Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Spa Day, Shirley Temple Theme

So, the house is a construction zone and the back half is physically blocked off by sheets of plastic.  It's a blizzard outside, and our road is snowed shut.  My normal chores are unavailable, because... there's not a chance in the world that I'm going OUTSIDE and walking through a blizzard to do a load of laundry.  Not. Gonna. Happen.  And it's quite pointless to clean, when there's nowhere to put things away anyway.  We can't leave, and our options are limited when we stay.  What to do, what to do?

Answer:  Spa Day!  I colored my hair, all three kids were showered, nail clipped, and given haircuts, and then Reagan was subjected to a Shirley Temple makeover, in honor of the late-great movie icon, who just recently passed away. 

You do what you have to when you're snowed in, to avoid going crazy.  And the results were dang cute, if I do say so myself. 

 
 

 

And, just for comparison....

 

 

 

Winter

Winters here are tough. That's to be expected.  But some winters are more than the usual tough. Enter 2013-14.   Last winter was tough, in that it was LOOOONNNNGGGG.... we had snow-fall until May.  This winter is tough because it is cold.  Lake Superior is nearly frozen over, we had 75 consecutive days below freezing (much of them below zero!) and we had lots of snow early in the season which hasn't had a chance to GO AWAY because its been so cold.  Of course, the snow has decreased since the lake froze over - no more "lake effect" snow, so those numbers have tapered, and we're currently at about 265" for the season.  We've got a whole lot of 'season' left, though.  Currently, we're in the midst of a blizzard, with gusts of wind up to 55 mph, and about 8" of new snow, making visibility pretty rotten. This will be followed by yet another polar vortex, where in the high temperature next week is expected to be around -2 or so.  The frost level is going to 85" below the ground, and many communities, Chassell included, are on mandatory "let the water run" orders, because pipes are breaking in record numbers.  A local community declared a state of emergency because its water main is freezing.  My husband is about maxed out with snow removal, because after awhile, where do you PUT the stuff?  I have gotten stuck in our drive way more times than I care to admit,  and yesterday did my own personal "triple lutz" in the middle of the highway on the way to work.  Driving a sedan in the heart of snow country is risky business. 

I have a feeling the kids will be going to school til July, because they've missed so many days this winter.  Rob and I both have been sleeping in red union suits at night. 

It takes a truck-load of sisu to live here in the Copper Country, that's for sure.  Character building weather, that's what we've got.  You're either as tough as what the skies throw at you, or you crumple and move.  Right now, we're on the brink of the "crumple and move" stage, but... we'll make it.  We always do.  And then, we'll do what we do best; scoff at the rest of the country who think that their winter is bad.   And drink more wine.  

You can't beat us winter.  You can try, but you won't win.  We're tougher than you.

Winter Flying

So, Rob hasn't done as much flying this winter as he would like.  The fall was spent building a hangar - which he has YET to show me, because "it's not quite done".  The mistress moved in soon after the walls and ceiling were finished.  She's now officially a 'kept woman'.  But, having your own hangar means maintaining an airstrip through winter, and this winter has been unusually tough on that front.  Bitter cold, tons of snow, and difficult access means that getting the bird up in the air has taken a lot more effort than the last winter. 

It just so happens, though, that Rob went fling on February 7th, and a friend of his was also flying.  They met, mid-air, unbeknownst to each other.  And his friend happened to have his camera with him.  This led to a rare, fortuitous mid-air photo shoot over Portage Lake.  Pretty cool.

Here's the results:

Renovations

So, it's the middle of a near-record-cold winter, and we're trapped indoors much of the time.  Seems a logical time to do some indoor renovations, right?  That's what we thought, at least.  So demolition began.  We tore out the carpet in the boys' room.  And the guest room.  And the stairs.  And Reagan's room.  I've repainted the entire upstairs, cleaned out closets, tore off molding strips, moved furniture ad nauseum. The entire contents of the upstairs is in three different closets, the contents of Reagan's room is in the basement and den.  In two more days, we'll tear up the kitchen - move the fridge out into the dining area, the stove into the hallway, the kitchen island into.... I don't know where we're going to put the kitchen island.  It's a fluid process.    We'll restore the maple floors in the bedrooms and kitchen, add hardwood to the playroom, tile the entry way and bathroom, and replace closet doors.  We're tearing out the upstairs railing and replacing it with a built-in bookshelf wall. The garage is full of old carpet, boxes for Goodwill, and loads and loads and loads of garbage.  On top of that, my washing machine has been broken for the past week (my dear father-in-law found about $5 worth of change in the filter.  YUP.  That will do it.)  so the laundry is piled sky high, and our front door handle broke.  There is not one.square.foot. of my home that is not a complete and utter disaster at the moment.

Couple the in-home devastation with a full moon, children hyped up on Valentine's day candy,  PMS, a very bossy five year old, and a mother who has not felt warm since OCTOBER, and we have a recipe for disaster.   The Mama has NOT been in a good mood today.  Luckily, the wine is kicking in, and I started pumping the 80's throwback music on Pandora.  It's hard to stay in a bad mood when "Come on Eileen" is on.  Maybe we'll survive until sunrise.

There's a lot more to do tomorrow.  I'm attempting to clean the kitchen enough so we have a surface to eat on, but after that... I'm done.  I have hit my wall for the day.  I'm actually debating whether its worth mopping the disgustingly dirty kitchen floor, of if I can stand it long enough until it disappears out of my life forever within the next week.  HMMMMMM.  So many choices when you're renovating.


((sigh)). 

Snippets of the Little Girl

 

Comedy Night at the Aho Dinner Table

 

 

Winter Carnival

So, the Faith Formation group at church decided to participate in the MTU Winter Carnival by making snow statues this year.  DANG, it was cold.  Mama didn't last so long out there - not nearly as long as those kids did.  But I did last long enough to capture the moment on film. 

Grandpa's 77th.

Grandpa Al added another candle to his cake today.  Seventy seven years young.  Happy Birthday, Grandpa!! 

 

Reagan giving grandpa his spankings.  He's lucky she can only count to eleven.