SNOWED IN
A blanket of whiteness could be seen outside our windows. Snow had fallen over night and landed on balconies and walkways. I checked the weather app and noticed that the temperature had fallen to -14 degrees Celsius. Such coldness I have not experienced in Texas since I have moved here close to 16 years ago. Neither have I seen snow fall more than once in a winter season.
When my son crawled out from under his warm duvet, he ran to the balcony doors. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He could not fathom that more snow had fallen and that he would be able to play in it once again this year. He walked outside with his bare feet and left behind snowy footprints.
After eating the leftover crepes from yesterday’s special Sunday Valentine’s Day breakfast, he put on his comfy grey indoor pants and a pair of jeans, two pairs of socks, a beanie hat, and anything else he could find which would keep him warm as he played in the snow. Luckily he had the hiking shoes that the neighbour brought over the last time it snowed and he also had my grey winter coat. The one which kept me warm through all my travels to both Scotland and Ireland years ago. Since we didn’t update our wardrobes to include winter gear this year, he chose another pair of thick socks as his gloves.
Close to two hours later, my son returned from the cold outside and warmed up in a hot shower. After having read the news that many people in Texas were without power, I am so grateful that we still have power and warm water. I could not imagine being so cold indoors, especially with drafty windows which already leak in the cold from the outside.
As my son sat on the sofa and read the fifth Alex Rider book, I decided to start the task of chopping the many grams of chocolate which sit in plastic containers in the cupboards. I had accumulated so many blocks of chocolate over the past six years but have used little of it. This was most likely due to the effort is takes to first chop the chocolate before starting a recipe.
Now that the baking pantry was being organised, it will be much easier to bake at a moment’s notice. After filling two large jars with the chopped bittersweet chocolate, I decided a smaller jar would be enough for the last bit of chocolate. That is, until I found yet another block of Callebaut bittersweet chocolate. I filled up the smaller jar and left the remaining pile of chocolate on the cutting board to use for brownies later in the week. The chopping project for the unsweetened and semisweet chocolates will have to wait for another day.
Later in the afternoon, there was a second knock on the door. The first one having been earlier in the day by the next door neighbour asking for an onion. Thankfully I had some and was able to give her one. This time she knocked to bring us the beans and rice she had made. Now that we had a prepared meal for our dinner, I set about to make the yogurt flatbread to accompany the beans and rice.
As the sun set behind the snowy winter trees, I watched as the colours changed from a warm yellow to a deep reddish orange. Sunsets and the way the sky changes colours never cease to amaze me. I snapped a few photos with my phone and then grabbed my big camera to capture more pixels. One day when I have a new laptop, I will be able to download the many photos residing on my many SD cards. For now, I will post photos I take with my phone.
As my son and I sat down to dinner, we heard the ding of his phone. A message from the school announced that school was closed for the next two days with virtual studies resuming on Thursday and Friday. That seemed to be the best news of the day for my son, besides the snowfall. Being snowed in is not so bad. At least for a little while.
