Snow Day

Instagram: @ericdiesel

Provided you’re not slogging through its slush, there is something beautiful about snowfall. From my cat-bird seat in sunny Southern California, I can say that I sometimes miss snow. But it is also true that after living in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York, I miss only its poetry; its prettiness and quietude. In a few weeks the winter Olympics will showcase the bracing energy of the snowscape, but as fun as snow frolic is, how lovely it is to go back inside.

We sat out a few blizzards in our apartment in Astoria. During two such we were literally snowed in as the fall was so heavy and the accumulation so great that it was a day before anyone could get to the walkway to clear it, let alone open the door to the building. No matter. We had food, drink, and blankets, and from the writer’s window a postcard view of resourceful New Yorkers braving the snowdrifts on skis. It is, I think, those days in that I miss. As long as you’re indoors, snow days are cozy, whether weathering a blizzard from within an apartment with rattling steam pipes, or settling in by a fireplace in a lodge.

On snow day, we honor homesteaders past by following their practice, during inhospitable weather, of using the time to tend to the homestead and to each other. Safety is the most important issue: batten down those hatches, including prepping the family car to weather the weather. Check on neighbors, especially the aged, the alone, and people with pets. Regarding animals, remember that extreme cold is worse for them than for us. Bring what animals you can indoors, including doing whatever you can for strays.

On snow days, the hours may start sliding into each other. It is important to manage this with activity. Earmark some time each day to do something useful such as clean house, organize the pantry, set up the home office, do the mending. Snow days are great for projects and crafts. Use the time to update photo albums and scrapbooks with pictures and mementos accumulated from last year’s vacation, Halloween, Thanksgiving, winter holidays, birthdays. Don’t forget to take some photos of the snowfall to fill your memory pages. Post your pictures online on Instagram, Pinterest, and ViewBug, or create a custom printed album with a service such as Mosaic. Learn a skill such as jewelry making, or page through gardening books and seed catalogs to plan your spring garden. From housekeeping to hobby, producing something tangible during extended periods indoors is a great defense against the very real possibility of inertia, especially as the dark days of winter can lead to depression.

Most New Year’s Resolutions involve bettering ourselves, and there is no better way of doing that than by reading. A day or two indoors are a gift for readers. There’s something so rewarding about delving into a topic of interest. Some associate study with labor, but avocational study enlivens and opens the mind. In our urban home, we use snow days and Sundays to study culture and science from a home library that covers topics including local history, transportation, botany, marine biology, art, film history and preservation, and of course the Homekeeper’s Library. John is reading his way through Agatha Christie, while I read Allen Ginsburg’s Journals and re-visit my college days as an art historian by rereading Kenneth Clark’s landmark Civilisation.

It is just as important to set aside some time for entertainment. Snow days are ideal for a double feature. Surf flicks will either warm and inspire you or aggravate you based upon your temperament if watching them during a snowfall, but a fun side effect of beach movies were ski flicks. These follow the same formula of frugging teenagers, vintage rock and roll, and drive-in plot shenanigans. Both Ski Party and Winter A Go Go are great trashy fun. Enjoy them with hot coffee and piece of chocolate cake, or curried popcorn and a cold beer.

Some of us may be cooked-out after the holidays, but there is no better day than snow day to get into the kitchen. When New Year diets allow, snow day is a great day for baking. Bake baklava, a batch of gingersnaps, grandma’s spice cake, or a loaf of bread. Fill the slow cooker with classic red or white chicken chili, or if you want to take full advantage of a day in the kitchen, make Boeuf Bourguignon, Carbonnade, New England Clam Chowder, or Minestrone. Filling the home with the smells of good cooking is the essence of snow day coziness – especially when you invite friends, family, and neighbors who can travel over to share cooking, eating, and being together on snow day.

Resources
Baking
Sunday Supper
Crafts and Projects
Organizing