Calm Before the Storm

When I was in Frankenmuth for the Zehnder's SnowFest

on Friday, I shot a picture of the city's famous

covered bridge.

We had about three inches of snow on the ground

at the time.

That night...we got another five inches!

Yahoooo!!!  Lookin' a lot more like winter

around here.

Hubby used his big blower early in the morning,

and had to shovel another inch a bit later.

I LOVE when the snow piles in the trees.

I took these pine pics in my neighbor's yard.

Winter is exquisitely beautiful!

Right now, we have about eight inches of snow on the ground.

I'm telling you this because a massive storm is

barrelling through the mid-west this week and

we could get up to a foot more snow.

We are in a valley, so whenever they forecast these

whopper amounts, I'm skeptical.

We usually get less.

But, I'm tracking the storm anyway because

I LOVE SNOW!!!!!

Oh, you already knew that.

Our storm begins Tuesday night and is supposed

to rage through Wednesday.

By the way....this is my

100th blog post!!!!!

I began writing the blog last April and it has brought

me lots of fun, creativity and

FRIENDS...

from all over the world!

Thanks for stopping by and joining me

on this thrilling adventure!

P.S.  I can't wait to take pictures

after the storm.

Zehnder's SnowFest 2011

Here in Michigan, we have festivals

in the winter and this one,

held every year in Frankenmuth

 is dedicated to

SNOW!

Zehnder's SnowFest is celebrating

20 years this week.

I remember taking the kids back

when it first started.

It was TEN degrees!

Even our eyeballs were cold.

That's Sonny (I think!) feeling his way out

of the snow slide tunnel, but his eyeballs were warm.

The only place to warm up was

snuggling with a snowman.

That's 5 year old Lindsay with

cousin Kevin.

Fortunately, they had kiddie things

like rides, just like a

summer festival.

Doesn't this look like fun?

Sonny was still not showing his eyeballs.

I pretty much remember

freezing my tushie off that cold day.

Yesterday, it was a balmy 29-degrees,

so with the first blue sky in a week,

I ventured over to SnowFest

with my camera.

Snow sculptors come from all over the world

to compete.

It's fun and interesting to watch them create

their masterpieces.

Nobody is too young or old to play with snow...

that's the rule in Michigan.

This eagle was my favorite snow sculture.

The festival also features

ICE CARVING.

I really enjoyed hanging out with these guys...

They were creating a "Roaring 20s" exhibit

from 100 blocks of ice!

And, ice carvings lined Main Street.

Sculptors competed at the state, college and high school

and children's levels in various parking lots.

I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the

teen snow sculptors.

The best part...

EVERYONE

was glowing with pride at their creations.

The best way to warm the heart...

Snow Ice Cream!

Snow is in full fling here in Michigan!

That's my sweetest and cutest hubby with his big blower.

I like to brag he has the biggest blower

in the neighborhood. (hee hee!)

Perfect timing for the snow because the

defective camera lens I got from Santa just came back

from the repairman.

I LOVE photographing snow!

So, on Saturday, I drove around our town looking

for snowy subjects.

This is the pond near our house.

(Click on pictures to enlarge.)

I also ventured down to the river.

Here in Michigan, we get outside in the

winter and consider it an adventure.

That guy in the puffy orange hunting pants is

ice fishing on the river.

He uses that thingy in the foreground to drill a hole in the ice.

Men bring their sons to bond over solid ice

and the possibility of catching a dang fish.

They even bring little houses to live in

called ice shanties.

I think these people are CRAZY!

A sure way to torture me is to make me sit

on a cooler...on ice...outside...

in the freezing, windy, frosty, cold

staring at a hole in the ice

ALL DAY LONG

and call it recreation!

I prefer the beauty of snow...

And, I can't resist a red barn against white!

What about a BLUE barn?

I love it!

Hubby and I lived in a condo right by the river when

we were first married.  It had a walking path

and this lighthouse.

It was fun to visit it again with my new camera lens.

SO many fun memories right in this spot

on THAT bench!

But, while I'm bantering over the beauty,

you're probably thinking....

what about the dang snow ice cream???

That's another snow treat.

I used to make this for the kids when they were small.

My daughter Lindsay was home from college yesterday,

so I made some for her.

Just gather up some snow

(Don't use yellow snow!)

and some simple ingredients in your kitchen.

I posted the recipe on my

Busy Mom's Recipe Blog.

YUMMY!!!

Here, Sonny and his pal Zach are mixing up

Snow Slushies when they were eight!

After playing outside in the snow, their cheeks

were all red....SO cute!

I LOVE SNOW SO MUCH

I COULD EAT IT!!!!!!