Monday - 276th

I look outside and I think -- looks like January out there! It's bitter cold, but the skies are clearing and that streak of sunshine is glorious. It's what makes winters not so bad here, in the upper Midwest. Gently blue skies, clinging snow -- all so beautiful!

But slippery. Our walkway to the farmhouse has patches of ice that I cannot get rid of. I chip away some more because one child I know has a very enthusiastic gait as she saunters to the farmhouse door. These are not good days to nurse broken ankles.

My morning walk...

And our morning breakfast.

The kids arrive soon after.

It's a (remote) school day for Snowdrop and as usual, she has two of her lesson sessions here at the farmhouse. It is to be expected that some of these are more successful than others. I'd say today's classes ranked a bit low on the satisfaction scale. There was the usual scramble to get the right materials -- some we anticipated, others not so much. Instead of counting blocks, we substituted with plastic toy fruits. But it was the second session that was the real challenge.

There was a lot of fast coloring and fast cutting and fast gluing, all in the supposed companionship of a class mate. This may have been okay, but Snowdrop's mate does not engage and so the mandated conversation is... nonexistent.

Of course, this is school: sometimes tedious, but nonetheless teaching you skills -- in this case at maneuvering difficult collegial relations. Though in remote learning, you don't get to break away from the tedium to play with your pal. Snowdrop managed to get through the sessions without complaining, but I could tell she was dispirited by the day's class times.

I might add that there is a benefit from having an adult there at the sidelines: I have a chance to coach the little girl a little. To suggest that perhaps making silly faces while on screen is not a good idea. (Sometimes I'll hear her say something a wee bit testy and I'll look at her with wide eyes and she'll smile and say -- don't worry, Gogs, I muted it!)

Sparrow plays some and watches some and in general is quite the agreeable little chap...

 

... until it is time for the three of us to go out for our big outdoor play. Snowdrop had been looking forward to more farmette snow time and the sun makes this more than pleasurable, despite the deep freeze.

But for Sparrow, the burden of winter gear is just too much. He can stand...

... and he can take some steps, IF the snow isn't too deep and the ground isn't too slick. On this wintry day, that's a tough order and the little guy inevitably opts for the sled. 

And once he chooses the sled, then so does she.

And this is how Gogs winds up pushing two lugs up and down the paths of the farmette lands. It is not easy going (except for the downhill parts)! 

Okay, everyone, get off!

Snowdrop is energized by the winter romp... 

 

 

 

... and I try to do some fun sled stuff with just Sparrow to keep his spirits high, but one sharp turn causes the sled to flip and the boy to fall into a drift of snow. That pretty much puts the lid on his willingness to do anything more out there. Gaga hold me! 

It's time to take the kids home.

The sun has almost set and still, I am determined to do a cross country ski loop today. Ed unfortunately is tied up with work and so it's just me out there in our county park.

(The first thin layer of ice on Lake Waubesa)

It's nearly dark by the time I return home.

But darkness is pretty in December. The lights, inside and out are colorful, the candles -- very evocative. I put on the music of the season and wait for my cheeks to defrost from the outdoor spin on skis.

Sunday - 275th

 Is it better to do a small bit here and there, touching everything but finishing nothing? Or, should you do one thing but do it with care and exactitude? Don't tell me the latter, because my day was a ragbag of odds and ends. But, as is often the case, scraps and bits of cloth can be so pretty in their own right. It may not matter that they're never sewn together to form something useful and enduring.

A cold day. Let's start with that. Below freezing, all day. Yesterday's snow is crispy and in places, a bit slick. But very lovely!

 

 

 

(The cats keep an eye on me as I do my morning walk. Perhaps they believe I'm on a mouse hunt myself...)

Inside again, I do some spot cleaning. I just don't have time for a major anything. But that's okay! If you came over, you'd think things were tidy enough!

A late breakfast.

I realize then that I am short on a bunch of groceries. An hour of shopping. On line. For delivery later in the afternoon.

And then it strikes me that I am supposed to wrap gifts today. 

I carry them all down, I decide on papers. I get to maybe 5% of what I have to do before Christmas. But hey! The few boxes under the tree look very pretty!

Ed reminds me that we promised ourselves a skiing adventure. Not a long one. Just to our local park. Let's go! Now!

Again, it's a minimalist adventure: one loop, in the silence of a beautiful winter afternoon.

But it's enough! You don't need a whole day in the forest to feel regenerated by its quiet embrace. A hug never lasts long and yet it soothes you. Is a short moment in the woods any different?

And now I am home and I need to get dinner going. I have just enough time to cook up a standard family supper. I can throw in some roasted beets and peppers and cheeses for a predinner munch. Sometimes you can stitch together something special out of nothing.

The young family comes.

