I’ve been taking a little vacation from my blog lately because of Thanksgiving and the aftereffects –some good and some thought provoking. Maybe I’ll talk about them later, if the spirit moves me.
Meanwhile, we’ve had sleet and lots of snow, which is still coming down, so for the first time in a very long time, all three kids have a snow day from school. Hurray! So, for a snowy Friday…
1. Sleep late. Is there anything more cozy than lying in bed, all warm from a full night’s sleep, wearing your pjs, covers pulled up to your chin, and looking out the window to see a winter wonderland, then knowing on top of that that you can lie there, dreaming and dozing until you are completely done sleeping? Oh, baby, what a feeling of relaxation the mere thought induces in me.
2. Make cookies with the kids. I’ve stopped making cookies very often over the last few years. It seemed like a lot of work for something that wasn’t good for any of us anyway, we don’t exchange cookies at Christmas, and there has been no help and little enthusiasm for helping from the kids, who eat the cookies in the first place. I tried getting them to make their favorite cookies themselves, with some help from me, and they weren’t enthused. I think the smell of cookies, gingersnaps, gingerbread men, sugar cookies, chocolate chippers, something, might be just the thing today with the snow still showering down from the sky on us and the roads all slippery and scary.
3. Make beef stew or chili for dinner in the crock-pot. Oh, warm and beefy dinners on a cold, snowy day. What a great way to fill their bellies (along with some cookies) and make them all feel warm, nurtured, loved and replete. Whenever it gets cold out, I make chili. Unfortunately, I am the only person in my house that likes chili. The rest of the family doesn’t eat it, not just my chili; they don’t eat any chili anywhere, so I try not to take it personally. But, they will eat beef stew, and I have everything we need right now, having gone grocery shopping two days ago. I can get it all in the crock pot and forget about it until dinner. I like that part, too.
4. Romp in the snow. It’s time to put on the duck boots and warm woolies I’ve spent all year knitting, get the dog all worked up, and go romp in the snow. Boy, if there’s a dog that has more fun in snow than a housebound Labrador, I don’t know what it is. My lab loves to jump and run and fall down and dash in circles and kick up snow and chase snowballs, and laugh until he can’t stand up any more. And, let me tell you, a pair of handmade wool socks inside my boots and some felted mittens, and I can endure the cold right along with him.
5. Knitting. Well, of course. It has to be! Snow falling, warm house, tummies full of beef stew and cookies, a cup of after dinner coffee, and knitting as the day winds down. I knit in the mornings, too, a little, before I get the kids up and send them off to school. I suppose it’s a small stress intervention thing. But at the end of the day, when the kids are lollygagging around, hubs has returned from a day at work or doing yard work around here, and I’ve done the chores, it’s just the right thing to keep my hands busy while the rest of me unwinds. I’m doing socks right now, for myself, for a change. Nice and wooly, in “simple stripes” from Knitpicks, which was on sale (aargh) so I have plenty.
Enjoy your day, too, whether it’s snowy or not, and if you can figure out what happened to my mailbox (from the picture), let me know!
Meanwhile, we’ve had sleet and lots of snow, which is still coming down, so for the first time in a very long time, all three kids have a snow day from school. Hurray! So, for a snowy Friday…
1. Sleep late. Is there anything more cozy than lying in bed, all warm from a full night’s sleep, wearing your pjs, covers pulled up to your chin, and looking out the window to see a winter wonderland, then knowing on top of that that you can lie there, dreaming and dozing until you are completely done sleeping? Oh, baby, what a feeling of relaxation the mere thought induces in me.
2. Make cookies with the kids. I’ve stopped making cookies very often over the last few years. It seemed like a lot of work for something that wasn’t good for any of us anyway, we don’t exchange cookies at Christmas, and there has been no help and little enthusiasm for helping from the kids, who eat the cookies in the first place. I tried getting them to make their favorite cookies themselves, with some help from me, and they weren’t enthused. I think the smell of cookies, gingersnaps, gingerbread men, sugar cookies, chocolate chippers, something, might be just the thing today with the snow still showering down from the sky on us and the roads all slippery and scary.
3. Make beef stew or chili for dinner in the crock-pot. Oh, warm and beefy dinners on a cold, snowy day. What a great way to fill their bellies (along with some cookies) and make them all feel warm, nurtured, loved and replete. Whenever it gets cold out, I make chili. Unfortunately, I am the only person in my house that likes chili. The rest of the family doesn’t eat it, not just my chili; they don’t eat any chili anywhere, so I try not to take it personally. But, they will eat beef stew, and I have everything we need right now, having gone grocery shopping two days ago. I can get it all in the crock pot and forget about it until dinner. I like that part, too.
4. Romp in the snow. It’s time to put on the duck boots and warm woolies I’ve spent all year knitting, get the dog all worked up, and go romp in the snow. Boy, if there’s a dog that has more fun in snow than a housebound Labrador, I don’t know what it is. My lab loves to jump and run and fall down and dash in circles and kick up snow and chase snowballs, and laugh until he can’t stand up any more. And, let me tell you, a pair of handmade wool socks inside my boots and some felted mittens, and I can endure the cold right along with him.
5. Knitting. Well, of course. It has to be! Snow falling, warm house, tummies full of beef stew and cookies, a cup of after dinner coffee, and knitting as the day winds down. I knit in the mornings, too, a little, before I get the kids up and send them off to school. I suppose it’s a small stress intervention thing. But at the end of the day, when the kids are lollygagging around, hubs has returned from a day at work or doing yard work around here, and I’ve done the chores, it’s just the right thing to keep my hands busy while the rest of me unwinds. I’m doing socks right now, for myself, for a change. Nice and wooly, in “simple stripes” from Knitpicks, which was on sale (aargh) so I have plenty.
Enjoy your day, too, whether it’s snowy or not, and if you can figure out what happened to my mailbox (from the picture), let me know!
1 comment:
I'm glad you're back, BoS! I've missed reading your posts. I hope you're refreshed from your blog "vacation" and feeling fine and sassy! The five things for a snowy day prove to me you are indeed a Southerner, as am I. I must cook for my kids when it snows, goodies and stew. It is a prerequiste by my kids to do so. Who can resist the lure of a fragrant kitchen when it's so cold outside? :)
Kimberley
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