"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted", Aesop
I finally saw it! A sign of Spring! These flowers have bloomed in a neighbor’s yard and it finally gave me that glimpse I have been hoping for! Never-mind that less than two feet away from them, is a mound of snow that hasn’t melted yet, or that more snow is predicted for Saturday!
Flowers!!! That’s what I needed to see.
I guess it was bound to happen. Snow. About 6 inches of it. Enough to need to be shoveled, but not enough to keep us home bound. Despite how much I complain about it, it is beautiful. Today is the wet, heavy, snowball making kind of snow. Fun snow. Plus, it is not too cold out there so it wasn’t miserable to be out shoveling. With all four of us and our neighbor working together we got our enormous driveway completely done within an hour. That driveway – no exaggeration, can fit about 16 cars parked side by side in it! We share it with the neighbor so there are six cars parked on it daily and still plenty of room for more. A great driveway for the kids playing sports out there, but not so great when it comes to shoveling.
One storm down. One due overnight on Sunday. Hoping that’s the worst of it this winter….but there are still two months to go.
Photo prompt today, “Who and What” so the “who” in this photo are the four of us working together to get the job done. The “what” the kids basketball net filled with snow which made for a great shot even on this gray day.
The photo prompt for today, A Snowflake, made me shudder. Last year at this time, we were digging our way out of snow nearly every week. We have gotten lucky this year. Just a tiny bit of snow that didn’t accumulate to much at all. Wasn’t even a nuisance. There is no snow for me to photograph. I have plenty of old photos from last year and snow storms prior, but I wanted to take a photo today.
I dug this out of my “January Bin” in my classroom. I wouldn’t even hang them up this year. I have several of these very large snowflakes that I usually hang up in the room but I really don’t want to face it this year so I have left them packed away in their bin – hibernating for another season I hope.
I know, it is still super early in the winter season and we have many weeks ahead of us. Maybe in March I will be praying for a snow day. ONE. No more than that. We all need one of them once in awhile. A day to stay in because we have to. Nowhere to go, comfort food cooking and building a snowfort in the yard. That is enough for me. I don’t know if I could handle another winter like last year.
So, my glittery, cardboard snowflake will have to do for today because everything – even snowflakes – look better with glitter!
Today’s “impending snow storm” turned out to be little more than a mix of snow, rain and sleet. I was trying to come up with a good name for what it has created – a bit of a slurry I guess. It is not pretty. It is wet and gross out there. Just enough that we needed to shovel, (well….Dave did:) ) yet not enough to be able to go out and enjoy it.
This is not the kind of snow I look forward to and after last year’s numerous snow storms, I wasn’t very happy to see it arrive this morning. My Kindergarteners were though! The minute the first flake fell, they were planning their afternoon outdoor activities. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that it wasn’t snowman or sledding snow like they all thought it was!
It is amazing how much joy snow brings to children while for adults, it is burdensome and rarely welcome. I will admit, that when that first white, fluffy snow storm arrives, handing us a snow day, I feel like a little kid too. Today, is not that day. While I do NOT wish for much snow this winter, one or two of those perfect snow days will be welcome.
For now, I am grateful that I am inside my warm home as I begin to prepare dinner for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast. I have nowhere to be, nowhere to go and on this cold, dreary day, it is exactly how I want it to be.
Today the temperature rose above 60 degrees! After such a miserable winter, you would think it was a holiday the way people were out celebrating the day. Dave and Drew were finally able to get outside and build the kids’ new basketball net. Neighbors are gardening, children are riding bikes down the street and dogs are frolicking in the yard! Yes, frolicking! Our dog included. She absolutely hated this winter – maybe even as much as I did! A few of the storms brought snow deeper than her!
It is the first day that I can look outside my front door and not see any piles of snow. Windows and doors are open and fresh air is breezing though our home. This morning, I woke to birds chirping outside of my window. During Emmy Lou’s morning walk, two skeins of geese flew over our heads honking as they too seemed delighted with the weather. I saw kids running around in shorts and women wearing flip-flops. All of us trying to grasp at every bit of this wonderful weather.
I guess we should enjoy it while we can because although I hate to even put it in writing… and my mom would have said to me, “Bite your tongue,” more snow is expected on Monday!
This morning, we were awakened once again, to the sound of the phone. I made a quick wish, “delayed, delayed not closed please…”
We had even more snow overnight, so it was the now familiar voice of our superintendent announcing our fate…we are already giving back one day of our Spring Break vacation, a week that we have already planned on being away. I didn’t want to give up another!
Fortunately the call was for a two hour delayed opening. That gave us time to shovel – AGAIN and still have enough time to get ready for work with time to spare. I am lucky to have a three minute commute to work but not everyone I work with is that fortunate. The roads are a mess due to a shortage of salt so it was a good call giving everyone time to get to school safely.
By the time we got out of school, the temperature had risen to 40 degrees! Who would have thought that I, (the girl who despises the cold) would cheer for the day that we reached temperatures of FORTY!?!!? The sun was shining and some of the snow had even begun to melt. With snow piled up in mounds over four feet high, it is going to take quite some time to get rid of it all. My hope now, is that it doesn’t melt too quickly because I don’t know if my basement will be able to handle it!
The weather forecasters are predicting that temperatures may hit 50 degrees by Friday! With warmer weather approaching and the days staying lighter longer, it actually gives me a glimmer of hope that Spring really is only 29 days away!
Over a foot of snow was dumped on us today. The first foot was light and fluffy and easy to shovel. The next few inches….not so much! That snow was heavy and wet and not fun to clear. It seems like it is all over but the weather forecasters are saying otherwise. Another 4-6 inches are expected overnight. I’d say, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that today was a pretty awesome day. Even my 12 year old, Drew declared, “The best snow day ever” and I have to agree!
