Snow and Oatmeal

1/6/2015

We're only days into the new year, and have had our first snow.  Not a major snowstorm, but enough inches on the ground that require shoveling.  If you live where it snows, you know that you have to get ahead of the snow.  While it would be comforting to sit next to the fire and forget about the mounting snow - this would be a mistake.

Jeff, is out this morning, shoveling the sidewalk and driveway.  If you clear the snow off surfaces, then when the sun comes out, the remaining snow will melt faster.  One of advantages of having sons is that when snowstorms did come around, we had a number of hands to help shovel us out.  Unfortunately, that responsibility is all on Jeff.  He shovels some and then comes back inside to warm up.  Since the snow has stopped, once he has the driveway clear, then he's done.

Jeff and I would still like to have a big snowstorm.  One reason, which is rather guilty of us, is that we have yet to have a power outage of more than a few minutes since we installed "Jenny" (the generator) in the yard.  Jenny is big enough to run everything, and I do mean everything, in the house.  So far, Jenny only runs about 15 minutes once a week which is sort of a maintenance thing.  If Jenny doesn't run those 15 minutes, then there's a problem and it needs fixing.

On snowy days like this, oatmeal is the "go to" for breakfast.  Jeff uses Steel Cut oats, which makes a much different kind of oatmeal than most people are used to.  Mom used to make oatmeal and Cream of Wheat when we were kids, and I hated it.

Come to find out, if you take your bowl of oats, add butter (an absolute essential), brown sugar, white sugar, milk and/or raisins and nuts, you have an almost healthy breakfast!  The good thing about eating oatmeal is that it stays with you much longer than say eating a piece of toast.

When the boys were young, they always wanted Jeff to make oatmeal on test days.  The boys actually thought of oatmeal as brain food.  

I hope wherever you are that you are snuggled in if it's cold, or you're basking in the sun drinking pina coladas (however you spell it).

P