February 5, 2015

Winter… coldest season in these parts (northern hemisphere) from December to February, so I guess it’s no surprise that we’re buried in snow, it’s cold enough to make teeth chatter, spines shiver and nose-hairs braid on the inhale!

Seems like we can’t help but comment on it, no matter where we go. It’s on everyone’s mind. Some more affected than others.

School children? They’re delighted! Another snow day—let’s go sledding.
Teens? Thrilled! We can sleep in tomorrow—homework can wait.
Parents? Worried and harried. Who’ll watch the kids tomorrow! All after-school activities are cancelled? Seriously?

The work-a-world trudges on, no-matter-what, braving slippery roads, drifts you can't see over, and icy walkways. Gotta keep the cogs churning come wind or high-water, sniffles or flu, or in this case—more snow.

And then there’s the highway crews—oh my! They deserve medals of honor. Non-stop plowing and sanding, bucket loading and dumping, only to start the whole process again. Sleep? What’s that? They’re fueled by coffee and sheer New England grit. And we are grateful for every one of them!

The merchants scramble to stock shelves in light of weather-impacted deliveries. Case-in-point, there was one—you read right—one single yellow banana left on the shelf at the supermarket yesterday. One lonely, dejected reject sitting there all by itself. People passed by, gazing at it, none daring to buy it simply because it sat there by itself. Had there been two in that bunch, it would’ve been snatched up in a heartbeat, but one lonely piece of fruit—nope. Funny beings we are sometimes, huh? Myself included. We picked a bunch of green organics—pricey, probably won’t ripen till spring, but hey—we’ve got our bananas!

Well, in retrospect, I have to say I’m grateful to be at this end of the chart—retired. A one-eyed peek out the window blind tells me if I want to crawl back under the eiderdown or schlep off to the kitchen for a morning cuppa. I’m thankful for simple things now: an aromatic soup simmering in the pot, yeast bread mixing in the bread maker or pumpkin spice muffins cooling on the racks, and always, a fire cracklin’ in the woodstove.

The weatherman says there’s more snow in the forecast starting Saturday. We’ll have a one day reprieve.

Sunday’s projection is for more significant snow. And Monday—yup! You guess it. Snow. Then there’s Tuesday. [stretch and yawn] Seems we’re going to have some of that cold white stuff, but by then we won’t be able to see out the window anyway so… back to my quilting.