Epic! Brutal! (aka SnoMFG)

Ok. I have no idea where I'm supposed to park my car right now. St. Paul snow emergencies are usually pretty clear (unlike the byzantine rules those folks across the river have to bear), but this is not a usual snow emergency. We got 16.3 inches (enough to collapse the roof of the Metro dome). This morning everyone on our block was out shoveling the street so we could move our cars in advance of the plows. At 9:57 p.m. our street still hasn't been plowed. Now a brand-new snow emergency has been called and theoretically we're supposed to move our cars from the night plow route (that is clear) back onto our unplowed street to get stuck again. Huh? There's an absolutely brilliant tome right now on the city's website about the snow emergency. It is written with great pathos by some beleaguered city worker who has clearly been yelled at by too many people today, but having laughed my way through it, I'm still left with "huh?" (I saved a copy of this tome because it's such a great specimen of raw unprofessional writing so if it's off the site by tomorrow and you want to read it, just let me know).

The confusion has been brutal, the shoveling has been brutal, the cold has been brutal. However, this was one epic snowstorm. I just spent two days stuck in the house with my kids and I am still laughing at their antics and the things they say. I remembered how much I love my neighbors when we all figured out together how to get through the rutted streets and the 4 ft. berm to move our cars. All is well.

The Storm

As predicted, we are having an early December blizzard. In fact, I can't remember the last time there was this much snow in one storm. Later tonight after the plows clear the night plow route, we will dig out our cars and move them around the corner to make way for the city of St. Paul's snow emergency. All our busy weekend plans were curtailed. Ellis' aikido and science museum classes were cancelled and there is no way we'll be able to go bowling tonight at Charlie's request. Instead, I made sweet potato pies and jello with my little kitchen helpers and Josh has some bread baking in the bread machine. The little boys are jumping from the footstool onto the couch and making beds on the floor.

I am grateful that Charlie and I ventured outside yesterday in advance of the weather. It was mild and pleasant walking in the snow. I always think I don't like going outside in the winter, but the truth is, winter is better if you go outside every so often. In the context of blizzards and below zero temperatures, a twenty degree day with a little sun feels great and it's good to see it as an opportunity to be outdoors for a change. I'm looking forward to seeing some of my favorite natural spots in winter this year (see Harriet Alexander Nature Center above).I want to know them as they are all year round in order to deepen my affection for them and keep myself grounded in the natural world.

December, I love you.

The snow came and that was all it took for me to get over that final hump and embrace the coming of winter. The transition into the dark season presents a challenge for me each year - I get tired, I get blue, and I feel claustrophobic as things move indoors. December is new, but there is already so much to love:

• Last night we slept in our brand new bed for the first time. We have been sleeping on a crappy old mattress forever with its attendant hip pain and back pain and sliding helplessly into the middle. Actually, I don't think I've ever slept on a really nice bed - from crappy futons to various hand-me-downs. Our new bed is like being massaged all night by angels.
• The theme for the end of this year does seem to be all about comfort. It was a new strategy to manage the bumpy transition from summer to fall to winter to find things that would make the winter seem wonderfully comfortable. In addition to the bed, I got new pajamas, a new robe, and flannel sheets. The cashmere scarf is on its way so that coupled with my favorite down coat it will make me feel like I never got out of bed on those cold winter mornings when I'm scraping the windshield.
• Did I mention the snow? The snow and the sauna at the YMCA almost make me grateful for the cold instead of walking around as miserable as a wet cat.
• The beautiful, compostable swag made of winter greens and heather on my door and the amaryllis and paper white bulbs on my table remind me that the winter doesn't have to mean the end of my gardening spirit entirely. Thank you, Mother Earth Gardens.
• There's nothing like brunch to get you moving on snowy, cold Sundays. My favorite places include: Birchwood Cafe, Bon Vie Cafe, and Turtle Bread Company (hooray they are opening a new location just across the river from us!).
• Winter cooking is catching my fancy - sweet potato pie, pot roast, sausage and cabbage, oatmeal with dried cherries, and soups and stews of many kinds. As my grandma used to say, "It sticks to your ribs."

I'm hoping December continues to be a lovely as the first few days have been. I'm looking forward to time off at the end of the month - quiet time for myself and noisier cozier time with the kids. I hope yours is lovely, too!

Thankful

I'm thankful that he loves us so much and has such a strong sense of family. I'm thankful that the sage grows close to the house so there was enough that survived the snow storm to cook with. I'm thankful for the sleepy quiet rhythms we've developed for these end-of-year holidays.

Gutter Ball

We went bowling. We've done it before. It's one of those rare group activities that can be done with kids with an age spread like ours have. No one is very good. Our top scores are barely above 100 and Ellis has this weirdly successful unorthodox method of play that makes use of the bumpers so he usually ends up winning. Nevertheless, it's usually fun.

Tonight was a disaster, though. All three kids were pulling in their own directions. I could hear myself being strident and angry mom, although no one listened to a single thing I said. Josh and I felt bewildered as parents. And then there was the family in the lanes next to us with the four well-behaved kids who all seemed to like each other. There we were out in public completely sucking as a family. But we will do it again. Winter is long and you need a variety of indoor activities for all those Saturday nights. The thing you learn in long-term relationships is that there will always be another time to get it right. Over time love bears fruit if you work at it.

Art Table

Papa had a great idea for a gray day at home with the kids that I decided to implement this morning. I covered the whole dining room table with butcher paper and laid out supplies for a day-long as-you-go art project. There are usual favorites like pens, pencils, and markers as well as Charlie's new favorite that he calls "painting with ovals." Thanks to these great water colors not only is the table a work of art, but Charlie's face, hands and shirt. Perhaps the wintry indoor days that are coming won't be so bad after all.

Knitting Season

I bought a bag full of yarn in October and I have been quickly knitting my way through it over the past month. Overly ambitious projects never work for me, so I stick mainly to hats and scarves to spruce up the winter wardrobes of my beloveds. Luckily, in a family of five, someone always needs a new hat. I am nearly finished with my fourth hat and just started a scarf for myself yesterday to match the new green hat I knitted two weeks ago.

There is something wonderful about settling in for a long winter's evening with knitting needles in hand. The repetition is meditative, like a rosary, and for me, process is definitely more rewarding than product. Although, I admit, it is cool when something turns out really well. It's even more cool when my darlings ask me to make a hat for them. They know it's really a transfer of love.

Yesterday, Charlie watched me knit and said, "Mama, are you making yarn?" The kids are interested in the process, too. They are natural little makers and they tune in when they see me making something, too. Is there anything more delightfully, naturally human than to create?