After scraping the ice off of two cars early this morning, coffee sure looked good.

A very quick winter stroll for the little heifers.  They don’t want to be out very long in this weather.

Not a good day to be outside.

A good day to make some Veggie Chili.

It’s very cold, yet kind of pretty if you don’t have to travel on the roads today.

A couple of thoughts on what I like in a kitchen.  I like the farm style sink.

And I like the following color for cabinets.

And that’s my thoughts for the day.

 

Looks like the Cardinals all gathered at their favorite Cafe.

If I could design a house, I would have a breakfast knook with like a bay window where you could enjoy coffee in the morning and look out at country views.  I like a round table with the benches going around the window and soft cushions.  I like where the chandelier is, but I would have a crystal chandelier there.  I love the style of the chairs, but I would have cushions on the chairs that matched the cushions along the bench.  I like the lantern style lamp on the left.

In the kitchen, a window seat would be kind of neat to have.

Mostly I like lots of light and bringing the outdoors light in.  High, cathedral ceilings are so airy and light.

And then my wildest ideas that I have seen.  It’s a total French design.  But I wouldn’t dare cook in it, actually.  But I might steal that idea of design just over the stove and the color of the counter tops.  I like the fancy cupboards.  And the smaller island.  The shape of the ceiling.  Again, I like crystal chandeliers.  Not those.

I love the following pillow.

And also the comfy chair.  Then can you imagine a dining room with so much light and so airy.  And then the French doors are awesome.

A greenhouse for just enjoying plants.

And of course the garden plan.

So that  is my thoughts for coffee talk this morning.

 

Happy Valentines day, all!  Very chilly day here today.  Got roses very unexpectedly.  Never know what my gentleman friend will do.  Extremely thoughtful and very sweet of him.

I really like my new blender.  It makes the best smoothies ever.  This morning I made a frozen banana, chocolate, peanut butter, yogurt, maple syrup and pumpkin seed smoothie.  The Ninja blender I used to have sounded like a chain saw and didn’t even do half as good a job making smoothies.  I actually threw it away and was glad I did.  The blender I have now cost 1/3 the price of the Ninja and is like 100% better.  It has a special smoothie button, it’s fast and very quiet for a blender.  Glad that I did a lot of research and read reviews before buying the blender that I did.

I like the looks of this winter garden gate.  Would love to have that in my own yard.  In the spring I would have tulips and daffodils along the fence.  Then in the summer I would have climbing roses on that arch and probably blue morning glories climbing along the fence.

I can just picture it like the above in the Spring.

And that is my thoughts for the day.

 

 

When I think of my favorite chocolate, I think of old fashioned chocolate cream pie.  It’s like a chocolate pudding with whipped cream in a buttery, flaky pie crust.

Then decadent chocolate cheesecake.  Yum.

Brownie ala mode is a favorite.

For Valentines day, heart shaped shortbread cookies are always fun.

It’s wicked cold outside today and a good day to stay cozy inside.  Maybe read a good book by the fireplace.

The Republican debate was on TV tonight.  To me, it would be nice to see a candidate that was for family values and would strive to try to make a strong economy.  Someone that realized that the majority of the people are middle class and in order for the economy to grow need good paying jobs to get money to spend on products that are manufactured.  Free trade is not working in my opinion and instead of worrying about the world, concentrate on the home country.  Education is important, but values and honesty are also important.

I go along Route 5 when I want to get a few groceries at the Market.  I’ve been wanting to take a photo of this waterfall, but there is no place to get off the road to take a photo.  So, taking my life into my hands and just stopping and getting as far off the road as I could, and hoping no cars would come behind me, I rolled down the window on the passenger side of the car and just clicked a very fast photo.  I like how it came out.  The last time I came by here a few days ago, the water was not frozen but still looked pretty going over the ledge.  So the beauty of the landscape on a very cold and grey day, made the trip a little more fun.

The above photo had to be a very quick photo, also, but I thought it was cute to see the Mama cow with her babies in tow.  I like taking the old route along the Connecticut River instead of taking the interstate.  I just take my time, have a coffee going and my favorite station on the radio.

I wanted to make a couscous with roasted veggies today and needed to get a small zuchinni and a small summer squash.  I already had an orange pepper.  The zuchinni and summer squash in two stores were from Mexico.  I am not buying any veggies from Mexico.  The squash are not in season, so I had to buy organic squash and paid $6.00 for two little squash.  So what choice do we have?  Die from poison sprays on veggies or die from not being able to afford organic, therefore going without.  The ideal is to have a garden and grow you own veggies and freeze them in those air tight bags that you use the food saver machine with.  The veggies last for a year in those air tight bags.  I have one of those food saver machines and just love it.  This year when veggies are in season, I’m stocking up and freezing them.

I stopped at the Food Co-op and bought some blood oranges because they are in season right now and so good for you.  I bought two very tiny little oranges.  Unreal at the price that they ask for them.  Will not be buying very many of those.  I bought two huge California oranges at the grocery store for less then the price of one of the little blood oranges.

I saw flowers going into the place I used to work.  Even though Valentines day isn’t until Sunday, some men sent their sweeties flowers at work for the occasion to give them pride in front of their co-workers. I can still remember the times I went without the acknowledgement of being thought of.  I never get anything on Valentines day.  So today while shopping I got myself a little rose plant.  My gentleman friend is very generous and does a lot for me and sends me roses lots of times.  Just not on times when pride can get hurt.  So I just have to somehow soothe my feelings, even though it’s not the same if I have to buy myself flowers on days that most people are thought of.

