Snow Day!

Time Out For Play.....

It's been Snowing a Lot in my Neck o' the Woods, Dear Readers, and it doesn't look as though it is going to stop any time soon! In fact, today was Groundhog Day, the Day on which a Groundhog comes out of his burrow and forecasts the remaining length of Winter. "Punxatawney Phil" claims there will be six More weeks of the cold stuff....and Frankly, I believe him! Because it was snowing hard this morning, with enough snow on the roads that I stayed home from work, and it snowed all day. We got about 12 inches of the stuff, on top of the four we got last Thursday, on top of the six we got last Tuesday.... and you get the picture! And it has been so cold that none of it is melting either.

So there was Nothing to do but Play at home today!

All that snow has really been piling up! 

The Conservatory is half buried in the white stuff...

And the Folly too!

Oh look! It seems as though the Groundhogs 

are not the only ones up and about today!

Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers have come out to see the snow...

Anna Maria thinks it would be fun to build a Snow Rat....

Samuel Whiskers gets started right away!

Anna Maria wishes she had a better bonnet for hers.

It seems as though Samuel Whiskers has finished another one too!

I wonder what he's thinking....?

But it was so cold outside, Dear Readers, that it wasn't long before 

Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers went back inside 

to the warm kitchen of the Tree house.

And speaking of inside....

Maybe we should have a look inside the Conservatory...

To check on the seeds we planted....

Not so long ago!

It seems nobody has shoveled the path.....

But please do come in!

Oh look! Something has sprouted!

Goodness.... that was fast!

Just look how Vigorous they are!

They will need re-potting in no time!

But for now we will keep their cover on.....

It is a bit chilly in here.....

And it is forecast to get Very cold tonight!

Such a good thing we checked!

Well.... look who is here....?

Where do you think you are going...?

Surely, Not inside! That would be the death of you!

"Did you see where Red went... ?" asks Mistress Blue.

"No idea..." replies Master Green.

Even Will decided to come out to see how much snow had fallen...

He wasn't prepared for quite so much snow!

And he wasn't really looking forward to all that shoveling....

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you have enjoyed 

coming here and playing in the Snow Today!

I was going to show you more, 

but it seems that Blogger is tired...

And it didn't even have to Shovel any Snow!

Just A Little Gift...

The Tiniest Ceramic Dishes Ever......

While I was visiting my Mother, Dear Readers, she gave me a few "little things" she had come across at the Thrift Shop where she volunteers. One of these "little things" was a plastic envelope with some Teeny tiny ceramic items inside. They were so small that it wasn't even clear What they were until I looked Really REALLY closely! Here you can see them in the bag.... I didn't even open it until I was home because I didn't want to risk losing any pieces.

They are So much More Beautiful than I even thought possible... 

and tiny beyond belief!

Can you see all those little jugs with Handles???

Only two of the dishes had broken handles....

I am sure I can glue them together again.

As soon as I had spread them out, Anna Maria came to inspect them....

She thinks they are Perfect for the Tree House!

Samuel Whiskers was very impressed... 

and decided to start to carry them back to the Folly.

They could only carry a few pieces at a time.....

And all that rustling woke up the little dolls in the Book Nook.

Little Rose thought she better go see what was happening....

She went to the top of the stairs, but she couldn't see anything....

so she carefully lowered herself backwards over the stair edge....

One step at a time, she thought she could make it all the way down the stairs!

And sure enough, she made it safely all the way to the bottom!

She was only a little Surprised to see Samuel Whiskers in the Kitchen.

He didn't notice Little Rose at first, he was so intent on the ceramic dishes!

About that time, Sweet Pea decided 

(as little sisters will...) 

that she didn't want to be left behind!

If Little Rose could make it down the stairs, then so could she!

And so she did!

Little Rose was asking Samuel Whiskers where he was taking the dishes...

She was feeling hungry and thought they looked just the Perfect size to eat from!

Samuel was explaining that they were newly Imported

and he was carrying them to the Tree House.

When Little Rose noticed Sweet Pea, 

she ran over to her and they decided to ask if they could help.

They had never been to the Tree House before.

Samuel Whiskers tried to tell them they should stay at home and not bother him...

He didn't think they could help much, being so little.

But when they stood there looking hungry, he relented and said

"Very well, you can come to the Tree House. Anna Maria will feed you..."

So they followed him out to the Huge Old Tree beside the Folly.....

Where there was a door tucked between the roots.....

 And Samuel Whiskers suddenly Disappeared inside!

They followed as quickly as they could!

It led them into a snug little kitchen tucked under the Tree!

Anna Maria was rather surprised to see the Little Dolls following Samuel Whiskers!

"We have guests, Anna Maria," he announced.

"They seem to be hungry," he added, a trifle apologetic.

"Perhaps we can try the new dishes..."

Anna Maria had already placed several on the table, 

where they did indeed look Absolutely Perfect!!

These may be just a tiny little gift, Dear Readers,

But I think they are Treasures beyond compare....

And the Tiniest ceramic dishes I've ever seen!

(Thank you, Mom!)

First Snowfall!

Please Pardon Me.... For the Empty Post....

Dear Readers, I was experiencing some technical difficulties having to do with No More Room in my photo storage account, which produced a certain degree of Panic in my heart! And in the process of being educated (by the Wonderful Tech people where I work...) about What to do to fix the Problem.... I accidentally posted a Post that wasn't a post! At the time I really didn't have any material to post about or the Time to fix it.... so I left it where it was... a Non-post post! But I wasn't happy with that... so here I am, belatedly attempting to turn it into an Actual Post... but it will just be a Short post... like a little Intermission show.... because you have all already checked this post and found it empty!
And what more fitting subject for such a Post than the First snowfall of winter... because if you didn't look quickly you would have missed it! Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers were out early on Saturday morning... in the gently falling snow the First day of December no less...!

It was a beautiful, gentle snowfall.... just enough to coat the ground.... 

and remind everyone what season it really is.....!

They have ventured out into the Garden in search of seasonal supplies.....

You must be careful where you walk out here.....!!!

But Anna Maria knows just what she is looking for....

They have found the perfect branch....

And Samuel Whiskers will haul it home.....

But if you were not up early.... you would not have seen them at all!!

And by Sunday afternoon the Snow was gone too!!

But we all know it is the season of rushing out to shop for the Holidays.....

with far too much to do and far too little Time to do it....

So I hope you will Pardon me for this Post that Wasn't a Post....

And Enjoy this First Snowfall of Winter!