Wintry Mix: a post with little coherence or purpose but just ‘cause.

The Snow-Blower Brigade is on task this morning. Can I just say that I love the sound of snow-blowers in the winter and lawn-mowers in the summer? I guess I am a mower-fan. It makes me feel like I am connected to the outdoor life and that there are more people then my little family in this world and that they are just outside my door. It’s so easy to go insular as a homeschooling family – that’s just one of the things that you have to be on-guard against when you choose this life-style. And winter can be a particularly challenging time.
Snow (weather, in general) is a great bringer-together. People are having a common-experience and bad or good we are sharing something. Granted, we are home-bound today since our regular events were cancelled due to the snow and so we don’t get to see our close friends. On the other hand we are seeing all of our neighbors who we need more of an excuse to see even though we are “within spittin’ distance” as I was informed by one Eburgian.
Everybody rushes out on a snow day on our street. I felt bad for John who at 8:30 was donning his snow-gear, such as it is, and putting on headphones and heading out with a look of purpose. What was he going to do? Shovel the walk, of course. Oh. Well…
Lee had snow-blown the whole sidewalk on the other side of the street long before - and Don was just finishing shoveling our walk, his walk and the next house down - and Anthony and Thomas had done the steps and were starting on the driveway. Maybe he could wipe off the top of the van? You’ve got to be pretty ambitious to get a piece of the snow-removal action around here.
Anyway, there’s nothing like a snow-day to make me feel like I have no obligations in the world other then to look around and enjoy the beauty. Well…and endlessly remove and replace mittens, boots, hats, snowpants, and keep up with the non-stop demand for hot chocolate…which is probably why I feel like no one can possibly expect anything more of me. I certainly don’t anyway.
The Maryland branch of the family is slowly being schooled in the ways of winter, although at the moment Cecilia is warming her ice-cold hand on my tummy. Not great winter-etiquette.


Here’s one little winter-tip: We fill socks or gloves with rice and, tie them up with a rubberband and then microwave for 30 seconds and use these mini- heating pads to do a quick warm-up in or out of the house. Cecilia is finally old enough to join the outdoor-team…up until now she’s been kept hostage in the house with me: her little face plastered up against the door watching the freezing-fun. But generally being kept inside with me doing awful things like making hot-chocolate and cookies. But today she got all the gear on from hat to boots and joined the fray. This picture is her surveying the landscape. It’s hard to believe that she is old enough to be out there in the rough and tumble of things but there she is. All soft and pink, slipping and sliding in her red boots and making snow-angels. Goodness…another “the days are long but the years are short moment” brought to you by a baby.