Praising Monday

Weekends are all fine and good, but there's something to be said for the return to routine on Mondays. Weekends often find us running from one fun activity to another, even if just within the confines of our own home, and by the time Monday rolls around Jon is probably happy to be headed off to work, and Calvin and I are happy to return to our quiet weekday routines, such as a good, long afternoon nap. And today was a relatively pretty day. Keep in mind, of course, that we're talking Michigan in February, so when I say relatively pretty I mean it was almost 40 degrees and there was just little enough grayness to allow for very faint shadows on the sidewalk.  So we took advantage of this and took our first walk since last November (shameful, yes, but what are you going to do in sub zero weather???) to get our mail from the box. Getting out of the house without dressing in suits NASA would envy was a wonderful treat this time of year.  Exciting stuff, especially since it's been a long time since it has been warm enough to handle the camera for a good outdoor photo shoot (ah I miss those). Of course the other part of it being nearly 40 degrees? The puddles. Last year I had to encourage him to play in the puddles so I could get some pictures (only a scrapbooker would consider this), but not so this year. This year I had to encourage him to slow down so as not to soak the camera (thankfully I had the longer lens). I am ever so thankful to my mom for getting him those really nice boots last fall; his pants were soaked up to the knees, but his socks and feet were bone dry. Needless to say, he did take that really goooood nap, which allowed me to clean the bathrooms and then make chicken, biscuits, and gravy, healthy style, for dinner (after thoroughly washing my hands, of course).

If you're wondering about the black and white... none of his winter clothes are color matched, and Photoshop is a wonderful thing.  There are more pictures in the Februrary 2009 album, plus I'll be sharing a few more later this week (just to keep you in suspense, or maybe it's because so little is going on and I need to spread out the excitement).

We're back

Back from our internet hiatus and back from a fantastic vacation north to visit my Godmother, both of which we really enjoyed.  In years past our vacations have given us great blog fodder thanks to an abundance of youthful energy, but for some reason (could it be we are getting older, or is it just the toddler sapping all of our strength?) this year we relished an entire week of just lounging.  Really just lounging.  We spent a little time out on the town (we really love Petoskey), a little time cooking dinners (trying out our favorite recipes on family is always fun), and a little time playing in the snow, and all of it was fantastically relaxing and the perfect way to start the new year off right.

More pictures from the trip can be found in the Merry Christmas (2008) album.  Happy new year!

5 days: our yule log is here early

Snow and cold, that's what winter is all about.  The flip-side of that coin, of course, is the hot chocolate, cozy blankets, and brilliant fires that keep us warm inside.  Yesterday we shovelled, today we played in the snow (for over an hour), and tonight we sit in front of a warming fire made ever more charming by the scent of pine and the glow of Christmas lights that garnish the room.  Five days are left until Christmas; all of our shopping is done; all of our wrapping is done; we've read the T'was the Night Before Christmas to Calvin more times than we can count; tonight (and perhaps all the others, too) we are sitting back and enjoying the warmth of the season.  We hope you are doing the same!

6 days: hindsight is 20/20

We never should have used the words "snowed in" those few days ago.  Sure, the snow was pretty, and yes, it required shoveling, and not just the usual wait-for-the-sun-to-melt-it-technique but real true shoveling, but by using those particular words "snowed in" we jinxed ourselves and this morning we woke up to a winter onslaught of snow and ice that left us with over 1 foot of new snow to shovel after lunch.  Really, this isn't a problem for us–we love snow, and hope this means we will be blessed with the coveted white Christmas–but today we really were snowed in; the plow visited our neighborhood several times before the snow stopped around one o'clock, but he didn't plow out our little cul-de-sac, and the foot plus of snow combined with the throw from the plow made our off-shoot impassable in the true meaning of the word. But no worries; we had dinner supplies and plenty to do, especially with the fun that the snow itself supplies.  Shoveling took nearly two hours, the majority of which, I'm sure, was devoted to throwing snow balls, sledding the driveway, and climbing snow mountains.  Oh, and shoveling the lawn so our seven pound dachshund can make it out to potty.

8 days: up to our you know whats

If we were aiming for a white Christmas our decoration arrived a week too early.  We watched the snow falling last night and woke up to a true winter wonderland this morning.  It's always more enjoyable when there's no place you have to go, and even more so for Calvin, who doesn't have to shovel it.  If we are lucky it will stick around long enough to brighten our Christmas day, but we won't hold our breath; we've celebrated Michigan Christmases long enough to know better.