The Winter That Almost Wasn't

Winter Sunset 2012

Is it too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year? Perhaps Happy St. Patrick’s Day would be more appropriate. 

I’ve been quite busy since last posting in the Fall but didn’t want any more time to pass before returning to the blogosphere. So, here goes a short one. 

I spent quite a bit of time going through our Christmas decorations in December now that they are all conveniently accessible in the attic. As a result, we had more decorations around the house, and it did look nice if I do say so. Another big project I accomplished was organizing all of my Christmas village pieces and inventorying them. They are now also conveniently packed away for easy access. I did a major setup this year, and it also looked pretty smashing. We all really enjoyed it. Next year I will work on giving it a more appropriate background, but it was still lovely as it was. I’ve shared two views of it for you to enjoy, too. 

Christmas Village 2011

Christmas Village 2011 Note all the horses

We’ve had some spectacular sunsets in the past few months, and I’m sharing one of those, too. 

As for this winter, it was almost The Winter That Wasn’t. Until this past weekend when we got walloped by Mother Nature here in northern Michigan with a very wet snow that took down many power lines. We lost power for two and a half days but managed to survive thanks to our generator and wood stove. The generator gave out Sunday morning, so we went without power for 24 hours but thankfully all the contents of the freezer and frig survived. There are many people who still have no power, so we are very thankful not to be among them. 

After the big March storm, a wintery fairyland

I haven’t taken any photos at the barn lately because it’s usually getting dark by the time I get there. We have all been riding fairly regularly, and Scottie is doing well on his new supplements. That makes me very happy and relieved. Him, too, I’m sure. 

Since I’ve been working on taxes and so forth, no artwork has gotten done, but I hope that will change next week. I’ve signed up for a fundamentals of painting class at the arts council gallery in Bellaire and am very much looking forward to it. The instructor is a man who was classically trained in Florence, Italy years ago, so he will have much knowledge to impart. 

I’ve also signed up for a beginners class in acrylics and hope they get enough students to hold it. It’s been many years since I worked in that medium, and I have no memory of how to handle it. 

That’s it for today. I will try to get back on a weekly schedule of posting but must put priority on those pesky taxes for now.