As a midwesterner who is very used to hunkering down from about November through March — I have to go on record to rave about this past winter that is almost over. It has been not half bad! In fact, for the last two days, my kids have been convinced it’s summer — shorts and everything! Usually at this time of year, we are still needing necessities like heated clothing to get us through the day.
Now…this is Wisconsin, of course. Tomorrow, we are supposed to be back to reality with highs in the 30s…but we know the end is in sight! Before long, the winter of 2011-12 will be a dim memory!
Oh, how I hate mud! Our yard is so torn up right now because the winter has been so mild. The ground hardly seemed to freeze all winter and with the kids outside playing, they have created an unbelievable amount of mud.
I’d love to take a baby jogger city mini out for a spin, but frankly, I’m afraid we’d be spinning in the mud instead of speeding along the sidewalk.
Seeing as we still have another month of winter, I really wonder what kind of weather we’ll be dealing with.
The shortest month of the year…so how come it tends to feel like the longest? My guess is that this is because winter is dragging and we’re tired of the cold. It’s not time for spring yet but winter won’t let go. We really can’t complain about this winter, though. Temperatures have been warm and snow has been scant. Makes me wonder if we’re in the clear or if we’re going to be blindsided by a whopper. February can be cold and snowy where I live, so I’m not letting my guard down.
Still…I’m dreaming of spring. Starting to think about planning the garden and getting back outside to dig in the muck. Starting to do some reorganizing and cleaning, getting ready for spring. Also taking advantage of the winter downtime and getting some sewing and other fun projects finished. If we use winter to rejuvenate and organize, it just makes the rest of the year that much more productive!
Seasons have reasons!
Wow — our temperature reached well up into the 50s today with abundant sunshine. The snow we’ve received over the past few weeks is patchy at best and we’ve got abundant mud everywhere. The kids were outside rolling in it today and the toddler discovered the joys of puddle jumping today. I’d say she had just as much fun out there tromping around as she would have if we had spent untold hundreds on one of those disney packages. All-in-all…a good day. Last day of January and it smells like spring in Wisconsin!
What keeps you busy on cold winter days? Do you use your time to clean house and reorganize? I know…it’s good for the soul. A person can only do so much, though, before burn-out occurs. I like to balance good, old-fashioned reorganizing with some enjoyable winter crafting projects. I have several different crochet projects going right now. I also have a quilted tabletopper that I am GOING to get done this winter. My girls are also wanting to spend some time digging into beading projects, so I am sure we’ll be tackling some jewelry designs, too. As I write all this, I’m not sure the winter will be long enough! Instead of stretching on out ahead of us, we’ll be measuring it by micrometers! Before we know it, we’ll be planning the garden!
I splurged a little today. I finally got tired of yanking off my right-hand glove to operate the touch screen on my phone. I decided that it was time to join the throng of fingerless glove wearers and I’m so glad I did! These little babies are so pretty and chic — no, nothing like welding gloves. No, mine are a hand knot combination of purple and pink. There is a mitt cover that slides over the fingers if I have to scrape windows or something nasty like that. When I need my fingers, the mitt buttons on the back of my hand. The yarn is so soft…I think it’s alpaca wool. A girl needs a little splurge sometimes!
We here in southern Wisconsin are finally enjoying the first measurable snowfall of the winter season. On January 12, believe it or not! It’s been very warm and dry here all through the months of November and December. Our heating bill has appreciated it, but the kids have been literally jumping up and down to get out and play in the white stuff.
A few things slowed us down this week and limited the amount of time we had to play in the snow, unfortunately. Number one…stomach flu! What a bummer, THAT is, I tell you! Number two…the snow was light and fluffy. Not the sort needed for packing to make snowmen and snow forts.
It was perfect for snow angels, though, I must say. Even the toddler went out to discover what snow was all about!
It’s been a while since we were in the situation of praying for snow! Well, this winter promises to be a little different since my dear hubby just bought a truck and a plow and is planning on taking a stab at snow plowing again.
He’s still got some work to do on the truck before it’s ready to roll, so we need to snow to hold off for just a little longer (the truck doesn’t need rv towing, but it does need a little help). He was plowing snow when we first met, but he sold his two plow trucks when we moved to Hawaii. He’s yearned for the challenge all these years and finally decided to give it a go this winter.
So…let the flakes fly!
