snow snow and more snow....

This year we just keep getting the snow. I looked on the weather map, and the town a few miles north of here isn't even getting it....it just keeps coming....it looks lovely, like a snowglobe out the window, but getting the driveway and deck steps cleared all of the time is getting old. Wait, that sounds like I am personally getting sick of shoveling. What I meant was that I am getting tired of GETTING people to shovel.



The thing I hate the most about winter is when the toilet seat is freezing cold. Of course I do realize that a long time ago it was worse, a trip through the drifts to the outhouse with the Sear's catalog, but that doesn't help when I sit on that cold seat. Some of you are probably wondering along the lines of HOW COLD IS THEIR HOUSE??? Well....it isn't as cold as the unheated bedroom over the unheated garage that was my room growing up....we used to put cups of water on the windowsill to see it freeze solid during the night. The room was an addition put on by the previous owner, no heat ducts ran to it. Probably no insulation, either. brr. Our house is very well insulated, it is only 19 years old. But it is big, and we keep the thermostat low, and wear sweaters....



The other thing I hate about winter is when I wear a long skirt, which does keep me warmer than a short skirt, except for when the bottom of it gets all snowy and then it melts and I have on a wet cold skirt. I am learning to wear leggings, though. I also hate that I never remember to wear gloves, and that it is so hard to clear the snow off the huge van. I also hate that it takes all the livelong day for the van to heat up, and it is so difficult to drive on slippery roads.



I am sort of kidding about hating everything. Although I do hate when my fingers are cold and I can't type worth anything....



Things I love about winter:



1. Little girls in footed jammy sleepers.



2. Bigger girls in footed jammy sleepers.



3. Baking cookies.



4. Baking bread.



5. Soups and stews and oven dinners.....



6. The days I don't have to leave the house...



7. My electric blanket. I finally hooked it up last night, oh heavenly to get into a warm bed....every other thought I have had this morning has been of a possible nap in that warm bed with the library book Emily brought me.



8. When things get cancelled in the evening because of the snow and we all stay home and sit around the dinner table for a few hours solving the world's problems....



I am sure there are more, but I thought of a few more things that I hate....



1. Having warm boots and mittens and gloves and hats and snowpants for all of the kids. Suzanne does not have any boots all of the sudden.



2. When they go out to play and their coats or boots or gloves are still wet the next morning when it is time for school.



3. When the teachers want them to bring outdoor gear to school "just in case they go outside". Okay, no problem..ha.



4. Getting home from shopping in the van that has finally gotten warm, and carrying bags up the deck steps in the cold....



5. The ice and slush that is so slippery to walk on....I do not want to fall.



Okay, okay, I understand that the Hates outweigh the Loves....but that's allright. I will survive. It is just fun to grumble a bit.



I got a letter written and sent out to Benjamin again this morning, that makes me feel good. He wrote that it is just excellent to get mail. I wrote the letter while getting three kids ready for school, while Joseph was getting ready for work, and while Mirielle was eating breakfast after arriving home from the gym. I would write a sentance, help Jonathan figure out his homework that he never got to last night, write some more, brush Sonja's hair, write some more, suggest what footwear Suze should wear....anyway, it probably isn't a very good letter, and I also am aware that they soldiers have to do pushups to recieve their mail, in boot camp anyway, so I feel guilty if it is not a good letter. Ben says any letter is worth it, but hey, I still feel guilty sending a gyp-y one.

Well, time to chip away at the mountain of laundry....