Snurr Flowies
February 21, 2013 | My Jottings
We have snow in the forecast again, but only for 1-3 inches. The lower Midwest is getting walloped by Winter Storm Q. I’m not sure what I think about all these storm names now. I know hurricanes have had names for decades (right?) but now Winter Storm Q? Hmmm.
When my mother moved from the Central Coast of California to live near us in Northeastern Minnesota in 1985, it took her a while to grow accustomed to the extreme winters we have here. One day she told us she’d been listening to the weather report and heard that we were going to get some “snurr flowies” in the afternoon. We all laughed hard at that one, and Mom did too. So from that time on, whenever the weather person said snow flurries were in the forecast, we said we were getting snurr flowies.
So right now as I look out the sliding glass window in my office at the fading daylight, a few snurr flowies are drifting down from the low clouds. And I think of my mama.
Only one of you who has never left a comment before was brave enough to say hello, and it was Connie! So Connie is the winner of the book The Snow Child and as soon as I get her mailing address I’ll pop it in the mail to her.
Michael and I are going to take a little weekend trip soon, and we’re staying at the hotel chain that gives each guest a warm chocolate chip cookie at check-in. That’s not the reason we’re staying there, but it’s still a nice little something to look forward to, don’t you think? Now if I could only find a hotel with a pool where all the guests are blind, that would make my day.
Sharon took some pictures of seven month-old Louisa recently, and they’re so adorable I have to steal them and share them with you. Speaking of snurr flowies, we don’t always say Louisa properly either. We like to say Louiser.
It’s such a shame Louiser isn’t very photogenic.
She is, however, one of the happiest, most contented babies I’ve ever known. My Bible study friends who meet in my home each week during the summer joined me in prayer when Sharon was still expecting Louiser, and agreed with my pleadings that God would give their family a happy baby. That prayer was answered spectacularly. Thank you Lord, I still say all the time. Thank you for Louisa Timothy-Bridget, who fills a spot in our hearts that no one else can.
Earlier today I went over to my dear friend Su’s house so three of us could work on a pile of paperwork together; something the state has recently required that seemed like it was enough to put more than a few Foster care providers over the paperwork edge. What a difference it made to work on things together! I had the courage to actually look through the pile! I put my head down and wrote down all the information they’re asking for, and I never stopped once! When Su, Maria and I went through it together, it seemed like no big deal at all. By myself, it would have been something I dreaded and procrastinated over. Now all I have to do is fax the pile to the state office who requested it, and I can scratch that off my to-do list.
They say everyone has something that is their weak area regarding housekeeping and/or work. I know a few folks who really can’t seem to climb the laundry mountain. It just looms too large in their minds. I do not judge. Laundry isn’t my issue — I don’t mind doing it at all. But in the past few years, paperwork has become my large-looming issue. Oh. And cooking. I forgot about that. At least with meal preparation I have to do it, so that helps. I can’t tell all the peeps I take care of that we’re just not going to eat tonight or tomorrow, as much as I would like to. What about you? Do you have a housekeeping/work issue that you just don’t like to do, so it seems to get bigger and bigger in your mind, until you actually start to feel a heavy sense of dread? I wish I could come over and give you a hand with it. Doing things like this with a friend often helps. 🙂 Sara Groves sings a great song called “Twice As Good” that paints a beautiful picture of this concept.
Well, my husband just came in and asked me to watch something on TV with him. We just got this DVD from Netflix in the mail today, so after I post this little update I’m going to get into my plaid flannel nightgown and join him, with a steaming cup of tea.
God bless your weekend, and thank you again for making time to stop by here!
I am right there with you when it comes to dreading paperwork. I do all of the bookkeeping for the farm and filing papers is always the thing that I let grow into a big pile. So glad you were able to get together with some friends. Comradeship always makes unpleasant tasks easier to tackle.
Just as dusk arrived tonight we started to see our first snow flurries from the impending storm. We are going to snuggle under our woolen throws and watch our Netflix DVD too.
Hi Carrie, I’m not a happy filer either, although I must keep many files. I hope the storm doesn’t cause great inconvenience for you. What DVD did you watch? 🙂 xxoo
Louiser is just tooo beautiful. Saturday is my day off and I have to
get everything ready for my appointment to do my taxes. For a year
and two months I have crammed all of the receipts into one big
container. Some I do not need. I have to go through them and
separate what I need for my March 20th appointment. I promised
myself that I would do it by the end of Feb., and here it almost is.
