Not Intimated by Weather

Perhaps it was that my Mom grew up in mid-northern Canada (where it rarely got above 65 F in the summer).  Perhaps it's that her Mom was born and raised in mid-northern Canada.

Perhaps it's the other side of the family who has told multiple stories of driving through blizzards in the Utah/Idaho/Montana/North Dakota area where the interstates are closed (but they still keep driving).

I'm just not intimidated by the frigid temperatures and/or forecasts of snow.

Don't get me wrong, seven feet of snow is a big deal, and I would definitely be intimidated into cancelling events/plans for a six/seven feet of snow blizzard.

But given all this above history, a forecast of 1- 5 inches of snow and/or frigid temperatures is not going to keep me at home.  Just sayin'.

Everyone is different of course, and some people like staying inside and warm (curling up with a good book, movie, etc.)  I suppose this is where my extrovert side shines through.

January update

It was cold last week.  While I've been one to ponder the cold in the past, this was colder than I've seen in awhile.

wine bottle 2014

We had a bottle of wine in our garage.  I noticed that it was frozen, but didn't take a photo.

Once it had warmed up (from -40 F) I went back to check on the bottle.  I found that the cork had popped, without a wine opener. FYI - frozen wine is not recommended, nor is leaving wine in your garage when it's freezing.

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In other updates, my phone died.  I had wanted to wait a few months before getting a new phone.  I hadn't backed up my photos or contacts.  One day, I could no longer get it to respond when I typed on the screen.   I called customer service, to no avail.

So I have a new phone, which my kids have been asking me about for at least  a year.  I am not the type of person who needs to get the latest phone or gadget.  I suspect it's my midwestern values.  My goal, as I age, is to become more frugal, not cheap.  So having a working phone is important, but having an exciting phone for my kids is not.

I like my new phone, but I would have liked to get old photos and contacts from my other phone.  It's unfortunate that the company's policy is to delete all personal data on the phone when it arrives and to charge the customer to fix it.  I won't be shopping there again.
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As a family, we got two games for the holidays.  I highly recommend both.  The first, Set, I first played at the family reunion with chanson.  It's not easy, but it's something both kids and parents enjoy.

The second, Rush Hour, was recommended by a friend.  (My son played at a friend's party and was hooked).  I'm not going to link to places you can purchase the games - I hope you visit a local business or follow a link to support your favorite cause to order online.

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 Anyway - life is good.  I don't have much time to blog (like I used to). I do want to rehab this blog format and bring it into the 2010s. We'll see.

Spring cleaning

Spring is over a month away.  But I have already started the process of slowly cleaning and organizing.

It's not one of my strong suits, and some days I am more at peace with that than others. 

I understand that spring cleaning traditionally meant taking your rugs and blankets outside to have the dust beat out of them.  This is a photo of a carpet beater from wikipedia.

For me, I find sitting inside the house, not doing much to be the perfect time to re-arrange a closet.  I guess the bug has bitten me this year.  Trying to let go of old clothes,  old tapes - lots of trips to donation centers and recycling areas.  Also, thoughts about additional organizing buckets and accessories. 

I realize it's a process - that may never be complete.  If anyone has any ideas about how to encourage children to part with toys that they never play with any longer, I'm all ears.  So far, the only thing that has been remotely successful is trying to sell said toys, and giving them the money.

Early Spring

Narcissus

I picked up a forcing bulb kit over the holiday season.

The flowers are a delight - especially considering the snow and ice outside. This is a photo of them in the windowsill.  The process was very easy - so easy I might try it again next year.

A blur

The holidays were a blur this year - full of reacting to events.  December began with my son getting some sort of flu.  He was out of school for four days.  A week later, on the last day of school, he got sick again at the gym.  Then, at one thirty in the morning, my daughter got sick. 

Four days later, *I* got sick.  And I really got sick, usually I can still at least sit at the computer and read blogs and e-mails.  I was too sick for that.  I spent the day sleeping and hoping I could keep down crackers and tylenol.

