Snowy Weekend Thoughts

Even though we live surrounded by the mountains, we don't get a lot of snow here. We used to when I was younger, but now years go by and the "big" snow of the year is a couple inches in late February or March. In fact, we have a rule that Justin has to take off a snow day, even if he could get to work, just so he won't miss out on the likely one chance to take the kids sledding.
You can understand then that we now have the attitude of "I'll believe it when I see it" regarding deep snowfalls. And, you can really understand then our shock when it DID snow.

~This shot was taken on 12/18 about 10pm. That's our redbud tree, wrapped in gold Christmas lights~

It is funny. We woke up early Saturday to Whiskey, our chocolate lab, howling for some unknown reason. Then the boys got up and came into our room early. Bouncing on the bed, watching cartoons, snuggling.
In pajamas, about 8am I wandered out onto the front and back porches to snap some photos of the snow.

~8am 12/19 - the top photo is the birdbath out front & the snow-covered chili pot (see the 1st photo) - bottom photo was taken on the back deck, on the table .. FIFTEEN INCHES!!!~

By the time I got back inside, Shannon was done with his cereal and Tristan wasn't far behind. By the time I got to the bedroom, Shannon was in his snowsuit, demanding to go sledding. Like, RIGHT NOW!!! Uh .. no. Mama needs a few moments in the morning. Sledding at 8am isn't on the agenda.
By 9am we were outside. Agendas were clashing. Shannon was determined to head up the street to Salem's Municipal Golf Course -- local mecca for sledding. Tristan was happy about the snow until he found out it was waist deep on him and, while walking is hard, turning around is near impossible. Justin already had the shovel in hand and was beginning to shovel the walk. I had photographer-giddiness and wanted snow shots.

~Top to bottom: Shannon happy about the snow & eyeing the sled; Tristan still happy about the snow, but waist-deep in it; Justin, beginning the "dig-out" ---- agendas are clashing!~

Photography won out. Or maybe the saying is just true: "if Mama ain't happy, ain't no-one happy." The kids were playing in the yard while I wandered up the street a bit for photos and Justin dug. Then the whining started. So, we decided to walk down to Main St. to check things out.
By the time we got back it was close to lunch time and Justin and I were beginning to be at each other's throats. Tristan had to be carried back part of the way, Shannon was still unhappy that we hadn't gone sledding. An impromptu snowball fight did break out, but tears ensued when Tristan got snow on his face and couldn't comprehend that you just can NOT wipe snow off of your face with a snowy glove, no matter how many times you wipe.

The last time it snowed like this, I was in my freshman year of college. This house was still my mother's, and some friends and I came home to crash here and play. Things have changed.

Now, the walks need to be shoveled. The dogs have to considered: Whiskey went out in the snow just fine, but Jomo (who is much bigger than Whiskey) was too scared to go out (he's scared of everything). And then there were the chickens to think of. We covered their tractor before the snow started and had to dig it out and uncover it after the snow stopped. They can handle the cold, but they need a dry place to hang out. And, all the while, we were trying to deal with kids still too young to truly understand all of the above .. AND we're trying to deal with our own agendas and trying to learn to work together to get things done, to communicate better. To not snap at each other. (Fair little note here - I had/have PMS too .. so that made me extra nice to deal with)

In all of this though, we are lucky. We are very, very lucky that these were our issues to deal with, our hassles, our irritants. Interstates around us are shut down. Back-ups 20 miles long. Hundreds and hundreds of people stuck in their cars, needing rescue.
Our electricity stayed on. We had a solid roof over our heads, a warm house, plenty of hot cocoa (made with my homemade hot cocoa mix recipe: http://mamataneyskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/homemade-hot-cocoa-mix.html), and the joy of each other, knowing we were all safe together.

Life is definitely different living on an urban homestead. We did get to sledding, but chores came first. And, our chickens even decided to lay two eggs for us today (remember - we got none in November & since 12/14 we've only gotten 1 every other day). Tonight, we're eating pasture-raised pork chops with rice cooked in homemade turkey stock, and Justin and I are drinking some of our homebrewed Back Porch Brown Ale. Not a bad end to the weekend.

