It was one of those winter weeks where nothing much happened. The world seems to be stuck in its regular routine of work, chores, the usual obligations. The most discussed topic was the weather, which was cold, which is usual. The big highlights of the week were little things like getting a haircut on Thursday, helping at a school dinner on Friday, the piano tuner coming on Saturday. Ho hum.
This week will be way more exciting. The Thayns and two of my nephews, Asa and Enoch Shillig, will arrive here on Thursday evening. The Fosters and the Herreras will get here on Friday. The house will be full for the weekend. There will be lots of chatter and laughter and excellent food.
So about the weather . . . First it was cold and then it got colder. Our wind chill fell into the negative double digits midweek. It was the kind of cold that makes our old maple trees pop and groan. I did a bit of groaning myself. We got some snow during the week. It’s been snowing off and on today. Tonight we’re supposed to get more snow and maybe some freezing rain. It’s February, we don’t expect it to be any different. On a brighter note, the days are getting noticeably longer. We’re only about six weeks away from the equinox.
I’ve had a few recurring dreams lately. In one, I wake up in the night to the sound of thunder and I go out onto the porch in the dark and there is a warm rain falling and everything is green and fragrant. In the other I dream I have a greenhouse and I’m walking through it looking at the orchids and it’s so warm and humid and tropical. When I wake up from these dreams and realize that it’s really 5° and snowing, I’m so disappointed. I think winter makes me a little crazy.
I didn’t take many photographs last week. I’m pretty sick of snow scenes. I’ve been watching the bird feeders hoping to see and photograph some good birds, but attendance at the feeders has been light this winter and the visitors are all the usual common species. Another ho hum.
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| How things look today. |
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| The Genesee River on our way home from church today. |
Friday was Groundhog Day. That evening we watched the movie of the same name, as we do every year. We drove through Punxsutawney last year on our way back from visiting the Thayns in Pittsburgh. That was in the fall. No one was paying attention to groundhogs then. I saw the news report that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Friday which supposedly means we’ll have another six weeks of winter. No matter what Phil says, we’ll have more than six weeks of winter here in Potter County. Six weeks from February 2nd is only March 16th – not even the official first day of spring and certainly well within the normal range of winter here. No healthy Potter County groundhog would ever dream of emerging from hibernation before mid April.
All week long Stacey and Miriam worked in the evenings on making Valentines cards. We started the tradition of handmade cards long ago when the children were small. Some years we only send a few and some years we send a lot. It depends on who is home at the time. This year they decided to send cards to our children, grandchildren, and all the cousins. That’s a lot. The work room upstairs was converted into a Valentines creation room. They are done now and the cards have gone out in the mail. As Valentine’s Day approaches, we will be observing our tradition of watching some of our favorite romantic movies. Miriam is compiling the list for us this year. I asked her what was on the list this time – North and South, Pride and Prejudice (both the six hour and two hour versions), Persuasion (both versions), An Affair to Remember, A Room With a View – she says there are more, but you get the picture.
Several years ago Stacey brought home a potted anthurium from her work that was on its last legs. I repotted it and set it in the bay window upstairs under some grow lights. It recovered but never bloomed again – until now. It has three lovely pink flowers.
All week long Stacey and Miriam worked in the evenings on making Valentines cards. We started the tradition of handmade cards long ago when the children were small. Some years we only send a few and some years we send a lot. It depends on who is home at the time. This year they decided to send cards to our children, grandchildren, and all the cousins. That’s a lot. The work room upstairs was converted into a Valentines creation room. They are done now and the cards have gone out in the mail. As Valentine’s Day approaches, we will be observing our tradition of watching some of our favorite romantic movies. Miriam is compiling the list for us this year. I asked her what was on the list this time – North and South, Pride and Prejudice (both the six hour and two hour versions), Persuasion (both versions), An Affair to Remember, A Room With a View – she says there are more, but you get the picture.
Several years ago Stacey brought home a potted anthurium from her work that was on its last legs. I repotted it and set it in the bay window upstairs under some grow lights. It recovered but never bloomed again – until now. It has three lovely pink flowers.
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| My pink anthurium. |
Today is the Super Bowl and in keeping with our tradition, we did not watch it. I’ve never been a sports enthusiast and I especially don’t care about football. I have never watched a Super Bowl game – a record I’m proud of and plan to maintain all my life. Some of my children watch it, but they never learned that from me. I blame their spouses. I do, however, like to watch the Winter Olympics which begin this Thursday. I like to watch the events, but I don’t like all the commentary. I wish there was a way to just watch the events without all the chitchat and “up close and personal” stuff.
This morning when we were getting ready for church it was snowing and we almost decided to stay home. But we have obligations – I play the organ (it’s a Kawai that really plays itself – I’m just the one who knows how to operate it), Stacey directs the singing, I teach Sunday School, Stacey does the singing time in Primary, and Miriam teaches the Primary class – so we felt we should brave the weather. Stacey hates to drive in the snow so I had to drive. I usually don’t drive. I’m the sort who gets distracted by birds and scenery too much, so they don’t usually let me drive. But today I did. It was nasty, but we made it okay. Attendance at church was light. I think others decided not to go out in the snow. Either that or they stayed home to get ready to watch the Super Bowl. So we’re home now. We’ve had lunch. I need to go back out into the snow in a few minutes and do the chores. Then I’m back into the warm house and I will not go out again until I absolutely have to.
This morning when we were getting ready for church it was snowing and we almost decided to stay home. But we have obligations – I play the organ (it’s a Kawai that really plays itself – I’m just the one who knows how to operate it), Stacey directs the singing, I teach Sunday School, Stacey does the singing time in Primary, and Miriam teaches the Primary class – so we felt we should brave the weather. Stacey hates to drive in the snow so I had to drive. I usually don’t drive. I’m the sort who gets distracted by birds and scenery too much, so they don’t usually let me drive. But today I did. It was nasty, but we made it okay. Attendance at church was light. I think others decided not to go out in the snow. Either that or they stayed home to get ready to watch the Super Bowl. So we’re home now. We’ve had lunch. I need to go back out into the snow in a few minutes and do the chores. Then I’m back into the warm house and I will not go out again until I absolutely have to.
