{Chatter}

Polar Vortex.  It's a noun and a verb.
It's the freeze de creme.  Top of the class, passing with flying colors to drive us housebound saints
To end sainthood and wear horns.
Saying we're ready for spring is completely redundant.  Like a drip drip drip from a leaky spouting.
On that note: we grew some monumental icicles this year.
Whereby we realize that this old house probably could use some work on its balding head.

 This winter has called for layers, warm blankets, and cozy corners.  We've longed for a wood stove more times than I can count.  But haven't we all!
One fun thing that happened this month was the arrival of my chairs.  You know you don't get out much when you're super excited to find them on your porch steps and your kids are as equally, or more, excited about the big boxes they came in.

I am an off-the-curb, freeby, second hand shop kind of girl.  The only furniture we've ever bought new were our couch and love seat (now that I think about it, we did get a kitchen table also).  Our bedroom set was a gift and brand new when we got married as well but I don't shop furniture stores to buy.  Just for funsies, ideas, and to wipe drool from my chin.  I had stuck some $ away from some projects I worked on to buy chairs for the living room, and World War III almost commenced while Myron and I quarreled politely discussed the uses for that particular $.  I spent literally MONTHs searching out the perfect recycled leather chairs for the perfect price.  I'm not picky, I'm just particular about what furniture I want brought into the house at this point.  I finally found these two for an excellent excellent deal the company was running.  After I ordered the chairs, I received a personally written email saying these chairs were out of stock.  Who does that anymore, personal e-mails?  Any who-ha, they promised to ship me some in a month or two.  Hmm.  Well, my husbands doubts were put to rest. when the UPS man unloaded the loot.  The company just launched their first catalog,  so give them a few years and I think you'll hear more about Safavieh home.  I think they've got a gorgeous line of home goods, and they're willing to customize (which is absolutely hard to come by).  We love the chairs we got, the kids curl up in them with a book, all the time.  And they're beautiful as well!

It was time to get the Christmas decorations packed up and off the mantels.  I was feeling particularly lazy about it this year.  I'm thinking about bringing in some twig clippings again, and forcing some real blooms soon.  I've also got a severe itch to start my own garden seedlings/flower seeds again, but after failing so miserably a few times before, I think that's an itch I shouldn't scratch.  I dream of glorious gardens and then every spring I relearn that I've not got a very green thumb.  I can even kill a geranium and they're tough suckers normally.  I'm loving perennials more and more.  Just plant 'em and let them do their thang.

The end of winter does bring about a slight problem:  the death of hot drinks.  If you happen to see the mister and I toting beer bellies, well, it's not beer that's to blame (what makes anyone desire that nasty stuff anyway, is just more than I can understand) but the smooth, alluring, tempting, silky smoothness of latte's, cappucino's, and London fog's, and all their accompanying sweetness.  I thought I was a diehard Trim Healthy Mama, until I ran out of my sweentener of choice (the old NuNaturals) and now I'm back to syrups with cane sugar.  Gah!  I totally live for my daily Smog--Myron's preferred term of endearment for a London Fog.  Thank you, Oak Leaf Cafe, for ruining my coffee habit and cordially introducing us.

 Valentine's Day was thrown in there somewhere.  I'm not cupid so we don't go crazy over Valentine's.  My kids don't know it's for lovers, and I like it that way.  I've tried to make it a habit to love on other people that day, and get my kids involved, because when they're 30 and possibly still single I don't  want them spending the week prior to said holiday whining about their single status.  The younger they learn to love whomever may be in their life during that holiday, the more content they'll be when they're older.  But the day couldn't go by without the usual chocolate strawberries or taking pictures of them.  There was not room on the internet, facebook or instagram for one more picture of a strawberry smothered in chocolate, on the week of Valentine's, but we went renegade and took them anyway.  Long live this traditional delicacy!

Now we're headed rapidly towards the weekend and more good-bye's.  My dearest mother left last weekend for the far-off continent of Asia again and the allure of warm weather in Thailand after being stateside for 6 weeks.  Good times.  This weekend we say adieu to another one of our own as my best big smaller brother and beautiful wife and kids head for greener pastures in TN.  I miss them already.

JO