Coffee and Snowflakes

I carried my special insulated "ccci" coffee mug in one hand, with Duvick's leash and poop bag in the other. Of course, the dog was pulling me around like a rag doll forcing huge, slippery steps in the snow. My shoulders have been hurting like crazy from a little confrontation I had with a few trees while skiing on Thanksgiving day. Duvick's pull was killing the shoulders and no matter how stern or sad I made my voice sound while trying to give him a clue, he just wouldn't let up. He's not as smart as I sometimes think he is - or maybe he lacks the compassion I always grant him. Either way, there was no understanding between me and the pup except for yanking from both directions of the leash.

Duvick loves the snow - not sure why he looks cross-eyed in this picture.

There were no coffee beans in the house this morning. And when I thought to hop in the car to purchase a lb. of coffee, I saw the sky dumping huge clumps of snow. I knew Mr. McBrayer wouldn't have been happy if I took the car out - the driveway is a lot more difficult to shovel once it has heavy tracks on it. Not to mention, the thought of driving out of my neighborhood on a snowy Sunday morning in Utah made me a little nervous.

So I put on my favorite winter woolens, insulated hoodie jacket and knee-high-rubber-bottom snow boots and set out on my own two feet into the snowy morning with Duvick to get of my favorite morning friend.

It was a beautiful walk. The 5 inches of continuously building snow was slippery in spots, but otherwise easy to travel on. I love the silent stillness of snow filled skies. It's amazing how the snow insulates the sound making the "crunch" of my boots and the "jingle" of Duvick's collar amplified - it's all I hear as we walk, save for a snow-blower at the neighbor's house in the distance.

As I walk, I have time to think about things. A lot is going on in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for. Every day I thank God for giving us the opportunity to live in Utah. I dread leaving one day.

Our local coffee shop is probably a little less than half a mile from our house. It's close. It's a walk-up joint, like Good Times. You should have seen the surprise in their faces when I tapped on their walk-up window. I didn't see any footprints in the snow there - I think I was their first on-foot customer of the day. They filled my mug to the brim with French Roast, gave Duvick a doggy biscuit and told me to "stay warm out there, sweetie". I did notice some frozen chunks of snow in my hair, but besides that, I don't think I looked too cold. In fact, when it is snowing and the air is still, it's usually pretty warm out (30ish degrees), and it was. I was a little too warm by the time I got home - my glasses were even getting foggy.

What an amazing start to a wonderful day of continuous snow (it's now been snowing for 12 hours without letting up - yay!). I'm not scheduled to work at the Aviary until Tuesday. Tomorrow is my buy groceries, and work for ACSl day, but I'm not sure my to-do list can keep me off of the slopes on a fresh day.

I hope you enjoyed your extended weekend. The husband and I definitely did!