Snow Day

SNOW DAY

Snow Day.

Ah, the school cancelled classes tonight, based only on tomorrow’s weather report. A patient or two have also rescheduled. Will I get a chance to sleep late? Wednesday is my very late night – a late class to teach, home very late, next week’s quiz to write, firewood to haul, woodstove to fill, barkie boys and furries who need their pills. Cat litter boxes to clean. Yesterday’s Monitor article to put onto the blog. 

The Husband’s fighting a cold, so off to bed as soon as I get home. Dogs out; dogs in. Treat! Treat! Treat! What does the weather report say? It’s going to snow all day tomorrow. If it actually happens – if the snow actually starts – I’ll need to get up early enough to reschedule my remaining patients. But first – a long overdue letter to a sister-in-law who planned to go to the Women’s March in DC, and who we haven’t heard from since. She lives in far Ohio and we want confirmation that she went and returned unharmed. I’ve never actually met her, and considered going to DC myself, thinking how much fun it might be to meet up with her for the first time at the March. Then I thought about the crowds, and changed my mind.

Dogs out; dogs in. Treat! Treat! Treat! It’s after midnight; supper was a long time ago. Shall I eat something? Hmmmm…nothing much in the frig, or at least, nothing that isn’t cold, which doesn’t appeal. It’s too late to cook, and I have too much to do before bedtime. The barkie boys have a solution: Treat! Treat! Treat!  I briefly wonder what a dog biscuit would taste like with peanut butter on it.

Emails from patients must be answered and an email about reserved books must be sent to the school. Put more wood in the stove, and the water pots atop the stove need refilling. The barkie boys jump up out of their slumbers as I head toward the kitchen. Treats? Treats? No, boys, just water for the woodstove. And water for me. Maybe a little vanilla in it, to fool my mouth into thinking I fed it. 

What’s this in the unpublished articles file? Oh – one that I started and never finished. What was that about…now I remember. Maybe I’ll just finish this one article. Oh – the printer needs an ink change. Maybe I’ll wait ‘til tomorrow. Maybe I’ll actually get a snow day, it would be lovely to have an unexpected, unplanned day. My ankles are cold; is it snowing yet? I’ll take a quick look – barkie boys jump to the alert: Walk? Walk? Walk? No boys, but go out and pee again, last outs. Oh, I’d better put some ice melt down on the wart steps, it’s slippery. Icy, in fact. Barkie boys back inside: Treats! Treats! Treats! I’d better roll up their tie-outs so they’re dry and out of the way when Brother comes through with the plow tomorrow. Man, it’s cold out there!

Back to the computer. It’s 2 am. Abu’s giving me the “what are you thinking??” hairy eyeball. OK, I’ll wait ‘til tomorrow to finish that article, but I’ve got to shut the computer down, and there’s that stupid rule I made about playing one game of Spider Solitaire before shutting it off. I forget why…something about entertainment. Just one game, really. No, really. Really.

OK, I’ll take you guys up to bed. Here we go, up the stairs, older dogs climbing slowly. Boost Abu onto the bed, play the Blankie Game. Tuck Roo into his bed, belly rub and blankies. One dim light left on, while I go downstairs to brush teeth and fill the stove one last time. Oh – I forgot to finish the Sudoku puzzle yesterday; maybe just a minute of that. And there was an article I wanted to read. Oh, well, I can do that while I’m brushing my teeth.

Wow. It’s 3:30 am. No snow yet. Boy, I hope tomorrow’s going to be a Snow Day. But, let’s see…I can sleep ‘til 10. I need to sleep ‘til 10. Everybody stay in bed late, OK?

Snow Day.

8 am: Roo barking in my face. The Husband’s still feeling crappy; OK, OK, give me a minute, I’ll get up. Slow slow slow down the stairs, Roo, don’t fall. Wow, it’s cold down here. OK, out you go Roo, be careful. Catmandude, you really don’t want to go out there – it’s snowing hard. Just for a few minutes, OK? I’ll go clean your litter boxes so you can use the indoor facilities.  Maybe I should feed the birds before this gets too bad, and start the woodstove again. The water pots have boiled dry overnight. Might as well get dressed; maybe I can snooze on the couch for a couple of hours after I take care of that stuff. 

OK, Roo in, wood hauled, water replenished, stove lit, litter boxes cleaned, wart rails brushed clear of snow and covered with birdseed. Catman’s still out. I’m going to lie down on the couch for a few minutes, wrapped in this lovely soft purple blanket. Oh – you’re up now, Abu? You need to go out? OK…Dogs out. Dogs in. Catman in. Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast!

OK, OK, and you need your pills, too. Aspirin and glycoflex for the barkie boys, thyroid pill for Catman, and a couple of treats for young Biscuit so she doesn’t try to steal Catman’s pill. Can I lie down now? I’ll have to call patients soon, this is really coming down hard. Maybe I should eat breakfast. Maybe not. Maybe a nap first. 

Roo, move over. OK, I’ll just drape my legs over you. Catman – are you really going to lie on top of my chest? And make bread? OK. You need a love-up. Lots of scratches and rubs and purring. I’m starting to drift off…

Plow passing by the window. Hark! Bark! Hark! Bark! Bark! Bark! 

OK guys, I give up. I need to call patients. Then I need to eat breakfast. Oh, good, the Husband’s up, and going down the slippery snowy driveway to fetch the newspaper back.  Something to read and hot soup and coffee milk to eat. Taste? Taste? Taste? Yes, boys, last bites; just wait ‘til I’ve finished, please.

I should take a nap. But the wind is howling, shrieking around the corner of the house, and snow is blowing as well as falling. Man, I’m glad this is a Snow Day. My ankles are cold, and so’s my neck – let’s fish out those legwarmers I haven’t needed yet this winter, and wrap this lovely Christmas scarf around my neck. Yes, that’s better. I’m going to get onto the computer and clean up those two articles, and maybe write another. Then I’ll take a nap. And make some cocoa. Yeah, that would be nice. And read a little bit. I haven’t had a chance to lie on the couch, warm blanket-wrapped, cocoa in hand, to read a book all winter. Oooh, that sounds nice… let’s get those articles done fast.

Growing dark; snow plow’s back.  Hark! Bark! Hark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Wow – where did the day go? Oh, look – there’s a ladybug strolling past my desk lamp. Wonder where it lives? In one of the plant pots, I hope.  I should put some lights on. Hi boys! Supper!Supper! Supper! Supper! Biscuits! Biscuits! Biscuits! OK. I’ll finish this up then go get you some supper, and figure out what daddy and I are going to have for supper. Just a few sentences more, and, well, the required Spider Solitaire game. Then computer off.

Really.

Snow Day.

For the blog alone.