Snow Day

There's something magical about waking up to the sound of the wind gusting outside the window, hearing the pings of hail hitting the skylight, and slowly opening the bedroom curtains to expose a world turned white.  I feel like a kid again, ready to yell, "Snow Day!"

As a kid, that meant getting out our ice skates and and heading to "the Pond".  Now, although my choices are a little less physically challenging, I still love that gift of unexpected, unplanned time.

Time to  . . . 

          Work on the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.

Sew buttons on the two cardigan sweaters my friend Margaret just completed. Margaret is my knitting "mentor". In exchange for her help with my simple projects, I sew the buttons on her more complicated ones.

                    Margaret's sweaters are always colorful; just what I need to work on on this gray day.

Yesterday, Margaret showed me how to interpret the directions for this hat project which I got at Fiber College. I love the hand-dyed yarn. I promised to allow myself some time to start this project today. We'll see. Snow Days have an uncanny way of flying by!

And, every Snow Day should include some time for a good book, right? 

Here's my current stash!

In addition to everything else, DH and I spent an hour of our snow day working on travel plans. We're headed to Portugal (a magical place!) and Spain in October. I finally hit "Purchase" and booked the airline tickets today: Boston to Lisbon, Portugal and then  home to Boston from Barcelona, Spain, Can't wait!

                  And finally, this unplanned Snow Day is providing time to catch up on my little blog.

So much to do at Applegate Lane.

Happy Snow Day!

This post is linked to:

Sundays at Home Party at Little Farmstead

Happiness Is Homemade Link Party #254 at Bluesky at Home

Amaze Me Monday #298 at Dwellings

485th Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life

On Folly Beach

Desperately needing a break from the snow, we snuck off for a couple of weeks in South Carolina.

I never get tired of Charleston.

I feel so at home in the area that I sometimes wonder if maybe I lived there in a past life!

 

When we got home, some of the snow had actually melted here in Maine.

It's beginning to feel as if Spring might be around the corner.

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

Last week I wrote about the "snow fort for adults" that DH created in our front yard. Since then, he added a "snow fire pit", inspiring our neighbor across the street to do some digging of her own. She made two "snow caves" and encouraged us to have a party Friday night to celebrate what we all hope will be THE END OF WINTER!

So we invited neighbors, friends, and family to the 1st (Annual?) "Apple Freeze" Party here on Applegate Lane. We got the fire pit ready, lit luminarias, and heated up snacks and cider.

 

We could hardly wait for darkness to fall!

Snow Forts Aren't Just for Kids Anymore!

 Here's the view from our kitchen window tonight.

 

  

This afternoon, we built a snow fort!

 

 Our friend, Corlia, who is visiting from sub-tropical South Africa, has been waiting for the perfect day to play in the snow.

 

 

DH, who is a big kid at heart,  got out his shovel and gave her a hand.

 

 

After a lot of digging, this is what they created.

Dear Snow: Please Go Away

On January 19,  I wrote a post about how to make the Valentine wreath on our front door here at Applegate Lane. Now I'm longing for the "good old days" when the front door was still visible from the street . . .

Here's how my wreath looks in February.  Invisible.

All we can see of the house across the street is the America flag.

A Good Day to Sew

We've barely dug out from Tuesday's blizzard and it's snowing again.

 

It's a good day to sew.

 

I did get out long enough to go to the gym early this morning. One advantage to working with a personal trainer is that you have to show up . . . no excuses!

When I got home, I stopped at the base of our driveway to take this photo.

The Valentine Wreath I Made for the front door can barely be seen over the snow bank.

It's also a good day to be retired!

 

Once I finally got in to the house, I couldn't wait to change into cozy flannels and wool socks.  

I've been working on a simple hand-tied quilt to snuggle into on cool nights in our Casita this summer. That and a book will make the perfect afternoon.

One of the pleasures of winter is not having to feel guilty about staying in and sewing or reading.

 

DH has a Weight Watcher-friendly custard pie in the oven and it smells delicious.  Warm custard, a fire in the fireplace, my sewing, and a good book - or  LL Bean catalog - are all I need today.

 

(I just realized that even my current library book is set in the snow!)

 

Nothing can compare to a summer's day in Maine, but winter has its own appeal.

It forces us to slow down and appreciate the special joys of just being home.

Stay warm out there!

 

A Misfits Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was . . . different.

Our power went out at about 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve due to almost a foot of wet heavy snow that surprised us early this year. 

It wasn't back on when we woke up so we relied on our trusty generator to provide enough power to cook the 19 pound turkey we had thawed and stuffed.

I felt bad for the families who were unable to cook Thanksgiving dinner at all. Some coastal peninsulas, like Harpswell, still had no power yesterday.  I imagine that it's difficult to be thankful when you're cold and hungry.

 

Since my Mom passed away in April  and my sister, Nancy, before that, our family has grown smaller. I miss the days when we would have 20 or more people at our house for Thanksgiving.



Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2009

This year, it looked as if there would be just THREE of us for Thanksgiving - DH, DD and me. I wasn't sure how to make that feel "festive".

Then it became FOUR; my friend who is a minister would be between church services and was excited to share Thanksgiving dinner with us. We laughingly referred to ourselves as the "Misfits Thanksgiving" . . . a day for "the otherwise uninvited".

On Thanksgiving morning, the snow storm added another guest to our little dinner group. Another friend was stranded in the snow and couldn't join his family in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving.
Now we were FIVE. This was beginning to feel like a real Thanksgiving!


Thanksgiving 2004

The dinner was delicious and the sweet simplicity of the day was an unexpected joy.

As we were contemplating dessert, the doorbell rang and BFF Mary Elizabeth arrived.  Now we were SIX! We sat over pie and coffee martini's and Bailey's well into the evening, sharing stories and laughing.

We were thrown together for Thanksgiving due to changes in our families and changes in the weather. And, at least for that one day . . .

Our little band of "misfits" became a family.