The Ice Storm Still hanging around and yet more Snow ❄️

This is happening right now. Rosie had to go…. Cooper called this morning and is headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota then off to North Carolina. He will be going to another school there for his MOS. Jewelee wakes us up really early anyway to go out since she’s 13 years old she can’t hold it like the younger fur babies. Rosie is so funny she sleeps with her “daddy” as Colby calls himself to her. Then she wakes up and wines to go sleep with me. She has to go sleep with mama. 

The video below is right now as I type this message to you. GOOD MORNING ☀️ the bell you hear is one of my favorite wind chimes we had traded with a guy from Pennsylvania at one of the shows we did (a garden show) back around 2019. It’s a lovely bell with copper. This morning Bruce had to fill the bird feeder immediately with the snow. Everyone had come to fly into the yard. 

I had typed this message yesterday to post and time flew away from me. So read that anyway 😂

Here we are on today Thursday the 20th of February. Things to know for today…National Chocolate Mint Day. I can tell you a story for that. When I was a kid and if we were to get ice cream my mother wouldn’t let me pick a kind out (my aunt did) my mother would always make me get mint chocolate chip so she could eat it. Even one time when I was older like 13 or so I was trying to get an ice cream and she convinced me to get the mint chocolate chip and I was like seriously can’t I even get what I wanted? I wanted the chocolate peanut butter. To this day I don’t care for anything with mint in it. My daughter Amanda loves anything mint. Mint coffee and mint ice cream. In fact speaking of Amanda she called this morning at 6:30 am I’m glad I was up. She wanted me to help her pick out a Lego set for herself. Her and her daughter (our granddaughter) Aubrey love to put Legos together. Which is something she always loved as a child too. In fact one year we went to the Lego store in Orlando or Disney shopping center whatever it was??? She bought the Pirate Ship and it was huge and very expensive. Levi loves Legos too he even has the Titanic ship set. I have a huge collection myself from years of all the boys having them. Plus Colby has had countless sets himself which he finally gave to me to add to the collection. I pull them out when the grandkids come. It’s a real big under the bed container full to the top. Everyone loves it. It’s a great way to use mindfulness creativity as with the kit you follow directions. With the box of random pieces your creativity soars to new heights. I have seen the grandkids make some pretty interesting pieces. Soon Brooks and Baker will be able to play with them as well. A couple more years. 

The ice storm has finally stopped and most of the ice is now melting. It’s 35 degrees so the sap might run some today not too much. Bruce has been working on some stuff for this year. He has put a lot of time and energy into it so hopefully it will be successful. Positivity!!! 

Other things happening today National Arabian Horse Day. Colten and Eryn have an Arabian stallion. I am not a horse person so I know nothing about them. Only what Colten tells me or I see on a show/movie. My mother always loved horses. I did have a Barbie horse if that counts…..brahahaha!! My mother decided when I was about 11 we would go horse back riding and it was over in Hampton Virginia. Close to where the K-Mart was on Mercury Boulevard. Well my horse took off fast and towards the water and literally scared the horse out of me!!!! I never cared to get back on one. I did want one of the mini horses once as our vet was into them and had so many she offered to sell us one. Bruce said NO! Then there was a horse show I was the photographer for. Cody had some of the best pictures taken of him that day. He was like three years old going to Britches and Braids school. Jackie owned the school and the horse barn. I really enjoyed that day. Amanda took riding lessons. She enjoyed it. Wow did you ever think so much verbiage could come from celebration days. Smiling! 

I know can you believe it the suet cake baskets are empty…… it’s on my list! 

The pond had started to melt but old man winter decided we needed more snow and ice. 

This birch tree is loaded with ice. 🧊 

Of course these little visitors visit me every day several times a day. 

Brooks sitting in the gator. 

