A WalMart Christmas

I was thinking to day that this has become a WalMart Christmas for us. Since we are snowed in...still...our only contact to the outside world is from Mom's job at WalMart. AND, the only things we are shopping for are those which can be bought at WalMart. Luckily we got the majority of our shopping done before this weather hit, but there's always the little things that come up. Today it was prunes...for cookies that D's Mom is making for our Hannukah celebration tonite. Yesterday it was socks...for M's boots in the snow as the only socks she had were ankle socks.

I got an email today that Starbucks is closed due to weather. I have decided that NOW we have reached tragic status and really need to call in the National Guard or FEMA or something. What has this winter come to that Starbucks had to close?????

I have some more pix to post of today's snow levels and such, I will post them a little later, though.

It's snowing again out there. Our new neighbor from southern California was asking D this morning how often this happens here. The reply? "NEVER!" I am just in awe of the beauty of it all and despite being very DONE with being stuck inside with the same people day after day, I'm still enjoying our winter wonderland.

We have decided to move the actual Christmas Eve and Christmas morning festivities over to Mom's house this year. I think I mentioned that D's Dad has Parkinsons Disease and is fairly unsteady on his feet under good conditions, let alone those that we are experiencing outside right now. M was very gracious to say this was OK - she has never had a Christmas Eve or morning anywhere but her own home, so this is a change for her, but she understands the need. I explained how during my Dad's final months, we nearly had Thanksgiving dinner in the master bedroom of my parent's house as he was too weak to come downstairs for dinner. He did find the energy upon overhearing D trying to carve the turket, and made his way downstairs to backseat drive the turkey carving at the last minute, but when dealing with these things, you just have to be flexible. Of course, this is what I'm telling M. On the inside I'm struggling with the change as well. But, I understand that it needs to happen and it's not about where you are, but who you are with - even if you have been with them for several days in a row!

On another note - D has dug "trenches" between the two houses so we can easily maneuver back and forth without crunching in the snow. He also dug some in the back yard for the dogs so they don't have to get buried in the snow. Poor Sally and Romeo are light enough to not initially sink in the snow when it has a frozen top layer to it, but eventually crack through. It's funny to watch them walk across the top, then CRACK! Fall down to where there's only a head (or today, a nose) sticking out! I've said a couple times that it's a good thing M picked a black puppy, b/c if Romeo were white we'd have lost him out there by now! The trenches are taller than the dogs, and come way up on our legs as well, but we are grateful that D has done that for us. He has been absolutely amazing through this whole thing with the driving and the trenching and last nite he dragged garbage and recycling bins out for 3 houses (our 2 + the neighbor who is out of town). He even helped a stuck neighbor get out of his driveway and going earlier today as they had to get to the ER for his mother-in-law (she was already there, they were going to be with her). What a guy! All this while juggling his parents, his mother-in-law, his child and wife...thinking he's a keeper!