Snow Baby

One picture is worth a thousand words. It can also be worth a hundred laughs. After the big storm, my daughter in law wanted to take the baby out in the snow to see her reaction to the beauty of a white covered world. She dressed the baby in her stark white polar bear snowsuit, the one she came home from the hospital in. As soon as the baby was snuggled in the snowsuit, she fell sound asleep. My daughter in law carried her outside and put a waterproof bag on the ground. She then placed the baby on top of the bag and took a picture and emailed it to me. When I opened the email, I could not stop laughing. It was a picture of complete whiteness with just the baby's face . The stark white snow suit had blended into the pristine snow and the complete focus of the shot was a beautiful angelic baby face.

Tunneling Out

After the storm, we faced the daunting task of shoveling out. My neighbors looked like tiny ants trying to make a tunnel into their ant hills. It took hours. Even with a snow blower, things moved slowly. When you have a foot of snow, only a commercial size snow blower can cut right through the snow. It took until 3pm until a county snow plow came down my street and round two of shoveling began. This time, it was to remove the snow that the plow put in front of my driveway. When all was said and done, we were clear. After a hard day's work we went out to dinner to treat ourselves. This morning I am sure that almost everyone has a backache.

Winter Wonderland

I went to sleep early last so I would not be watching the storm all night. When I got up at 7am, I looked outside and saw a beautiful white blanket of snow. It was pristine and untouched and looked like a cloud. By later this afternoon, it will be a rumpled mess. I feel bad for dogs in this weather. Shelby is about 14 inches high but the snow is higher in my yard. Do the math. If he walks in it he will be lost. When he squats he will have icy "private parts". The only solution is to quickly make a snow runway so he can go outside for a few minutes. We made the runway and put on Shelby's winter coat and took him outside. Now we are de-icing his paws.

Gearing Up

A blizzard is coming. As of now they predict 12 inches in New York and up to 3 feet in Massachusetts. Those are the only two places I an concerned about. Since the hurricane, our mentality regarding storm warnings has changed. The gas lines have appeared again and the supermarket shelves are thinning out. We will never ignore a warning again. It is always better to be prepared than to have to backtrack, later on. I realized that I do not mind snow, as it can be shoveled and plowed. I just never want to be without lights again.

Basketful Of Love

This year for my birthday, my daughter-in-law made me a special gift. It was special on many levels. First, she was expecting a baby, and it isn't easy to run around holiday shopping in your ninth month. She created a beautiful gift basket for me. She called it a "relaxation " basket. It contained tea, chocolates, slippers, a manicure set. a pedicure set, hand lotions, foot lotions and a gel facial mask, all wrapped in a beautiful wicker basket. I had so much fun unpacking all of the goodies. As I removed each one from the basket, I stopped to think about how I was going to enjoy using each item. She could have taken the easy way out this year and just bought me a gift. Instead she took the time to think about what special items she wanted me to have. It was one of the most thoughtful and appreciated gifts I ever received.

Lighten Up

For the first time in weeks, I have awakened to light. Since December, when  I wake up and it looks like the middle of the night. I am a "day person" and seem to have more energy when it is bright out. In just one day, I have the feeling that spring is on the way. I no longer feel like a night worker. I will not have to drive to work with my lights on. I love that feeling.

Jumping the Gun

It is nice to share good news, but you need to verify it first. One of my friend's nieces is about to give birth any day now. My friend had been texting all day to see if the big event had happened. No one answered for hours. Finally, she received an answer. It read "The owner of this phone is at North Shore Hospital. Tell them to see John Smith, parking manager. She texted back her congratulations on the birth. Immediately my friend started to scream, "It's a boy and his name is John Smith" but I don't know why my nephew is calling him a parking manager. I guess he is trying to be funny. She proceeds to call quite a few family members to announce the good news. "John Smith was born!" About 15 minutes later her phone rang. A man who identified himself as "John Smith, the parking manager at the hospital" told her that he found someone's cell phone on the floor and asked if she was able to get in touch with the owner and tell him that it is being held at the garage office. She then had to call each person she had notified, to say she had jumped the gun and the baby has not arrived yet. Next time wait for a phone call and not a text message.