Uncle Dusty 

Well guys I am going to finish my coffee and watch it snow/birds. I will be waiting to hear from Cooper when he lands in Minneapolis. Have a good day and send wishes for a Happy Friday. My mom sent a message that she had played golf this morning and that Florida was finally warming up. Bruce had his CT scan yesterday late afternoon. We went in Walmart to get birdseed and apples. Today’s celebrations are National Cherry Pie Day. Need I say more. Clean out your bookcase day, oh my goodness I would need a huge help for that. Amelia would be a great helper for that…..hint!  National Leadership’s Day. National Hoodie Hoo Day, Fish Fry Day. So many even a National Lego Day today. Oh yeah and National Muffin Day. A great day to Celebrate!!! 🎉 enjoy….

Much love, 

Dawn Gallop 
 

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Hestia Goddess of the Hearth

Hello and welcome today my is Thursday the 19th of February. Bruce has a CT scan as on the MRI his neck has progressed even more than it was six months ago. The moon enters Pieces today at 2:39pm. This was the painting I did in mystic space. 

I wanted to share a little something about a class I am taking. It’s a very personal journey. We are in mystic space and we paint intuitively. In the mystic space one might have a feeling or experience and paint that or one may see something in their minds eye. Which is what I painted from. We learn the whole story of Hestia or myths of her. I even had my alter decorated with her in mind. Hestia is the goddess of fire and the spirit of the home. The daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She is a Greek goddess. When she was born Kronos with his anger issues swallows her and she is dismembered. Well each baby Rhea had he swallowed. When Zeus was born she gave him a rock. As Zeus grows up and finds this information of his brother’s a sisters in Kronos stomach, Zeus has him vomit them up. Hestia was first and now the last to be reborn. So she was now the youngest of their children. Hestia wanted no parts of the family life as she was happy being the center of the hearth and no drama for her. You can attribute the fire and a kettle for Hestia. Very powerful goddess. 

I put together this lovely spirit doll for Hestia. She hangs in my painting space. The enamel piece I made many years ago with Linda Darty her book is here https://a.co/d/05C59z72 I have it. I spent two days with her years ago learning enamel work. Good times. That piece reminded me of Hestia. 

 Then I painted her as a teen or a younger girl. I had a lot of fun with this one. I used 100% cotton paper and my oh my it absorbed the paints. The fire is all liquid watercolors. I had so much fun painting her. 

I hope you are having a great week. Sending all the positive vibes your way. The ice storm continues everything is frozen. I am hoping to get some pictures when Bruce can help me to go outside. The ice is so very dangerous to even walk on. I am sure you are aware of that. All the best. When you have a fire in your pit or your fireplace think of Hestia. 

Good vibes, 

Dawn Gallop 

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Ice Storms and the Eight Year Ago Milk Prices

Hello and Happy Lunar New Year day 2.  Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent today. The sun will Pisces ♓️  at 10:52 am. We have awoke to an ice storm. These pictures but the last two are from last year in March 2025. The last two are this morning as of the writing of this post. Last March we had one of the worst ice storms that had occurred here since like the 50s. It was really scary trees were falling from the weight of the ice. The power lines were down for over three days. We used a generator for four days. It was costing almost $50 dollars a day to run everything here we needed to use. Gas prices were a bit higher at that time. We all felt like we were back in Hurricane Isabelle in 2003. We had lost power for nine days and we moved into our fifth wheel camper as we had a smaller generator and we were running our neighbors house too. They were elderly and it was September in NC so need I say more……. HOT! The girls and I washed clothes outside in a water trough. Anyway the ice storm had brought those memories back last year. 

The apple trees can be so tough

Riding in the car and Bruce turned on the brights. 
 

This morning February 18, 2026 right out my living room window. 

The cardinal in the tree. It’s still icing right now. 

