Let it Snow!

Anthropologist Franz Boas claimed Eskimos have hundreds of words for snow. Some people consider it a myth, although some recent evidence may prove Boas right.

But I, Shannon Ryals, have only two names for snow – wanted and unwanted. Think about it. 

There are perfect times for a wintry wonderland. Other times, it is horrible and no one knows if they should try to go to work. Then memes are posted about milky sandwiches and how Southerners can’t drive in snow flurries.

But the snow we had a few days ago came at a perfect time. It started after midnight on a Friday, so we could wake up and be lazy. But then the roads were cleared so we were able to get out to the farm for some fun.

And the day didn’t disappoint. 

The snow by the house was deep and perfect for making angels. The sled run on the pasture hill was amazing, as long as you stayed on the path. One false move and someone was sure to lose and eye. Bailey ran up the hill at least 50 times, while most of us opted to ride the UTV.

I love the pop of red!

On top of the hill.

The girls love riding with Papaw.

The infamous mattress sled that ended up going way faster than expected. Mamaw and Madi ended up in the creek, and it was Madi's favorite run of the day. 

Even Michael took a few turns. 

Bailey is a cold weather mutt.

Abby would only sled with the twins. She trusted no one else. 

Evidence we take sledding seriously. 

Getting our sled on.

Such a gorgeous place. I want to get snow shoes for exploring next snow. 

Bailey gets so close to the sleds.

Snow angels

My pictures don't do it justice. It was so quiet and peaceful. 

It didn't quite freeze all the way. 

Until next snow!

Hope we have at least one more good snow that shuts down the town and everyone has off of school and work. And maybe I can add another snow word to my vocabulary – acceptable. 

New Year = more progress

American author Napleon Hill said, “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

Although people have mixed feelings about Hill – some even calling him a conman – his word are pretty convicting.

Whether it’s pursuing a crazy dream or remodeling a farmhouse, sometimes you just have to go for it. Or in our case – make the time and do it.

We took a month hiatus on farm work due to holidays.

Here are the reasons we didn't work. 1. A new farm toy. 

2. Cousins were in town!

3. We rode the UTV up the mountain.

4. We were just having too much fun.

But we were back at it with a few things on the to do list to accomplish.

Michael and I are spontaneous decision makers. (It sounds petrifying, and I am sure our parents, employers and friends will read that in horror.)

We just go with our gut, but it usually serves us well.

Until today – I could not make up my mind on which chandelier we should buy.

I liked all the choices. I knew they would all look great. I just couldn’t pull the trigger on which one to get.

So as any mature adult would do, I turned to Snap Chat and in the end let my 6 year old decide.

Michael already installed the fixture, and it looks fabulous. 

Old fixture

New and improved fixture

Way to go Madi. You’re now the official decision maker in our house. (Could you imagine? We would drink hot chocolate for every meal, play school and memory non-stop and never ever cut our nails.)

We also primed Abby’s room. The bunny rabbit mural is no more. Hopefully we can paint the room this week. Abby originally wanted a grass green room, but I sweetly persuaded her to choose a more subdued color. She went with a light teal.

Goodbye bunny mural.

She was really getting into her work. 

Ta-da -  ready for Lazy days aka light teal paint. Who gets to name paint?

The plan is to work every weekend the next two months and hopefully start moving furniture over in the spring. Keep me accountable.