Snow Day = Family Day

Although we're pretty much in the mountains (ok, Salem is in the valley!), snowfall around here is REALLY unpredictable from year to year. When I was little I remember years of several deep snowfalls. 1995/1996 we had blizzards. When I met Justin there seemed to be a decent snowfall every Wednesday night for a good month or more. But ... well, you just can't count on it.
A couple years back, 2006 to be precise, was one of those years. We woke up one morning to a nice, albeit little, snowfall. Justin went ahead and went to work, it really wasn't enough to make staying home seem like a proper thing to do. Then, something happened.
Tristan was still a baby, and spent a majority of the time napping. Shannon wasn't yet 3. I couldn't get both of them together to take them out to play up the street. Shannon and I had to make due with a tiny little "hill" in between our house and one of our neighbor's while Tristan slept inside (we were right outside that room). We had fun, but it wasn't the fun we had really hoped for. By the time Justin got home, most of the snow had melted and that was it for the year.
We realized then that, as contrary as it sounds in our professional, business, industrial, etc., world .... it was more important to stay home and play in the snow. Like I said, we can't count on several snow-falls a year. Sometimes those couple inches are all that we get and, like the case was yesterday, even though the temperature never makes it above 20 degrees, it's all pretty much melted away by evening. So, Justin and I agreed that, should snow fall on a weekday, he would stay home to play. It just isn't worth it to miss.

Sunday, March 1st, it began snowing. A mixture of snow and sleet. The boys were, of course, excited beyond belief. We had a feeling Justin wouldn't be making it to work the next morning, but to be honest, by the time we went to bed, we had our doubts. However, Monday morning we woke up to scenes of white outside each window.
One of the first things I found out that day was that the "Zen Moment" of checking on the chickens in the morning can be dampened a little when you don't wear gloves, when the locks on the tractor are frozen, and when the back door has been shut (which you don't know), so you're just yelling for help randomly to the wind. Here is a photo of the chickens & their coop and tractor (taken about 7:30 am):

The second thing we quickly learned was to NEVER, EVER under-estimate the excitement of kids who know they get to go sledding. This seems like a really big "well, DUH" I know. But, being asked this every couple of minutes: "Are we ready to go sledding yet?" "Are you ready to leave yet?" "Can we go sledding now?" ~ well, it gets old VERY quickly! Especially when you are IN the shower and the water is RUNNING!!!
By 9am we were up at Salem's Municipal Golf Course - a mecca for sledding! This was the first time the four of us have been able to go up there together. Last year Justin & Shannon got to go, but Tristan was too young (and napping) and I had to stay home with him. This was a big day. The above photo is a shot of Tristan, Shannon, and Justin riding down the hill for the 1st time together. To say we all had a blast would be an enormous understatement!
But the fun didn't end there. After we had come home for hot cocoa and lunch, and the boys took their naps, the day continued on. Shannon got up first from naps as he always does. He asked to do some school-work, and so he worked on numbers. He began asking what something was, calling it a word neither Justin or I recognized. We then realized he was trying to sound out a word. Justin works during the day, so these are the treasure moments I normally get to witness. Justin happily helped Shannon sound out the word, which he quickly got, and some other words as well. A very proud parental moment indeed.
When Tristan finally got up we took a quick drive out to pick up chicken feed. The boys delighted in pointing out, every block or so, "look, it snowed here too!!" I was able to capture some photos while we were out there, and the boys got to see once again where we get our chicken feed, as well as the mini-lesson about chickens needing feed and so on. When we got home Justin fed the chickens, brought in the eggs (always one of the day's highlights!), and the boys learned that just because it snows doesn't mean there are still things we HAVE to do.
Dinner was steaks and mashed potatoes. I only point this out because the boys ate deer steaks while Justin and I had ribeyes, and I'm guessing that most dinner conversations don't revolve around questions such as: "who killed the deer?", "are you and Daddy eating dead, cooked cow?", "is that the cow they kill on the farm?", "Tristan and I are eating dead deer and you and Daddy are eating dead cow." Ahh .. the lessons of where your food comes from. Obviously this doesn't phase us, but it does tend to make others think twice before asking Shannon too many questions about his food.
The day ended with bath night and me working to upload all of the photos to my flickr photography portfolio:http://flickr.com/photos/funkymamataney/sets/72157614630062707/
Once the boys were in bed Justin and I got to relax a little and enjoy the night. We talked about why people go to work on snow days. Aside from the money that you get paid, that supports your life, what is so imperative that you must go in??? Yes, of course I can list many, many professions right now that can't call in. But for the rest of us?? The chickens had to be fed and given fresh water, along with fresh straw to keep them warm. The dogs had to be fed and given fresh water. We had to be fed and kept warm. Justin going into work to do computer work?? No. He is committed to his job of course, but family comes first. And today was far too fullfilling of a day, not to mention our ONLY snow day this winter, to go into work and miss.