We finally got snow here in the Chicagoland area! It only took almost a year. I swear, I thought we might get our second winter of almost no measurable snow and I had a sad about it. One because I love scenes like the one here on the left and two, because we are in a pretty serious drought around here and I’ve been noticing the effects all over the area with dead or dying trees and really low water levels everywhere.
Another reason I wanted some deep snow was so I could get out to my favorite walking areas and go snowshoeing. Steve bought be a pair of Atlas snowshoes about a decade ago. I’ve used them maybe a half dozen times since. Yesterday was the perfect day to strap them back on and get out there.
I really wanted to go sledding but I don’t have young kids anymore to take as an excuse/reason to be on the hill nor do we own a sled. I think last spring I was cleaning out/purging the shed and sent our last sled to Goodwill. I did joke with a friend on Facebook that I did have a kayak in the garage and that might be fun to use instead of a sled! But then I remembered back to one of the last times I went sledding when I hit some hidden rocks at the bottom of the hill going full speed and thought I’d be laying at the bottom of that hill with a broken hip for the rest of my days. I was black and blue from my waist to my knee for a month.
I stopped along the trail to try to take a self portrait. I used a fallen branch to hold my camera so I could use the self timer. Running back into position and striking Warrior Pose while wearing snow shoes was fun.
When I got home I was still pretty hot and sweaty under all my layers so I decided to go out to the back yard and check out some fallen trees in the woods while I cooled down.
I kept thinking about those kids on the sledding hill. I had fun snowshoeing but I needed some real silliness. So I made a friend. The snow was perfect packing snow for friend making. Rolling the balls around the yard was a good weight resistance workout too!
When I was almost finished I looked up to see my 15 year old watching me from the kitchen. Much like I used to do to her in the not so distant past. I asked her to bring me a carrot and some Brussel Sprouts. I found a half bag of charcoal briquets in the shed and some fallen branches by the compost pile and in no time my new friend had a face, buttons and arms. I was still pretty warm from my exertions so I loaned my new friend my hat and scarf. Even though he didn’t have a mouth I think he was smiling on the inside.
I came inside and enjoyed a nice big glass of beet, carrot, etc. juice while taking a warm relaxing bath complete with sea salt and massaging jets. We ended the perfect day by going out to see a movie: Warm Bodies. Life really is good.
How was your Saturday? Did you do anything silly just for the sake of having fun?
Love.
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