Winter Bubbles

Posted on December 31, 2017 by TJ

Happy New Year’s!

It’s hard to believe that it’s already (almost) 2018. I remember when we were kids, my siblings and I would calculate how completely ancient we would be in the year 2000. I remember all the hoopla as 2000 arrived–what with the Y2K scare and all. And now it’s already 2018 and I am 18 years past ancient. Ha ha!

EJ said our thermometer registered -3 degrees when we got up this morning. It’s so cold that the snow squeaks when we walk on it. Brrrr! But it was far better than the -20 temperatures at a nearby town. EJ says that the clouds and the fact that we live on a hill kept our temperatures from going so low. It snowed very little today so we didn’t have to snowblow the driveway. The National Weather Service is forecasting more lake effect snow and colder air later this week.

We had so much snow yesterday that our medieval castle birdhouse transformed into a onion-domed Russian winter palace. It was rather pretty.

We had heard that if you blow bubbles in low temperatures, they will freeze. So after I took care of the animals this morning, EJ and I went outside with our bubble stuff, and tried it out:

As you can see, our bubbles didn’t freeze. We will try again when we get colder temperatures. I think it would be interesting to see bubbles freeze.

A few weeks ago EJ bought a toboggan at Goodwill. It is a really nice one with cushions and everything. Late this afternoon we sledded together on it down the driveway. We were going to go down on it a second time so I could video it–I go so fast on the plastic sleds that I can’t manage to steer the sled and operate the camera at the same time. However, my hands were hurting from the cold so we went inside to warm up. After we warmed up, we went back out, but this time I sledded down on a sled and then videoed EJ sledding down on the toboggan. The toboggan goes slower than the plastic sleds.

The deer have been coming to the bird feeders almost every evening now. Of course, they come during the night as well, but I don’t see them then. I know that they’ve visited because the feeders are empty in the morning. Usually a Mama comes with her two little ones. Sometimes another adult female visits as well but usually the Mama chases her away.

Yesterday we bought snack food and today I spent several hours making homemade pizzas. I made a double batch, which resulted in one large pizza and two smaller ones. Our New Year’s Eve tradition is to stay at home and eat pizza and a variety of snack foods–chips, pretzels, Doritos, etc.–as we welcome in the new year. Sometimes we’ve had movie marathons–like watching the Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies. At midnight we watch the ball drop and yell out the door, “Happy New Year!” JJ has a supply of fireworks which he saves from July 4th celebrations and he fires off a few. Tonight is going to be quieter: JJ had to work today from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and he is going to his girlfriend’s house afterwards to welcome in the new year with her. I’m doubt that EJ and I will stay up for the new year. It matters less and less to us as we get older. A good night’s sleep matters more. We are enjoying our quiet evening eating pizza and chips, snuggling with the animals, and reading, writing, and surfing the ‘net.

What traditions do you have?