Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Saturday Between Two Wednesdays

Does anyone else think a Wednesday is the worst day of the week on which Christmas or New Year's Day can fall?

In one of his columns many years ago, Andy Rooney said he thought a Tuesday is the ideal day for Christmas.  That would give you Sunday to sit back and think about what last minute things you still needed to do on Monday.

I don't know if I can agree with the good man.  Maybe it's just me, but falling on a week day (especially smack-dab in the middle of the week as it did this year) made Christmas much less festive than it would have been on a Saturday or Sunday.  Or even a Friday.

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We're looking to get some more snow this afternoon and tomorrow.  Continually getting snow when it's so cold is really confusing me.  The good thing is that when it snows at low temperatures, it's always light and fluffy and MUCH easier to shovel.  (Hum along now . . . "Look for the silver lining . . . ")  I'm not real fond of the temperatures forecast:  -28° tonight and a high of -11° tomorrow.  All winter, so far, here on ye ol' homestead we've not been experiencing temperatures as low as they warn of.  Hope that rings true this time!

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In our efforts to get some real down time this winter, we decided to skip any more wood working until spring.  Turns out it's a good thing we made that decision.  Can you see us trying to safely cut and split in this much snow?

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We spent part of this morning getting wood in and stockpiled for the two house stoves and the wood stove in the workshop part of the garage.   Also picked up and moved (and restacked) the wood that took a header out of the big woodshed into the snow.  

I ran errands in town and spent a leisurely hour in the library scouring the stacks and picking out random books that looked interesting.  One book I'm eager to get into shows how to knit two socks at once, on a circular needle, from the toe up.  I've heard friends talk of trying this method and for the most part, they say it's not real easy to master.  Eeeep.  (You may hear screams of frustration after dinner time tonight when I set myself up in my nest on the couch and give it a go.)

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I'm taking quite a bit of time for myself this week between the two holidays and, to my surprise, haven't spent much time quilting.  For some reason, I've been doing a lot of reading as that's what seems to feel good right now.



I did make one small quilted piece recently.  It's just 7" square, made specifically for a small space when I put up my January decorations.  I like to use blue and white for that time of year (blue sky, snow covered ground . . . get it?) so used only blue and white fabrics for the piece.

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Well, we'll face the same thing with New Year's Day falling on a Wednesday this coming week.  And does anyone want to celebrate New Year's Eve on a . . . Tuesday night?  Geesh.

We're planning a quiet evening at home (as usual) then.  When I read statistics of all the legally inebriated people on the road behind the wheel on New Year's Eve, I figure that greatly increases MY chances of being involved in an accident which scares me enough to say, thanks but I'll be very happy at home.  There are plenty of other nights of the year to be out "croggling" about, as my Scottish grandmother used to say.

30 comments:

Sue said...

Hi Mama Pea--
I agree--Christmas/New Years mid week is not for me. Personally, I like them on a Sunday....but I suppose those in the working world would disagree with that!

Love that quilt piece all in blues. It does seem to fit the season, doesn't it?
Stay warm, dear lady

Sue said...

PS You did NOT see me online. Nope. Just a figment of your frozen imagination........

Sparkless said...

So that's the reason Christmas seemed a bit off this year, because it fell on a Wednesday. Wow, you are getting some cold temps and lots of snow. I envy you the snow but not the extreme cold. I usually stay home on New Years eve too. The husband has to work early New Years Day so we even have to be quiet. It will be a quiet New Years Eve for me.

DFW said...

I like them on a Friday. For some reason, it seems we have more time off from work that way. Love the blue piece.

Mama Pea said...

Sue - Sue? Sue who??? ( Love ya!)

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Quiet on New Year's Eve sometimes avoids a lot of trouble! ;o} Have a good one.

Mama Pea said...

DFW - That's the other thing about Christmas or New Year's Day falling on Wednesday. It must be harder for folks to get as much time of around the day . . . maybe not even the day before or the day after!

Tombstone Livestock said...

I don't care for the Wednesday's either but sure don't want the government to change it and make them Monday Holidays, Christmas needs to stay on the 25th and New Year's on the 1st.

Love the blue and white.

I am having trouble handling the 30 and 40's temps and those are on the + side of the thermometer.

Saw a special on LWN about highway 61 and Two Harbors, but it was filmed in summer time.

Anonymous said...

The city where I work gives us the afternoon off on Christmas and New Years eve, then the "day" itself of course is off. But going back for two days just stinks! And brrrrr.... your snow is beautiful, but your temps would freeze me solid!

Akannie said...

So...That's what happened to me and the holidaze. Wrong calendar placement. I knew it was something. And I totally agree.

