Snowy Days for Days
It’s a 90s winter and we are loving it!
It can be a tad overwhelming at times (we are running out of places to put snow!). In our neighbourhood the snow banks are averaging 3-5.5 ft tall (90-170cm). There isn’t enough space to walk on the sidewalks with our stroller so walks are relegated to the road. Our dog is a mix of thrilled at jumping in snowbanks, and also not being able to find a comfy place to poop.
But snowy days and cancelled activities are also bringing extra margin for slower days at home and time together.
When life brings disruptions, I’m learning how to pivot quickly and graciously. I often need to lean into the encouragement of my husband in this, but it’s been fruitful to surrender my expectations and embrace whatever the day holds.
Cancelled church and hours outside shovelling? The day also brought:
margin to organize our tax papers
cooking a batch of homemade greek yogurt in the Instantpot (we are mixing in strawberries we picked in the summer)
laundry
tidying both levels of our home
cooking a Lemon Pepper Roast Chicken with Schmaltz Potatoes (from Carolina Gelen’s Pass the Plate)
quiet afternoon reading
Thankfully by Monday morning the snow had calmed down and we were able to drive to the Royal Botanical Gardens to see their Winter Exhibit: Alice in Bloomland*. I highly recommend going to enjoy the fantastic displays and interesting art installations in their exhibit room.
*Exhibit runs Feb 1 - March 30, 2025.
After our morning at the RBG we hoped to visit IKEA to do some returns and grab lunch, but it was closed. Gosh shopping on holidays can be hard to predict sometimes. So we pivoted to lunch at McDonalds (which we rarely go to!). Absolute zero nutritional value, but a 10/10 for fun for the kids.
Waking up Tuesday morning to another day of cancelled school, I felt a bit thrown off. How many snow days is too many snow days? A quick 30 second pivot had us finished a quick breakfast and running out the door to make it to Early ON for the 9-11am playroom slot. What a relief! Our kids (and me!) needed a break from the house.
The afternoon brought down time to clean the basement (our next exchange student arrives in a week), and do some bread baking. I made a classic no-knead boule and some ficelles (thin crusty baguettes) from Bonnie Ohara’s book Bread Baking for Beginners. If you’re interested in learning the basics of bread baking I can’t recommend this book enough. Her simple formula for calculating the water temperature when mixing the dough is crucial. It was my first time making the ficelles but they were a hit at a our weekly friend dinner!
Winter brings so many needed adjustments. It reminds me to slow down and build in extra margin. Not only for shovelling, but just getting from place to place in general.
I’m finding joy in caring for the home. I cherish quiet afternoons and working towards baking daily. Spending so much time indoors, naturally I try to invest more time in tidying as I go. I find little 5 minutes jobs like decluttering and organizing go a really long way. We used to do laundry 2x a week, and now it’s becoming more like 4-5x. But smaller, more frequent loads are helping me stay on top of what needs to be cleaned.
These snowy, disruptive days are helping flex my muscles in adapting and pivoting. Both in caring for my home and the people inside it! May the snow help us pause and remember to cherish what is most important and give ourselves the grace to adapt and slow down.