Loose Ends
Where's my snow day?
Susan Nienow

My apologies to moms who would rather not have their kids at home and retailers who would like us all to be at the mall, but I need a snow day. I prefer a day when I have outside appointments so when they're cancelled I don't have to feel guilty. And, I'd like enough notice so I can rent a sappy movie and check out a good mystery from the library.

First, I would feed the birds on the deck because they need help when it snows. I know all the seeds that fall below sprout in the spring and have to be pulled but that never seems like a big deal in the winter. Remind me of the starving birds in June when I am crouched under the deck picking seedlings out of the stones, bumping my head on the joists and making my knees very angry.

Last year, I took a snow day when I got tired of waiting for a real one. Actually it worked out better. I had my choice of movies to rent and didn't have to spread birdseed over the snow on the deck railings. I had to stick to the rules though. No lying on the couch eating a box of chocolates. No staying in bed. I have to get up and actually enjoy my day off.

Also, no working. No cleaning the bathroom or doing a load of wash. I don't even water the plants. And absolutely no getting down on the floor with my glasses on. Just a glimpse of my dust bunny collection or the spots on the floor would ruin the "no guilt" part of my day.

I know. I mentioned cleaning out my closet. I haven't done that yet this year. That isn't work for me. I get to make a list of clothes I need to go with things I already have. That means shopping. So really, cleaning out my closet is nothing more than making a shopping list.

I can catch up on my magazines. We must get hundreds. Ok, maybe only 20. Some come every other month, and a few are weekly. They add up. I can't believe I ordered all of them. Well, there were those frequent flyer miles that I would lose if I didn't order magazines.

So while I flip through magazines I can watch craft TV or maybe homeowners' TV. Yesterday I learned how to turn a fruit crate into a TV stand and how to make a kaleidoscope out of a piece of copper pipe. Today there is a special on how to make bugs out of coat hangers and paper cups. Do people buy those? What would I do with them?

What I need is a lesson on speed painting. Paint an entire room in four hours including set up and clean up. Instead, I watch someone turn a cigar box into a container for a flower arrangement. That should come in handy.