Snow and Other Miscellany

* It is a very, very exciting event to have snow here outside Knoxville, Tennessee. We have about an inch of the beautiful stuff and perhaps a bit more will fall. The kids are going to go sledding at my parents' tomorrow. Since our one sled that we brought with us from Iowa broke two years ago, they think they will be sledding on cardboard. What they don't know is that my smart parents went out and bought sleds a month ago, so yay!

* I have lived here for 10 years. I barely scoff at an inch of snow anymore; instead, I've learned to take joy in what little we get. I hardly even scoff at Tennessee drivers. Tonight Jesse was out driving and said the road were truly terrible. I was terribly thankful that he made it home without incident, being, well, a bona fide Tennessee driver.

* Here's a new one in the life of a homeschooling mom: Duncan came to me around 3:30 today and said, "Hey, we never did math today!" He ran to get his math book and brought it to me. Pretty much I bet that is a unique experience.

* My parents, brother, and sister-in-law came over for dinner tonight, which inspired me to not only take down the rest of the Christmas decorations but also mostly replace the "regular" decor. Except that I can't remember what used to be where exactly, and my walls look really blank in the dining room. I have never gotten around to putting up pictures after I painted last summer…

* Jesse got a drum set—a big one—for Christmas, and he and his friend have been having such a great time playing. I can't even explain what a fantastic experience it was to hear the sounds of "Freebird" drifting down the stairs from their music room this evening.

* My couch and book (Chris Bohjalian, The Buffalo Soldier) are beckoning.

And, by the way, black, Facebook friends.