Tuesday

What I want to say is....

 It is still very much winter here.
Snow..... and lots of it, covers the ground, meadows, mountain... and lawn.
One of the worst parts of winter, in my opinion, is the wind.
When it blows, it blows that freezing air off the mountain tops and there is no escaping that frozen air.
Brrrr.... just brrrrr!!
 I try and take Rowdy out for a walk every day.
We wait and watch for the sun to come out and for the day to warm up a bit.
He loves going for a walk, and I've been letting him off the leash for part of the walk.
When we walk past the fields, and there isn't any traffic on the road, he gets to walk along with out the leash, and he loves it.
He cracks me up!! He walks along and sticks his tongue out as he's walking and treats himself to a "snow" cone.
He loves munching on mouthfuls of snow.
Too funny!!
 We walk around the college.
The sidewalks are kept cleaned off and so it's a nice place to walk in the winter.
This building is just one of the old building that we walk by each day.
 I have fallen in love with the blue on the door. So much so, that we bought a similar color of paint to repaint my sweet husbands office.
We've been working on indoor projects. Painting, putting up wainscot, etc...
It's a great time of year for indoor projects!!
Believe me, when it's warm enough to be outside, that's just where we'll be !
 Staying busy with projects and crafty ideas helps the winter pass more quickly.
On Pinterest, I saw a tutorial to make colored glass out of recycled bottles.
Gathering up old salsa and jam bottles, I followed the tutorial and ended up with a bunch of colored jars. I rather like the way that they turned out, although I admit I splurged on store bought ModPodge and used it instead of my homemade Modpodge on this project.
It called for glossy modpodge, so I used that.
 I love that the turquoise blue jars ended up being an almost perfect match to the turquoise blue jar candle that I recently bought. The jar with the wire bale on it is the purchased jar and the smaller jar to the left of it, is the one that I made.
Along with turquoise colored jars, I made olive green ones and pale orange jars.
 For Christmas, our daughter gave us some balm from Trader Joes. It's a head to toe balm, and it's wonderful for dry, chapped winter ravaged skin.
I found another Pinterest idea to make some homemade balm, and so I did!
Beeswax, coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, and essential oil.
It made one and a half tiny jars full, and above it's been poured into the jars and set to cool.
As it cooled it turned a pale, pale yellow color.
Turns out, it works just as well as the Trader Joes variety, and considering that the closest Trader Joes to us is well over 90 miles away, I'd say that the DIY balm is spot on!
Lastly, I'd like to say that spring will come.
Each and every day draws us closer to spring.
Warmer temperatures, greening grass, and daffodils and tulips and pansies in bloom.
As I looked through my pictures from last spring, I was trying to gauge when I'd see green grass again.
This picture is from late April. SO, my heart is full of hope!!!
Oh, and as we were going through our favorite catalog to order seeds from, it dawned on us that we planted garlic last Fall.... so there is that to look forward to this summer too!!

~Things making me smile today ....
* We were supposed to get another big snow storm yesterday, and most of the moisture we received was in the form of rain. Yay! I'll take the break from shoveling, thank you very much!
* Our order is on it's way from Bath & Body works. Again, we live so far from a B&BW that when they have their semi~annual sale, it's just easier and more affordable to order on line.
*This coming Friday, we have reserved ticket to visit the Provo City Center Temple.
That building was our tabernacle when I was growing up and holds a special place in my heart. I am so happy and grateful that it is now a temple and that it could be saved after the fire.
To read more about that temple, click the link : http://newtempleinprovo.blogspot.com/

17 comments:

  1. I agree with you, the wind is the worst part! When it's calm, even the coldest days aren't quite as bad. I like the projects you've been doing. Someday I'm going to try balm, soap, etc. I just need to collect more information and the supplies to do it! Thanks for the incentive!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning Kerin! It sounds like all is well in your world. The weather here has been a tad psychotic, so I am patiently waiting for winter to arrive. I was transferring birthdays, etc to my new calendar and noticed that our purple martins arrived on Feb 14 last year, which is just a short few weeks from now. Winter better hurry up or spring will be pushing it off stage left! Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, neighbor! Just stopped over from "Happily Married to the Cows." Looks like your snow is almost as deep as ours. I go walking around the University here almost every morning since they're the first to clear their sidewalks. Love your walking companion. Stay warm and dry.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Head to toe lip balm...I could use some of that when the temperature drops to -17! :)

    Such a lovely post, my friend. Winter is such a wonderful time to enjoy snuggling up inside and crafting...or reading.

    Have a wonderful week! Love and hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would sure love to live close enough to go through the new Provo Temple. I love your colored jars. The DIY balm sounds great. My skin gets so dry in the winter. Hope you enjoy the rest of your winter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Kerin. You have been one busy little lady. Those jars are beautiful. I will have to find the recipe on Pinterest. I am on it so much of the time you would think I would have found it already. Good job. Love that Rowdy makes snow cones! We had a black and white cat named Rowdy once upon a time..Happy Tuesday..Judy

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the pictures of your jars. They do look wonderful. Cool that the balm you made turned yellow.
    I love seeing how it looks when you go for a walk. Do you know even with rain and cold, I am not ready in the least for spring. :) But then I don't have snow. I might feel differently about that if I was shoveling it every day. Lovely pictures. I love seeing Rowdy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Kerin~

    Your snow picture is so beautiful!! And I agree, that cold, biting wind is just, brrrrrrr!

    I love your, Rowdy. We used to have a Border Collie and he was the sweetest boy, made me miss her a little . . . :0(

    The wheelbarrow picture really made me wish it was warm outside, then I looked back at your winter picture, and I think I will be content with winter for a while. Although, the green is beautiful too!

    They are remodeling our temple, and it's so hard not having one close by. I will be so happy when it's done, we forget how spoiled we are.

    Your craft projects are gorgeous, I love the blue jars too, so pretty!

    Enjoy the week!

    Hugs,
    Barb

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Kerin, sorry I haven't been around much. I miss the snow so much. :(
    That's cute about your dog. Our little Downy is funny too. When we go out in the rain or early when the morning dew is still on the lawn, her tiny little tongue is going in out in out in out with every step. LOL.

    Enjoy your snow. Stay warm. Hugs Janet W

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's snowy and cold here too. I'm ready for Spring. I have seen how to color jars, but never thought it would work that well. They look great! I think you should share the balm recipe. It sounds wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice to see your snowy walk.
    Your colored jars are very pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am having an inside day today after trying to navigate the highways and byways this past week . . .
    Snow and ice everywhere . . .
    Making a sweet balm sounds like a project I would love to do.
    I will wait for the roads to clear before I go for the ingredients though!
    Sweet day to you Kerin . . .

    ReplyDelete
  13. Stay warm. Sounds like you are making the most of it though. I enjoyed all your adventures.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Winter is cold, but on the other hand you did unbelievable photos of nature and adorable door! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds like progress at your house.
    I have never made glass before. Interesting.

    Does the balm have to have coconut oil in it?

    M : )

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kerin, your coloured jars are very pretty and it's clever of you to have made your own balm as well! I can tell you enjoy making things.

    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  17. Those jars turned out lovely, Kerin. I've never heard of that before.

    I'm not quit ready for Spring, but you almost put me in the mood ;)

    xoxo,
    rue

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking time to comment.
It means so much to me, that you've taken a few minutes in your day, to stop by and visit.
I love getting to know you, and having our "chats".
Have a wonderful day.