The Groove

Today, it's snowing.  There is no school, but not because of snow.  It's a teacher work day and the students are off.  It would be great if we could play in the snow, but there is barely any.  The photo is from the snowday LAST week.  There was barely any then, too, but there was no school.  This winter has been a real disappointment so far.  I want one good big snow.  The kind that shuts everything down and makes it quiet on King Street because no cars are out.  Maybe next week.

All of these snow days and delays and teacher work days and MLK holidays and things are making it really hard to get in a groove.  Even though I got Christmas taken down and put away, there are still piles of homeless things everywhere.  A giant purge is in order, but that will require a chunk of time alone in the house, which is very rare these days.

Daphne is home now, drawing a treehouse while I blog.  But she really wants to play with me.  And how can I tell her no?  It's not like I can send her out to play in this pitiful snow.  So, I think what I have to do is just try to enjoy hanging out with my kid and overlook the piles for a few more days.  

Sounds easy enough, right?  But, this is really hard for me.  When all the chores I feel like I SHOULD be doing are right there in my face, it's hard for me to enjoy anything.  I feel guilty taking 15 minutes to write in this blog.  I can't just let it go.  I live at my workplace.  There is no "going home from work."  I am just always there.  There must be a way to turn it off, but I haven't found it yet, and I wonder if I ever will.  Maybe if everything was DONE, then I could enjoy being home.  But it is never ever done.  Ever.  So, I need a new strategy.  And a groove.  A good normal week with no snow days or holidays.  

Or, perhaps a vacation.  But that would only help temporarily.

Or, here's a thought.  I need perspective.  Because, there are no lions after all.  I have absolutely no reason to complain about anything.  The chores will get done.  The piles will get put away.  There will be plenty of time for ALL of that, and to sit and knit and sew and read and enjoy my family time.  Right now, I am going to go play with my kid.  

Free cookies!!??!!  I am SO in!

We Interrupt This Program...

So, I got myself all in the mood to start blogging again, and we lost the internet.  For several days.  No internet, no TV, no landline service.  Yesterday, we finally got hooked up again.  In the meantime, school kept being cancelled or delayed, so I couldn't get much done around the house.  I didn't want to take down Christmas while Daphne was home because it makes her too sad.  But finally, yesterday, I just had to do it.  I dragged up the bins and loaded them up, undecorated the tree, and tidied up a little.  All that's left to do is take the lights off the tree and take it outside for recycling.  Last year, that was tough.  There were many tears when we said goodbye to "Doug."

This year's tree is called "Fergus."  We got him at Snicker's Gap, just like last year, and made an ornament from his trunk, just like last year.

He's been a really great tree, but now all you have to do is walk by or breathe on him and his needles fall out in giant clumps.  I think even Daphne realizes that it's time for him to go.

Thank you, Fergus, for being an awesome Christmas tree and making our house smell so good!  We will miss you.

I am excited to have Christmas put away because now I can get back into some sort of normal routine, sit and knit without feeling like I should be doing something else, and maybe even read a book.  Does anyone know of a good book I can read?  I need some ideas.  I also plan to improve my sewing skills this year, so I need to make some time for that.  I love Christmas, but it's just all the SWIRLING...by the time it's over, I don't even remember it.  I have to find a way to stop the swirling next year.  Be glad you don't have to spend any time inside my brain.  Especially at Christmas time.  I need to figure out the secret to SLOW Christmas.  Slow is good.  There needs to be more slow.  

OK, I have just a little while before Daphne gets home from school, so I am going to go make good use of the time.  But not in a frantic swirly way.  I may even knit.

Hello...

So, it's January now.  2015.  And I haven't blogged since the Great Mouse Invasion of Last Summer.  When I left off, we were just about to catch and release "Lucky," our seventh, and thankfully LAST, mouse.  I hope blogging about it doesn't jinx it, but since then we have been critter free.  So in spite of all the wild internet rumors that are probably flying around out there on the facebook about the reason for my sudden absence, we were NOT overtaken and enslaved by the mice.

Why did I stop blogging?  I don't know.  August was busy, and then school started, and then suddenly it was Christmas.  I have a lot to catch up on, I guess.  Today, it snowed but school is going on as scheduled.  Last year, this would have caused at LEAST a two hour delay, but there's a new superintendent in town, and it looks like he means business.  Facebook is on fire with mad mommies.  Reports are that the roads are pretty bad, but luckily Daphne only has to go 2 blocks on the bus, and our street is looking pretty clear.

It's quiet here. It's still snowing.  It's that really pretty sparkly snow that looks like glitter is falling.  I figured if there was ever a good time to finally blog a new blog, this is it.  Plus, I am avoiding having to take down Christmas.  I just can bring myself to do that yet.

The problem is, I am so far behind on this blog that I don't know where to start.  I think what I should probably do is go back through my pictures from the last several months and do some "flashback" posts to get myself caught up.  

But here is what is on my mind today.  New Year.  I like that.  I need that.  The holidays were sometimes fun, but also tough and stressful and really sad at times, and I am ready for a fresh start.  Yesterday at Wegmans, they were playing Hall and Oates, and Van Morrison, and REM, and it was so nice to listen to regular songs again instead of Santa Baby for the 700th time.

This year is going to be good.  I can already tell.  So stay tuned for that.