I will make my piles and spread them all over my bed and be ever
so happy when I am finished. I know there are probably lots
better ways to do this but have been doing it this way for years.
Dorothy, I think if your method works for you, you should continue to go with it! It always feels so good to have tax prep behind us, doesn’t it? love you… xxoo
After my last comment that Spring had sprung here, I stand corrected! The temperature today is 3 degrees (we regard this as freezing cold) and there’s a possibility that we may have a little snow over the weekend. I’ll believe it when I see it! 🙂
Lovely, little Louisa! Our Louisa is often referred to as ‘Weeze’ or ‘Weeza’, but never ‘Lou’.
My least favourite chore is cleaning our en-suite bathroom. We have the most stubborn type of flooring which repels attempts to clean it and it’s hard going on my knees/back. I now have to do a section at a time or otherwise I’m wrecked for the rest of the day. I’ve tried allsorts of mops/steam cleaners and sprays. Only a scrubbing brush and elbow grease will do. 🙁
No doubt you’ll have great fun watching ‘Mister ‘Erriot’. I think I might settle down later with my latest book – White Witch by Elizabeth Goudge. The witch in question being a ‘wise woman’ and the story is set in 1642 during the Civil war between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. I so enjoy Elizabeth Goudge’s style of writing. There’s lots of narrative, but oh so beautifully written – I just immerse myself completely in her books and live between its pages.
So while Alan is practising on his guitar for the Sunday service, I’ll be cuddled up on the sofa with my book and a cup of hot chocolate.
xxoo
I used to get down on my hands and knees to do my floors, but I don’t do that anymore with my knee issues, Kay. I’m interested to know what kind of flooring your bathroom has, so I can avoid it in the future if I’m ever choosing flooring! And I have a good friend who keeps telling me to read Elizabeth Goudge and I have never been able to be interested when I’ve picked up her books. Maybe I should try White Witch! You and Alan enjoy your weekend…stay warm! xxoo
Our bathroom flooring is a type of vinyl flooring which is covered in what can only be described as very tiny, raised bumps. It’s ideal for safety issues, being non-slip, but oh is it hard to clean! I HATE it!!! Hopefully we may be able to replace it later this year, but it’ll be a big, expensive job because it is moulded to the shape of the floor/skirtings. In our main bathroom, we have non-slip tiles that are reminiscent of the local swimming pool. They are not beautiful, but much, much easier to clean. So maybe we’ll go down that route again. (Obviously we need very safe floor surfaces because of Alan’s haemophilia.)
xx
That does sound like a bother, Kay. 🙁
It’s me again! I’ve found out the name of the flooring in our bathroom – it’s called Altro Flooring. While it may be very safe to walk on, I would never, ever recommend it to anyone because of the cleaning issue. I even found forums agreeing with me!
Thank you Kay – readers beware of Altro! 🙂
Hi Sis –
All of your Grandbabies are either beautiful or handsome. But of course Sharon and Carolyn are beautiful young women. They have their Mother’s good looks. Must be good genes. Baby Louisa is absolutely adorable. And I agree – she looks like the happiest baby ever!!! Mom would love all of Carolyn’s and Sharon’s kids – in fact she’d eat them up with love and affection. She was always so good with you were you were a baby and as a toddler. She was always dressing you in frilly yet feminine dresses and went to great pains to make your hair look just (lot’s of ribbons) right. I know she’s looking down from Heaven at baby Louisa and is smiling!!! Stay warm up there … it’s a chilly 49 degrees here in sunny Southern California. Love you Julie, your brother Steve OXOX
Thank you Steve…yes, I’ve said more times than I can count how crazy in love with all these grandbabies Mom would be. She would be so proud of your two amazing children too! Xxoo
I’m thinking of you in your flannel nightie watching James Herriot with the snow coming down outside – what a cosy picture!!!
Thank you dear Helen—Switzerland paints a pretty mental picture too! xxoo
I hate cleaning the bathrooms, but I find, if I do them first on housecleaning day, then the dreaded part is behind me. 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind comment on my spring mantel.
Thank you for sharing Elizabeth — that would be a good strategy for my paperwork — just do it first and get it behind me! God bless your week….