Snow Day!

On February 23rd we had a snow day, and school closed for the afternoon!  It snowed all day, even though the temperature rose enough by afternoon to cause some melting.  The snowflakes were big and fluffy, and in places the snow was ankle deep.  I loved the crunch and squeak of the powder!  It's so beautiful to see this type of snow here.  The transformation was magical!

This picture has a fairy tale quality to me. Chiquita is busy investigating!

The wild garden doesn't look like this very often!

The back road by the wild garden

Spanish dagger

Coral honeysuckle

Texas buckeye

Redbud tree in front of the house

The mailbox garden

Red yuccas covered in snow

Agarita with flower buds

The neighbor's scarlet quince

Pansies 

Sedum palmeri the day after the snowfall

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been feeling a little "under the weather" lately.  I've spent the last two weeks training a new person at work, and I'm not used to talking 9 hours a day or being shadowed 40 hours/week.  It's been tiring, plus the weather's been bad, plus this is my first Valentine's Day alone.  Usually the kids are around, but this year I have no one to gift with chocolate.  :(

But it's nothing that a little sunshine, shopping, and dancing won't cure!!!  Yesterday I decided to actually leave the house (gasp) and go birthday shopping for my best friend and my daughter.  I hit the jackpot at a store called Brickwood Boutique in Temple!

 

Yes!  My daughter is having a boy, and since her birthday is coming up soon, I bought this for her!

The gift wrap is a free service at Brickwood!  This is my daughter's picture frame.

This one is a bracelet and pair of earrings for my friend.

And last but not least, a gift for me, from the clearance table!

I had a great time at the Friday night dance at In the Mood Ballroom.  On Saturday I got a last minute invite to the Stardust Monthly Ballroom Dance at the C.A.C. in Temple, so I went to that, too!  The dancer who told me about it used to teach, so it was wonderful to have the benefit of his knowledge and encouragement.  I'm discovering through the connections I'm making that there's an active community of dancers in the Temple/Killeen/Waco area.  Could have gone to another dance this afternoon in Waco, but I have class at 6:00 tonight, so I declined.  I have to save some energy for the cha cha tonight!!!

I got invited to a dance in Waco next Saturday, and there are some salsa lessons beforehand.  The instructors are from Harker Heights, so it will be fun to meet them.  Yay!

I'm getting a sense of what dancing means to people of all ages and abilities.  The most heartwarming people to watch are the old-timers who show up even if they are widows or widowers.  I think I danced with a 90-year old man last night, and although his steps weren't strong, he was having a blast!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  Let's dance!!!