The snow finally stopped falling a couple of days ago and since then the temps have plunged below zero. The entire country is in a polar vortex this week: temps in the negative double digits across the great plains. Back in the olden days, we called this "winter". Laura Ingalls Wilder even wrote a book about the winter of 1888, called The Long Winter. If you think the high price of heating fuel is a problem read that book and be thankful you have central heating at all! Also, take notes, as that is the world some environmentalists want us all to return to. How dare you survive the winter!
I'm not worried about freezing to death this year but I am worried about ice dams. They suck.
We had an elaborate plan this year regarding the Holidays: everyone is pretty much ready to resume partying like it was 2019 (pre-pandemic terror) and Thanksgiving was a blast. Tyler and Megan, who had hosted the Pivec Christmas Eve Bash at their place for the last 7 or 8 years, were heading over the river and through the woods to South Dakota for Christmas, leaving Jay and I to take up the slack. We invited the rest of the clan to our place, as we'd hosted the party while Ty and Megan lived in Texas. Zach, Sara and #6 headed off in the opposite direction but with the same intent: visiting grandparents. I took them to the airport on Monday.
Ty and Megan were heading west after the highschool basketball team Ty helps coach had their game on Thursday. Since the boys and most of the grandkids would be out of state, we planned a small family get together to exchange gifts on the 30th. We would have dinner and presents and watch movies and play games and Megan said she didn't even mind if we all slept over like in the pre-pandemic days. We all agreed it was a terrific plan.
I figured since we weren't exchanging gifts till then, I'd take advantage of the post Christmas sales to do my Christmas shopping! How's that for an inflation buster? Genius!!
Then it snowed and snowed and snowed and blew and blew and froze and kept on freezing until...did you know that closing South Dakota was even a thing? Well, it is. Ty's basketball game was cancelled, school was closed, the temps kept dropping, the roads were icy, Megan worried about leaving the horses in the deep freeze and her Mom said "don't come, all the roads are closed."
Zach said (from Michigan) "don't have a whole party just because we're not there: go ahead and exchange gifts on Christmas like normal people."
So plans morphed. Everyone is happy.
And Jay and I found ourselves in that nightmare scenario where it's the 23rd of December and we haven't bought a single Christmas present for anyone in the entire family.
Oh sure, we could have dashed out and done some power shopping (that's actually been Jay's MO for decades) but did I mention that the roads are icy and it's floopin' freezing out there? So we didn't. Nothing but home made presents this year! Haha! Like so many 'nightmares', when actually faced, this one isn't so scary. And I just realized this minute that not shopping at all is even more of an inflation buster than post holiday shopping.
Merry Christmas!
I woke this morning at 6:30 and got the giant pot of gumbo started. The roux was bubbling by 7 and the soup's been simmering since 8. I'll add the fish at noon and it'll be ready to eat when the horde's start arriving at 1.
Oh yeah: post pandemic, we party in the afternoon instead of after the Children's Vigil Mass. When you're over 60 that whole 'early bird' special makes total sense.
May your Christmas be full of fun, family and blessings and may the New Year treat you kindly.
And when life is difficult, remember this: Christmas is about God becoming man so that He could take us all home with Him.
Merry Christmas!