life in a snowglobe....

School has been cancelled, it's 12 degrees out (-11.11c), and the snow is swirling around outside the windows. The dogs went out this morning, and returned covered in white. (They LOVE when I towel dry them, having two labs is ten times better than having one, they vie for my attention, when I'm toweling Suri, Duke whines and shuffles his feet, as if he's saying, "Me, me, me, my turn!")

The temperature is dropping, more snow is coming, and the wind is picking up. That makes for slippery driving conditions. And, we are going to our hotel night this afternoon, an hour away. I really really hope we don't have to cancel.

It's the kind of day enjoyed best from in the house.

But Real Life means it isn't always possible. Lots of my older kids are heading into the city this afternoon to work concessions for the college basketball game. Mirielle has an all-wheel drive vehicle, and she is driving them, so I am very thankful for that.

The house is still quiet. I woke up early, checked the news, saw that school was closed, texted my daughters, took a shower, took care of the dogs, did a little bit of housework, made a huge pot of pumpkin spice coffee, and here I sit. The dogs are snoring, taking up the entire couch, the space heater is humming, and I love it.

Life is short, so I try to stop and smell the roses, look around me, count my blessings. Although, shh, sometimes when I get this makeover itch, I look around me and all I see are projects.

Yesterday I was telling Kathryn that I would like to put in a small pond in the spring. You can get solar powered aerators, to bubble the water and keep it from getting swampy. It would just be like a small splash pool, dug into the ground, with rocks and plants around it, maybe even a few goldfish. I think it would be a fun project to do with the kids, Aaron used to want one when he was little, now he's all grown up and living in California. Anyway, Kathryn just looked at me and said, "Mom...it's just that you have so many project ideas..."

Evelyn is working on the downstairs bathroom. She painted the oak wall cabinet with the leftover oatmeal colored chalk paint, and is going to paint the walls a soft gray, leftover from when she painted her room. She also has enough white enamel to paint the door, and I picked up a nice mirror from the thrift store last week...I don't know if she'll repaint the frame or not, but it should be a nice fresh look for the bathroom. She also has a new shower curtain to hang when it's done, that I got for 70% off a while ago.

I an very aware that I'm lucky to have these girls who are willing to help with things, although when I talk about how much work it's going to be do paint the kitchen cabinets, they do roll their eyes and sigh. Evelyn is more enthusiastic, but they will all pitch in and help if I make them, ha. And Jonathan is always willing to help. He'll have the job of removing the handles, he likes using the drill. I was going to paint them, but I am thinking maybe to just replace them.

Anyway. The princesses are up, and are happy and excited for their little overnight trip tonight. They each have a suitcase packed already. They are bringing dolls, but will hide them when it gets dark, because dolls creep them out in the night. They are both talking a mile a minute, and now more kids are getting up, so off I go....