We had a lovely snow “storm” over the weekend.  I am seeing the advantages of being a girl who grew up in the snowbelt – I just don’t panic when there is snow in the forecast.  Quite the contrary with folks around here, including my fiance.  We went to the grocery store on Saturday, just to get things to eat for dinner, and were greeted with checkout lines that literally snaked twice around the frozen food aisles and required at least 3 police officers to control the flow.  Then there was my fiance up at 6am to shovel because it might freeze later.  Actually I am not complaining about that one…

But for a person who claims to be so done with snow, I have to admit I am enjoying this one.  It is gorgeous and only now showing a bit of dinginess.  There is something very calming about snow, if you stay off the roads and out of stores!  Here’s a piece I wrote, inspired by a storm years ago:

May this winter find us enjoying the serenity and beauty of the season, calming our inner child and radiating a genteel tranquility that touches all in our path.

It’s going to be a long, hard winter.  I haven’t heard that on the news or seen it on weather.com.  I haven’t read it in an Almanac or necessarily seen any particularly fat caterpillars.  I did see a lot of squirrels furiously gathering the large and plentiful acorns, which could be a sign.  But the real test is this:  I have been doing some serious nesting.  The only other time I was in such a focused state to get my affairs in order was prior to the birth of all three of my children and I can guarantee that is NOT the case now!  But when I finished my last chore yesterday, I thought to myself “Winter may now begin”.  A very scary thought.

I moved into this house in May and this weekend I FINALLY emptied my last box.  I am not saying that there are no boxes left in my house, but at least now they are labeled and organized and there is some logic to them.  And there are far fewer, thank goodness.  Every piece of office supply overbuying is put away.  The garage is no longer a storage facility for the “I can’t deal with it now” stuff.  It actually houses a vehicle, something my garage hasn’t done in years.  I can walk through my basement without tripping on something.  My summer clothes are packed away and my winter ones are ready to go.  I even found my lost shoes and my daughter’s clothes, which she insisted we had permanently lost or thrown away.

What a relief!  I am now ready for whatever blizzards may be coming our way.  I can now stay in this house for days on end and not go completely bonkers because of all the “stuff” oozing around every corner.

As I sit here now, proud of myself and feeling slightly smug, my eye catches the reflection of light from the treatment-less windows reflecting off the make-it-easier-to-sell neutral walls.  Sigh…  A homeowner’s job is never done!  I know now what my winter project will be…