Yep the weather has got us down.  There is more snow on the way, but we are finding ways to get through it. Not by getting the Wee one sauced up on Spaten though. Just thought it was a funny picture. She was actually trying to copy her Dad and his bottle “tooting” skills.

Anyway there are no signs of Spring up here in Timbucktoo… yet… We are managing thanks to good neighbors with plow trucks and a road crew with lots of sand. The wee one and I have ventured out for some shopping and library visits.

I set up an Art Station to help bust up the Wee Ones boredom. This morning we painted with water. We also invested in a new box of Twistable Crayons. A great solution to our crayon eating problem. We also love to play with sticky notes and tape. Yes the bottle goes everywhere with us she is addicted and I’ve found it’s not the contents because I’ve watered everything down and it doesn’t phase her at all. So any suggestions on how to overcome bottle security issues?

We also have a new member of the Marcoccia household. Meet Dorothy the fish. Gary picked her up while we were in Germany. Do you think he was lonely? Poor guy. She seems to be happy here with lots of light and plenty of things in her water to play with like plant dirt, feathers, pretty much what ever is on the floor. Hopefully she can survive Ellie’s little fish experiments and live a long happy fishy life.

One last thing. I found a new Soup Recipe. I’m not really a soup person but this one is yummy. I think it has a lot to do with the bacon. It got us through the first few storm days…

Bean and Bacon Soup

8 oz Cannellini Beans

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 onion chopped

3-4 carrots chopped

2-3 Celery Stalks chopped

1 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary

4 strips of Bacon

2 Garlic cloves crushed

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken/veg stock

4 cups water

2 tbsp fresh parsley

Heat oil in sauce pan over med heat.

Cook onion, celery, carrot, bacon, herbs, and garlic about 5 min

add beans, tomatoes, chicken/veg stock, water bring to a boil

Simmer gently for 20 minutes over medium Season and serve with parsley

enjoy…

Ellie and I went out and played in the snow today after lunch. She was more prepared than me thanks to our friends Jen and Scott. Who have generously out fitted the “Wee One” with hand-me-downs both this winter and last. My winter/ski gear still needs to be brought out of storage. So needless to say I was soaked by the time we came in. We even tried out sledding with a cookie sheet. It worked pretty well. I just couldn’t tell if she liked it or not. As usual she was a little stoic. No crying but no shrieks of laughter either.

Afterward we came inside and warmed up with an excellent afternoon treat of Donut Muffins and warm Milk. Ummm… Donut Muffins you say?? Yep, they are muffins that taste like a donut and I think they are great. I found the recipe here. Which is now my new favorite food blog. Did you see her Bake tattoo? I love it although I’m not so sure I’m that dedicated of a baker….

Please forgive my out-of-focus photography. I’m learning

24 hours ago

This morning…

Can you spy Adah?

Gary took some photos of this little humming bird last night after dinner. He was a little stunned at the weather as well. It was as if he was saying “what the…?”

I’m reaching for a bright side in all of this and all I can come up with is that I’m forced to stay inside and get some projects done. I already cut out a bunch of sewing goodies last night. Hopefully I can stay motivated to complete them.

Since we’re so far away from Alta now we don’t get over too often these days. A guy I know came up to me a few weeks ago and said, “Dude, where have you been all winter? It’s been sick!” I paused for a second, then responded “I’ve been 15 miles up in the Uintas in 15 feet of untracked POWDER, where have you been!?” Was the perfect comeback. So I did get my powder this winter one way or another And there’s definitely something to be said about throwing around a 500lb machine, in deep snow, at 10,000′ above sea level. Oh and in my case, digging out the thing every 20 minutes! ..so I actually stayed in pretty good shape.

Last Night Uinta National Forest – April 9th and BOTTOMLESS POW

Click here to view the embedded video.

This picture was taken in October little did we know what we had in store…

These pictures were taken yesterday and February has just begun…

This is our “garden spot” in the backyard. The fencing that is just peeking out is about 4 feet tall.

Finally, here is our Subaru I think that its safe to say its going to have a long winters nap sleep tight little Subi we will see you in the spring…

Yesterday Linda, Danielle, Ellie, and I shopped till we dropped. We took a drive up to Geneva, NY where there is a great Outlet shopping center. We hit all the good stores and I finally completed my Christmas shopping whew. Ellie was a trooper she was bundled up well and quietly took it all in. Grandma Marcoccia even let her pick out her own toys at the Carter’s store. I hate to let Grandpa McKenney know but I think Ellie a natural born shopper.

Today we woke up to the beginning of a Nor’easter snow storm. We had an early morning greeting cousin Kevin as his school was canceled due to a snow day. So we put together a Gingerbread House and then when everyone got home we went out and played in the snow. We bundled Ellen up in her snow suit and let her experience snowflakes on her face, snow angels, and a sleigh ride. All the good things a winter snow storm brings.

Here’s some pics of our little winter wonderland.