Snow Day, Part II-- Laura Ingalls Wilder-Style

The world outside the windows of my Little Condo in the Suburbs--as opposed to the Little House in the book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder that I loved as a child and sometimes read aloud to my students--is white, frozen, crystallized, and ice-covered. 

 
These icicles look like they are direct from Disney's FROZEN movie!
This is the surreal view outside my front door at 6 a.m.
 
 
No "deck sitting" in my favorite chair today!
In the summer, I sit in the sun and read in this spot!
 


On this second day of no school, no driving, no venturing outside, etc. I am beginning to understand what the pioneers of long ago might have felt like.  I rounded up some candles and a flashlight last night before bedtime in case we lost power.  I washed, sorted, and folded laundry and/or read magazines for three-hours earlier in the evening when I was without cable TV or internet due to a neighborhood outage.  I am wearing layers this morning even though my furnace is cranked up and running full force because the -36 wind chill is drafting through my deck slider door.  Can you imagine how that might have felt through the walls of a log cabin on the prairie? I would not have been a very strong, capable, or resilient prairie woman! Instead of wading through drifts to care for the livestock in the barn and warming soup in a cast iron pot over a wood fire, I will be grateful for the extra gift of time to do the following modern "teacher" chores this afternoon....


 
My laminator (a Christmas gift to myself) will be working overtime to prep materials I've created and those that I downloaded this weekend from the glorious Facebook Freebie Hop hosted by some of my favorite
TPT sellers.  Stuckey in Second's Literacy Center bundle is going to
be a great addition to our Daily 5 reading and writing lessons once
I get back to my classroom!
 

 
I will spend some time watching Netflix movies and trimming
more of these bookmarks I made as holiday gifts for
my students!  The clip art is courtesy of one of my favorite artist and
was custom made to feature my beloved old rescue hounds! 
The finished products had polka dot ribbon
hole-punched and tied through one end, and were a
HUGE hit with my eager readers! 
 
 

As I watch the local TV news stories about the many stranded train passengers in Illinois, flooded streets in southern Ohio due to a burst water main, a local are family who lost their house in a blaze last night despite firefighters valiant efforts to use frozen hoses to douse the flames, and the many "warming centers" that are opening their doors to provide safe shelter for the homeless, I am reminded again of how extremely fortunate I am.

Today I will be especially grateful for the opportunity to be inside, wrapped in an afghan crocheted by my grandmother, working on materials for my classroom, and hoping that the plow service will finally come clear my drive and walks (and that my car will start) so that I can go pick my old hound dogs from the kennel!  Their stay while I visited my family in Florida was extended due to the Level 3 Snow Emergency, and I am going to have to work REALLY hard to get back in their good graces once I get them back home!
 

 
Rosie and Brutus wondering when the roads
will be cleared and safe enough for their Basset Hound Mama
to come pick them up from the boarding facility!
 
 
If you are also at home today and in hibernation mode due to the weather, know that I send you warm regards,
 
 


 
 
 


 

4 comments

  1. OMG I got a laminator for myself recently too and have been obsessed. It looks amazing when it's laminated! Enjoy it. Yay for being your newest Blog Lovin follower. Drop by!!

    Just Wild About Teaching

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog!
      I feel the same way about my laminator and can't believe I waited so long to get one! It is the BEST!

      Let me know if my blog page was "readable" today....I am having issues with it lining up on the page correctly and showing the correct header fonts on my laptop. I sent an e-mail to my designer at TCBOTB but haven't heard back from her yet.

      I'm heading over to your blog now!

      Warm Regards!

      Delete
  2. Hey again! I copied and pasted the link so you can make your own TpT Widget! Good luck. =)

    http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/My-Badges

    Just Wild About Teaching

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just found this post with my product mentioned! Thank you!!! :)

    ReplyDelete