Making hay while the snow flies

I had a very rare snow day from work today, following on the heels of about two and a half hours off yesterday after the university closed early.  Good thing, we had 13 inches of snow this morning.  Bad thing, my typical lack of preparation left me with not enough milk to make waffles and no Chex cereals for the mix I was craving.  Why do snow days make me crave Chex mix?  I wonder if it harks back to my childhood.  A family friend gave us a huge batch of her Chex mix every Christmas (among other things) so maybe I nibbled on that on winter breaks.

When I got home yesterday I parked in the street because our driveway had 5 or 6 inches of snow on it and it is steep.  R got home and snow-blowed it, and we hunkered in while it snowed another 6 or 7 inches.  We shoveled it again before bedtime and shoveled it again this morning.  The snow was beautiful and not terribly heavy so it was easy to shovel.  I gotta say, I hate mowing, I hate taking out the trash, but I love shoveling.  Go figure.

So with the day off I tried to convince R that he should close as well.  Most everything in town was closed because the streets were all but impassible, but he was worried that a snow plow would need a repair that depended on his expertise.  Against my better judgement and protestations, he left for work and made as far as the opposite side of our street.  The snow high-centered his van and he slid into the curb at an odd angle.  With a couple of "I told you so's" and a helpful neighbor, we dug out his vehicle and spread kitty litter for traction.  I was able to back it up and pull it right back up the driveway with a few little pushes from the guys.

I never saw anyone enjoy a free day less than my husband.  He was like a caged animal, and absolutely refused to relax.  I could hear the gears turning while he plotted another escape.  He watched our little street for traffic that would beat a path that he could travel in.  He said he would take the busier streets and agreed to take a walk with me to see how the route to our nearest main street fared.  The wind chill was well below zero although the sun was shining, but we deemed the road passable around 11:00 a.m. and he took off.

That left me wondering what to do with my own snow day.  I had already made a batch of cookies (no milk required but now eggs are low too) when I caught sight of the unpainted wall around the living room windows we had installed over the summer.  The drywall repairs around the window were just unprimed joint compound, so the task would require a coat of primer and then paint.  I started the project around 1:30 and got the primer on in fairly short order.  Then I dozed on the couch a bit thinking priming was enough exertion for the day, but after a rest I talked myself into painting it with the Martha color used in the rest of the room.  Before long I got that done, cleaned up my tools, and tonight the curtains are back up.

The window frames still need primer and paint, but I have to be able to open them for that particular task.  Painting the wall around the windows was something I was going to over Christmas break but the timing of family events threw that off.  That's why I'm glad to get it done today, just a month and a half later than planned.

S-o-o-o-o-o........my husband doesn't know how to enjoy a free snow day and I don't know how to relax and do nothing.  I didn't even mention that I did a load of laundry too.  Gad we're pathetic.