Winter Wonderland

We're on day two of being snowed in, and so far haven't killed one another.  It helps that the kids have all new toys and Wii games to amuse themselves with.  I'm hoping to go sledding later today.  I don't know the exact amount of snow, but Tom is guessing 8-10".  It's really windy so it's hard to measure with any accuracy.

It's a perfect day to snuggle up with a good book.  I'm trying to finally finish The Lord of The Rings.  I'm nearly done The Two Towers and hope to start The Return of the King later today.  It's all in one volume, which is nice.  It's my mother's copy, and I've had it for two years, so I'm thinking now's a good time to finish it and give it back already.

We had a lovely Christmas with both sides of our family. My husband surprised me with the Carole King & James Taylor cd & dvd. (Live at the Troubador)  He bought me a new laptop a few months ago so I wasn't expecting anything else. We put it on to play immediately and even took it with us to my parents' house to listen to over brunch. They just don't make music like that anymore.

My parents knocked my socks off with their gifts.  My father always asks for a list, in detail, of what we want.  He wants to give us something good without guessing.  So I had asked for a Coleman hiking hydration pack. I could not be more excited to try this thing out soon! It's lightweight and very slim, just enough room for keys, phone, camera and a map, along with a water bladder you fill and drink from a tube. I may need to find somewhere to hike this week in the snow.  But that turned out to be my little gift, as they presented me with a little jewelry box.  They gave me the most amazing tanzanite and silver ring. I think I may have cried, I was so stunned.  It turns out that they also gave the exact same ring to my sister when she was visiting for Thanksgiving.  She nearly bit through her tongue keeping it a secret from me.  I can't stop staring at this sparkly thing on my finger!  I haven't been able to wear my diamond since the Frodo Incident, as the scar has made my finger too thick to wear it. This one fits the ring finger of my other hand perfectly.

Tom and the kids are off all this week, and then he has next week off as well.  We have some fun things planned, but for now are content to stay indoors out of the driving wind.