off on a little vacation, and a snowstorm!

 A long time ago, here in central NY state, there was a big snowstorm.  We didn't have fancy things like internet, we actually didn't have a t.v. yet!  There was snow forecast, but the massive storm we got was a shocker, we got almost 4 feet of snow in one weekend.  Snow fell at 4 inches an hour, with winds up to 45 mph.  My mother was snowed in with us, we had a poetry contest, and I wish I had saved those poems, as Paul's about my mom being stuck with us was hilarious.  

Anyway, I'm heading a few hours west, to a nice big home on a lake for the weekend with lots of my friends, thankfully the snow shouldn't start until later tonight.   Hopefully it's accurate that it'll stop before our drive home on Sunday.  Yes, I live in the snow-belt, south of the snow-maker, Lake Ontario, yet I hate driving in snow -loathe it, fear it, despise it, avoid it like the plague.  (This storm isn't a Lake Effect storm, it's one coming up the east coast, but those usually generate a bit of Lake effect afterwards, just an extra slap from Mother Nature). 

So I'm mostly packed.  As I fell asleep last night, I thought of like ten things to remember, but didn't want to wake up fully to put them in my notes on my phone, because the miracle of falling asleep mustn't be messed with.  It's so elusive sometimes, and when you're THIS CLOSE, and you think of something important, oh for goodness' sake!

Out the door in an hour.  Should I sit here until I have like five minutes left, then scramble?  Or should I get ready now so I have plenty of time?  Nonsense!  There is more to say, and the chair is comfy.

This fine morning, I woke at 6:13, hopped in the shower and washed my formerly long, presently tangled hair.  (My hair stopped growing.  I used to cut it off, donate to Locks Of Love, it would grow back immediately.  Now, it just doesn't grow!  I had to trim the split ends, and it's barely shoulder length.  The strange thing is:  my roots still grow in dark (shh, gray!), so why doesn't it get longer?). (I guess I'm old)

Anyway, I hopped and skipped down the hallway, in my mind anyway, to start this wonderful day.  I washed some dishes, got the kettle filled for coffee, filled the grinder and pushed the button, oh the aroma!  I fed the dogs, filled their water dish, watered the plants, wiped down the stove top and the counters, then Suri, piggery-pie that she is, stood right there in the kitchen and barfed up her hogged-down dog chow...she ate it right up so fast because it was the first bowl of a new bag, they LOVE when we open a new bag, it's like a new jar of peanut butter or something to them.  So she scarfed it down, slopped up some water (Labs really like dripping and dropping water all over when they get a drink)...then blaaaah, sorry if you're eating brekky right now, but what a mess.  I shooed her out the door in case she had more in her tummy, then Sunny came sniffing over, mmmm, more food!  Oh now you don't, GET!!!

So I don't have small children anymore, but I do have dogs.

Okay, I'm going to get scrambling...lots of things to remember.  Baggies, that was what I kept forgetting to add to my list, the midnight niggler!  You have to bring baggies to put leftovers in!  I'm bringing my popcorn pan, and a pound of butter for that, and a gift for someone, and chocolate chip cookies, and my suitcase, this laptop, the cords...never mind, I'll bore you to tears.

Coming up:  we're actually going to get new flooring!  This is fantastic news!  I can live with our floors, with cracked kitchen tiles, put throw rugs over the dangerous ones, I'd survive.  But it occurred to me that the flooring isn't going to get any cheaper, in fact, well, if it's like everything else, soon we won't be able to afford it at all!  (I put eight and a half gallons of gas in my tank yesterday for a mere $38!)  Our living room floors are only 13 years old, and I still love love love them.  But, there are places it's swelling up, some little problem areas, which I could TOTALLY live with, but it has to match.  We cannot put wood in the kitchen and have a different wood out here.  (shh, it's laminate in here, but it looks so much like real wood, I'm almost hesitant, what if the new stuff doesn't even look as good?)

See, I'm doing that thing where I sit here and ramble because I get the butterflies at heading out on an unknown journey when I'm the driver, and I procrastinate so I can get up and scramble...it's not like it's a surgery or a dental procedure, it's a weekend away, and I'm excited about it!

Just a note about our friends in Ukraine:  Emily forwarded me some pictures of the things this family has purchased with the donations received:  some huge bags of potatoes and onions, to feed the extra families they have been hosting, new toothbrushes and shampoo, ect, and bedding.  It's good to give when you know it's going directly to honest and upright people who are helping others.  Keep those people in your prayers, please!  Also the general Russian citizens, and soldiers.  Many were conscripted and don't want to be there, they're just young guys.  The restrictions on the average people there too, ouch.  I know it's not the same as being shot at and bombed, but it's still awful, in this day and age, to have this unnecessary violence go on.  I don't know why men can't just work things out, they always have to fight and be in control and go to war...all we all want is to live in peace.  Why is it so hard with mankind?