Such a mild Winter....

...that when I few inches of snow arrive, it just makes my day!

What are one of your Winter pleasures?

With SMILES! Val

#1 of 20 in 2020: An Exquisite Back-County Gig!

Happy New Year!

Our New Year found me already checking item number one off my 20 in 2020 list:

An Exquisite Back-Country Gig!

Hubby and I packed our Winter gear and headed to the mountains.

We stayed in a cozy AIR B&B next to the Payette River:

We went for Winter walks during the day and enjoyed brunch at a cozy restaurant.

Once evening came, we strapped on our snow shoes and began a mile and half hike along a Tiki torch lite path to a Yurt in the mountains of Jug Mountain Ranch, McCall. I can't even explain how refreshing this was. The snow was soft and fluffy and continued to fall in big flakes the entire night.

We enjoyed an evening of meeting new friends....

 ...over a festive, candle lit, six course meal of the most delicious food.

 Our party hats were so fun and though a challenge to actually keep balanced upon our heads, 

we had many laughs as we tried! We were all quite a site as we snow-shoed out at 12:30am.

The New Year, like many of you I'm sure, always finds us reflective and filled with  curiosity about what the New Year has in store...as it is always full of surprises isn't it! I know for us, we'll continue to be intentional about celebrating our relationship and this wonderful life we have together. 

How about you? What is something you are planning to intentionally celebrate in 2020?
With SMILES! Val

Simple Joy: SNOW!

Nothing brings me more JOY this time of year than 

watching kids react to the first snow of the season!

They exclaim!

 They persevere. 

 They begin to roll....

...and roll....

  ...and roll!

 Nooooottt the amount you my friends are receiving back East here in the United States...but if ya ever drive by a snow filled school yard, whose fields are scattered with snowballs of a variety of sizes, you can now  smile knowing the JOY of those happy little people behind all that rolling!

A Perfect Sew Day Ahead!

We kinda thought old man Winter forgot about us this year as we've only had one snow before today.

And quite honestly, we have been absolutely okay with that after our "Snowmagddon" last year.

Yet, as I sat and face-timed with my grand guys and daughter this morning and watched it begin to snow...that exhilaration that snow brings started to rev up its little motor.

All's I  could think of was: "Lucky me", I get to relax and spent the better part of my day right here, busily sewing to complete my February OMG...knowing I, of course,  have some snow shoveling ahead me later today. (Which I don't mind) But without the distractions of wanting to be outside.

Grateful am I to have the company of my faithful pup and a hobby I enjoy so very much on a such a Wintery day. How about you? What do you find yourself grateful for today?

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

That First Snowfall

For some reason a skiff of snow seems to make all the 

difference in the world in making it feel like Winter.

We sat up and played cards last night and just watched it snow. Perhaps tonight we'll have a fire?

I love when it snows. I really do. It broke our ten days of a gloomy inversion and blanketed everything in a wonderful coat of white. Welcome Winter. We're glad you are here.

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

Shoshone Falls, Idaho and Snow!

I spent most of my weekend visiting our oldest daughter in her new home town of Twin Falls, Idaho.

This is Shoshone Falls Idaho:

I'm so excited that they live here now. The canyon is beautiful and offers ample opportunities for family hiking and kayaking. The town is inviting with enough to do without being too big. 

All my pictures are a little "grey" in this post, as we had our first "skiff" of snow this weekend too.

It was that cold, wet, fluffy kind of snow. 

We didn't let it stop us from touring the town and checking out the area. 

Yes, our grand guy WAS as cold as he looks in the below picture...but he LOVES the falls and it was the very first place he insisting on taking me to when I got there. 

This picture below was one of those spontaneous cute moments our kids give us as he ran up the walkway and hugged both his mom and I thanking us for taking him there.

 My daughter said the falls is literally his new "favorite place" in the world . He was happy:

 And where were the men? At a Boise State game having a ton of tailgating fun!

And Jackson...he, Cami and our daughter's dog, were all home with a house sitter.

I got good reports that all were well behaved. Thank goodness!

So now, with only eleven days until our second grandson is born, it's time for this grandma to get lesson plans ready for school, quilts done and her bags packed! Stay tuned.

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

Snow Update

Things are finally getting back to normal in our little part of the world.

Our snow melt has been gradual and it's actually kinda strange to see grass and roads again.

 I smiled as I saw this heart shaped ice on my way to check the mail:

Thinking how crazy it is that this simple heart is all that's left from this:

But even the geese can see again and I think it's safe to say that we're all

 looking forward to seeing a bit more green around here as Spring gradually nears. 

As always, thanks for stopping by.

NOTE: Our March themes are posted on the sidebar.

Friday Night Sew-In!

We are gradually thawing out in our part of the world.

On the home front, we finally have our backyard sidewalk back: 

And now that the temperatures range from 21-41 degrees, the bunnies have been moved out of the basement and returned to their outdoor hutch. They are very happy!

Life is a little less overwhelming as the snow has gradually been melting and life is becoming normal again. We can see our streets and sidewalks and yes, there is light at the end of our winter of snow!

A school, the kids are able to play outside once again and we followed Valentines Day with a lesson on dental care...as after all, February is Children's Dental Health Month. I sent them eash home with  new toothbrush kits I got donated, as they in return promised to brush after eating all that candy. LOL!

And here I find myself with February almost over and not a stitch of sewing done.

 I have a four day weekend ahead, but with most of it being spent alone, as hubby has to work some long overtime shifts. (Poor guy!) So what's a girl to do? Well, I plan to ignore the water damage to my design wall and take advantage of some good sew time!
 (G-Gads! This has been added to a long list of Spring Cleans-ups from our harsh winter.)

UPDATED: Here's a fun list of quilty things I DID accomplish: 

1. Quilt a Commission Quilt 

2. "Two Step" as as I continue Carole's Scrap Mystery QAL

 3.Sew my Aqua RSC crayons 

4. And perhaps, BEGIN my February OMG!!(Ya think!)
5. Finally, as I sit her writing, I hear so many little birds singing me a morning tune,
so I'm totally going to give this "pinterest pin" a try:

I'm looking forward to, for the very first time, joining everyone else at this month's FNSI, hosted by Wendy over at Sugarlane Designs. It will be a good jump start to my long sewing weekend ahead.

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Click HERE to check out all our Valentine links this week.