Look at those prices that camp up yesterday. Thought I would share this. We certainly could use some of those prices again. Then maybe the wages will match buying food again. When Bruce and I got married in 1968, we struggled but we had a car payment, rent and car insurance, home phone and power bill, water bill etc. we could pay the bills and still have enough money to buy groceries/gas. No we didn’t have extra money to buy extra stuff but we did buy diapers sometimes as I used cloth at the beginning and then it was a real struggle. The washing machine my dad had bought me the plumbing in the wall ended up being messed up and was leaking on the neighbors below us. We didn’t know as the tiny kitchen had the set up for the washer. At that apartment I made the curtains with my Singer sewing machine. I actually didn’t like that machine at all as it was always in need of a repair. Finally I sold it in the Tidewater Trading Post and was able to add a little to get a newer machine. The Singer machine was from the 50s. I could sew like a pro with the new machine. I was making little crafts and paintings selling them at little craft shows mostly at schools in Norfolk. The struggle was real for sure. It fed my need to create. Well better go for today…… much love and be Full of the Fire Horse 🐎 Energy. 

Good vibes, 

Dawn Gallop 🏇 

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Days 11-20 Scribbles Project Happy Lunar New Year

Hello and welcome so glad you stopped by for a quick visit. Today is the New Year Happy Lunar New Year 2026! We welcome in the Fire Horse. It’s a sixty year cycle. It will be the same as 1966. Bruce was born in 1966. This year for his birthday he will be celebrating the big 60. Manifest your future today. The next cycle will be in 2086. Firehouse years are revolutionary. You have 600 times more power to make your manifestations happen. Manifest what you want to happen today and for the next two days. Happy Lunar New Year. Prepare for transformation. ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) Solar Eclipse. 

These little drawings are from a sketch pad that should’ve of went in the trash but with the scribble project it has gave me a great little expression of art not mattering what it looks like. It’s just fun and it can be as simple as a dot. Any expressive mark is perfectly fine. It’s been great I actually look forward to see what I can just make any marks and be done. This is part of the 100 day project as well. You can choose to so whatever it’s your art. The sketch book was chewed up by Rosie and one day it fell in the car and got wet. I have had this sketchbook since around 2010. Now I am using it up and enjoying the process. 

Thank you Scribble Project. 

When the little boys came over and we had a little scribble project as well. It was fun and there eyes were so wide when I brought out the newsprint paper. 

Kenso our King takes a step 

The other 1-10 are HERE

Brooks was like put this lid on. 

Kensos’ Valentine’s Day picture. So cute.  They are calling for snow again tonight. We did manage to get out some of the maple sap buckets. The snow has melted some. The porch is clean of snow. The gator belt keeps breaking down so Bruce keeps trying to take off the parts that shred and keep on going slow. The seedlings (flowers) are doing well. The other day  Bruce helped me to get to the greenhouse and I was able to enjoy the warmth and sunshine. Good Vibes!!!! 😎 

Much love and respect, 

Dawn Gallop 

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Maple Sap/Syrup Season Begins

Dad I wanna help. Let me, let me! Hello and welcome it’s that time of year. Bruce and Cody spent most of morning out in the woods setting up lines and getting the area ready. More pictures to come. We started collecting the sap the first year we were here. Not knowing anything about it as we had both grown up in the south. Yes I know in the south hickory trees can be considered. I grew up in Newport News Virginia and Bruce is rural NC. My parents and his parents were both working hard families. We both were latchkey children. Here I have digressed. The first year was a learning experience. It was so much fun and exciting. Today it’s actually going to be 48 degrees so the sap will run. So basically I am no expert on the subject as this will make our 5th year of making syrup. The temperatures will freeze at night then once it warms enough during the day the sap will run. It is really fun. The first year the snow was deep and we cut our lines to reach the buckets which were on top of the snow. So when the snow melted the buckets fell and then the lines were too short to reach the buckets. Rookie mistake!! 

 

Brooks 

Baker 

Baker said greenhouse. 

They were such great sports and never complained. Baker if he falls he won’t use his hands to get back up. I sat in the gator and the boys took turns getting in and out of the gator. The snow was still deep enough and very crisp making it hard to walk around in. I hope today your cup is full. Sending much love for a sweet time of the year. 

Good vibes, 

Dawn Gallop 

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