Bits and Pieces

So, we have had more ground coverage of snow this winter than any other winter we've been here. Usually there are days when we lose all the snow in January and February. Not this year. Here is what it looked like yesterday morning - March 1st. For this date, that is still a lot of snow around here. And to think that in three weeks not only will it be spring, but we are expecting the Sand Hill Cranes to return. They always return between the 21st and the 26th of March, and it is a big deal for us, as they make a lot of noise, are large, impressive creatures, and really, are the first sign of spring. We are a bit worried that they may be uncomfortable with the landscape that greets them. Particularly because the above photo was taken at 9 a.m. on March 1st, and the below one was taken at about noon the same day:

So, we are back to full coverage of snow. It was big wet flakes, not the typical microscopic powdery stuff. By the evening, everything was covered in about four or five new inches of snow.In some ways, we are grateful for the cold weather. You see, a mouse determined that our car was a good warm place to stay, so it crawled in between the firewall and the engine compartment of the Tahoe, made a next, and then died. The smell is . . . . well, you can imagine what the stench is like. We now call the Tahoe "The Stink Mobile." It is been such since Tuesday. Andy has attempted to remove the stench by vacuuming the area from which it is coming, which involved taking apart the back of the glove compartment and pulling the nest up from the infested area with a coat hanger. Not exactly lawyers work, but he has had some success. The stench has reduced about 50%. We are so happy that it is not July with temps close to 100 degrees - then we would be a one car family, and abandon the vehicle all together. Here, you can see Andy doing this really awful chore:

Bo smelled and was curious, but then dogs like to roll around in dead things, so he probably has a different idea about what to do in this situation than Andy does. Andy says he got about two cups worth of nesting material out with the vacuum, but to his knowledge, no corpse. So, probably going to have to live with the stink a while longer. Anybody know how long until a dead mouse stops smelling? Hopefully we are talking days or weeks not months.

I did a little scrapbooking yesterday, and produced two pages for the page of the March page of the month kit at http://keepsakesbydesignmt.blogspot.com/ and at the Keepsakes by Design store here in town too. These kits are ordered in March, and delivered in early April. I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out as they are not my usual color schemes. The first page was made, and then I made the second page with the left overs, plus a little stickles glue and some Prima flowers. Kind of fun. Definitely more "girly" than I usually make, and that was fun for me. So, here they are:

Bent the corner of the second one, which is a bummer because it shows in the photo. Hopefully these will be of interest to people and sell like hotcakes. If you are interested, go here: http://keepsakesbydesignmt.blogspot.com/ to see more details about how to order them - but wait a couple of days until we can get them to the store and available and priced. I don't know how much the kit will cost yet.