snow daze

February 15, 2010 at 6:46 am (craftiness n' colors, frosty fun, nummies for th' tummies, picture post, the continuing adventures of Superpuff, wednesday whimsy)

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”

-Carl Reiner

I like snow! T does, too. . . which is why we were so excited the week before last when it snowed on a Tuesday night! We got about 5 inches on top of the bit we already had on the ground from a few days before.There was just enough early on Wednesday morning to keep us at home for a change. A quick thermometer check showed that the temp outside was slightly above freezing, and from the steady drip-drip-drips we were hearing, it became pretty obvious that our precious snow day was melting away quickly.

We did what anyone would do in such a situation –
suited up and headed out just as fast as we were able!

Puff attempts to roll a giant snowball

For those of you who may live in areas that don’t generally see a lot of snowfall, allow me to explain that snowman-building is a bit of an art-form. There is definitely a science to it, one that you may not necessarily be aware of. Just because the snow has fallen in no way means that a decent snowman can be built. Oftentimes, the temperature is too cold to even consider an attempt. If temperatures are still below freezing, the snow will not stick to itself. Try though you may, you will always be left with a glove full of frosty powder, rather than the desired snowball.  Which is why it was so very exciting that the temperature was just a bit above 32. Melty snow is sticky snow, some call it packing snow, I call it snowman snow. . .

Puff poses beside her new friend, Frosty

She named him ‘Frosty,’ of course, and she loved him madly. For his mouth we used holly berries from the tree out back, and its leaves for his buttons. Some pieces of plastic coal (purchased for the husband as a stocking stuffer) served perfectly as eyes, and stick-arms were the obvious choice for our little friend. . . Puff knows the song, and she knows that Frosty is supposed to have a button for a nose. It has always been my personal belief that snowmen look far more sophisticated with carrot-shaped schnozes. Regardless of our opinion differences, we had none of either. All my buttons are small, and only baby carrots graced my refrigerator’s crisper drawer. We were at a loss – until we remembered the beautifully crocheted carrot that Nonna made for T at Christmas!

Yes. Yes we did.

T declares that Frosty tastes like blueberries…

PERFECT!

You may be wondering why my darling girl has her tongue hanging out in nearly all of these pictures. . . you should know by now that the only thing T thinks snow is good for is eating.

…and everybody knows that Puff is crazy for blueberries

It was a good day. It was a fun day. It was a snow day. . . and it was a Wednesday.

We finished off with hot chocolate and snuggles on the couch while watching Frosty the Snowman (what else)?! The snow continued to drip, the temperature stayed up, I was sure that the snow would be gone before the end of the week. . .

Then came Friday.

On Friday evening, the 5th of the month, snow started falling maniacally from the sky. And it didn’t stop. . . all night and most of the day on Saturday it snowed like it was goin’ outta style. By the time it stopped, the weather reports were saying that we had something like 30 inches of snow on the ground (that’s around 2.5 feet)!

Just for comparison’s sake, allow me to point out that the Puffy Wonder is 36 inches high.

Because snow drifts about with the wind, and also because Daddy spent the day shoveling like a loon, there was not one bit of our front yard that wasn’t piled with snow taller than Puff is tall.

Puff poses atop a gigantic mound of shoveled snow

Ridiculous.

Sunday was spent shoveling. A lot. Monday, too. . . On Tuesday, it looked like life was returning to normal. Baby A made it over, and Husby made it to work. But by 4:00, it was snowing again. And it kept right on snowing all through Tuesday night. . .

. . . and right into Wednesday morning. When the snow finally stopped, an additional 2+ feet of snow covered our world.

It was so much snow that we haven’t even been able to get into our backyard yet!

Now please tell me – what on EARTH does one do with ALL THAT SNOW (aside from shoveling)?!

Welllllll. . . you could make snowcream!

a big ol' bowl of snowcream. Mmmm...

Snowcream is a super-tasty treat made with cream (or milk), sugar, and vanilla extract. Very much like ice-cream – only snowier. Puff loves the stuff, her daddy likes it, too.

That is one happy Puff!

OR. . . you could make snowshoes. . .

At least, if you were my husband you could. He made several attempts before hitting on one that ‘kinda’ worked. . .

Puff contemplates the sanity of her father

Or. . . you could make a snowSLIDE!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

OR. . .you could snowPAINT!

Unfortunately, I only had spritzer bottles – no trigger style squirt bottles, and no way of driving to the store to grab any. Since Puff’s fingers aren’t strong enough to operate spritz bottles yet, these . . . um . . . masterpieces were created by me following Puff’s instructions. As each image was completed, she gleefully destroyed them. It made for loads of fun, and very colorful snow! Our neighbors prolly think we’re completely mad. . . and after all this snow, they might be right!  I’ll be heading to the dollar store to get some squirt bottles asap, so Puff can make her own creations. It looks like this snow will be on the ground for quite a bit longer!

Its been a fun, but trying week, and after so many days have passed, we can almost see our street again! Life began to return to normal this weekend, we got out of the house and managed to get some much-needed grocery shopping in, as well as a trip to Nonna’s house, and a Valentine trip to the toy store sponsored by Gammy. . .

But I just checked the weather. . . and they’re calling for snow. Today.