Ever Seen 'The Shining"?

.........I am starting to relate to Jack Nicholson..........

  

     As an actor I love learning how other actors get into character.  What do they do?  What do they think of?  What is there inner object?  Who and/or what is their replacement?  Do they stay in character for hours? Days? Weeks?  So many are so convincing and absolutely believable that I would think they actually lived as their character.  If that is the case,  I think I can totally do a monologue from 'The Shining' right now!

     In my area of Texas we are now into the fourth consecutive snow day.  I don't mean the fourth day it has snowed.  I mean the fourth day that the schools have been closed along with many businesses.  The fourth day of being cooped up in the house with a husband, 3 kids, 2 cats and 1 dog.  I currently home school two of our children so having them all day is not a problem, it is a blessing.  However, we are at least able to run errands, go to the library, visit my granny and I can go to work for a 1/2 day after their lessons.  But this week there won't be any of that.  Because while the snow is beautiful it is also accompanied by ice. 

     In fact the first "snow" was really just ice.  There was proof of that on the faces of my kids.  They threw "snowballs" at each other and the wind was blowing hard and the "snow" was hitting their faces.  That "snow" was actually pretty white pieces of ice that literally left tiny, tiny cuts on my 11 year old daughters face.  At least today there really was an absolutely beautiful snowfall.  My husband thought maybe it could provide traction over the layer of ice.  He was proven wrong when he slowly made his way to the pharmacy and busted his rear getting out of his truck.  Luckily he was holding onto the truck door and didn't hit the ground with full force, but he definitely tweaked some back muscles.  On the bright side the sun is shining brightly and even with freezing temperatures the ice seems to be melting in some areas.

     Things are looking like we will be able to leave our houses tomorrow and safely travel.  For now, I will continue to listen to my children bicker, my dog growl, my cats tackle each other, watch tufts of cat hair float through my house and cleaning until my almost insane mind is completely lost.  If we were all absolutely honest with ourselves, most of us have gotten what we have asked for.  Remember saying things like: "I need a break." "If I could have just a few days off I could catch up on my house." " I just want a day or two to do nothing but read and relax."  "For once, I want to be able to sleep late and watch movies for a couple of days."  "I am looking forward to a day to do nothing."  Well, we definitely have had more than a couple of days to do all that! 

     If I really think clearly about this I would realize that four days with my husband and children is actually a blessing.  It honestly is because what other time am I going to have to spend all of my time around them without having to run errands, go to the grocery store, go to classes, work or run them to piano for four whole days?  I don't believe that will ever happen again in my lifetime.  So instead of going all "Jack" on everyone in my house, I am going to smile and thank God for this blessing of uninterrupted time I have had with my family.  The cats however, may need to go outside.

~ Pattie Hart

Wind, Snow & Ice......

 .......this ain't no disco......

Another snow that brings in the ice.  This time the wind decided to join the party and man what  a party! The three of these guys mixed it up so much that majority of people just had to skip school and work so that they could be part of the winter get together of the coolest of the cool.  For me and my family it was the coolest of the cool in Cool.

I have lived in Texas all of my life and cannot remember a day like this.  The temperature has stayed below freezing and the wind chill factor at -1 degrees.  The sun came out at times, but there would be no melting.  There has been no sleet for over 12 hours but the ice is still as thick as when the icy rain stopped.  We will be having two full snow days in a row.  Usually it is one snow day followed by a 2 hour delay day.  It seems we may have the same amount of ice and snow for close to 48 hours.

Photo taken by Kadin Haley

Today with the snow whipping in the wind and the low temperature I realized something.  Playing in the snow is much more fun when you are a kid.  I no longer enjoy my clothes being caked with snow or nature's lovely powdered sugar beating my face into a burning red mask.  I went outside long enough to snap a few pictures and then ran back into my house faster than a rabbit into it's hole.  My children on the other hand stayed at the party for hours and enjoyed every minute.



 They ran in it, rolled in it, made a fort in it, fell down in it and jumped up and down with glee in it.  Their cheeks turned red, their noses ran, their shoes and gloves were invaded with snow.  They scooped up the snow and piled it with their hands getting colder and colder.  Yet, nothing phased them or put a damper on their fun.  They stopped only to come inside to eat and drink.  Then hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to the party we go.



However, some adults out here had no choice but to make it a work day.  With the below freezing temperatures my dad was out and about on his John Deere Gator checking on his renters and their plumbing.  Putting portable heaters underneath a house or two was a necessity to prevent serious issues.  He also took that opportunity to take my girls riding in it as he also checked on all the farm animals.  When most of the work was done he dropped them by his house for some soup that their Nana was making.  There weren't any crackers at their house so he came by and poked his head in to ask if we had any.

Our day was definitely made brighter by seeing the icicles giving him the appearance of a freaky walrus man.  Then our neighbor and her daughter dropped by to share some beautiful photos they took.



Photo taken by Jennifer Balber



The freezing wind may be too much for me, but it is obvious it provides a beautiful effect in this picture.



Photo taken by Kadin Haley

 Even though I am not big on freezing my butt off and the somewhat wet Texas snow, I can do nothing but appreciate the magnificent view at my home.  What a beautiful picture God makes with his earthly canvas.  I can only be appreciative of all that I have when confronted with natural beauty such as this.

 I guess I don't mind Wind, Snow & Ice getting together and throwing an all night hoe down after all.

~ Pattie Hart