Goooooooood morning. Is anyone awake? Who made it to the end of the Superbowl? I never do.

We had a mostly restful weekend here, getting recharged for another week of working from home, virtual school – all that jazz. Two hikes, of course. On Saturday we were out the door and headed for Leesburg, to hike at Rust Nature Preserve – one of our favorite shorter hikes. It’s supposed to be a great birding spot, but I never seem to see much – wonder why? (Just kidding, I totally know why: it’s my two loud children.) The rest of Saturday, we intended to clean the house – but it didn’t happen. Instead, we all did our preferred lolling about activities. Steve killed Vikings on his xBox. Peanut watched cartoons. Nugget staged elaborate battles with his animal figurines. I read.

On Sunday, we woke up to a heavy wet snowfall. It seemed to be really coming down from the sky, but not sticking, so we decided to get out for an early hike and snowy playtime at Riverbend Park before the snow was gone, which – spoiler alert! – it was by mid-afternoon. The kids ran up and down the trail, glorying in the sloppy snow and mud mixture, and we all took big, cleansing breaths of fresh air. With their good behavior, the ankle-biters earned some more sloppy snow play back at the visitors’ center, before heading home for cocoa. And the rest of Sunday passed mostly like Saturday – with the exception of Superbowl prep. I did some reading, some cooking, and a lot of watching Nugget’s “ultimate aminal rumble” battles. Finished the day curled up with the rugrats tucked away in bed, the Superbowl on, homemade sweet potato chips and Paleo ranch dip, and some good nature writing. Not too shabby.

• 

• 

• 

Reading. A very good reading week! I began the week soaking up the sun in Corfu with the Durrell family – enjoying Gerald Durrell’s beautiful nature writing and cackling at his family’s comedic antics. Moved on to Song of Solomon – in honor of Black History Month, reading one of the greatest writers who ever lived – and was entranced. After blazing through Song of Solomon, I did need a readerly exhale in the form of some peaceful nature writing. Melissa Harrison’s beautiful anthology celebrating the winter season was just the ticket.

Watching. So the majority of my watching this week was watching Nugget’s toy animal figurines battle each other. It’s a remarkably interactive experience. I am required to pay close attention; to have a rooting interest; and to make a prediction about which animal will win each round and then support my prediction with logic. And more often than not, Nugget’s response is something along the lines of: “Well, Mom, I’m sorry to tell you, but… jaguar defeats tiger.” When not watching toy animal battles, we’ve fallen down a Food Network rabbit hole. Peanut recently discovered Giada de Laurentiis and is glorying in the hours and hours of Giada at Home content on Hulu. (The latest season, Giada at Home 2.0, shot on iPhones by Giada’s boyfriend Shane during COVID summer 2020, is great.) We’ve also introduced the kids to Iron Chef, because why not? Oh, and there was that football game. Whatever. But – Amanda Gorman! WOW, again.

Listening. Back to podcasts this week! Finished up the Mom Hour series on home organization (yes I’m a nerd, no I don’t care who knows it), then listened to a few episodes of Song Exploder featuring my two favorite bands – R.E.M. and The Decemberists. And then an episode of Overheard at National Geographic on humpback whale songs (it’s a back episode; go find it deep in the archives – wonderful) and finally some Tea or Books?, just to round things out.

Making. Not too much this week – not too much of anything. Plenty of dinners; that’s about the extent of my creativity. And homemade sweet potato chips and Paleo ranch dip for the Superbowl – yum.

Moving. Decent week! A couple of outdoor runs; a couple of Peloton workouts; a couple of hikes. Sunday’s snowy hike was the highlight. As I laughingly told Steve – I haven’t attempted to put on my Sorel winter boots since I was pregnant with Nugget; they were a leetle bit easier to get on this time.

Blogging. Outdoorsy week coming atcha! Trying out a new thing and compiling a monthly outdoors report; January’s will go live on Wednesday. And then on Friday, easing into the weekend with birds in the snow – all pictures snapped through my kitchen window during a recent winter storm. I can’t wait to share these with you, so do check in with me then.

Loving. I mentioned this up above, so I won’t say too many words, but it’s been so much fun to share cooking shows with the kids – especially Peanut. Steve and I used to love watching Food Network together and then recreating the chefs’ dishes in our condo kitchen and at our first house, but the arrival of kids threw a wrench into that hobby for awhile. Now the kids are getting interested in cooking and chefs, which I think is really cool. Peanut is especially into it – she’s always enjoyed baking, but I am more of a cook (blog handle notwithstanding) and I am so stoked that she is finally asking to help with dinner. Spending time with her in the kitchen is such a treat and the more skills she builds, the more fun she has with it.

Asking. What are you reading this week?