Greetings from Idaho.  Wait!  I’m not in Idaho, at least physically – I’m sure part of me will always be there.  Rather, I’m in Oregon.  Snowed-in Oregon.  Oregon with 8+ inches of snow.  And now as I look out the sliding glass door, I see little rain drops falling from the sky.  Except that they hit the snow and bounce.  Yes, bounce.  Methinks they’re a bit more pellet-y in nature than just rain.  

Hubby’s folks flew in Friday, despite nasty weather in their hometown, despite snow in their layover city of Las Vegas (what’s up with that?!!), and despite a week of snow storms here.  They came down for a lovely dinner and then went back to Hubby’s sister’s house.  We had arrangements to connect with them in the following days, but then I kept clicking on the little Accuweather button at the bottom of my web browser (so addictive – like checking Facebook statuses – online crack), and things were looking a little bleak.  

I’m boycotting the news forcasts:  they’re all about peddling the fear and hysteria so people will be compelled to watch their newscasts longer.  Fox is the WORST.  Kinda like their fear-mongering news coverage, except with “dire snows!” and “overwhelming freezing rain” and “doom and pestilence to the ends of the earth!  more at 10″ predictions.  ABC is the most even-keeled of the coverage, with gentler weather predictions and news coverage of how Portland is rescuing all the little frozen kitties and rainbows.  

So, I’m really digging my online weather reports.  They don’t care if I come back to their site, so they don’t try to freak out folks with predictions.  So far, they’ve been really accurate (hence, *accu*weather).  When they said “snow, snow, snow, snow, freezing rain, freezing rain, snow, being adopted as the extension campus of Idaho”, I figured they meant business.  Which meant being at home.  Which is fine.  When I’m by myself.  However, Hubby had just come home saying, “Great news!  I actually got all the time off of work that I requested.”  Which means two weeks at home.  Two Weeks.  At Home.  With me.  And the boys.  Who haven’t gotten to go to school or the store or the library or church or participate in the greater collection of humanity for almost two weeks already due to colds and flu bugs (woo hoo for five days of yarfing Little A.  Only when he ate dairy.  Which, of course, is all he wanted to eat.  Tasty).  TWO WEEKS.

I realized, This is not going to work.

So I threw out some ideas, one of which entailed throwing a couple days worth of clothes, some food, some games, the all-important Wii-motes, and the dog into the car and high-tailing it over to his sister’s house to interact with relatives and participate in a little bit bigger part of humanity and continue to love each other from this day forward, in snow storms and in sunshine.  Fortunately he was up for it, the boys were up for it, and the extended family was up for it.  

It’s been good.  The boys have made their own ski resort, equipped with a flood light for night skiing.  The littlest people have learned how to share toys with each other.  Cookies have been baked, scarves have been knitted (I had free hands for the first time in forever – lovely), Wiigames have been played, football games have been watched, neighbor kids have come to play, little people have napped, little people have not napped, books have been read, conversations have been had, all in our isolated winter wonderland.

One of the best Christmas’s I recall took place in Idaho when I lived there the second time (Idaho, the Return).  My family flew out to visit, and we drove up with some family friends to another friends’ cabin in the mountains.  And there was SNOW.  So much snow.  We knew we weren’t going to go anywhere.  Games were played, yummy food was eaten, cross-country skiing was had:  it was great.  Later our friends left, and we sat around reading books and just talking.  Hot chocolate, fires, card games.  Nothing extravagant, but all quality.  We drove back to Boise on Christmas Day, ate lunch at a Shari’s (one of the few restaurants open), and watched one of the Lord of the Ring’s movies in the theatre – something we’d *never* done as a family.  Normally I cling to traditions:  it must be done just as we’ve done it years previously!  Church and carols and Christmas parties and dressing up and then dressing down and TRADITION.  And yet, that simple trip, full of simple activities, holds memories some of the times I’ve felt closest to my family during Christmas:  not caught up in all the rig-a-ma-role, but just being snowed in, chatting, being.  

The ice pellets are increasing, and I think we may be needing to do some laundry for an even more extended stay.  Although I enjoy being stuck in a house, there is also a small comfort knowing that Target is within walking, or cross-country skiing distance.  :)

Daily Drivel