It's been a cold week here in the Pacific North West, although not as cold as in the eastern states where a polar vortex with record low temperatures and dangerous wind chills caused powered outages, frostbites and even several deaths due to freezing.
But we had several nights in a row when the temperatures went below freezing (24-28F).

 
Every morning we woke up to sunny blue skies, without any wind whatsoever, and all the meadows and plants covered in frost ..

Here's the proof:

              

The view from our back window is one of a pretty winter-scene .. especially from our lazy chairs with the heaters on full-blast while enjoying a nice cup of hot coffee:

    

  

     

  

The pond even froze over ... 
 

Still no snow, but I haven't given up all hope yet ...
As I said, despite the cold, the sun was out every morning and I really enjoyed my walks, taking deep breaths of the crisp, clear air ..

The daffodils, tough as they are and being able to withstand temperatures as low as -40°F, are already emerging in the border next to the pond ...

Inspired by this winter-weather, I winter-sowed some vegetable and flower seeds.

It's a 'thing' at the moment. 
My facebook page constantly talks about 'winter-sowing' which is an easy, low-cost method of starting seeds outdoors in recycled clear containers (like milk jugs) acting as mini-greenhouses during late autumn or winter.
 
Instead of the milk-jug method (I don't buy milk, let alone in jugs) I use the small greenhouse I have in which I tried last year to start seedlings early with the help of heating pads and lights ... and totally failed.

                                         

 

Winter-sowing without all this just relies on natural cold stratification to break dormancy for hardy perennials, native plants, and cool-season vegetables and prevents the need for hardening off seedlings.
Well .. we'll see .. you can't blame a girl for trying, don't you?

I really don't have much else to show for this week, but I'm totally fine with these slow, quiet months.
I did make a really nice and filling winter-soup; creamy butternut squash with orzo, ground chicken, mushroom and spinach. 
Talking about delicious!




And this nifty contraption I ordered online arrived in the mail. It's a handheld vacuum sealer for food!
I don't have room for a full-size countertop sealer but this small cordless device fits easily in a drawer. 

                              

It sucks the air out of storage bags (ziplock) preventing freezer burn or, if you use it in the fridge, to keep food fresh a lot longer than if you use 'just' a normal zip-lock baggie.
The bags are re-usable, come in different sizes and open quickly to add to or take anything out after which you re-vauum again. 

Easy peasy, so far I love it!