Spring is Here?

 

After some warm weather the last 2 weeks, yesterday afternoon turned nasty. Cold and sleeting. Overnite the sleet turned to snow, and we woke up to about 3" of the white stuff this morning. There go my flowers!

Here's a robin, in my Hawthorn tree, eating the berries.

 

This was the view out my back window. This is my yard.

Apple Strudel/Birthday Dinner

 

I can't take credit for this lovely creation. But I can blog about one of my favorite restaurants, L. Woods Pine Wood Tap. It is located in Lincolnwood, Il, a northern suburb of Chicago.
Today is my birthday. A few nights ago, my girlfriends took me out for my birthday dinner (birthday girl's choice). I picked L. Woods.
As an appetizer, they have these wonderfully thin, crispy flatbreads. We split a roasted tomato, mozzarella, basil. We split a small chopped salad.
One of the specials that night was a chili pepper flecked, breaded tilapia, nestled on a buttery sauce. It was wonderful. I had a sweet potato, big enough to split, that had a cinnamon spiked butter alongside.

The main feature, however, is the dessert. You need to know when you first sit down that you want either the apple strudel or the chocolate molten cake. They make them to order and require 45 minutes. I've never had the chocolate cake, we keep saying we will have to try it! But it is my pick for my birthday, and I just love the apple strudel. The waitress overheard that it was my birthday and brought out scoops of vanilla ice cream with a candle on top. You are served a whole apple strudel with warm caramel sauce to pour on top. The leftovers came home with me.
Oh, and they also have wonderful Inteligensia coffee!!!

Early Volunteers

 

 

 

 

The daffodils I took pictures of earlier this week have come along nicely. We've had decent weather, no rain or snow. Lots of wind, though. Today the forecast calls for rain and possibly snow tonight, so these little guys may get a little beaten up. They love the cold weather, but it is the wind, rain and snow that ruins the early blooms.

So here's what could be the last good pictures of these guys. But don't worry, flower lovers, I have plenty more to come throughout the growing season!

Did someone say Giveaway?

Yep, here's the link, especially if you like Corgis as much as I do! Corgi Butts!

Watery Wednesday

 

This is the sunset over the Green Bay as seen from Ephraim, Wisconsin. Door County, 2008.

Yes, there really is a Green Bay!

For more Watery Wednesday fun, please visit here!

Micro Monday

 

Yesterday I decided to pull out the Easter bin I had stashed away. It's been several years since I've unpacked these things and put up a small Easter tree. Trying to play with my camera, I took a macro shot of this ornament. The Snoopy fan that I am!
For more Micro shots, please visit Lisa!

 

Spring has Sprung!

 

 

 

 

Ventured out to the back yard today. I was surprised when raking some of the leaves and other debris, to find a few early signs of spring! It's only going to get better from here! I think these daffodils will be open within a few days.

Who is this Anastasia?

The name of this blog originated when I started it back on AOL. When AOL decided to yank our blogs (and then pictures) away from us, I tried to salvage what I could and just transferred it here, per their instructions. I didn't even bother to change the name.
During my earliest months of doing Weight Watchers, I was very involved in a couple of the diet message boards on AOL. We would post about our losses and gains, triumphs and disasters. We'd post our weekly weight loss or gain. And our weights. For this reason, I had a special screenname to use with the message boards. I didn't want to somehow run into someone I knew in real life, and have them know how much I weighed! So, the screen name I used was one I got from the television show, Will and Grace. When wanting to be incognito, Karen would assume the name Anastasia Beaverhausen. I always thought that was funny. So, using that name, and then writing a journal about weight loss, well, you see where this is going.
Maybe one day I'll change the name of my journal. But for now, you finally know how it got it's name!

Giveaway!

No, not here. I'm small potatoes! But I was over at Donna's blog and she has a nice giveaway going on right now. All you need to do is tell her your favorite cook book and you'll be entered. Take a trip over there and check it out!

SOOC

 

Virtually all of my photos are straight out of the camera. I don't have Photoshop or any fancy software other than the packet that came with my camera.
Looking back through some summertime pictures, here's a pretty Dahlia, SOOC.

The original challenge is here: http://www.murrieta365.com/2009/03/sooc-sunday_14.html

Micro Monday

 

Obviously not a picture I took today, we won't see these guys till July or August. But they love my butterfly bush, and I'm looking forward to spring!

Micro Monday

 

I would love to join this group, so I looked back through some of my pics for some close-ups. Unfortunately, I don't have any fish, and that is this weeks theme. I did find this pic of a Hibiscus that I brought in for the winter. A small plant, in a 6" pot, it was blooming at Christmas time in the house. Here's a cool shot, I like the way the shadow falls across it.

Sorry it's not a fish!

X is for Xena

 

Ok, I've been waiting for this one. I've got a clear advantage, since my dog's name is XENA!!!

W is for Wisteria

It never amazes me that we can have such bitterly cold winters here, and yet, every spring, plants come back from their naps and grow and bloom. An example is my wisteria. My neighbor gave me a piece from hers to climb an arbor I had put out in the yard. It had never bloomed for her. We returned from vacation one early June to find that it had begun blooming while we were gone. My neighbor, who had been watching our house, was the first to notice! It has bloomed every spring since 2005.

BC Jet

During the normal course of my work week, I visit O'Hare Airport quite often. Yesterday I observed this jet being serviced. I thought it was pretty enough to snap a picture with my phone.

Old Dog

I saw this on Lisa's Blog, I hope she doesn't mind that I copied it here.

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard.I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.




An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard,
walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour.
This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar:
'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is
and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar:
'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep.
Can I come with him tomorrow?'