This was the backyard last week, after our first real snowstorm of the season. That’s about 8” accumulation on the picnic table. Taken from inside the backdoor, thank you very much.
I’ve heard that most children take great delight in making the first snow angels of the season. There aren’t any ethereal angels to show off, but I was greeted by this charming site when I glanced down from the same backdoor.
You can just barely see tell-tale men's size 8 boot prints. Curiously the size Jackson wears now.
Jackson swears he doesn’t know how those golden impressions got there. Perhaps some low-flying northern Idaho bird species we’re not familiar with.
On a prettier note, here’s the view from, again, inside, this time from warm side of the living room window. The pears make nice frosted ornaments on the tree.
The icicles are everywhere. They are much longer and more menacing-looking now, particularly when they seem to be growing in toward the house.
I think Denise gave me this cute door hanger last year. I put it outside on the front porch, not that the snow gods need any encouragement.
Speaking of the front porch (nice segue, huh?) Jackson has been doing an amazing job of helping to keep the steps, walkways and driveway cleared of snow.
We have a guy who (eventually) comes by with the snowblower for the really big stuff, but there’s still quite a bit of chilly maintenance to be done just so I can get in and out of the driveway. Luckily I'm still nursing that sprained ankle so he'll have to continue to shoulder that burden. The recovery could well last into spring, I think, at least when I'm home. Otherwise, I'm 99.5% healed.
This week has been nice & sunny, and it doesn’t feel as cold as it sounds ~ highs in the low teens and lows in the lower single digits. Minus 2 degrees yesterday, I think, as Jackson trudged off to school. But it’s a ‘dry’ cold and thankfully not windy. Still, you can believe I was online shopping snow pants, lined pants, long underwear, thick ski socks, a balaclava (one of those full-face hooded neck covering things that only your eyes show through) that very morning. I may order some things for Jackson, too, once I try them out. He loves the cold and won’t even let me give him a ride to school. Mainly because he likes to be on time. He can’t wait to get his snow “skateboard” (hint, hint Camron), because lots of kids use them to get to school.
He has one weird quirk right now, totally normal for an 11-year-old, (and it could be a lot worse, I know): he swears he’s going to wear his green Gap hoodie sweatshirt every day to school all year. It’s his “thing.” He has several nice new hooded sweatshirts, mind you, but it has to be this getting-pretty-ratty green one. Yes, he does change his other clothes. Yes, he does wear a very warm jacket, hat and gloves. He’s even learned to do his own laundry. Love that.
This was taken this morning. It was so clear and sunny. About 5 degrees, I think. You can sort of see our Christmas tree, which will reside on the front porch until we take it inside next weekend. It's in a pot, and we'll plant it next spring. (She says optimistically.)
At least I got the lights on it! Aren’t they nice and gaudy?
We had a nice surprise when we got home, a box from Mom & Dad. Jackson ripped into it and was thrilled to find a couple of things marked “open now.” He needed no more encouragement than that.
One was this oh-too-cute piano-playing snowman. Hmmm, wouldn’t it be a generous gesture for Jackson to take it to school to share with his classmates up until the holiday break (or indefinitely?) Just kidding. We've already found just the right spot for it.
And then Jackson spied the oversized donut-shaped foil- wrapped package with the all-important“open now” note. “I know what this is,” he declared triumphantly. “It’s Mima’s most world famous recipe.” He had to have some right then so we declared it a dessert-before-dinner night and both had two pieces.
Yum.
He said he knows what he’s having for breakfast the next few days. If there’s any left after tonight, that is.
Thanks, Mom ~ standing around in the kitchen can’t be the most comfortable thing right now and we really appreciate having this great family tradition treat, the "world-famous" sour cream coffee cake.
Note: why the font size is jumping around I have no idea. The more they "improve" Typepad to make it more user-friendly, the more frustrating it becomes to those of us who learned things the old way.
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