So here's my idea-- What do you think?

So first of all, the pictures have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with my blog today. The first is a guess what this is picture. The third is me on our anniversary trip to Philly. They had a cool display where you could just walk into Norman Rockwell paintings. The second is what you get for $1000. Yes, gentle readers, we paid one zero zero zero to get two trees pruned. They hauled away half the Norway maple in three big truckloads. I got a major migraine from the chainsaw massacre.

But enough about the joys of home ownership, I had a brilliant idea during all these snow days. Michael said that many of his employees would have been able to get to work but had to take sick days to take care of their school age children. I have mentioned that they call off school at the drop of an icicle here. I can't blame them. The country roads are fierce I am sure. But some days you have to wonder why they couldn't have just started a little late.

So here's my brilliant idea. (Probably stolen from the movie "Holiday Inn"). Why don't I start a neighborhood "snow school." The plan is that I only teach on snow days. The parents bring the kids here when school's closed and they have to go to work.  I teach them some creative writing, we do a few crafts, engage in a little kitchen chemistry by cooking up lunch and snacks and let them have P.E. in my wonderful back yard. And if the parents wanted the kids to do real homework, I am certified teacher after all. I might only  have to work five days a year. This year it would have been about ten, I think. I could also do teacher inservice days if they have them here. I would sign up the kids at the beginning of the year and make sure I had a manageable number and reasonable ages. It would be a long day with two first graders, a sixth grader and a senior in high school.

So what do you think? Would this fly?

Big Blizzard of 2010

Here in the happy Wyoming Valley it was not quite the big blizzard they predicted. We are protected here in the Wyoming Valley evidently. So many of the big storms either pass us by or are much milder here. We didn't get the big winds for example and though they got three feet of snow just an hour or so away, we probably got a foot. So here are a few photos of what it looks like when the snow starts to take over.

This is the view from my upstairs window screen. There's a rock garden out there, some huge slate outcroppings and some steps down to the road, but you can't see any of them now.

The rolling stock. I helped Michael get the Subaru Outback unburied this morning and did some shoveling while he got dressed. His only close encounter on the way to work was a National Guard Humvee parked in the middle of the expressway. They were helping folks out of ditches but had parked in the one clear lane on the road. He still got to work safely. Besides managers, only about fifty employees made it to work though. Many of them have to stay home with their kids who have no school.

To give you an idea of just how fast the snow was coming down today.

This is one of the former snow pictures when everything was just frosted. Thought I'd share because it was pretty. Now there are just huge mounds of snow balanced precariously on every surface. The rhododendron looks like a mountain range.

Say what you will about winter weather, this is nature at her most gorgeous.

Photo credits: Susan Denney

This is a former French student of mine from Denton, Texas, Jordan Malone

Long Distance Birthday

Michael's day started with a Skype call from the Czech Republic. He got to see two of the grandkids (one was sadly home sick) and talk to his little girl. The breakfast I had planned had to be canceled due to my migraine. And bad weather prevented our meeting for lunch so although it had started well, it was not running according to plan. He had to wait until dinner to celebrate some more.

I made salmon in lemon caper sauce. It was good. And one of his favorite foods, mashed potatoes. Then he opened presents while talking on the phone. This is the way you  have to do things when your kids live so far away. While he was talking, I made "his" cake. The white cake with fudge icing. This year's icing came out really well as it did last year. I cannot believe that I have actually figured out the trick to this icing. I think it has to be snowing for the fudge to set up right.

Three telephone calls during the evening and he had made contact with our whole brood. They were so thoughtful to remember him. It was fascinating to hear one end of all these conversations. Our children are so amazing. The range of topics was so wide--everything from Triumph sports cars to poetry. Best part of his birthday was that he had miscalculated and had already been telling people he was the age he turned yesterday. So he got a freebie birthday and didn't get any older!

This morning, Michael called me to the window. Everything had been flocked. The wind really doesn't blow here very often, but there was a little wind last night because horizontal and vertical surfaces were covered in snow. It looked like someone very busy had taken a can of that flocking stuff and sprayed our entire yard. Too cool for words. I downloaded a large file so you can click on it and see the amazing detail.

(Photograph credits: moi.)

Have your kids buy this book!

So, I'm prophetic. Last year, when my great friend, Bryan, told me about his second book coming out with Henry Holt, I emailed back and said, "Now, all you have to do is get in the Scholastic Book Fair, and you can retire."

So, guess who's in the Scholastic Book Fair this year? Yes, yes, yes! I can see into the future! Bryan's first book, Lunchbox and the Aliens, will be included in Scholastic book fairs all over the country.

I am so excited for him. The plot is simple--a Bassett hound is abducted by aliens and endowed with super human intelligence so that he can provide them with a factory to produce their favorite food, Froonga, which is made from garbage.

So if you know a child who will be attending a book fair, you can highly recommend this very funny book.  If you don't have access to a local Scholastic book fair, you can order the regular edition here at  Amazon or at Barnes and Noble. You can also find Froonga Planet, the second book in the series, at either store.

I wish this blog had a billion readers so that this plug would mean something, but I am just so excited that a good thing happened to a friend.

Michael's birthday is today, but I'll post about that tomorrow. So big congratulations to Bryan and Happy Birthday, Michael.

Must Post New Picture

I couldn't stand looking at my living room messed up any more. So here's a random picture for those of us who remember the days when dresses were A-line and boys were starched and pressed. Our clothes were just cute. That's all I have to say. We wouldn't have been caught dead in something as ugly as a pair of Ugg boots. And we wouldn't have been seen anywhere with a man who had forgotten to shave. Being pretty and attractive was the goal and we succeeded royally. I was so lucky that my two older girls also grew up in an era when dresses were feminine and lovely. Even the last one caught the end of that era when she was in middle school. Their dresses were more romantic than the ones you see in this pattern. They had big dreamy sleeves and full skirts. But all of us were able to make our own clothes and look good doing it.

Valentine's Day Box

Notice anything different? Yes, the living room is a mess. If you look on the sofa you can see the wrapping paper from the big box.  And is that...Bill Cosby?...on the coffee table?

Yes! And look, there's more! Julie Andrews. George Gershwin with a fro. And Dave Brubeck (well, a girl's legs on a Dave Brubeck album.) And the reason for all this?

Voila! The Valentine's present. It has been years since we have had a working turntable. We had such a blast on Sunday opening up those LP boxes and finding records we had no memory of owning. You'd think we'd remember each and every one. But I think we bought a lot of vintage ones in latter years at Recycled Books and Records. Hence, the dim or non-existent recollection of these LPs.

We've been reading how vinyl sounds warmer and how the things are making a comeback. One of my kids even put an LP on their Christmas list this year. And, you know, it does sound grand. And there's that delicious moment of anticipation when you hear the needle hit the record before the music starts to play.

Michael had so enjoyed watching A Hard Day's Night from Netflix, that I felt it was time for him to revisit these old friends. It was a lovely Valentine's Day. Going to church on V-Day was actually fun. All the little girls dressed up in froofy red outfits. And, of course, the veal, spinach salad and dessert crepes I made helped. But honestly, it was the present that made the day.