NotaSnow Day

I want to start by pointing out, very clearly, that fluorescent lights and I function about the same way in cold weather, i.e. not very well and extremely slow starting. Don’t get me wrong, when I woke up this morning to thunder and lightning and…snow…I was happy about the snow. I like it, it’s pretty, and it makes everything look clean. However, I like it better when the school system agrees with me that school should be cancelled or delayed. I live on a slanted driveway with a steep street and I am a baby.

  

Go ahead, snow-state friends, bring it! I fully admit I don’t like slip sliding away with my kids in the car. No excuses here. The school district did not agree, however and after enough neighbors had soldiered through the slush to clear the street we headed on our merry way.

The kids complained, whined, fussed and tossed a little snow around, but were mostly bummed that they didn’t get to stay home and play in the stuff. I did the Mom thing and told them it was too darn bad, and get in the car.

Warning-Whiner Alert!!!!!!!

Some things that make this notasnow day irritating are:

1.  School is still in session. I actually love the hot-cocoa-jammies-snuggle-under-blankets-with-a-movie time with the kiddos.

2.  The weather should warm up juuuuust enough to melt most of the snow before they get home.

3.  My house is cold, even with the heater at 70 (I told you I am a baby).

4.  The middle child sprained her ankle at gymnastics last night and has it wrapped and can’t run around.

5.  I drove straight to the coffee mecca from school drop off because I am brave when it comes to my caffeine needs and I deserved it for braving the snow. I got there finally to discover I had left my purse at home so I paid for my coffee with dimes. Yup, dimes. Ha! A lesser person would have just gone home, not foraged through the door-side cup holders. But I’m no quitter.

All-Clear, Whiner Alert is over. You may return to normal reading!

Well, I got home from my icy excursion and decided our little neighborhood friends were somewhat worse off than me, seeing as how I really do have a warm house to go into. In Garden Club this month, at the girls’ school, I taught the kids how to make suet balls for the birds to eat in the winter. Not much going on in the ol’ garden right now so we decided to focus on being good hosts to our wildlife buddies.

We mixed Crisco (I opted against lard this time), chunky peanut butter, sugar, oats and yellow cornmeal into a crumbly dough and then rolled it into balls. The kids each took some of them home for their own yards, we put some around the school and I had some left in my big Tupperware bowl. This morning, I scooped some out on top of the snow and also scattered some seed around. The suet is really good to help the omnivorous birds-like bluebirds (yes, they can be carnivorous sometimes) get the fat and protein they miss in the winter. For more on this, go to www.sialis.org. That is sialis with an “S” and it is about bluebirds, not bathtubs…

Ornithology lesson over.

Anywho…as I was scooping out suet, a wind gust hit a tree across the street and the whole thing shivered, like the Whomping Willow in Harry Potter, and snow cascaded down and blew across the yard. It was beautiful. I wish I could show you. I wish the girls had seen it. As I was looking around at the quiet majesty of a winter’s morn, bemoaning that the girls couldn't enjoy it, I had a great thought.

“Self,” I thought, “Why not save some of this for the girls?”

“But self,” I thought, “How?”

I decided to scoop up some snowballs, put them in a big tub and stash them in the freezer. Then, later, when they get home and the snow is all melted, they can have that snowball fight they begged for this morning (they did look really cute all bundled for the weather and wanting to play in it. I didn’t take a picture but here are some from Christmas Day-they pretty much look the same!) Also, after school it won’t be too icy for the wounded one to participate. I am a super-genius. Just wanted to put that out there.

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies to add to cocoa for a post-fight treat so I’m all set for 4:00. Meanwhile, I am bundled in fleece and blankets, two furry pooches at my feet and coffee by my side and I am happy.

 

I hope you make the most of your notasnow day!

What Snow???