You're temps are crazy...but not as crazy as here, where it hit mid 50's yesterday AND today, but tomorrow will plummet back to the 20's and 30's. And I still have pockets of snow from the 7 inches we got, but most of it's gone and there's no snow in the immediate forecast.

Tami said...

Ah...Thanks for the laugh. I couldn't have said it better myself. I don't which way is up, what day it is...I told the girls at work that if I didn't show up when I was supposed too just to give me a call because I got confused over what day it was.

Thankfully SM is pretty routine in asking me "Do you have to go to work today?" Which makes me wonder if he's just being nice or if he really wants me out of the house @;)

Leigh said...

Oh yeah, it looks like you could use more snow, LOL. I'm glad you have at least a little time for quilting for the winter, but have to say reading is an all time favorite way to spend cold indoors days.

Speaking of days, I can't say I think much about what day Christmas falls on during the week.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Ha ha! I am staying in on New Year's Eve too. Too many crazy drivers out there, and a lot of drinkin' goin' on.

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - Oh, nononono! I didn't mean to say I'd like to see Christmas and/or New Year's Day moved to a Monday as our government (in all it's infinite wisdom) has done to other holidays. From the moment they started doing that, certain holidays lost their "specialness", at least as far as I'm concerned.

Mama Pea said...

Ruth - I can still remember what a shock it was to me my first year out in the working world after leaving school. I had to go back to work on Friday after Thanksgiving! That just wasn't fair! ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Akannie - Don't cha think the weather has been giving us extremes all over the country? It sure is hard to figure out what the next day will bring!

Mama Pea said...

Tami - If SM really wanted you out of the house, believe me, he would keep track of when you went to work and when you didn't!

We make it through this past wonky week . . . now we have to do it again this coming week!

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - I feel as though I need to read, read, read until I'm satiated. (But doing so -- being inactive for any amount of time -- makes me feel so lazy. Maybe I just need to get over that. I sure can't be working out in the garden these days!) :o}

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - Hubby and I will probably be drinking grape juice (no, it would be kombucha for us) like Garrison Keillor and his mom did the year they tried to stay up until midnight!

Unknown said...

Wow, that's some snow, and cold! I leave a lot of winter stuff up, after I put away the christmas stuff. It's festive! Cute quilt :)

Unknown said...

Great pic of the deer too!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, you are getting hard in both the snow and horrid temperatures :( I would hunker down just like you are.
This whole holiday season seems weird this year. I don't know how much of it has to do with the move, but it just doesn't feel the same.
I hope you and Papa Pea are blessed beyond measure in 2014!!!

http://caffeinatedhomestead.weebly.com/blog.html

Cat Eye Cottage said...

Getting out in that snow and tackling a wood pile would not be a priority for me either! Happy new year, even though it's the middle of the week. Having a day off in the middle of the work week is not ideal either. I would much rather a long weekend.

Susan said...

Geezloueeze, that's cold! However, it's the perfect temperature for staying inside and nesting. I am tackling a lap duvet (which I will heroically attempt to use only for me - and not the cats) and plan to curl up with a book and hope winter does go too fast!

Mama Pea said...

Little Homestead in Boise - Thank you! I go from my Thanksgiving/Fall stuff to all Christmas and then "winter" decorations. Sometimes it drives me nuts to put things away, take new things out but I so enjoy the way it all chirks up our living quarters that I keep doing it.

Mama Pea said...

My gosh, how could the holidays not seem strange to you this year?! What a time to have to move . . . even though it was something you really wanted to do. Thanks for the New Year wishes . . . and same to you, m'dear!

Mama Pea said...

The Weekend Homesteader - Hubby has been trying to do some research and tracking down info by phone and he's finding many companies not even answering their phones last week or this week. Guess lots of people took some time off. (Or are spending most of their time in the break room with holiday cheer maybe!)

Mama Pea said...

Susan - I kinda shudder whenever I hear the word "duvet." When I worked for a quilt shop, I made so many duvet covers on consignment. So. blasted. much. fabric. to. throw. around! Your lap size should be much, much easier. Pictures when you're done, please!

RockWhisperer said...

Hubs and I are retired and it's different when you don't have to go to work every day, but yes, I remember when holidays fell in the middle of the week and it was so disorienting.

We had some ice here in northeastern Oklahoma for awhile, earlier than usual for us. There's snow forecast on Wednesday night.

We always stay in on New Years. I make a pot of black-eyed peas (a southern tradition, supposed to bring good luck for the new year). This year it will be the ones we grew in our garden. Corn muffins. Maybe some fried potatoes on the side.

Mama Pea said...

Ilene Jones - Seems you've had some real wintery weather in Oklahoma this year, haven't you?

I know of the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's for good luck, but I've never made them myself. Too much of a northerner, I guess. Happy New Year to you and yours!