Snow Day

We got a lovely bit of snow last week, our first real good round for the winter; about six inches fell, with a minimal amount of ice underneath - as good it gets around here. I was following the weather Tuesday evening, and woke up Wednesday to a beautiful winter wonderland!

Snow day!

But, but, but... what good is a snow day when I wasn't planning on going anywhere anyways? *sigh* Retirement, thus far, has a way of taking all the fun out of an unexpected day off. I've been running a bit short on fun, so spent my morning coffee time looking pensively out the window at the snow coming down, and pondering my day. My usual routine beckoned tiredly, but had little appeal.

Hmmm... If I decided to ditch my todo list for the day - this thought had much greater appeal - how would I then spend my time? I certainly wasn't going to take the Mustang out for a spin! It didn't take long to decide - one of my favorite ways to waste a couple of days is to put together a jigsaw puzzle. Fortunately, like a good puzzler, I had one (or three) stashed away for just such an occasion. (You never know when you're going to need a good jigsaw puzzle...)

My mood immediately lifted. I cleared the table, got out a puzzle and set to work. This! This was a proper way to spend the morning. I sipped tea, worked on the puzzle, and watched out the window as the snow fell. Contentment reigned.

The snow stopped early in the afternoon, so I put on my coat and hiking boots, and went outside to shovel. It does occur to me that, one of these years, I will regret it if I spend 90 minutes clearing the driveway and sidewalks. Fortunately for my lower back, one of these years has not yet arrived, and while my muscles weren't exactly silent after the first thirty minutes, they quit complaining shortly after I finished and went back inside to warm up. It helped that it was light, fluffy snow; if it had been heavy, I might just have regretted pretending I am still young enough to shovel like that.

Once I came back in, I immediately got back to work on the puzzle. As always when I get started on one, the day flew by, and it was bedtime before I knew it. I didn't do too badly - I only just-one-more-piece-d it for an extra thirty minutes. Mostly because I knew (and this is where I show proper appreciation for the gift of time retirement has brought me) that I could pick up where I left off in the morning. With no one but me to care if I got back to my todo lists, or not, I was free to indulge in my addiction, and spent the next day and a half completing my masterwork. 

Now THAT is how one ought to properly observe a good snow day!