Singing Owl from RevGals writes:

I am looking at the weather forecast with a sigh of resignation. You see, our glorious unseasonable stretch of sunny days is ending and rain mixed with snow is in the forecast. The weather guy actually said, “This is probably the last nice day till spring, folks…”

So, I am trying to plan ahead. Help me out, please. When it is cold outside:

1. What is your favorite movie for watching when curled up under a wooly blanket? Well… NOT Dr. Zhivago! 🙂 Something where my mind can go somewhere else like Harry Potter or Star Trek or Lord of the Rings series.

2. Likewise, what book? The Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings trilogy (I know, shocker.) But if I really want a “take me away” place I’ll read some David Eddings (Belgariad series for starters) or some of the “Mitford” books.

3. What foods do you tend to cook/eat when it gets cold? I do a lot of soups and stews when it’s cold outside. Buckeye gal that I am, I crank up the crockpot and enjoy. One of the family favorites is Corn Chowder. (BONUS! here’s the recipe!)

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 medium potatoes, diced and peeled
• 1 bag frozen whole kernel corn, broken apart
• 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces
• 16 oz can of cream-style corn
• 1 tsp tarragon
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• several turns of the peppercorn mill
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• OPTIONAL Midwest heart attack version – 4 strips of bacon, fried very crisp and crumbled

DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in crockpot except for the cheese and bacon. Stir well. Put crockpot on low for 10-12 hours or 6 hours on high. If you cook on high, stir every hour. Sprinkle cheese and bacon on top of each serving.

Great with cornbread. If you want to keep it strictly vegetarian, use water or vegetable broth and omit the bacon.

Serves: 6-8

4. What do you like to do if you get a “snow day” (or if you don’t get snow days, what if you did)? Well, after the snowblower and shovels have been maxed out, we have hot chocolate and do a jigsaw puzzle. Last year in the blizzard, Reedy Girl and I did a 2000 piece puzzle in 4 days.

5. Do you like winter sports or outdoor activities, or are you more likely to be inside playing a board game? Do you have a favorite (indoors or out)? We are boring indoor people. I don’t mind a little sliding on the saucer down the hill (actually our driveway!) Most of the time, I’d rather read, do a puzzle, or maybe break out the Apples 2 Apples or Mexican Train Dominoes.

But truthfully? I’d rather have fall all year! It’s my favorite season!

Here’s some photos from our blizzard year… (now, you folks in Snowland don’t laugh too hard. The MidAtlantic freaks when snow is forecast, let alone when it FALLS! And we won’t even TALK about how they drive in snow!) 😀

– The empty shelves where milk used to be
– The snowdrift that was higher than our Honda Pilot. (It took us 8 hours to shovel out the cars.)
– My favorite SnowMan after he did most of the snowblowing honors
– The yardstick which proved our snowfall – 34 inches in 2 days!

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