Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Tuesday

If last year was low on snow, this year is even more hopeless (for us cross country skiing types). A few weeks ago we had more than a foot of snow. Now it's mostly gone and what's left is crusty and icy and not pleasant to navigate, with or without skis. The snowman by the farmhouse has shriveled into a heap of nothing, the sled stands on the porch useless and forgotten.

And the ten day forecast shows every temperature variation -- from the mighty cold to just at freezing, but there is no sign of snow on the horizon. Right now, it's foggy, it's gray, it's basic waiting weather: we wait for something more inviting than what's out there right now.



farmette life -2.jpg



This is the time to make sure that when you shop, you place a bunch of flowers in your grocery cart. (I'm still out of sync with my Friday shopping schedule: I go today, if only because I need ingredients for cake baking.)


farmette life -3.jpg



It's Snowdrop's last day of vacation from school and just past noon, I catch her at home with her newest fascination with snap blocks.


farmette life -5.jpg



It would be hard to pull her away from a favorite toy, but I promise her that Ed's waiting for a beard trim at the farmhouse. We head out.

I take out the razor. That pile of white stuff has to go!

She is intrigued.


farmette life -6.jpg




I ask her if she wants to help, but something about the razor moving up and down his face gives her pause. She tells me -- I want my beard cut... tomorrow. We clearly haven't explained to her the gendered nature of this event. Ed doesn't help by adding -- some women have beards. I give him my very fiercest frown.


farmette life -8.jpg



(Later, she works her hands across his face as if to make sure it's all still there...)


farmette life -12.jpg



We eat lunch then. Or, rather, we keep her company as she shares bits and pieces of her lunch with us. The girl loves a social meal!


farmette life -16.jpg



And then it's back to food play, as if she just can't get enough of dishing out her fruits, veggies, sushi, croissants, cereal to anyone who'll sit with her and play her elaborate games that incorporate her toy foods.


farmette life -34.jpg



As Snowdrop naps, I look outside for any hint of a change in the weather. It's supposed to grow bitter cold again, but I'm looking for something else: a lift of the perpetual dusk-like tone to the landscape. A patch of blue perhaps? Maybe a cardinal to splash a fleeting bit of red to the frozen trees?

Not today. I make myself a third cup of tea for the afternoon (from chamomile, to blueberry, to rooibos) and watch as the light fades outside the kitchen window. This is when you start looking froward to a good dinner and perhaps a special movie viewing evening. Maybe I can twist Ed's arm for an n-th rerun of a favorite rom com. Maybe.


4 comments:

  1. There must be a story to go along with Ed's snowflake shirt...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can't help but notice that Ed got a new long sleeve shirt. (Not like I totally know his wardrobe - LOL) My guess is that he received it from Snowdrop and loved it! He is festive and ready for our cold spell.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...And yet the reality is just a tad different! Even though there are snowflakes on the shirt and there is a big drop in the middle -- all that is a great coincidence. Ed periodically gives blood at the Red Cross. Inevitably they hit him up for it on Christmas Eve. They give out free shirts then and he is quite happy to bring one home. I tease him about his blood shirts -- they're very much in your face about blood, but of course, the more I tease, the more he likes to wear them.
    And BTW, Linda, you probably DO know his entire wardrobe. What you see is all that he has: A few shirts, a few shorts, a couple of pairs of jeans and two jackets -- one for camping and one for winter. Can't think of anything else. (His dress-up outfit that he wore when he had to make a court appearance is bunched up and tucked into some hole where it's likely to remain forever and ever.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I did notice the shape that looked like a drop, but couldn't figure out what it was - now it makes sense, a drop of blood. I think Ed probably has the clothes he needs. I also think that if he NEEDED something else, he would likely purchase it - or not!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.