Saturday, January 30, 2016

These are a few of my favorite things...


Bean Pizza

Spread refried beans evenly over a pizza pan and layer with any combination of the following:

meat
guacamole
sour cream
onions
olives
lettuce
tomato
salsa
cheese

Serve with tortilla chips/soft tortillas and additional toppings as desired.

Monday, January 25, 2016

digging.digging.digging

Susanna's car partially un-buried. Sara's car is under the snow to the left.
By Saturday evening, the epic storm had passed, but two days later we're still shoveling snow! Our county recorded the snowfall at 36.9 inches. I estimated that we received around a yard of snow, but we don't have a yard stick and so couldn't check for sure.

looking down our street Sunday morning

Sunday morning the entire neighborhood was like a bee hive. Even though the thermometer said it was below 20F, most of us were hot and sweaty. The sun's brilliance, the absence of wind, and the clear blue sky set an ideal backdrop for snow removal.

The four of us took turns wielding shovels (we only have two full size shovels, but we also employed the mini emergency shovel Mom bought for my car, so three of us could dig at the same time). The air was filled with the smell of small engines and raw gasoline as neighbors tinkered with their snow blowers. I had no idea so many people owned snow blowers! Almost all of our neighbors are blessed with one of those nifty machines.

the alley

A compassionate neighbor sputtered her snow blower over late Sunday morning and blew some of our mounds to help us reach our goal of setting our cars free into the alley. Another neighbor gave a little push with his plow truck. Mostly we just shoveled. For HOURS and hours and hours of our weekend.

It was epic.

Not only were the storm and the shoveling epic, but the time we had together was pretty much one-of-a-kind. I'm still recovering from the capital loses I incurred in our game of Monopoly, but otherwise the weekend was fantabulous :). All four of us ate three meals together for two days in a row! That has to be a record-setter.

Sunday evening Sara headed out for an all-night shift, and a couple hours later Susanna followed for an all-night/all-day shift at her workplace. Since our office parking lots were not yet cleared, Sharon and I had a snow day from work today... which meant more time to shovel.

(I'm serious.)

We now have space for Sara's Honda Civic to park on the street in front of our house. Our front porch, steps, and walk are clear; we have a path to the garage; all the cars are un-buried, and we even have a path shoveled from the front of the house to the back of the house. It's rewarding to enjoy benefits of all our hard work.

looking out to the garage

looking back to the house from the garage

our street Sunday morning

snow pile in front of our garage... Sara says we're stuck until a high June day
We ran out of places to pile snow.


mission "rescue the cars"


the alley

looking out the front on Sunday morning

Oh... and another epic part of the storm... the epic aches after all this snow scooping. Just opening my water bottle elicited a twinge of pain!
Don't laugh at us or think we're wimps; have you ever shoveled 36.9 inches of snow over a two-day period?...
I didn't think so!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Epic

I don't know if the rising sun has ever been soooooo winterized!

Well, we're in the midst of an epic snow storm over here in the east!
It's so exciting.


The snow was already up to my mid-thigh when I went out to scoop this morning.




English breakfast together. yum!


Those blobs to the right are our cars!




Makes me wish I were a kid again!



A giant Case loader-type machine drove past with a front blade, followed by a front-blade truck to make a single route down our street.










Hurrah for snow days with grand company, good food, and electricity!
and Hurrah that our heater is repaired! 
(we had a couple extra cold nights last week...)

1,000 Pounds


Another famous part of the Farm Show is the butter sculpture. This year's sculpture was a special recognition of the Farm Show's 100th year! Pennsylvania grows over 60% of the nation's mushrooms, so notice the butter mushrooms. In addition, the State produces lots of dairy products and apples. 
Oh- and, chocolate ;)

(so... maybe that last item is a personal assumption, but there were a lot of chocolate cakes in the Farm Show bakery competition!)

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Farm Show


Last week Sara, Sam, Sharon, and I spent an evening at the acclaimed Pennsylvania Farm Show. As I learned years ago at my first Farm Show experience, a visit to the Farm Show is only complete after enjoying a famous Farm Show milkshake. (Chocolate, of course!)


Tuesday, January 19, 2016

fact or fiction?

