Musings

Back when we were on the road, I captured this image of our road-stained vehicle, rimed with slush-melt blotches and all types of grime. And salt.

Then, a new day…today…

…and an hour at the car wash, with the two of us vacuuming, polishing interior windows, and, especially, brush-mopping the exterior. Then, we rode through the proper automated car wash…and discovered in the process that the cheapest cleaning option has jumped from $4 to $8. Still a good deal, I’d say.

Posted at 6:37 PM | Comments Off on Transformation

On my two-mile afternoon roam, I caught a bit of sprinkles, but it didn’t last, thankfully…and I forged on…the stoic (and transplanted) Midwesterner.

’Tis the rainy season, after all.

I do enjoy these blooms, very seasonal…called snowflakes. Without the cold, haha.

Posted at 7:05 PM | Comments Off on Snowflake without the cold

I heard the breaking news from MSU right before I went to bed last night…made and makes me sad. Personally, during my MSU years, I spent very little time on that part of campus. I daresay that decades later, my spouse spent far more time in the Student Union than I ever did; he was using the internet. For work.

For our fancy ❤️-appropriate dessert, we comparison-tasted two mint-chocolate chip ice creams: Breyers and Tillamook. I enjoyed both. I thought the chocolate, the mint, and the ice cream…all were tastier in the Breyers. I would be happy consuming the Tillamook, however, if the Breyers wasn’t available. [I’ve had several other brands…typically not minty enough, and with wimpier chocolate.]

Posted at 7:28 PM | Comments Off on 💘 day

Now that’s an entrancing line-up.

Wikipee says many of the varied Narcissus flowers/bulbs are native to the Iberian peninsula. I had no idea; my ignorance is vast.

Posted at 8:50 PM | Comments Off on Yellow lovelies

Heavy frost this morning made beautiful art on our windshield, where the arc of the wiper met the smear of the last glass cleaning endeavor…such striking geometrics.

Later, at the famous Monteagle, in high-elevation Tennessee, we found the last snow of our trip. It’s all about altitude….

Home safely; however, no late-day photos. Too busy unloading, followed by making dinner instead of take-out (our typical post-trip choice), as we figured every take-out place in town would be slammed on this particular Super Evening.

Yawn. Much love, and good night.

Posted at 8:40 PM | Comments Off on Sunday, (later) day of rest

Dawn.

Milwaukee River.

Chicago.

Dusk.

I associate “Blue Skies” with Willie Nelson, but of course, it’s an Irving Berlin song dating to 1926. Willie’s got some years on him, but not that many, and he’s written some splendid songs, but not that one.

Posted at 10:02 PM | Comments Off on Nothin’ but blue skies do I see

I swear we didn’t plan to leave because it was snowing. But it was snowing and we did leave. Even the minor main roads were in good shape. Whew. We headed south, then turned west, and soon we no longer saw airborne snow.

As we continued west, out of Escanaba, we found sun and it stayed with us…

…until sunset. This is the view from our not-fancy hotel room. And we walked two doors down to a family restaurant that probably was a version of an edge-of-town Midwestern supper club (not really a club) back two generations. I had whitefish and decided to believe it wasn’t loaded with PFAS. I had it broiled, not fried, but got it for the fish-fry price. Love the Midwest.

Posted at 7:04 PM | Comments Off on Friday fish fry

Prepped casserole ingredients: ready for assembly.

Final casserole, and side salad with dressing—not yet mixed. The former was a lasagne with squash slices instead of pasta. The latter was inspired by an old “Joy of Cooking” BBQ slaw recipe (her term) that has some lettuce and some cabbage, plus other raw veggies.

Yield: happy diners. Yay!

Posted at 8:56 PM | Comments Off on Still life moments

Dawn came clear and cold, and colorful.

From mid-morning on, we heard drip drip drip, and the occasional swoosh of snow falling off the roof. The deck is now snow-and-ice-less, even…although the fields remain totally blanketed.

I’m enjoying being here in a February warm spell.

The title refers to cherry pie worries. Tonight: no pits. It is the final no-pits, as the pie is now fully consumed.

Posted at 8:36 PM | Comments Off on No pits

Sometime in the night, I heard the tiny tink-tink of icy snow. As the light arrived, the branches of the trees carried a new outline of white.

However, soon the temps rose, snow left the branches, and surfaces became slushy. Once, I even caught Mr. Sun out (not sure why the clouds appear so dense and grey). Overnight, temps will drop below freezing, to rise once again—to the high 30s, meaning Return of Slush.

Posted at 8:19 PM | Comments Off on Day of change