Yep, snowed again. We are having a traditional winter with snow and cold temps. It has been spaced out just right so that we can get one storm cleared up before the next one comes along.
It looks pretty stuck to all the trees like that.
Tough for our feathered friends to find food though. Someone needed to go out and brush the snow off the feeder so this poor little chickadee didn't have to work as hard. Not good to let the moisture seep in either, it ruins the seed. We feed the birds all year long.
This martin house is usually inhabited by house sparrows and starlings all through the spring and summer into fall. It kind of look likes a pagoda...
Even with the cold weather and all the storms, we still manage to get out and about. A couple days after Christmas, I hit a local job lot chain for post-holiday bargains. Got some paper, and gift boxes, that sort of thing, but also stocked up on ribbon and decorator picks for next Christmas' gift baskets. This stuff below was 50% off.
This batch of glittery picks in the next shot was from the craft store at a local mall that we went to yesterday. They are now all 70% off, and there was still a decent selection. The purple thing in the middle in the plastic case is a eggplant shaped kitchen timer. That was in the craft store's dollar item aisle, and I got it for my neighbor Shelly, who has a January birthday. We are both gardeners and she loves the color purple. It will go into her gift bag along with the cardinal print glass condiment set and one of those reed diffusers in a Gardenia scent. BTW, all those other items mentioned (but not pictured here) I got with discount coupons. It's not that I wouldn't pay full price, but when a $5.99 item like the glass condiment set is marked down to $3.50 with a coupon, it's hard to resist. I got two sets for my household too, one with cardinals, one with bluejays. Darn, I should have taken a picture!
These were in the dollar aisle at the craft store too, stretchable, glow-in-the-dark 'geckos' for my grandson Ben. No occasion, just grandma spoiling.
On the way back yesterday, we stopped at a thrift store. They had just remodeled and reorganized things. Lee went through the children's books and found these for Ben. He is a big Thomas Tank Engine fan. The Pooh book was not supposed to be in with the others, because they have a sliding scale for the larger hardovers. But because it was tucked in the wrong rack and not stickered, they only charged me 49¢, which is what I paid for each!
It was a quick stop so I didn't have a lot of time to look, and there wasn't much that interested me anyway. I grabbed the silicone Christmas tree cake mold below because it is attractive and those are easy to store - you can just scrunch them away. I try not to do that, but my kitchen is small and unfinished, so storage is an issue. I can see a Jello mold done in there, or a frosted spice cake. Don't know if I will ever get around to them...
I have a thing for old flatware patterns and I don't mind at all that mine are all mixed up. I like the really solid and heavy pieces because they feel good in the hand and don't get all bent up. I found a few I couldn't pass up, I really love that vine pattern. I needed the teaspoons, we never seem to have enough. I am still looking for more salad forks, round soup spoons, and long handled ice tea spoons.
Not mentioned here is a generic shoulder strap, 2 pocket, padded camera case I found for Lee. They charged us $1.99 for that, and I figure it is worth at least $10. I forgot to take a picture of it.
Thrifting is a lot of fun. It is all about the hunt. Anything I find I never use can be passed along to others. I spent a whopping $5.24 there yesterday, and handed them a quarter change and said keep the penny. I left smiling.
Autumn is always ready to greet us when we come in, especially if we have been to the pet store to buy new treats. Right now she is telling you goodbye, and that we will have more for you to read next time Mom does something interesting.
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