I started out pretty early shoveling. The snow was deep and we needed a path for Emmy Lou to get through so that she could get outside. I only did the front steps and sidewalk. By the time I finished that, it was already covered up but at least she could get out to the street. Our neighbor pulled out the snow blower a little while later and the four of us and he, got the driveway cleared in about ninety minutes. Not too bad for a foot of snow!
We came back in, made lunch and Drew and I baked a batch of cookies to share with the neighbors. We made the recipe up as we went along, using what we had in the house and other than not quite getting the baking time right, they came out pretty tasty! Wewatched a movie, Captain Philips. All four of us enjoyed it – that doesn’t happen too often!! When that ended, it was round two for the driveway. This snow was not as easy. Not nearly as deep but MUCH heavier. This was fun snow though!! It had warmed up to about 36 degrees so it wasn’t too cold. The boys and I spent a few hours playing in the snow. I don’t remember the last time I played in the snow. The snow was so deep, they were jumping off the front stoop into huge piles of snow. I took tons of photos and laughed so hard my side hurt! Even Dave joined in for awhile! Drew and I stayed outside and built an igloo. Of course I took many more photos.
I came inside and made dinner. A new recipe. I had to include it because it was so good! I found it on Pinterest but of course, like always, I altered and changed it and made it my own. Dave LOVED it. I’ll include it here because it is definitely a make again meal! (This is starting to turn into a recipe blog lately…)
We are now all sitting around watching Jeopardy. I am drinking a glass of wine and eating cookies. We are all warm, showered, full and happy. Tomorrow, we may wake up to a lot more snow. I doubt we will be able to repeat such a perfect day, but I am so happy to have the memories of today. As we built the igloo today, Drew told me, “this is one of those days we are going to remember forever isn’t it?” I could only reply, “Yup.”
Breaded pork chops recipe, served with a mushroom bourbon cream sauce.
1 Sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms in 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned – about 10-15 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and boil down until the liquid is reduced to almost a glaze, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bourbon, boil until reduced by two thirds. Add the cream and simmer several minutes until the sauce thickens.
2 Whisk an egg and 2 Tbsp of water in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. Dip chops into the flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs, coating completely. Heat olive or grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Turn the chops one more time, lower the heat to low, cover, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Alternatively you can put the chops in a pre-heated oven at 400°F for 5-8 more minutes.
3 When about to serve the pork, bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chopped basil to it. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I just got home from work. The start of a five day weekend!! Our school district has been giving us this break from school for as long as I can remember – even when I went there as a student myself! Some years it varied from an entire week off, to a few days like this year. It is always a nice break in the winter, but now that we have had so many snow days, we haven’t really had a consistent week of school so I am not even feeling like we need it as much.
Now, with another “record breaking” storm on the way, it seems like Thursday and Friday may have wound up as snow days anyway so I guess we are better off. We have already begun digging into our Spring Break days! Enough is enough!! I am tired of snow!
We had planned to go to The Poconos for a few days. Drew wanted to try out his snowboard on the little mountain in Saw Creek and we thought it would be nice to just spend a few days away. Then my dad reminded me that NO ONE has been there all winter and none of the snow, (and they’ve had more than us) has been shoveled and we’d probably not even be able to get in! So, those plans were nixed. Instead, we decided on small day trips and activities. Dave might take Drew to a closer mountain to try out his snow board. He will also take the boys to a hockey game to watch The New Jersey Devils and The New York Islanders minor league teams play.
We had a few get togethers with friends that we had not planned on going to because of being in The Poconos, but now we can stop by. I guess, even though our little get away did not pan out the way we had hoped, getting to be with family and friends is still a great way to enjoy the time off!
Now if only we were not going to be snowed in and shoveling the predicted foot of snow tomorrow we could actually relax! On the bright side, it is another day of cooking and comfort food….yum!
I realized that I have written about snow more than any other topic lately! The first one was joyous and fun. Each one after became more and more disheartening. I don’t know about everyone else, but I am ready for Spring!
We just got a phone call from a woman looking for my mother-in-law, Nancy. I don’t know who she was. We didn’t even answer the phone at first because we did not recognize the number on caller ID. As she left a message we realized it was someone who was trying to reach her. Today is Nancy’s birthday and according to this woman, they worked together many years ago. She said that she found our number and was hoping that she had reached the right family because she wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday. I spoke with her for a little while and she was so excited that she had tracked her down. Apparently she hadn’t seen or spoken to her in over ten years. She said she had no idea why, but for some reason, she never forgot her birthday. After speaking to her for a little while, I passed along her number so that she could call her and wish her a happy day herself.
I had been sitting here wondering what to write about when the phone rang. After I hung up, I knew exactly what it was going to be. I thought it was so nice of this woman. She had been thinking about my mother-in-law and obviously had to do some research to find us and then make the call in the hopes that we’d be able to get her in touch with Nancy. She sounded so excited when she realized she had the right person. I am so glad I could point her in the right direction and now perhaps they can rekindle what seemed like was a really nice friendship even though they haven’t spoken in so long.
I don’t often write about my mother-in-law. We don’t see her very often. She doesn’t live far away at all, we just don’t have the same relationship as we do with my family. We did talk to her today and said we’d meet up soon – after all this bad weather clears up. She hasn’t been well and has not been going out much this winter so once some Spring like weather shows up, we will take her to lunch to celebrate. Considering ANOTHER big storm is headed our way tonight, I am not sure when that weather is going to show up but it has to come sometime soon doesn’t it?? Winter cannot last forever…can it?
A Project for Kindness 