was a stall selling hot chocolate and cider, which we all indulged in.

Those hot treats enabled us to look at everything in the cold and light rain without being miserable.

What a fun start to Christmas week.

It felt festive and fun.

The kids loved all of it.

The old homes in downtown Savannah put on a grand show.

Exquisitely beautiful to gaze upon on a cold rainy night two days before Christmas.

🎄

 

a vignette of Christmas 2025

Hope Bible Church party at David and Erika's house.

Friday evening, December 20, 2025.

We had fun getting all of the finger food prepared and displayed.

Anna working on the charcuterie board that you see above.

One of the drink stations.

Sarah's hot cider and my lime sherbert punch.

We had a coffee station, too,

It was cold outside.

The veggie station.

There could be no food that required a fork.

You always have to include some healthy stuff.

I brought the picked asparagus.

Lucy made these iced gingerbread cookies.

Erika working hard in the kitchen.

Sweets!

A little blurry but so festive.

Our church comes out strong for any fellowship.

It is so much fun to get together, especially at Christmas.

So many kids eating and running around outside with flashlights.

So many adults eating and talking and just being merry.

The best of times!

🎄

*A vignette of Christmas 2025, part two, will be published soon.