Keeping Busy This Winter

 I'm still energized from a late night "out on the town" last night.

Roman and I went to see Les Miserables at a local theater with friends.

The teenagers sat together, and we mamas sat in the row behind them.

It was a little... ahem... expressive in spots. When the house lights came on at intermission we looked at each other, wide-eyed, and one mama said, "Racy!" Another said, "Do you think the kids caught on to any of that?" We all reassured each other that we were certain any suggestive implication went right over their heads. *wink 

I was nervous beforehand about how my hip would do, but was thrilled when the night was over and I realized I was comfortable the entire evening.

Getting back into these normal, pre-surgery activities comfortably is a huge relief for me!

It was a great night and a great show!

Back at home today we were too entranced with the bright sunshine and warmer air to be cooped up inside. So we finished our schoolwork quickly and drove down to our lovely, nearby park.

I've been wondering lately about the little stream that flows at the park. I hadn't been down there since last fall.

With this milder than normal winter, was it thawed and flowing? Was the water level low due to the small amount of snow we've received this season? Would there still be ice chunks and stagnant water in places?

We decided today was a good day to found out.

😎

I was looking forward to a peaceful amble along the water. As much as I am attached to my route on our own trails, sometimes I crave a change of scenery.

I was curious if the smell of earth could be detected in the air. You know, that glorious early spring smell of earth that smells like fresh, clean soil? I also wanted to listen to the birds. Unfortunately, the birdsong at the park was faint, and there was no fragrance. That was wishful thinking on my part. It is still technically winter. 

But on days like this the hope of spring can be sensed in the air, so I am grateful for that.

This past weekend was quite different - very windy and cold. Nola told me she was bored. She had used up her allotted "screen time," and the beads for a project she was working on had run out. I thought about the activities I busied myself with as a child on boring winter afternoons. I told both my girls that sometimes for fun I would look through my mother's magazines for a beautiful and inspiring photo,  then try to recreate it on a separate piece of paper. 

If my mother was throwing away old, used magazines, I would also like to sit by the fire with a scissors and cut out images to use later for various crafts. 

This seemed to appease them for a while. Elsa looked through an old magazine of mine; animals being the chosen theme. She tore a few pages out, then attempted to draw them all on a piece of sketch paper to make a zoo.

One thing led to another, as things like this tend to do, and the next thing we knew we were at Hobby Lobby looking at craft and art materials to keep the girls occupied for the rest of winter.

Thankfully, places like Hobby Lobby are inexpensive enough that the girls could each pick something out.

One selected a paint by numbers kit. The other a How-to-Draw notebook. A bracelet making kit was 50% off so we grabbed one of those, too, for them to share.

It's nice to have supplies on hand for down time in the winter months. They've been happily busy with these quiet, creative pursuits, and I'm happy they have something productive to turn to instead of screens.

💐

~ Courtney