Snow Days

Mandy’s out of town, leaving Bryan and I with quiet days home together on holiday break. On Christmas afternoon, it began to rain, and slowly the rain started freezing on the roof and on the bushes and on the trees. And on the street. And then it was ice. And little pine-tree branches fell on our house. And then it was snow. It snowed for hours, and when we woke up the next morning, we had more snow than I can remember seeing since I moved to central Arkansas.

2012 12 26 Snowy Doghouse

Like a little child, I put on my boots and my rain pants and I went outside. But like the grownup my father taught me to be, I shoveled our sidewalk and then our driveway, throwing the white stuff off into the yard, making strips of piles of snow alongside the pavement. I love snow. I love looking at snow, and playing in snow. I even love shoveling snow. I love every single thing there is to love about snow. Continue reading “Snow Days”

Merry Christmas (Observed)!

First there was Christmas (observed) at our house.  Since Mandy’s always in Tulsa for the first half of her holiday break, we always open presents either before or after that trip.  This year, Saturday the 22nd was the day chosen to observe the gift-giving part of our holiday.  We kept things pretty simple this year, and most of our gifts to each other involved needed outdoor gear.  A stack of books grew as we opened our presents, too, as it always does.

2012 12 22 Gifts

We’ve tried to move away from using lots of wrapping paper and toward reusing gift bags and lidded boxes.  But I think some of our presents may have gone a little too far away from ‘festive’ toward ‘cheerlessly utilitarian.’ Continue reading “Merry Christmas (Observed)!”