Digging out

Hello, my friends.  We are digging out of an unexpected amount of snow here at the edge of the forest.  What was suppose to be a "light" 1" to 1 1/2 " of snow was obviously going to become much more as it continued falling... and falling... and still more snow.  The surrounding scenery looked like a fairy land.

I used my "down time" this past weekend to change the side bar on the blog a bit, move the Christmas music back to the bottom of the Play List, and try out a few different "looks".  One may have become quite confused but thankfully I found a background I loved.  It will be good for the remainder of the winter.

We got out briefly on Saturday morning, arriving home just as the snow was beginning to fall.  It was nice to be all warm and cozy inside the house.  Christopher enjoyed having a few days off of work and even better... no homework!  He ended up with three "A's" and one "B+" this semester.  All those hours of studying paid off.

I was happy I was able to cook favorite comfort foods, even if it meant doing lots and lots of dishes.  Holidays are about the only time I really miss having a dishwasher.  Otherwise, I don't mind standing at the sink and looking outside while washing dishes in the hot sudsy waters.  I have hand cream next to the sink and use it a lot these days.  :)

This Christmas was made even more enjoyable by the unexpected gifts from friends and family.  We were so blessed.  This was a wonderful Christmas at the end of a challenging year.

I enjoyed reading Sally Clarkson's latest post today.  It was with great joy when I read my first book by Clay and Sally (and many by Sally through the years).  I have such a fond memory of an afternoon at the city park when Christopher was a hyperactive little guy (late 1990's) having fun on the playground equipment as I listened to a tape by Sally on my Walkman (high tech at that time) to keep my sanity.  I felt that spark of what Lewis calls "reading to know we are not alone"... there was a family out there a lot like us... with similar interests and challenges.

It was nice enough to develop an online friendship with Sally but how wonderful it was to meet the family in person this past autumn and find them just as easy to talk to as I would imagine.  I thought of all the books I enjoyed as I read Sally's post about family life this morning.  Good stuff!  You can find it... here.