Getting Ready for Hayden and Halle

One Year Ago

The Girls Are Coming (san Coco)

Another dull morning outside, gray, mild, with a threat of rain, about 33 degree, not the kind of weather we wanted for the girls.  There is snow on the ground, about two inches, but the roads are wet a and dirty, from the sand and it does not look as though it's going to snow or get much colder over the weekend.  I read in the paper today that the last time the area had a winter like this was in the 1950's.  The paper also mentioned that snow mobiles have had only two days this winter, unheard of  for this area.  I guess we have to be happy to have had the past two winters, both of which were wonderful, lots of snow, cold, and occasional sun, just the way we like it.  The Ice Festival in Mayville is this weekend; they had to cancel the ice castle as there's not enough ice on the lake to make the castle.  And they are adding various activities to make up for the lack of snow, like a funny pet costume contest.   There will be a polar plunge, an outside dance, and music of course but it won't be the same without hundreds of snow mobiles in the area (maybe that's a plus).

Yesterday was shopping day, as Evie had a huge list of groceries to get for the Bissell's arrival.  We hit both Sam's Club and Wegman's, came home loaded with food and it took quite awhile to put all the goodies a way.  Sometimes shopping can be exhausting, both physically and mentally, so when we got home, neither one of us felt like walking.  So, we didn't, just hung out, got organized, watched some TV, made dinner, chicken, Brussels sprouts and potatoes, and watched TV, Smash and the last two hours of Mildred Pierce, a very unsettling film, set in the 1930's, which centers on the troubled relationship between a mother and her daughter.  Kate Winslett is wonderful, as usual, but the movie is hard to watch because it's not a very happy story, as we kept predicting what awful thing would happen next, a death, some infidelity, bankruptcy, and revenge.  Sometimes you wonder why movies are made, what makes the film makers think a story is worth turning into a film.  Clearly, Mildred Pierce received critical acclaim but I am getting tired of gloom and doom.  I am ready for some sunshine, a happy movie.  Just one!

Lots of cooking today for Evie, three soups for the weekend, and that's just the beginning.