The national weather reports were on this morning,
as I sat catching up on emails.
Minnesota is often featured in the worst winter weather areas.
Last week yes . . . but not today!

Things look heavenly in Minnesota compared to the snow hell out east.

Source  Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this.

Source  And what’s this poor pup gonna’ do?

Gracie Mae DOES NOT favor winter!
She DOES have a cleared outdoor spot for her “jobs”,
but has given up her many daily walks,
content to remain inside, staying warm!

Although, she does still get her exercise …

roaming the halls in search of every bit of sunshine!
She moves from room to room in the house,
as the sun repositions throughout the day.

BEFORE our snow arrived here, we had very up-and-down temperatures.

You may remember that we have a magnolia tree,
even though we live in Minnesota … some sort of hybrid.
During our first “pre-snow” cold snap, the tree lost all of its’ leaves.

But we then had an odd few days of very warm temps,
that totally confused our poor magnolia …
and she budded out again, as if it were Spring.

Now you know I love all sorts of branches and such,
especially pussy willows.
Well Mags’ buds look like giant pussy willows,
so naturally I had to cut a bunch and bring em’ in for decor!

I filled one of my big ole’ crocks with water
and put them on top of the kitchen cabinets …
where they stayed for a week or two, all cute and fuzzy.

Making coffee last Sunday morning,
I happened to look up and was elated by what I saw!

Those little fuzzies were …

BLOOMING !?!

Hubs took one look,
and said they had to come down to the table!

So the upper display was altered …
(think I’ll have to do some tweaking and raise that terra cotta piece up)

 the table display was moved to the credenza …

and the crock of buds took center stage on the table.

Each day they offer more wonderful surprises.

Even the finale blooms are beautiful.

But Mags wasn’t out of surprises yet!
Her flowers have also contributed that wonderful magnolia fragrance.
Love It!

Well … this IS Wednesday, so technically I didn’t miss a Whatever Wednesday.

Stay safe and warm as we gear up for the holidays, and remember …
don’t stress too much about anything, just start something …
and see where it goes!

Later – Cheryl