Wow, you still have leaves. Here's a shot from the front of our house back when we still had them. Today we have no leaves and a little snow. :-(.

I think I may know the answer today, for a nice change. DW used to love to chew ice when she was younger.

TM

Hmm, good question. I am one of those ice chewers. Thought it was just habit.

Off to the bridal shower this afternoon. The snowstorm has been pushed back a day so hope to have some time before dark to cut a few more plants back and spread some more shredded leaves.

We are heading out in a bit to see the artwork of a friend of Chuck. He is showing it at his home in Old Town and also trying to sell it. Should be interesting.

I also am thinking of asking if we can swing by HD to look at furniture covers for the wrought iron outside. I have never covered it since bringing it from my parents. My dad always stored it in the crawl space (what a pain that was!), but we have no place to put it. The iron is showing rust, so I had better do something. I just hate spending money on something like that. No fun.

Edited to add: TM, your trees are beautiful! Some of ours have just barely started to turn, so still lots of green. Bobbie, have fun!

Cynthia

This post was edited by cyn427 on Sun, Nov 9, 14 at 12:35

If the answer is what I gleaned from the clues it makes sense to me as I read chronically low.

TM, beautiful picture. I've never chewed ice but I believe I know the answer to this. I had to deal with a deficiency problem when I was young, whatever supplement they tried on me I seemed to be allergic to. The doctor finally ended up prescribing me some kind of pep pill that had just enough of this in it to do the trick, no allergic reaction :).

Annette

Just getting back up and running from a power outage this am. Thank goodness it was/is a sunny Sunday - no real inconvenience, except that I am late for work. Oh well - pushing that bit further - lol.

As to the question, I think I know what the last part of the word means, and wonder if it has to do with a particular childhood dare, in northern climes.

Nancy.

Haha, Nancy. I think I know what you are thinking. If I am right, you are wrong. ;)

I had planned to clean/organize the refrigerator and the laundry room today. Also, still haven't planted four shrubs. I am 0 for 3 today. Oh well. Maybe I will do the laundry room now and the fridge after dinner. Have I mentioned that we got rid of our cable? I always hoped I would need to call and you would be on the other end of the line Nancy. How much fun would that be?! I am going through withdrawal. No Packers/Bears game for me, alas. Also, no PBS Mysteries. That is hard. The laundry will be easy. Fold and put away the clean clothes that are currently residing on the table and on the ironing board. Then put away the ironing board which seems to be perpetually waiting its turn.

See you in a bit.

Cynthia

Cyn, love your fall colors too. We don't have much red here in nature, just from things we've planted. We had a nice green and gold view from our front room window but the big wind storm the other night, the gold is history :(.

Annette

Annette, that beautiful healthy red in the picture is actually a Japanese maple in our neighbor's yard. When we moved in, it seemed our backyard was a yellow or golden wood, but a couple of volunteer oaks have come up that seem more red. I kind of love the yellows. The ones out front haven't begun to change yet. Very surprising. Especially since we have lots of leaves on the ground.

Cynthia

Cynthia - people like you won't keep me in business - lol. Just on my last call, and don't you know it's going overtime - sigh. That power outage this am put a bee in my bonnet - i was going to do some research on Ancestry. Oh well.
I am no closer to the answer, though chewing ice cubes seems to be a clue. Annette's response leads me to Anaemia, but not really sure why that would be. Is it related to Pica?

Nancy, who finally ended her last call.

The clues lead me to low iron as a reason for ice cracking/eating. Don't think I was ever compulsive about eating ice. I like the sound and the satisfaction of breaking the ice. I know it is bad for the teeth and have mostly trained myself from eating ice but occasionally...

Had fun at the bridal shower and brought home a prize for one of the games, one of the small bowls of white roses used as a centerpiece on the tables. Suggested going to the planetarium to see the stars or planets as a date night activity. Not that we have ever done that but our date nights of going out for dinner and a movie sound so ordinary. The planetarium sets up telescopes for public viewing whenever there is any special space event. That's been on my list of things I 'd like to do so maybe next spring or summer.

Came home and finished the garden cleanup. Good thing I have a head lamp as it was 10 p.m. by the time I came inside. Saw the beautiful Beaver moon rise the night before and listened to the hooting of an owl as I worked in the front garden.

Hated to cut back the grasses which looked so nice but hate cleaning them up in the spring more and they get smashed to the ground when we get wet snow.

Snow is several inches deep this morning and may get as much as 12 inches total of heavy wet snow by tomorrow then the cold begins so it will probably be here until next spring. Glad our snow removal guy will be coming.

I'm with Bobbie. I think what we're going for is iron-deficiency anemia. I speak from experience when I say that ice chewing can be somewhat annoying to those around you. :-)

Snow is coming down here too.

TM

Ah, TM, another reason I broke the habit. Last week while alone at the computer I set aside my finished drink. Later picked p it up again to find all that was left was a small piece of ice. Tipped it in my mouth and crunch. Surprised myself!

Edited to add: that's why I said "mostly" in my previous post.

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Mon, Nov 10, 14 at 18:48

Wow! Snow...and accumulating snow! I know it sound bizarre coming from one who is not wild about cold weather, but I am so envious! If it is going to be cold, then I definitely want snow. Can't see any other reason for low temps!

I love the planetarium idea, Bobbie! The planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia was always one of my favorite places to go. Glad you won the centerpiece. Sounds like a lovely one.

So, to the awards portion of our program-

Four stars for TM, Bobbie, Annette, and Nancy. Yes, according to an article in the Washington Post, it appears that low iron can be the reason for compulsive ice chewing and yes, Nancy, it is a form of pica, although not as distasteful as most forms of it. ;)

Have a lovely week and enjoy your winter wonderland, Bobbie and TM.
Sorry you had to go into overtime, Nancy. I always wish we had a generator when the power goes out, but a small one doesn't quite do the job really and we can't swing one of those wonderful whole house automatic ones. I do actually enjoy building a fire and sitting close to it or even just hunkering down in bed when the power goes. Reminds me of fun times when I was little.

Cynthia

Hoo - great stars Cyn - thanks!! Have a great week everyone!!

Nancy.

Thanks, Nancy-iron stars just seemed appropriate!

BTW, Bobbie, love the Beaver Moon comment! I saw it, too and thought it was especially beautiful-maybe because it now has a name! :)

Wonderful iron stars! Thanks for this question which is especially interesting to me.

I also thought to myself that the full moon was exceptionally beautiful and the hooting owl made me feel very close to nature that night. When my neighbor stopped on her walk I was able to work the Beaver Moon into the conversation. Smarty pants :-)

Love it, Bobbie!