Since it’s snowing as I type this and is supposed to be for part of every day for the next 10 days, I feel qualified to describe what I could do on inclement days like these. I could paint a masterpiece, sew a glimmering ball gown, sculpt a museum-worthy bust of Alfred E. Neuman, or compose an opera in Italian.
Actually, I couldn’t. Don’t know masterpieces from Paint-by-Numbers, or how to hem a skirt, much less sew a ball gown. If I tried to sculpt I’d probably cut my hand with the little thingy you use to chip the marble or make a mess of the clay, and it will make me sound kinda red-neck, but I’m a fan of George Strait, not opera. Realistically, I will write and read. Or maybe read and write. We don’t have children to blast out of bed or grandchildren to find entertainment for, and I don’t have to trudge through a foot of white stuff to get to work. The only thing I have to do tomorrow is prepare dinner, and even then, for a tip, Pizza Hut will trudge through the white stuff. So, I’m even off the hook for that.
Don’t judge me. 😉
I take heart in the fact that I’ve worked a bunch of years to get to this point, and I am going to enjoy it for all it’s worth. For many of those years, I didn’t get time off when it snowed, even though we lived in Virginia where whole towns shut down when a few flakes fall from the sky. And in all fairness, sometimes getting a couple of new chapters written feels like work, even though getting through them will be joyful. You know what I mean!
What do you do on those days when the white stuff is falling? Please don’t
say you do stuff like bake bread, organize a caroling group to appreciate the snow with song, or anything like that. You’ll just make me tired and I’ll have to slip in a nap between reading and writing.
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
Dee
One Woman Only: The Good Man Series, Book 2 Jonah’s story! Can a simple mechanic rekindle with his high school love? She says no, but Jonah loves a challenge!
Cynthia Terelst is a project officer by day and a writer by night. She is a contemporary romance writer who likes to share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love. Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels that they should not be ignored.
Maybe because after eight years of trucking and never having a home, and then moving every couple of years while Jack consulted all over the country, I’m pretty much a homebody now. So, while even I have my limits as to how much I can stand being a hermit, chained to the house, I often vote for staycation over vacation. That’s not to say that we haven’t been out a bit in the past several years of living in the great American Northwest. We’ve been to Yellowstone and Seattle, and along the Columbia Gorge. I plan to see Glacier National Park this spring…maybe on our way to Alaska!!! But for the most part, I’m happy puttering in my own kitchen, sitting on my own couch, and sleeping in my own bed.
than it is in January! Beautiful either way, but more bison that are also closer in winter, bubbling mud and fumaroles surrounded by snow, and frozen waterfalls. In September the trees had turned and blazing aspens stood out sharply on the mountainsides. We combined the September trip with family, by exiting the park at the east gate and driving across Wyoming and South Dakota to see my mom in Iowa.
timeshare. You can go to the restored area when the spirit moves you, and you can relax and nap the rest of the time. 😉 There are some great restaurants in Williamsburg (and lots of good pancake houses!), so it’s a wonderful place to experience history, to golf, to explore the coast, and to recharge.
I don’t know if I’ve ever revealed this or not, but I am not the most disciplined person in the world. I used to be better. If I started reading a book, I finished reading the book. If I began a needle work project, I finished the needlework project. If I set a resolution at New Years, I followed through with said resolution.
things differently than when we were younger. When you feel like the whole of life is stretched out in front of you, pushing through that 1,000-page book about earthworms in the Antarctic doesn’t seem quite so bad (I said quite so bad!). You might even make your own annotations. But now? Give me a good 300-page romance and forget earthworms. I leave the 15×15 inch counted cross stitch to someone else to do now, and I usually avoid making resolutions.
Resolutions seem to be fly-by-night. If something is important enough to do, you don’t wait until New Year’s Eve and decide to do it. You weigh the pros and cons and make a logical decision. You make a plan, set a path, and follow it because you know it’s right, not because you suddenly feel overweight after weeks of holiday food. You do it because you need to and when you need to.
Wouldn’t you know it? I messed up on week 15 of the 52 week blog challenge, and have been off count since March or so! I think I’ve been on topic, but really, at this point who knows? 😉
How Charity Sunday works: for every comment made on this blog post, I will donate money to a charity found in 
Volunteer: a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.
Volunteers from WIRES (Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service) and other similar groups have been facing these fires to rescue our unique wildlife. Sadly, many of these defenceless animals have perished but a lot are now receiving treatment and care, often in volunteers’ homes. Bear the Dog, a canine volunteer, is doing his best to 
Sometimes it happens slowly. You get up to sunshine. Dress in your favorite blouse and skirt and slip on brand new $200-shoes. You get to work with no problems and prepare for a client meeting. Then find that your favorite blouse has a stain that you hadn’t noticed. Glancing out the window, you see what looks like clouds in the distance. Walking into the conference room your heel on your right foot catches on the carpet and twists your ankle. Out the window, was that lightning? You hobble well enough to get through your meeting. At lunch with the client, you step outside the building into a downpour, and a cab driving by splashes muddy water all over you…and your shoes, which are now soaked and covered with a light layer of street crud.
arrive at the office for your meeting, you decide to stop at your favorite coffee shop for pastries and coffee to go for everyone. Oops! The person ahead of you turns too quickly and crashes into you, losing the cover on her Strawberry & Toasted Almonds Overnight Grains and dumping her Caramel Cloud Macchiato with two shots of espresso all over your skirt and…your shoes. (With apologies to Starbucks!) So now, strawberries are smeared across your boobs and “overnight grains” dangle from your belt buckle. Coffee stains everyplace the strawberries don’t. The double shot of espresso has found a place on the toes of your shoes. And there it is: the beautiful sun slipping behind fast-moving storm clouds.
I knew a 40+-years-old woman once who had stage 4 uterine cancer. Her life had gone from sunshine with a fine husband who loved her senselessly, a beautiful home, lots of friends, lots of joys. to storm clouds with one visit to the doctor’s office. But did she give in to despair? Not in public, she didn’t, though I’m sure she felt it inside sometimes. Instead, she always had a smile. She was actually fun to visit because she made her guests feel at ease. She accepted good wishes with grace and help when she needed it with gratitude. She is one of the most selfless women I’ve ever known, and I’ve always admired her. I don’t know if I could be as giving if I were in her place. She made her last days in her corner of the world a good place to be and she died with peace. I know it wasn’t easy for her, but her attitude was an expression of how she faced all aspects of her life.