Middle of the Artic Zone.....

 This painting hanging in our bedroom gives me warm feelings in spite of the temps outside. I didn't date this when I finished the painting so I can't tell you the age of it. It is an imaginary scene and yet the sights of the Lake Superior with the sand and water and a few rocky hills in the background.  The ragatta's at Duluth do take place over the summer months.  I think I may have gotten carried away with the number of boats but it was fun to paint.

The Japanese crane is still being created one by one and then I have to find creative ways to hang them. I have a second section to add above this one and we will see how successful that will be.

I successfully bought off of the net a great shelf unit for my wife. When we moved here from the old place we really didn't have a place to display her doll collection. They were scattered downstairs on shelves and in closets. I really wanted her to enjoy seeing them.  I couldn't buy one from the stores around here at Christmas time but I did find this on the net. It was heavy and in parts and we did get it together. Because of the heights of the taller dolls we had to take out one shelf. Now this is seen as you enter our bedroom.

We are still in our deep freeze. It warmed up to 8 degrees F. this afternoon so we went to get some groceries. The wind chill is bad but we did get it done.  It is nice to have a garage where you can unload the car inside out of the wind.  There is no way anyone can adjust to this cold. We won't need to get out now again until Sunday.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Tuesday's Things....

 It was too cold for me today to go out to take any shots of the sunrise.  We were at -11 degrees F. /-22.888C. and we won't really warm up much. 

In the early mornings it works better to turn on the gas fireplace to warm the big room. The heat from it takes off the chill from the windows especially when there is a north wind. 

I have been out on the deck yesterday to dump birdseed in the feeder. I didn't get the deck shoveled and now it is frozen down with the cold temps. Our whole week is to stay this cold. Maybe by Thursday we will get up to 14 degrees F.

All that is left to do with the village is to box up the people and trees. We boxed up the houses and church in a three day period and today I stacked all of them on the shelves in the store room.  The remaining items won't take long to box up and roll up the snow. 

I took a blogger break yesterday as I had a crash day. I rested for most of the day. I feel good today but I didn't feel so great yesterday. My diabetic condition can take me out on some days and I finally have things looking better with blood numbers today. I have one more folded crane project going on and I may share it when it is done. I have to do a lot of string ties and balancing of the birds to get it to look right. My patience is being challenged with this mobile design. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Red is a Great Color....

 

 

 We have colder temperatures here now and they will hang around for many days. We woke up to 6 degrees F. this morning and we are headed for colder temps than that.  We are off to church today in spite of the cold and will meet friends afterwards for a lunch together. I am done with appointments for a while but there are some out there in the next months. I finally got a tooth fixed and the car oil was changed. My car has been reminding me to get an oil change for a very long time. I also got my tires rotated and I looked over all the new suv's at the dealership. I had some confusion with my cruise control and it was a control panel problem cause by the car owner. I still don't like most of the new suv's and that's okay as my car, Buick LaCrosse, isn't worn out. It sounds like everyone out there will suffer from the cold for a while.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Birds and Boxes....

 

 

 

 

It has warmed up a bit so the birds aren't so desperate for food. We will go into the deep freeze all next week compliments of the Arctic Zone.

It is time to take down the village. I waited until my wife said it was time and today was the day. It is a lot of boxes and many trips up and down the stairs to the storage room. It was up most of the time when there wasn't any snow outside but now we have snow and we still take it down. I am hanging today my next mobile in my wife's art studio. Photos will show up tomorrow. It is a smaller version of the big ones that I have made. It is the fifth one and will probably be the last one for inside the house.  I am thinking I could make one with sturdy materials like Alexander Calder used for the outside.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Frigid Friday.....

 

 

 

 We really aren't snowed in but the cold is a good reason to just stay inside. I will walk out to get to the mailbox at the end of the driveway but that will be it. I didn't even go out to get photos of the moon last night and this morning I didn't get any blue spruce tree shots. If it snows tomorrow and adds snow to the spruce I will venture outside for that then.

 I have been doing things that are less strenuous today as I did snow blow yesterday.  I can feel those muscles,  so low grade work is going to be all I will do.  I ventured out yesterday to get some groceries stocked up for a few snowed in days. with all the flowers and candy and Valentine cards being purchased, it was a hectic visit to the store. I didn't have a lot to buy but I had some necessities that I did need. I brought home a roasted chicken for supper. Roses and heart shaped candy box full of candy were fun to buy. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Red Visitor....

 

I looked out and saw a red flash. It was a cardinal looking for something to eat during a snowstorm.

I know that all he wants is sunflower seeds and yet he must have eaten millet too. He stayed for a long time. 

Our snow is here to stay as the temps are running very cold. We got up at -6 degrees F. and it warmed up to 15 degrees F. I was out with many layers to snow blow the driveway. It fills up along the street when the street workers push snow onto the side streets. I have to remove it as it is hard on a car to drive over if it  freezes solid.

It will snow each day for the next two days. I will get to play with my snowblower again. If it were not so cold it really is fun.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Wind Blown Snow....

 It is to snow all day. It isn't a hard snow but it doss keep falling today. We have about five inches so far.

The snow fall through the cracks of the deck creating a great pattern in it. The wind is blowing a little to keep a light coat of snow in the air. 

I did get it started. It was under used last winter so I had to crank for quite a while.  I wasn't going to do anything with it after I got it started but it was too tempting not to go ahead and get a layer of snow put aside. Right now as  I am back inside we are getting a very heavy snowfall. 

 

 On Reels I am seeing many different short movies of how to make setups for different fish. It is fun to see how many different fish are out there and how they have indoor tubs of water set up as aquariums with flowing waterfalls. I am getting inspired for a new water feature that I am planning to put into the ground in the yard.Watching tropical fish is a good thing while there is a snowstorm taking place. It is really cold again today.

Thanks for stopping by today.