free and next to free ways to have fun in the winter

*build an igloo in your backyard

*ice fishing

*snowshoeing/skiing/hiking in city/county parks

*roast hotdogs and marshmallows on a grill in your back yard

*invite friends over to play board games:  monopoly, scrabble, yatzee

*minneapolis has an: ice carnival; a holidazzle parade; and an 'art shanty' event where local artists create 'art house' installations along the lines of the fish houses for ice fishing on lake minnetonka-folks walk around on the frozen lake and look at the art installations - this year they are also having performance artists perform on the ice 

*minneapolis public library:  you can 'check out' passes to the russian museum of art, the swedish institute, the foshay tower - maybe other cities have similar programs

*over the holiday season churches frequently have christmas programs, advent nights, musical choir performances and concerts - check local newspapers and bulletin boards for these events which are almost always free and family friendly

*private schools (and some public schools) also have holiday programs that are open to the public

*when my children were smaller, agencies like the Lions, Vets organizations, etc sometimes had santa days that were free and open to the public - again community newspapers and bulletin boards

*other cultural events that are often open to the public:  Kwanza, Hmong New Year, 

*go christmas caroling with friends

*hand out cookies or other holiday treats to homeless

*again, churches sometimes have Nativity pageants outdoors with real people and live animals - most children are not as denomination-centric as adults and they always love live animals

*pick a local school and attend their sporting events (community and high school tickets are always cheaper than major league sporting events) - you don't need to have a child attending the school to support your neighborhood school

*take a late night walk with friends and family on a full-moon night - incredibly beautiful

hope for the best, prepare for the worst

as i opened the local news online this am i remembered how in the past few years i have shut my phone off at night and then checked the local crime news each morning before i turned my phone back on
major grannie tip:  if you 'just know' there is going to be impending bad news, make sure you get a good nights sleep and then do your best to prepare for the worst

so, i have gotten a brief reprieve from that particular piece of drama; of course there is always new and different drama but being able to sleep at night and read the national or local news before checking the crime page is a good step in the right direction

so far today i have gotten three children off to school; moved canning jars to the basement, sawed off the trees that have volunteered in the yard and am now getting ready to watch an episode of Wired.  a friend sent me the entire series - some friends know exactly what one longs for and never gets

success...

writing with grape stained fingertips as picked grapes this labor day, hopefully sometime this evening they will become juice
will try to get back to regular posts here as time has passed and so many interesting tidbits have occurred and so many tips have been learned and not posted...  soon, soon folks

trying to write on my blog and grannie is failing

not your milk and cookies grannie: grannie sends em to camp

not your milk and cookies grannie: grannie sends em to camp: how did: "appropriate language, appropriate clothes and remember you are sisters, be kind to each other" become: grandma said, "don't make a...

grannie sends em to camp

how did: "appropriate language, appropriate clothes and remember you are sisters, be kind to each other" become: grandma said, "don't make any arch-enemies"?

"ah" work for grannie

i have missed writing and have missed sharing thoughts, plots and tips...   at some point i got just plain wore out thinking and chasing and working all day with young ones and couldn't imagine one more thought going in their direction; but that isn't useful for me, this writing is what keeps me sane and keeps the brain cleared of chaos and focused on beauty.  i have enjoyed driving each day and seeing the green leaves emerge first as buds, then as lacy foliage against the sky and today the trees are almost full and only hints of blue peek through - as i write this i remember that a few nights ago, or maybe it really was a week ago, there was a tornado warning here in the city...  as i listened to the sirens sound i turned on the radio on the computer - of course the two pre-teens were in the yard tornado-chasing while i half listened to the warnings while continually reminding myself that IF we had to run to the basement i had best not forget the infant sleeping - i had visual nightmares of being huddled in the basement and seeing the house lift off only to realize then that he was still in his crib; who needs to sleep to have nightmares?

i am eternally grateful for the women who have seen a need and arrived - they are why i tell my adult daughters to nurture relationships with women; it is these relationships that sustain us

this whole experience however has made me understand the glee that men must feel as they leave for work each day - those men who leave the woman and children behind while they work/meet/work-socialize all day....  the giddiness  i feel when i can walk out the door for a brief three hours of work each wednesday - such a feeling of "ah"....

so many appointments have occurred, been missed and scheduled since last i wrote - this taking care of kids placed by the county has requirements beyond human capability or current gas prices.  i know that social workers go to school to become social workers to help people - however, at some point, another part of their brain must take over and it all goes a little wonkey

hence my grannie tip: do whatever you can to outsmart the ^%$#*#$'s