Six-year-old first grader or sixty-year-old teacher, those two wonderful words always thrill. And today is our first true snow day in years. No school! Hooray!!!

So, I awoke earrrrrly in the dark without an alarm and set to work preparing for my lovely day off.

By 4 a.m., I had brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Shortly after, apples and cinnamon simmered in the crock pot for applesauce. To finish an open jar of preserves before I return to Low-Carb Days, I baked an apricot-filled pound cake to enjoy with the first mugs of coffee. And just before feeding all the birds, squirrels, and Bunny, I stacked wood on the porch for a comforting fire and cleared a narrow path on the driveway and sidewalks for the dog walkers — the first of what will be several trips out to shovel today and tomorrow to keep up with the heavy snow fall.

The high point of the morning will be my annual reading of John Greenleaf Whittier’s narrative poem Snow-Bound. I read the few pages aloud, and then decide if I want to keep going.

I may do more with this post tomorrow if schools are closed again ~ including an audio recording of the birds outdoors, a winter puzzle, some outdoor photos … who knows. For now, on to the poem, and another annual ritual … the income taxes. Sigh. It’s okay, I’m home on a Wednesday!!

Hoping your snowy days are all that you enjoy!