1.04.2014

snow day


thursday night.  heading out for more wood and to get her toothpaste out of the car (oops).  she insisted she come along.  of course it was already late, and she was in her jammies.  so, after a few minutes spent bundling up and putting on boots and such, we went out.  toothpaste and wood retrieved in all of maybe 2 minutes.  and the child?  oh no, she was just out walking around, appreciating the snowy wonder of it all.  "it's so cold I feel like walking" she told me.  "it's after 9pm and better mothers already put their little ones to bed hours ago" I thought.  of course I didn't really think that.  I mean, maybe a smidge, but I know that my little one's tendency towards night owl-ness doesn't take away from my overall motherly goodness.  and besides, I gave up all notions of 'perfect' and 'better' mothers a while ago.  but anyway~ I convinced her to come in and we bundled up together in bed, listening to the wind cut through the night and hoping for a snow day.


well, it doesn't take much for a snow day around here and we did indeed get what we wished for.  at home, maybe an inch and a half on the ground.  papa came home with reports of icy roads and brought out a heat lamp for the coop, hoping to maybe up the temp in there from eleven degrees to somewhere in the balmy upper teens range.  so if you come by, do mind the long orange extension cord running from the garage to the coop.

I took the photo above while driving home (I promise I was careful) from an appointment with a cardiologist.  an appointment I almost cancelled since it was icy and all, but once I got off the secondary roads all was well and I was focused on getting there to put my mind at ease over that weird fluttery-irregular feeling that has been bothering me for a while.  and I suppose now it's been put at ease.  words like 'murmur' and 'sinus arrhythmia' and 'variable heart rate' were used.  but also ones likes 'benign' and 'more a nuisance than a concern' and 'come back in a year'.  and also ones like "avoid caffeine, even tea, even though you gave up regular coffee last month and thought that by doing that it was enough and you've really come to love that cup of english breakfast with extra half and half in the mornings but oh well find a new morning drink".  but an abbreviated version of that.  thought that's what I heard in my head.

and then home.  peppermint tea (hmpfh).  lunch.  finished the year's first book.  stoked the fire.  we bundled up to go 'sledding' (we pulled her around on her sled through the back yard and a neighbor's yard), helped clear off said neighbor's driveway, 'skated' on the slick parts of the street.  back in for hot cocoa, popcorn, and...... a show.  she with her drum, pretending to read sheet music as she played loudly (all the while looking a bit like Willie Nelson, I thought, after putting on her headband in a new way), her papa appointed as guitarist and given her broom to play as she saw fit.  I was given a measuring cup and spoon and told to tap them together sometimes as I warmed the cocoa and waited for the corn to pop.


more fire.  more food.
snow day.

6 comments:

  1. well, it's always good to find out that an ailment is nothing serious. those are the greatest words in our language i'm sure. but i do feel badly for you on the lack of caffeine situation. boo. there's something so communal about coffee and tea. from my standpoint, it really has very little to do with the caffeine and more to do with the experience and the sharing of it. maybe decaf?? it's so cold here as it is everywhere, (though our cold is balmy in comparison to spots north of us)! hope you guys are staying warmish. and i hope that memory of you and claire and the snow at night stay with both of you forever. hugs. nichole

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    1. indeed. it's not so much the caffeine, I agree. It's more the warm cup in hand, and all that goes along with it. I'm alright with decaf. but I'll need to find a really decent decaf english breakfast now, I guess.

      4 degrees here tonight, with a wind chill of minus 18! yikes!
      xoxo

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  2. so glad you are okay! I drink half caff and half decaf and no caffeine after that once the morning is over. I have a murmur and I get flutters and such. It doesn't help I'm tightly wound....I'm sure you will find your balance quick.

    We are having rain and back to a temperature plunge!!

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    1. thanks, Karen~ I'm doing decaf now, and will sneak in a cup of tea now and again until I find a great decaf tea that I like. I think some good deep breathing will help me out a lot as well ;)

      brrrr. it's cold everywhere!

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  3. What a sweet post. I am glad you are ok. I had something with my heart too that worried me, it was a skipped atrial beat- nothing to worry about. i'm sure yours won't be either.
    enjoy the snow and beauty.
    XO
    C

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    1. thank you, Cory~ heart stuff is scary, but I am not so worried now. A nuisance is (obviously) annoying, but a nuisance I can deal with. less caffeine, more deep breathing, more exercise, and I'm on my way. We are heading into our third snow day in a row tomorrow, though technically today and tomorrow are more 'extreme cold' days, I guess. It's about 4 or 5 degrees with a windchill of minus 18. hey, I'll take it.
      xo

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thanks for taking the time to read and comment~