Happy Yalentine Day!

Yes, I said Yalentine - with a "Y".

 Look real close and you'll see.  

Happy Yalentine Day! 

This little bear was won playing the claw game.  You know the game that you put 50 cents into the machine and maneuver this huge claw thing around and try to pick up a prize.  Imagine how lucky the winner felt when she realized she had won a Yalentine bear on Valentine's day - or maybe not.  We assumed it was a reject in a foreign factory somewhere in a land far far away that got dumped into a box meant to be trashed.  Then we thought it could have been a special production run for Yale University - but that just seems silly.  It could be that "V" translates as "Y" in some foreign, possibly exotic, language.  Maybe it could be something as simple as a typo.  I did check the keyboard and only "G" seems to separate the two.  Who knows!  It doesn't really matter anyway because this little misfit bear has earned his keep.  He has made more folks smile and laugh than he ever would have if he were just a simple Valentine bear. 

Hope you and yours had a very special Yalentine Valentine's Day!

Oh Sir Walter Wally

I decided to take a walk downtown during lunch today to check out the big Groundhog Day celebration.  We have our own version of Punxsutawney Phil known as Sir Walter Wally.   It was a big deal and there was a huge crowd.  I had to push some little kids out of the way to get a better view (not really, but I thought about it).  I took a couple of pictures with my cheap little phone just so you could get an idea of what it was like.  Sorry the photography isn't that great, but you get the idea, right?  Can you see Wally there being held up in the air? 

The crowd was getting a little anxious because we had to wait until high noon for Wally to strut about and check for his shadow.  We waited patiently as groundhog poems were read, the history of groundhog day was explained, we learned about groundhog life and there was even a groundhog song!  Good grief!  I just needed to know if he was going to see his shadow because I'm getting kind of tired of winter.  (I really should be ashamed to say that because we had one of our crazy 70 degree days again today.)    Anyway he finally got to come out and do whatever it is he does and then we were told that Sir Walter Wally saw his stinking shadow!!!  Nooooo!  Oh Sir Walter Wally how could you do this to us - six more weeks of winter?!?!  The crowd booed.  I left disappointed.

  

(Poor Wally hiding his face from the crowd.)

I heard that Punxsutawney Phil predicted the complete opposite but he had to be dug out of a blizzard to make his prediction.  Supposedly Sir Walter Wally has a accuracy rating of 70%.  That's pretty darn good for a groundhog, but I hope he's wrong this time. 

Brewing with Ants and Flowers

This past Sunday was one of those special days we get in the dead of winter in NC. We reached over 70 degrees and it was amazing! We have had one of the coldest winters on record and it has not been pleasant. To have temperatures in the 70's was a wonderful treat but also a mean tease. Of course it is cold again. That one day of bliss is almost like a dream now. Oh how I long for spring.  Of course with weather like that we had to have a brew day.  What a great day to sit in the driveway enjoying the sun, brewing, and partaking of a few of Hubby's home made specialities.  My sis came over and sat in the driveway with us.  What a great day! 

You know I usually take advantage of our brew time and knit or crochet a little something while sitting in driveway.  Above is a little flower scrubby I made while supervising brewing.  I've seen things like this in the past and thought I would give it a try.  It was quick and simple and I made it up as I went.   I really like the way it turned out.  It will be perfect for dishes.   Just another thing to add to my great day.

Sitting in the sun, brewing, crocheting, enjoying  family and a good beer - what could possibly mess this up?

 

FIRE ANTS!

I absolutely hate fire ants.  We had a terrible time with them this past summer.  We were hoping the crazy cold weather we have been having would be enough to do them all in.  Guess we were wrong.  We spotted these devils scurrying on their mounds Sunday while it was so warm.  I got as close as I could stand to the mounds to take these pictures.  If you've ever been bitten by a fire ant you don't want to again.  It is ugly.  I guess the warm weather we had Sunday got them excited and they decided to come to the surface and warm themselves.  I cannot imagine how many thousands of these evil little ants live in these mounds.  These pictures are of two separate mounds close to the house.  We have another nest right by the front door that was fully active also.  There are several more mounds scattered throughout our lot.  Hubby worked on getting rid of them Sunday.   I can only hope he was successful.

We did enjoy our Sunday, ants and all.   I hope there will be more nice days like that in the NEAR future. I guess we'll just have to see what the ground hog tells us tomorrow.