And on to warmer thoughts....

Yes, it is a messy, snowy, blustery day outside.  And, as usual, I am looking around for something to do...inside.  I have lots of family pictures that need to be scanned and organized so that is my job for today.

I came across this picture in a pile of childhood photos.  Yes, indeed, that is me in my hula girl outfit.  I remember it well.  My mom had a dancing school and gave lessons for many years.  And my brother Paul and I were always enrolled.  I loved it.  Paul...not so much.

One year Mom decided to teach me how to do the hula.  And hula I did.  I remember when the hula skirt came in the mail.  It was something else.  Many strands of cellophane fastened to a cloth waistband...it did the trick.  No grass skirt for this little girl.  The rest of the outfit was made by a local friend.  And the paper flowers must have come from Woolworths or Ben Franklin.  I really thought I was something.  You can tell by the smile.

One occasion I remember dancing the hula was for a show in the local gym in Galva, my home town.  It was a freezing cold night in early January.  Snow may have been on the ground.  I really don't recall.  What sticks in my memory is how very, very cold it was out there on the stage in the gym.  Cold on my little bare feet, cold on my arms...and legs.  But when the music started I did my dance and the applause from the audience took care of my shivers.

I really loved that little hula outfit.  My mom kept it for years packed up in a box.  When we moved from our house in Gainesville I debated what to do with it.  The skirt had morphed into dusty plastic shreds, but the rest of the costume was in perfect shape.  I put it in the auction with my other memories.  I hope whoever bought it enjoyed it.

As for me, I get warm all over remembering that cold night when I warmed up the crowd with my hula dance.

Snow Days and Kids

I am enjoying all the pictures my friends and neighbors are posting of their kids and grandkids out in the first snow of this winter.  It is late in the year for snow.  But we will take it anytime.

My picture is of  Nina taken at our little house up on Harlin Drive.  She was probably 3 or 4 at the time.  Not in school yet.  So it would have been one of those snowy winters we had back in the late 70's I think.  We were out of school for weeks I remember.

My Andy is a creative sort.  And he loves the snow.  And, being a carpenter, he loves to build things.  And what do you do with lots of snow?  Why, make a snow house, of course.  He took one of our plastic storage boxes and proceeded to make snow blocks.  Nina helped too.  I think I was in charge of hot cocoa and cookies and dry clothes when they were needed.  I remember this project  practically cleared the yard of snow.  You can see bare ground and lots of leaves in the finished product.  This snow house lasted for days. 

Ruby Robins called us from the Times one day and asked if Wayman King could come up and take a picture of Nina standing in front of  her frozen playhouse.  We of course said yes and the result was her picture in the paper. 

Takes me back in time.  There she stands in her sturdy little boots, holding her life-long companion Tina, the hairless doll.  Warm hat, warm coat, warm mittens.  So happy that her creative dad has helped her make another winter memory.

So, go out there.  Have fun while this snow lasts.  The white stuff will be gone before we know it.  But memories like this last forever. 

Snow? or No Snow?

Last night it snowed.  And it is cold this morning.  As for the white stuff...there was barely a dusting.  On checking my Facebook friends' postings I understand that quite a few of our local kids were disappointed that there wasn't more so they could enjoy a snow day at home.  I checked the area school closings and some students are having the day off.  As with so many things here in the Ozarks, it just depends on where you live.

But, back to snow, which is the topic of this piece.  Last year we had more than enough of the white stuff.  The picture above was taken in the midst of our long, long winter that stretched from the first part of December to almost March.  Snow came at regular intervals and cold  matched any we had ever had.  There was much talk of just how bad the winter of 2013-14 was.

And now we have nearly the opposite.  We get teased with warm breezes from the south that bring our temperature up to the mid 50's and close to 60.  This weekend's forecast is for sunny and spring-like temperature.  I don't know about you but I'm going to go out and enjoy it regardless of the fact that we are just now in February.

All things must come with a word of caution.  I remember a snow in March that painted a line of snow from Branson to just east of Gainesville and extended on down into Baxter County in Arkansas.  I measured 22" in my backyard.  It broke my clothesline pole in half with the weight of wet heavy snow.  Some chicken houses and barns and other structures collapsed under the weight of the snow.  It lasted four days.  Andy was up in Columbia at a meeting that week and I was home alone.  He told me that it was very nice up there.  He could walk around in his shirtsleeves.

And just a few years ago we had snow on the first day of spring.  I took several pictures of snow covered vehicles in town and snow on my jonquils here at the farm.

Winter is not done with us yet.  School kids will keep on doing snow dances on the nights the weatherman talks about snow possibilities for the area.  People who have to get up and go to work early in the morning will leave some extra time in case the roads are bad.  And night workers might opt to stay put until they can get home over icy streets and highways.

Beware.  A snow storm still lurks on the horizon.  So go out and enjoy this mid-winter break while it lasts.