And now there's nothing rushed about the day. This is when we allow ourselves to slow down. I'll go back to hop scotching my way through the day tomorrow and the next day. But now -- t's evening. Me, I still have to write my post, but you -- maybe you can allow yourself some couch time. With someone, alone, with a book, maybe music? Definitely a candle. Maybe some popcorn.

This is the time to work on generating hope for the next day and the one after that.

With love...

Saturday - 274th

Well, that was a surprise! The expectation was that we'd get between 2 and 5 inches. By early morning there seemed to be a good half a foot of snow and the stuff was still coming down.

It made for a beautiful morning walk around the farmette lands.

Breakfast is cozy, in the way that it can only be when the weather outside is indeed frightful.

In normal times, Saturday isn't a day for the kids to be here, but these are not normal times. My daughter's pregnancy gets in the way of boisterous play and both she and her husband are forever scrambling to fit work time into their schedule. So I offer to play with the kids outside today and of course, the farmette provides so many opportunities to really go snow crazy.

But it's heavy snow! Clearing paths is an effort. There, done! Just in time for their arrival.

(In the mudroom -- I take off his boots, he admires my winter produce basket.)

We play a little inside first -- time to decorate the fridge!

And fortify ourselves with lunch.

And now it's time to put on all that stuff that makes it possible to let yourself go wild in the snow!

 

(Come on, Gaga!)

There are obstacles. Snowdrop is convinced that she can make snowballs with her jacket standing in for mittens (why dont you use your mittens? I don't want to get them wet!), Sparrow has great difficulties walking in the deep snow, and Gogs -- well, I'm not wearing snow pants. The opportunities for getting clobbered by snowballs thrown by a determined little girl are huge! 

The pleasures far outweigh the obstacles.

Snowdrop outlasts Sparrow by far. At some point he plunks himself in the safety of the sled and tells me: I want to watch. Eventually I usher him inside.

But Snowdrop lives up to her nickname: on this snowy day, she is all smiles all the time.

And, of course, I remain a great target for all those snow balls!

It's a beautiful day to be outside in south-central Wisconsin! We were in the bull's eye for the snow storm. What an incredible way to start getting serious about winter!

(A little time to dry out inside...)

And then I drive them home. 

 

Hey Ed, let's go to our county park! With skis. 

Are you sure? It's late. Probably not groomed.

Yes, it is late and the trails in our local county park are indeed not groomed, but still, who can resist?

(And home again...)

(A few minutes with the cats... They pay us a visit every now and then. They're curious about our life inside, behind the big glass door...)

Fine, so I did not catch up with holiday preparations today. Somehow I don't think the holidays will suffer as a result!

Friday - 273rd

Some weeks end with a tired whimper, some end with a bang. Basically, you never know what a Friday will bring.

I wasn't too optimistic this morning. The weather? My daughter called it when she said it was gloomy. With a drizzle to make you really regret being outside.

Breakfast? Well, Ed was so sound asleep that I did not wake him for it.

 

(Though I think he is programmed to pick up the sound of my coffee machine churning out my little cup of espresso, because halfway through my morning meal, he stumbles downstairs. What a guy!)

 

The kids come immediately after. Snowdrop had already gone through a couple of school sessions at home and I wonder if she is spent, because the first thing she does is throw herself on the orange couch and proclaim that she needs a rest. And a bowl of fruit. And a book.

(Sparrow, however, is set to play.)

From then it's uphill all the way. You could not ask for a smoother set of hours!

Nor a calmer execution of the school project, where the kids are asked to cut out a mitten book and a half dozen animal shapes, color in the shapes, title the book and paste in the shapes, all in fifteen minutes. Sparrow is transfixed. (Me too, at the needed speed and alacrity.)

And finally, one could not imagine a more energetic, enthusiastic pretend play.

 

 

 

When I finally pull them out to go home, they are reluctant to go out at all. It is snow-raining. You know the type: slush falling in globs out of the sky. But, tell a kid it's glorious and exciting and they'll believe you! (I have some spare caps to keep their heads dry! Sparrow borrows mine. Snowdrop says it makes him look like an elf...)

After dropping the kids off at home, I hesitate for a brief few minutes...

 

 

 

I have to decide where to take this unexpectedly good day/

Want to go take a walk in the county park? -- I ask Ed. He hesitated, but only for a minute.

We surely are close the hour of sunset, though who can tell. It's dark. The snow-rain is beginning to be more snowy than rainy, but it's sufficiently wet out there that no one else is in the park's parking lot. We are going to have the place to ourselves.

And it is just lovely! Wet, sure, but not too cold. Cleansing! A real forest bath!

And here's a bonus for when we get home: Primrose, my Chicago grandgirl, calls! She sings, she selects books, she tells me what she learned in school on this day.

And so ends another week of isolation at the farmette. We're well, the house is warm, the kids here and in Chicago are doing okay! We are lucky. And grateful.