Thursday, December 28, 2017

Snowy Holiday Week at Hand!

What an amazingly crazy busy week this was, culminating in a wonderful Christmas with beautiful church services, blessings, joyous hymns, evening prayer, and SNOW!!!!

It is snowing like crazy here, and it's so funny because the forecast the week prior to Christmas was for rain, rain and more rain....

How about snow, snow, and more snow????


We went from snow to freezing rain on Saturday, then pouring rain, then quickly back to thick, dense snow.... and it hasn't stopped! Bands of lake effect snow keep nudging in off of Lake Ontario and dumping squalls and thick-snow conditions on us, but not as bad as Erie, Pennsylvania which is digging out from 62" of snow in the past four days.... five feet plus, and still snowing!

Oh mylanta! :)

We're still munching leftovers here... turkey and gravy over Basmati rice tonight, one of our favorite dishes. Total comfort food!

And I was at a meeting with some really smarter-than-me people yesterday and begged help on a book from a cardiologist... and she gave me advice, but then a WONDERFUL story idea that's going to get used because it was that good....

Our favorite punch! "Floating Island Punch".... 


1 12 oz can frozen Orange juice, thawed
1 6 oz (or 1/2 of a big can) frozen lemonade, thawed
1 quart apple juice
2 liters of Ginger ale
1 quart rainbow sherbet

Mix orange juice, lemonade and apple juice in large punch bowl. Add ginger ale. Float sherbet (please note there is no "r" in the second syllable of this work. I'm just sayin'... because I lash out irrationally every time someone messes this up!!!!) 

End of rant. :) 

This is why I love taking part in community things and working part-time away from writing.... stories abound.
Stories are all around us. 

They're happening everywhere....

From the homeless person who haplessly started the California wildfire to the young mother who leaves her baby at a firehouse (or on a state trooper's porch) or the children who fare for themselves while their parents are otherwise engaged in a drug trade... 

Stories surround us.

Today, while I'm surrounded by kids and the snow is blanketing the ground and we can't even see the chicken houses from the kitchen window, the stories take a different hue...

Of windswept plains and long, dark nights, and how did people SEE anything when oil was so scarce? These long nights are so tough on folks when we have electric lights... either that or we've all become way too whiny!

That could be part of it...

Hmm. :)

So no fancy recipes today, although I spent the weekend cooking. My little camera is not happy with me, the memory card is failing and I need to have a new one sent... 

But for the moment this is it... A happy post about stories, holidays, joy, peace, snow and love...

And the calm of the week before New Year's here in Western New York!

Ruth Logan Herne has published over 40 novels and novellas and she is absolutely, positively loving life because she's living her dream. Visit her on the web at ruthloganherne.com or friend her on facebook.... follow her on Twitter or Amazon or Book Bub and make her editors Very, Very Happy! And most of all... have a wonderful and safe New Year's weekend and a blessed new year!

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I love SherbeRt punch!!! ;) Yes, I'm one of those who always said the R and then grew up and saw it spelled out for the first time. hahaha

    Stay warm and dry, Ruthy! It's turned cold here, too. Although that's all relative, isn't it? I guess my freezing cold would be balmy for you. :)

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    1. Missy, I have made it one of my life's missions (you know there are so many!!!) to correct the injustice done to this word with that errant and non-existent "r". I consider it a mandate!!!! (laughing!)

      And yes, I've done this punch before, but it's such a fun, easy, fancy punch that the kids and grown-ups love! We love that it makes so many happy!!!

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    2. You know, I love this stuff so much that I've been known to buy a container of rainbow sherbet and mix it with Sprite to make a float.

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  2. I was wondering about you and the snow. We're just getting the COLD. Brrrr. 14 this morning. So glad I don't really have to go anywhere this week, although there is that guilt of sending the family members out into the bitter cold. And there is the dog to walk. But he doesn't like the cold either, so he's pretty fast about his business.

    So happy you're having a peaceful, blessed week.

    Enjoy!

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    1. Cate, that is a smart dog with a Boston name!!!! Who knew????? :)

      Feel no guilt. School will start again and you'll be layering up and trundling off to the subway soon enough. Hello, Manhattan!!!

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  3. Like Cate, I was wondering if you were getting any snow, too!

    We're enjoying a warm day here in the midst of a deep freeze. We're expecting a high of 15°, which makes me laugh. Can you imagine 15° feeling warm? It does compared to our temps over Christmas. And then the weekend is cooling off again. We're expecting a high of -5° on Sunday. Definitely soup weather!

    And yes, we will go to church (unless we get more than the predicted 2"-4" of snow), and we will continue our regular Sunday activities. This is normal winter for the northern plains. :-)

    And don't you love this week between Christmas and New Year's? A time to reflect, to finish off the old year, and to anticipate the year to come.

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    1. Jan, the deep freeze came right from you guys and headed east... and your coming deep freeze will re-join us in a week.... They say two weeks of bone-chilling cold, and that's real winter!!! Go us! Go you!!!!

      And yes, I love it... I get to take time to do things I can't normally do because of work or whatever... and this is kind of a 'whatever' week, we do whatever needs doing.... but even Farmer Dave is huddling inside.

      I think we're getting older, Jan!!!! YIKES! When did that happen???

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    2. The only good thing about particularly cold weather is that it kills fleas and mosquitos and other creepy crawlies! We had a really warm winter last year, and the bugs were awful this past spring and summer.

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  4. YUM!!! I wanted to try a new holiday punch. This looks/sounds delish, Ruthy! Thank you. :-)

    For New Year's Eve, we're planning a quiet celebration here at home with our little college gal who's still home. We'll have jumbo shrimp, crab cakes, finger sandwiches, and baked taters slathered in butter and sour cream. New Yea's Day, I'm baking another ham with all the fixings!

    And...we are in an Arctic blast, too, here in the Ozarks. Minus the snow. Brrrrrrrr

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    1. Cynthia, that sounds lovely and I bet college gal will thoroughly enjoy her nice, quiet New Year's.... I'd love it! :)

      Okay, young folks might want more action, but it sounds like a great night to the Ruthinator. :)

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  5. Ohhhhh -- I've actually had this punch ages ago...maybe even decades (that makes me feel old.) Must make it again when a big occasion arises.

    We got Christmas snow as well. All Christmas week the weather reports were "light dusting of snow" and we'd wake up to 10 cm or more. Very pretty and just the right temperature to keep the snow from getting slushy but not so cold you don't want to go outside. But that all ended yesterday with a deep freeze -- -40 with the windchill today. I'm trying to find ways to move fast enough around the house to get my circulation going 'cause I'm not walking out there today. Not with the frostbite warning. How are your donkeys handling the snow?

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    1. Oh, Kav, that's awful!!! Definitely indoor weather!!

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