Rain and Wind and...other stuff.

Well, looks like some nasty weather is heading this way this afternoon. 

Looks like it will be time to batten things down. 

I made a snowman on Friday during the snowstorm. I haven't done one in such a long time I figured I'd forgotten how. 
I didn't.

And truthfully, it was one of the ugliest snowmen I've ever made. I took a breather from shoveling out a walkway to the shed to roll snow. This is what I got. He or she looks mad because I used mulch chips for the eyes and the nose...that kept falling out. 

Maybe it was mad because the birds kept landing on its arms or the mules would come up and stare at t and laugh.

I don't think I'm very good at building snow people. The next morning....

It appeared as if someone had murder-ized it. 

Upon closer investigation....

The culprit was revealed...I think!

With the temps hovering just above freezing, everything is melting and getting sloppy. I imagine with all the rain we are getting it will be muddy too. 

I finished this project and received the finished book from Blurb. It turned out really nice. 

I think with all this crazy wicked weather, I may just start on my next project which I think will be about the Trail Challenge I did this past year with Charlie. I have so much information and photos to sort through, it will be a challenge in itself.

I started on January 8th with two friends and two dogs. I finished in November on a dreary day. I mulled over the thought of doing the challenge again this year. Now that I know the trails, perhaps I can plan the hikes better.

The photo that inspires me to actually get this done is a photo taken by fellow blogger Aurora. 

This amazing shot she took of the two of us in October should be the cover, don't you think?

In so many ways this photo says it all. Such a tiny dog and her minion ... blazing trails together!

There is something so calming about walking or hiking through the forest.

However, most of this week will be dealing with the nasty weather heading across the US.

Sunday Stills #33 ~ Handmade

The first thing I think of when hearing the words Handmade are my Grandmother's incredible mittens. 

Lucky for me, I was able to get a box of mittens that she and my Aunt had made. Often I wear the double layer mittens to do chores in. When the weather gets very cold, nothing is better than homemade mittens.

Bear models a child's pair here:

The knit mittens have wool over them. Often I wear mine with those tiny stretchy gloves you can get that are cheap and three for a $2.

This week I had some waiting around the house to bid my time while the winds blew down limbs and whisked anything that was not tied down away...

I cut up Elderberry stems and cut them apart. I made my own Lincoln log cabins for my toys to enjoy.

Homemade log cabins and glittered pinecones for decorations:

And last but not least my handmade button bears. They love to play in the woods and chase Elf on the Shelf.

But today they posed for him on a log.

That's my story...

and I'm stickin' 

to it.

More at Sunday Stills

Girry got lost and...

That nasty little Elf was up to no good again. Hiding gifts in hollow trees.

However, the little Christmas Bears were on to him. They are Christmas Ninja Bears. More stealthy than the Elf on the Shelf.

They caught up to the Elf and shoved him into the hollow tree to teach him a lesson.

One simply does not mess with these little bears. 

And what happened to Girry? He had been told by the big bears to meet up at the Mossy Rock. 
Girry went to the forest and discovered that there were so many rocks with moss on them. He climbed the highest one and waited.

and ... 

waited...

He waited through the night and listened to the spooky forest sounds.
And he waited because he wasn't sure how to get back to the house where all the other bears were.

It started to snow. Girry figured he was lost or the big Christmas Bear had tricked him and he wasn't really wanted.

What Girry didn't know is that the Big Bears had asked some of the other bears to search for the funny Giraffe. After all, Giraffes were not native to the woods and they figured Girry had gotten lost. 

A search ensued.

And Girry listened to the wild forest noises. He figured he was a goner. Some wild creature would come by and carry him off...chew him

to bits...

pull out his stuffing...

or worse???

However the Christmas Bears tracked him. As I said, they are like tiny Ninjas. Nothing escapes their attention.

They may have only buttons for joints, but they sure can get around!

Girry was found with a huge sigh of relief.

They warned Girry not to wander off by himself anymore and to definitely not trust the Elf on the Shelf ever!

That's my toy story and I'm stickin' to it.

If the weather service is correct, we could have a dozer of a snow storm coming.
That makes me happy.

What was he doing???

So everyone was wondering what the Elf on the Shelf was up to. 

Was he stuck in a rock?

Was Christmas Bear looking for him?

NO...

He was sneaking around in the woods and hiding presents!

There is a hole in this rock and he was hiding from the Bears of course.

The Bears were just hanging out in Christmas Attire waiting for Girry to arrive.

Girry got the rocks mixed up and sat waiting....

and...

waiting... and waiting....

Meanwhile at the Ice Wall in the deep forest...

The trolls sat down for a nice meal....

and in the house....

Charlie began to dream of bones....

Hey its my imagination...

I can go anywhere I want with it!

You all have a great day. Today we should get some nasty weather.

I can't wait!

Making a righteous mess!

I always start out with a big mess in a tiny room. There are two huge bins of stuff and each year I sort it and try to do something different.

The snow men are a new addition to my collection of 'stuff'. I have no idea what the dragon is doing there, however she seems to be looking at the tipsy snow man that has the Jack Daniels bottle. Obviously the other snow men think it is funny. 

Santa looks peeved.

The mess is starting to come alive. I stopped there and quit for a while. I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Charlie as usual decided to help. He spotted the bigger snowmen in the box and thought perhaps I should give them to him as chew toys. To his credit, he left them alone.

Another start and stop. I decided the snowmen and polar bears should have a igloo. I covered a gourd with foil for a shape and used Sculpey Air Dry Clay to make an igloo.

It is still drying! 

Talk about doing stuff on the fly. However. I'm never really in a big rush for getting things decorated. 

We almost never have any guests even pre pandemic so basically this is just for my enjoyment. I say my because I think hubby just tolerates my antics. He smiles and says It looks nice when I ask his opinion. 

I do a lot of experimenting and a lot of re-arranging. I'll set something up and after a week, I'll change it. I need to keep things interesting.

So I leave it here, with my fairly ugly mess of things. The igloo was finished today.

I see that the Elf on the Shelf decided to get in on things.

I don't think his choice of partners was a wise one....

But he doesn't look too worried!

Please feed the dinosaurs before working with them!