The Things We Do ...

Winters are loooong here in the North Country - which is great if you love snow, wearing soft, warm sweaters and wrapping your hands around a hot drink on a cold day. (Of course, you can do two of those on most spring and fall days too!)

People often ask "What do you do to keep from going crazy during the long, cold, dark days?"

First of all, the days are not long (in fact, they are quite short!) and they are not dark. Because we have snowcover from November through April (at least), any faint light that the sky emits reflects off the snow and makes for quite bright and cheery days. As far as the cold part ... that part IS true!

I thought I'd post a few pictures of some of our favorite moments from this winter. Notice that I'm speaking as if the winter is over. I'm hoping it will catch the hint!)

The Things We Do on the short, bright and cold days of winter...

We linger around the dinner table telling silly stories and laughing until we can't breathe!

We celebrate special moments in our lives ... like first roses from a boy!

We travel to visit extended family and celebrate special days like Wayne's parents' 70th birthdays

We fix ourselves fabulous breakfasts even when there are no guests

We undertake projects ... like the beading of Sodie's hair

Over eight hours later (spaced over 4 days), the finished product. Keene Valley has never seen such a thing!

We sneak away for a fun afternoon at a Phantoms hockey game

Here's a little of the action

No hockey game is complete without a fight! This one was spectacular!

Look at that score ... now look at the time left on the clock ... yep!

What an exciting finish to a great game!

We snowshoe (those of us who have snow shoes!) and explore the beauty all around us. Wayne looks out from a vantage point on Snow Mountain - right behind our house.

CorrieAnne (she has snow shoes!) on the summit of Baxter Mountain

We warm ourselves by the fire ... a lot!

We create warm things by the warm fire!

(Isn't there just something so perfect about a dog laying beside a fire?)

We enjoy visits from old friends (old as in long-time!)

And enjoy meeting new friends!

(Wait a minute - maybe he IS old ... 92?!)

We get things done that have needed to be done for a long time.

I had no idea that a cabinet for laundry soap would bring me such joy ... but it does!

As winter draws to a close and the next season sets in (No - not spring! MUD season!), we enter our slowest time of the year guest-wise. Now we can tackle BIG projects! Just a few days ago, Wayne tore off the first sheet of wainscoting as our Passages room begins its long-awaited journey to transformation. Don't worry - I'll post pictures all along the way!