Steady Sparkles

We've had two snow days, this being the second. Yesterday...ice. Today...snow. And all the lovely snow fluttering down keeps me gawking out the windows, front and back.

The back view at first light this morning was pretty lovely, but since then I bet another inch has accumulated on the chairs we not-so-long-ago gathered in around the fire pit bathtub.

The front view. Thus the "steady sparkles" title of my blog today. We are so blessed with a beautifully decorated park as our out-the-kitchen-window view. (I might enjoy them a little more if they twinkled, but then again, maybe steady sparkles is what this girl needs in a world so frenzied.)

So on this very special snow day...days that don't come often enough...I bet I'll be mesmerized by the quiet fluffies falling outside my doors, but throughout the entire Christmas season I'll be gazing upon those steady sparkles in the park.

So Outta Here

This photo was taken early Tuesday. When the snow first started falling I was pretty excited. I loved being home from school, all cozy in my jammies. As I sat by the fire, I admired the Jim Shore snowmen placed so sweetly atop the piano. I re-loved each little element of winter decorating I had sprinkled around the house. Mercury glass icicles, paper snowflakes, scarves and mittens.

Not today. My mood has changed. It has been 5...I said FIVE (she shouts), days now, with new snow falling all day yesterday. The roads in our small town are ROUGH to say the least. Most cars that aren't equipped with 4-wheel drive haven't budged from their driveways. The temperature hasn't been above freezing since Tuesday. A lot of businesses are shut down or working with less than their normal number of employees. This snow has become a hassle.

They're coming down, People. This girl's gathering them on the kitchen island, readying them for storage.

I will no longer celebrate snowmen in this house.

Not this winter, anyway.

It's time to get these guys outta here. (I think he's waving goodbye, don't you?)

I realize my plan isn't always THE plan, but if I pack the snowmen away, I'm planning (hoping) that spring might make it's appearance a little sooner.

Until next year, Snowmen. I love you, but I've had enough of you.

On Being Hungry

Okay, here's the thing.

When I have a snow day, something comes over me. Something so big I can hardly resist. I think it's just part of who I am and how I grew up and maybe it's the same for you too, but I feel the most gigantic urge to bake. And not just bake...we all know BAKE equals EAT.

I'm thinkin' something ooey and gooey. Chocolate, chewy goodness.

Why don't I crave low calorie food?

Maybe it's Grandmother Romberg's fault...she used to invite us over for fresh fried donuts on snow days. They were so yummy!

And when the boys were little, I made what Jake used to call "black cookies" (no-bake). They were cheap. And made the house smell delicious. (And I undoubtedly ate a bunch of them along with the kids.)

But there are no kids here. And if I fall victim to this desire to bake, I will not have a choice. I will have to eat it. And the diet goes to pot.

  

By the way, those are not my feet. Or my hairy legs.

I made it through the first snow day fine, eating blueberries, cereal, apples, a ground turkey burger, light Progresso soup, some home-grown-by-my-dad brussel sprouts, popcorn. I vacuumed the whole house. I drank 80 ounces of water (this is HUGE for me...learning to drink water). I walked my nearly 2 miles on the treadmill while reading a home decorating magazine. I went up and down the stairs a bunch of times (because upstairs was my haven of choice for movies and a blankie )...and the bathroom is downstairs.

But still. On this second snow day in a row, the desire won't go away. Bake something. Cook something.

Uh-oh. I'm caving. I'm heading to the kitchen.

Be with me, Will Power! Don't leave me now!

Quiet Morning

It's still dark.

The cable is off.
The dryer just cycled off too.
The wind is howling, but that's the only sound other than the gas fire in the fireplace.

It's just me here at the house. Vaughn left around 6:00 a.m. to see if he had electricity at the cabinet shop.

Snow Day.

I'm not a sleeper or I'd be sleeping. When I received the call at 5:30 a.m. that we wouldn't have school, I immediately got up to continue the phone chain and alert those on my list. And then the Snow Day began, after all those calls were made.

So for now I'm enjoying these quiet moments. My world is sort of at a stand-still, and I just have to love that.

At this point, in the early stages of my Snow Day, I can only imagine what the day might, could, will bring. It's a free day. To rest. Cook. Clean a closet. Work on taxes. Exercise. Whatever.

It's full of possibilities. MY choice. Doesn't happen often enough.