Banner at the Penn State extension booth at the
Pennsylvania Farm Show
I had to laugh and take a photo when I read the words on this display...
I would agree with the statement: "Canning; It's Rewarding!" or, "Canning; A Good Choice!" or, "Canning; It's Healthy!" or even, "Canning; Family Friendly!"

But, "It's Easy!"-??!?
I couldn't disagree more.

Canning is a lot of things, but-- EASY is not really one of them.
that would be fiction.

Monday, January 18, 2016

today


Today, if I didn't believe in God's providence, I would just burrow deep into the covers and not get out.

I wouldn't get in my car to drive to work, or allow myself to remember 6 years ago-- Monday the 18th of January, 2010; Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Brian's 18th birthday celebration; the day of the accident.

But instead of living in fear or history, I choose to offer another day of gratitude-filled prayers for God's faithfulness.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Austin


Kids are so much fun at Christmas!
Austin LOVED all his little boy toys.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Favorite


The first time we went to look at our house, this kitchen cupboard was a favorite feature.
It still is.

Monday, January 11, 2016

the Artists


Aunt Amy and Niece Kaelyn spent several hours of Christmas vacation making art together.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Year-End


As an accountant, a generous part of my career is focused on year-end. Recently, along with all the brainwork I've been investing in final 2015 spreadsheets and communication, I've also been processing my personal year-end.

2015 was a good, rewarding, fulfilling, rejuvenating year. It was a year full of transition and many beautiful, happy memories.

Once upon a time you may remember me sharing the SPICE life acronym. At the start of 2015, I drafted my annual goals using the SPICE model. Here are some ways I experienced SPICE stimulation and health throughout the past year:

S piritual

  • participating in weekly church meetings (English and Spanish)
  • teaching Sunday school once a month
  • joining the Wednesday noon prayer group that meets in my office building
  • reading the entire Old Testament (and some of the New)


P hysical

  • participating in a variety of exercise classes each week-- PiYo and Boot Camp are two of my favorites
  • running a 5k in July
  • cycling with Malinda
  • hiking-- a handful of times on the Appalachian Trail, once to Flat Rock, and once on the White Rocks trail
  • participating in the monthly wellness challenges at work
  • eating ice cream-- Ashby's Michigan Pot Hole was the highlight of the year :), though Turkey Hill's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup was also a hit [and, yes, this is supposed to be entered under the Physical category!]


I ntellectual

  • projects at work including prepping payroll, filing a few FBARs, researching IRS rules, attending a conference for ministry administrators, creating and resourcing QuickBooks company files for remote financial tracking, building Excel spreadsheets, communicating with global employees, running database reports, transitioning bosses, switching COLA providers, spending a multitude of hours (okay, actually only four months...) preparing 2016 budget detail, and... maybe a few other things too...


C reative

  • decorating the house-- sewing curtains for my bedroom 
  • experimenting with new recipes-- maple syrup, coconut oil, and King Arthur white whole wheat flour have been three of my favorite 2015 ingredients
  • picking fresh strawberries and helping friends/family with canning
  • making little projects here and there-- like literary Christmas ornaments at the library, and MWC wall hangings for international guests in July
  • shopping at Farmer's Market
  • hosting new friends and old in our half-a-house


E motional

  • weekly 2 hour phone chat with Amy (Sunday mornings)
  • monthly dinner out with roomies
  • quiet times-- walking and jogging through the nearby cemetery
  • drinking tea
  • praying before I walk into the office in the morning
  • $3 bouquets of fresh flowers at a local roadside stand
  • listening to the Susquehanna Chorale's spring concert
  • traveling-- to Canada (twice), Florida (twice), Colorado, Indiana, the Atlantic Ocean, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Michigan (five times)

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Saturday Visit



Last Saturday, Amy and I drove north to Clare to spend a few hours with our friend Lydia. Since a snowstorm cancelled our original plans to get together Monday, we were especially happy to meet up before I returned to Pennsylvania. 

After enjoying hot drinks at the adorable 505 Cafe, we drove out in the country for some shopping at the bulk food store, and then found our way back downtown for a lovely lunch at the historic Herrick House

Before we parted company, we meandered through the downtown shops, including a stop at the internationally famous Cops and Doughnuts (where Amy purchased a big box of doughnuts... the brothers were tickled!).

Friday, January 8, 2016

reunion

a handful of Bylers sharing a song at Bethel Sunday morning

I wasn't the only one who traveled home for Christmas.