Snowy and Cold Weather Faves

It's Thursday afternoon as I write this,  and a mere 14 degrees F.  All last weekend and the beginning of this week, the temps have been in the single digits.  It was even -4 one morning on my way to work!!  

But....Winter is here and with it brings cold, ice and snow in the Great Northeast.  And from what I've seen in the news, it's even cold down south!

Here are the blessings from the past week, because there is always something to be thankful for. You can join in and then link up at Susanne's.

• CITRUS FRUIT!  In the winter months I crave citrus fruits.  This past  week we've enjoyed fresh clementines and oranges.  Oh my goodness. The clementines are perfect for sticking into our lunch bags and bringing to work or eating at breakfast or as an afternoon snack. They are packed with vitamin C,  calcium, magnesium and potassium...all good things for our  bodies! I'm thankful there was a sale on them AND a coupon!

• WORD!  I was able to write a short post about the "word of the year" I've chosen for 2018.  It will be interesting to see what God is going to do with me and this word.  Click here to find out what it is! I'm thankful for growth and a renewed zest for God's Word.

photo by Claire!

• NEW YEAR'S EVE GIFT!  My oldest daughter, Courtney, taught her self how to crochet last summer by watching a You Tube video!  I am SOOO not a seamstress, knitter or anything like that.  I shop.  But she wanted to make me a "Harry Potter" scarf and asked me which house colors I'd like.  I told her Slytherin as I really like the green and grey together.  She wanted it to be done for Xmas but it wasn't quite ready so she gave it to me in time for New Year's Eve.  I LOVE it.  It is so cozy and warm and I'm thankful I have a handmade gift by my oldest girl.  So hard to believe she is 24 years old already and so creative and generous!

• HUBBY's HELP!  sometime last week, my windshield wiper fluid line froze up.  My husband took my car over to get the Deluxe Car Wash and paid for it and voila! The hot water thawed the line and I was good to go PLUS now my car was salt free.  Of course with yesterday's storm, it is dirty again.  But for two days I enjoyed a nice shiny clean car.  I'm thankful for a husband who is willing to run those kinds of errands after working all day.

l-r:  Emma (14), Mady (9)
Claire(19), Courtney (24)

• XMAS ROUND 2!  Last Saturday, my 3 younger sisters and their families met at Joy's home just north of us and we had an afternoon of exchanging gifts, gorging on sweets and coffee and playing Password.  Oh my goodness it was a blast.  My sister Joy has a son Luke who just turned 25 and I really hardly ever see him even though he also still lives at home and is looking for full time work.  It was good to chat with him.  And my sister Hope and her husband Donny live out in central NY so we do see them often but not so much in the winter months as they live on a road that is literally along a swamp and into the woods. I don't like driving it in the ice and snow!  They have no children together although he has some from his first marriage who are all grown up and so Hope is a step-grandma!  My youngest sister Jill and her husband Mike live about an hour north of us in the same town as Joy and they have 2  girls who are uncannily so similar to my 2.  The girls had fun playing Harry Potter Trivia after we all played Password.  It was super fun to see them all interacting.  I'm thankful for fun family times.

That wraps up this cold, snowy week.

I hope that you all have a safe and restful weekend!