But I should be thankful that I am able to find fun in dreary days.  There is always something to be thankful for.  And that is for sure.

There is something about an early morning walk on a back road that is just beautiful after a snow shower.  The tree branches kind of bend over the road from the weight of the snow on them, making a little archway.  The air has a briskness to it and there is a quietness to the air.  I love the sound of the crunching of the snow on the road as you walk.

I love the sound of cascading little brooks.

The cheerful chirping of the cute winter Chickadees.

Looks like a fun snowmobile trail.  What I like about a snowmobile is that it automatically shifts down when you go downhill.

New fallen snow is just plain pretty.

A winter Cardinal now and then appears and is so beautiful and adds to the ambiance of a beautiful winter day.

We got just a dusting of snow this morning.  And snow flurries on and off all day.

The main rivers are still not frozen over, but it’s supposed to get really cold this weekend which will be more like it usually is this time of year.

The following is the casual style clothes that I like.  It’s not easy to find clothes that fit well and compliment your body type.

I like the following teddy bear faux fur jacket.  I think that it would be perfect for wearing when it isn’t really cold out, but cold enough to need something to take the chill off.

For a dress, I like the criss cross style that is very flattering to any figure.

I think the following coat is casual, yet sophisticated.  I think it was featured in the New York Fashion week with the Paris Street Fashion.  Like the color.

I like the look of a vest with a long sleeve T-shirt.

I like the following style, also.

 

I also like the colonial look of a farmhouse.

And that is my thoughts for this winter day.

 

 

I like this painting called “Snow Day”.

We finally got a little snow last night.  It was just a light, powder like snow.  A lot of the schools had a 2 hour delay in starting this morning so the roads could get all plowed and salted.

The ski areas will be glad to have some natural snow for a change.  At Okemo Mountain, the chair lifts are half price for mid week, which is really a nice savings.  I saw on the news that the ski areas expect Presidents week to be good for the skiers.  It’s supposed to get really cold this weekend and more like winter.

I like Queechee Village and the Simon Pierce Restaurant where you have a beautiful view of the waterfall.  The food in the Restaurant is really good, also, along with the ambiance of the views.

There are some really neat Breweries in Vermont where they make fancy beers.

I think that it is pretty when the snow sticks to the trees.

Yesterday was the start of the Chinese New year.  I like the symbols that they have for luck and prosperity.

It’s also the year of the Monkey.

I like the sliding doors that they used for the following entertainment center.  I like the stain color of the wood and the design.

 

They also use the same design for a pantry door, which is kind of neat.

And that is my thoughts for this day in February.

 

 

I love this painting called “Golden Blue Morning Light”.

Today is a cloudy day and it might snow, but it has not snowed any yet.  I like covered bridges and I think the following one is really kind of pretty with the snow on it.

I like coffee mugs and today I entered a contest to win 6 sets of the Pioneer Woman’s coffee mugs.  I enter her contests every week as she has really neat give aways.

Then I really like to see the newest styles and this week is “Fashion Week” in New York City.  Because I like anything French, I found a web site that had Paris Street Fashion from Fashion Week.  A few of the styles were kind of neat to me.

Then on Harpers Bazar website they had 10 shoes that every woman should have in her closet.  I liked the all weather shoes in the next photo, kind of.

The following Jimmy Choo shoes cost $895.00.  I like the style with a much smaller heel and a much smaller price.

I like the following French style mirror.

Today, I saw some beautiful red, yellow and orange peppers at the grocery store that were on sale.  And they were greenhouse grown.  I have a Bobby Deen cookbook that has a couscous stuffed pepper recipe that I am going to try.

Also a taco stuffed pepper sounds good to try.

I like the following table cloth that they have at The Vermont Country Store.

And they have napkins to match.

I also like Nordstrom’s website.  I got a catalog in the mail today from Nordstroms.  I like the following jacket.

I also like the following little lamb.  I gave my little grandson a book called “Sweet Pea and the Sheepover” which was written by a Vermont author and I am going to get the following little lamb on Amazon to go with it for him.

So those are a few of the things that I like for today.

The weather this year has been warm days and cold nights in February, which is very unusual.  They say that sap is running from the Maple trees to make maple syrup already.  This is usually March weather.

LL Bean in Freeport, Maine has a “Bootmobile” that is kind of neat.  It sometimes travels all over New England.

Then, at the LL Bean store in Freeport, Maine, they have a huge LL Bean boot in front of their store.  I like the LL Bean catalog and like to browse through it from time to time.

 

This time of year is a nice time to have an omelette for breakfast.  This omelette is from the Chesterfield Inn.  When my son was little we used to go to different places for breakfast on Saturday mornings.  There used to be a place in Putney, Vermont called “The Igloo” that had the best omelettes ever.  We liked the home made sausage and cheddar omelettes that they had there and they came with home made wheat toast.

I have a recipe for mini blueberry muffins from a “The Biggest Loser” cookbook that is fun to make.  The recipe has bananas, yogurt and wheat flour.  It’s really a moist and good tasting muffin.  And the best part is that the muffins are very low in calories and quick and easy to make.  I like them, but my kids like the more traditional blueberry muffins.

So on this Saturday morning in February in Vermont, it’s sunny and mild weather.  The weather channel says that there are two storms on the way for next week.  We will probably be getting the traditional cold and blizzard type weather, but we have been very lucky this year so far.  The storms have all been coming up the coast and missed us.  Snow can be pretty.  I like it when it sticks to the trees.