So I wasn't able to do as much baking as I usually do.  We weren't able to go to the museums or get all the shopping done until the very last minute.  I thought of the line from The Grinch who Stole Christmas about Christmas - "it came".  And it was nice, despite not being exactly as I planned.

Then, a few days after Christmas I got the call that my Grandpa had passed away.  We knew he had been in declining health.  I was fortunate enough to be able to fly out to the funeral, despite a major snowstorm.  I'm so glad I was able to go.  There may have been six inches of snow on the ground, countless flight delays, but I was there. 

Roses outside the building where my Grandpa's funeral was held. 

I didn't have time for quiet contemplation of the past year, and time to think about goals for 2011.  So I feel out of sorts, even more so than usual.  And rather surprised that it's already January 9th.  I'm left feeling like there was something very important I was supposed to do that I haven't.

A good day

The sun came out today after two or three days of rain and grey.

And it's a good day.  I feel good today.  I feel like I can get things done. 

I don't get it.  Why is that?

Why is the equation - sunny day = good day.  Cloudy day != not as good day.  Perhaps it's also November.

I know every day is a good day - I just don't get it.  Maybe I need to move to Arizona/New Mexico/Southern California.  

snow day

I have a couple of posts I'm thinking about, but in the meantime - I woke up to this!

Remember how I said we could now park one car in the garage....

Dieting in January

Mornings like this morning make me wonder why people start their diets in January - and then get discouraged.

Not that I'm not fully supportive of people trying to get (and stay) healthy and lose weight. Particularly if people are like me and didn't find a cookie/brownie/cake they didn't have to try over the holiday season.

But this morning, it was cold. I'm not someone who typically complains about the weather, but I have to admit, it was chilly. And those of you in colder climates (north or near the Rockies) have been experiencing this for months now. (And it's been worse, no doubt).

So when the temperature is sub zero - it seems to me it's much more difficult to eat salad. It's much more difficult to eat smaller portions. Because if you are cold, it's that much more difficult to get over that instinctual notion that body fat protects
you and will help you be warmer. Or - more food will help keep you warm. That's been my experience any way.

Sure there are plenty of low fat/calorie things that are actually good for you. Oatmeal. Non cream based soups.

And it's even more difficult to get out and walk around the block (if there is snow or ice out). Or drive to the gym. Well, IMO, more difficult than in, say, March or April. Where I'm at - March and April arebeginning to get warmer. The snow melts. There are more greens - it's not nearly as cold.

I understand it's a new year. I understand waking up and realizing - another year has gone by and I haven't worked on this. I can understand wanting to maintain your current weight. But losing weight? A difficult proposition in Jan. if you don't live in Florida, Arizona, California or Southern France.

Now - quitting smoking this time of year - that makes more sense. Standing outside has got to be really, really cold. And - the taxes on cigarettes just went up. That is probably an easier resolution to keep.

Shoveling Snow

There is about a foot of snow on the ground now.

I worked from home yesterday. I decided to come into the office today, since being at home is very distracting. Both babies LOVE the computer (as I've mentioned before). They don't understand why if Mom is on the computer, why they can't be on the computer. I also felt really tired around 2 and decided to take a nap.

So working at the office is no doubt more productive.

I shoveled some of the snow last night, and this morning only an inch or two had drifted over my efforts. I may post a lovely photo later of my shoveling, which I am very proud of.

One of our neighbors shoveled at least three times yesterday. I find her logic stunning. The snow was coming down and much more was predicted. Another neighbor was shoveling his walk this morning. He appeared to be very consciously shoveling the entire driveway - wide enough for both vehicles - without a snowblower.

My question is, why?

I have a wonderful suburu that drives very well in this weather. But even if I didn't have a suburu, I would still probably be guilty of simply driving over the snow instead of shoveling. Shoveling is an sisyphean task. So I can get out of the driveway without shoveling - why bother clearing the snow?

I strongly suspect this is one of those neighborly/housing upkeep type issues. My husband is no help - he has said on numerous occasions that he would rather pave the front yard than mow it. So I will simply continue to shovel when I feel like it and go from there.

I know chanson is green with envy and wants to move back to enjoy this snow!