This cute nursery and gift shop draws me in at least once a year. I take the drive to the next county and bumble my through the county roads until I come across the nursery.  This time it was more than just to take photos, it was for a quince tree.  I've been wanting one so long and my husband gave me the go ahead. My friend and I drove down in the truck and as she had never been, we wandered through the grounds. I am a sucker for the old glass greenhouses and the cement tables dating back from the 40s. The cobblestone floors, the shiplap siding, it all speaks to me. Then there is the little vintage shop that sometimes plays french jazz music than I am required to stroll through with the smell of soap and perfume that lightly scents the small building.  Finally, my rounds of the garden, the greenhouse, the gift shop are completed I purchased my Myrna quince and drove home.

It snowed and then continued to do so. We already had time off from school with the chance of snow and now there were more cancelations. It piled higher and the wind blew, closing roads and especially driveways.  Schools and businesses closed.  Life slowed down and allowed us to breathe a bit before the pace picked back up.  We would bundle up, taking the dog to enjoy the snow, the light reflecting all around making the days a bit brighter.  Since I couldn't talk the kids into building forts or snowmen, I contented myself by watching the dog enjoy life, the snow, the walk and about just everything. After a week, the temperatures warmed up and the snow left soggy messes, and life resumed its normal face pace.

There was a chance of snow flurries and they canceled school. I saw it as an opportunity to take the dog to Hovander thinking he would swim after our walk and then warm up in the car on the way home and in the house. He had other ideas. He usually heads to the water right away but this time I led him straight out on the path and he checked every spot on the bank to see if there was a way to the water. What do you expect from a golden retriever/ Labrador mix? He is a water dog through and through. He finally found his way down to the water.  I yelled no as he was on a slide down the bank and I couldn't see any way for him to scrabble backup. He went right into the water breaking the ice on the edge and swimming happily.  However, since he stinks at climbing it meant that I needed to make my way down and then push his butt up the embankment. Muddy gloves, pants, boots, coat.  A water dog yes, a climbing dog no.  He's afraid of heights and scrabbling up the bank was done with his belly on the ground and crawling.  Not even a quarter of our way into our walk and I figured we needed to head home.  Just for me to dry out, and yet this dog had other ideas.  He may have been wet but his sniffer still worked and the rest of the park to explore.  We made our way back to the car in a circuitous route with bunny trail explorations.  The life of a dog owner.  I wouldn't trade it.

My very talented entrepreneurial friend has spent the last 4 or 5 years working on her toffee business.  It has been a joy to watch her grow, learn and manage this.  I remember when she was doing taste tests trying out different types of chocolate for the toffee and then working on her toffee name and logo.  She has poured her heart and soul into this business taking it from an in-house small batch product to building a small commercial kitchen so she can wholesale her product.  Then came the first wholesale clients, a little at first and then more. I have been inspired by her as she has and continues to work at this business.  I have been so honored to be able to watch from the sidelines, cheer her on and photograph her product for her.  Heres to you Anytime Toffee!

Pinterest is both a blessing and a curse. There are so many ideas and projects - ways to get you to be dissatisfied with how things are. Well, it is that way with my kitchen.  I see every ding, carved mark, bubbled Formica, gouges in the floor of my kitchen. I thought long and hard and wished that my husband would allow me to renovate the kitchen. The answer always is no. However, there are certain kitchens I absolutely love and not because they are "in style" but because of the warmth and the memories made in them. So I started to search for what would provide more warmth in the kitchen. Yes, I would like to replace the countertops with quartz (not granite or marble or Formica) and I think that is in the future but the cupboards themselves are good. The doors are solid oak, albeit orange but they are in decent shape. So, with more searching, I decided they just needed some TLC. I found a product called Briwax and a blog post about updating kitchen cabinets with this product. I drove every place in town that showed they had this in stock with no luck. I then quickly ordered it and got to work. I watch video tutorial after video tutorial. I ordered buffing pads for our drill. It took forever. Everything I read and watched showed someone putting it one with a 0000 fine steel wool pad and then just easily buffing it after it dries with a rag. Yeah, that didn't happen here.  Hence the buffing pads for our drill, which didn't work either. IF there was any kind of grease or dirt on the cupboard, it showed with this wax. I cleaned the doors with dish soap and vinegar which worked great for the nongreasy cupboards but the ones with grease I really scrubbed and still that grease and dirt just hung on. More research and I found Murphy's Oil Soap. That did it. It took a couple of good scrubs but the grease came off. After many doors later I found that by working in small areas, always with the grain of the wood and wiping almost immediately after apply worked the best. I also did more than one coat since it tended to cover better.  Sometimes it still seems as if it is "dirty" but I'll take a rag and rub it a bit. The verdict is that I really like the way the wood looks with a reddish-brown color instead of a yellow-orange color. I also like how much easier it is to clean with a waxy finish. Also when I am venting my instapot the cabinets don't become discolored from the steam. Things just clean up easier. What I didn't like was the elbow grease that was required to complete this project. I also had to order two cans.  I had only the peninsula facing the school room to finish and I ran out of wax so I had to wait almost a month for the other can to arrive in the mail. 

Winter Formal otherwise known as "Girl ask Guy" dance.  This girl asked this guy and knew enough about him to put dots on the poster and draw a game controller.  It was cute. "Don't down smash this idea, let's go to winter formal."
The two girls showed up to the house in their beautiful dress and I took photos while we waited for one more girl.  It was casual and fun and I felt a little bit awkward.  Then it was off to Kyotos for dinner and then the dance.  I never even saw his sister.