Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful............

 When I was considering my move to the East Coast nine years ago to work for Mr. Cham (he was not yet MY Mr. Cham), one of my reasons for hesitation was the weather. Having only experienced snow once before when I lived in Denmark for a year (and having been very miserable. Lovely country and people but SO cold in winter) I was not certain as to whether this Southern girl could adapt to the four seasons. This was before I knew anything about power outages, frozen pipes or electric blankets (that do NOT work during a power outage). The first winter spent in Connecticut was particularly difficult but I decided to make the best of an otherwise very happy situation and learn how to be comfortable, well fed, and cozy during winter. I bought books and did what the books told me to do and what to buy to ensure mine and my master's comfort during those long, cold days and nights and four winters later I was becoming rather good at it. Then, we moved to upstate New York and I realized what a rookie I was.
Then I found the BBC farm shows and what a inspiration they have been!  

                       You remember Alex Langlands, Ruth Goodman and Peter Gint. of course.
(And contrary to My Mr.Cham's belief, I do not have a crush on Peter or Ed Sheeran. Although, I have had a weak spot for Mr. Sam Neill for many years.)

 As you know, we were not home for Christmas , but since we have been back Jack Frost has visited our little corner of the woods several times and his most recent visit was the coldest and most challenging.

We have wood burning fireplaces and my personal Paul Bunyan keeps us well-stocked with firewood to keep us cozy along with our collection of knit afghans, down comforters, and stadium blankets, but when we lost power ( including the internet, which is why our posts have been delayed) we were faced with the problems of how to cook and what to do for entertainment.

 We put the fresh meat and fish and dairy on the balcony. The frozen foods were thankfully rock solid in the deep freeze. I cooked in the fireplace. As you can see, we did not starve. My Mr.Cham was very proud of me. (I was a bit proud of myself too. I never even went to summer camp!) 

Now he wants to take me camping this summer. I will have to think about that. 

Trout

Beef  Stew

Biscuits

Frittata

Cornbread

                                                                   

It is a lot of fun "camping out" in front of the fireplace with beeswax candles for lighting,

soft music on the battery operated tape player and My Mr.s Cham reading aloud. We were able to finish The Romance of the Forest in three days before the power came back on. I was almost sorry when it did. Almost.                                                         
(Photos by TheChamCham) 

When we were in England, I found a couple of bird feeders to add to my collection and they seem to be very popular with the birds that visit our little outdoor cafe.

I am hoping to grow bottle gourds this summer and make them into birdhouses so that our feathered friends will have a bed to go with their breakfast. I feel so sorry for them out there but even with the cold I am certain that they are happy to be free and content in knowing that they have a place to come to where there is always plenty of birdseed, suet and peanut butter at a reasonable price.

(Photos by me.You can tell.)





 I also found these signs for the garden.

It snowed hard again yesterday, so while the internet is on I wanted to post this to let you know that we are still here. We are expecting more snow on Tuesday and there is a chance that the power may go out again, and I believe in being prepared, so I am re-stocking up on the necessities while possible. 

I'm dreaming of a white St. Patrick's Day. Well, maybe not.

                                                                                                 Stay cozy toasty,

                                                                                                                      Tess🌷