Done!

I just submitted final grades for the semester! I have the neck tension and migraine to prove it, but I am on a cloud! It is break! I have nothing to do beyond hanging out with my kids and husband and animals. I am going to make art and clean house. Wahooooooo!

I leave you today with a picture of Lucy Sparkles Scratch-n-Snifff taking over the box castle.

Spring Blizzard (Warning: Lots-o-Photos)

Yesterday we had ourselves a little Spring blizzard. I went to work and when I got downtown there was no snow and it just looked like a rainy day was on its way. Green grass, blooming flowers and all of the signs of spring were present.

Around 9 I looked out my window and noticed there was a little snow starting to build up. Nothing alarming, not enough to leave work. By 11:30 I noticed that the roadways were disappearing. My boss decided it was time we all head home for the day.

Suddenly the storm hit. I realized that it was going to take me a looong time to make it home. The roads were icy and the going was slow. Visibility went from bad to worse. At one point I could only see a car length ahead of me.

Most of the drive I was just sitting, stuck in traffic.

I watched the snow blow sideways and I knew Eric was at home worrying about me. I didn't have a cell phone to call him and let him know that I was just moving at a snail's pace. Finally, after nearly 2 hours, I made it home. We headed to the store across the street just in case we were going to be stuck indoors for a few days.

When we got back there was a lull in the storm and we took Bumblebee out to play in the snow and have a little look around.

I absolutely adore when snow falls on flowers. I think it is so beautiful.

Bumblebee had a blast tearing through the snow and really enjoying herself. After her run in the snow she was so excited that she ran through the house barking with joy; I am sure our neighbors loved that.

I warmed up with a cup of vegan cocoa.

Later we had grilled soy cheese sandwiches...

and creamy tomato basil soup. Yum! We spent the night in (obviously) watching movies, chatting and enjoying the spring storm.

This morning I woke to cold and blue. Beautiful. There is a lot of snow, but not nearly as much as we anticipated.

I have the day off from work so we can take our time digging out today.

Electricity

Today the power went out at work. I would guess that it was out for about an hour. I was amazed to see how much people came to life, myself included. We joked and laughed, talked about previous outages and how long they had lasted.

There was an underlying hope that the power would be out for the day and we would all get to go home. A rumor spread and soon we were all waiting for the great release. When the lights came back on it was so strange to see everyone lose that energy and excitement. Dreams had been dashed. There were no more hopes that we would get out of work early and the happy chatter died away almost instantly. I didn't really anticipate that we would get out early, so there was no dream-dashing for me.

I really enjoy those little gifts like power outages and inclement weather. I love seeing how drastically people change with even the slightest break in their routines. People became so much more animated here and its true of any job that I have had. When I was working in Montana and a snowstorm would roll in we would all gather together and speculate about whether or not we would leave, if we would get snowed in, would work be cancelled, etc. I think it speaks well for the state of home life.

Even when I am at home and there is a power outage I get a similar feeling. I don't know if any of us would be upset if the end of the world scenario presented itself. What if all of the power went out? Sure we would all be upset eventually, but there would be a good long while that we would all be talking in hushed and hopeful tones. Lighting candles, lighting fires and feeling pretty happy to have a change of pace.