SNOW!

It snowed! It snowed all day and night and it's so so pretty! And like a true Seattleite, I let everything else go and switched into hibernation mode. I wouldn't dare presume to drive, nope, I'm from Seattle, I don't have the skills.

The photo is from our kitchen window, overlooking the Wupper river valley.

One hour ago, in the midst of my candle-lit, baking experiment evening, the phone rang. It was the barn owner. "Did you remember you offered to feed the horses for me tonight?" omygosh, of course I forgot - it SNOWED! (How can I explain this to someone from snowy Germany, that snow causes all things to come to a standstill for me, including, apparently, my synapse activity.)

Oops. "No problem, I'll drive right out." RIIIGHT. Me. Drive in icy, -1.5 degrees. I walked up to my husband, who was grading one of his class's math tests, and I said "I'm a little worried about driving without snowtires." (Our snowtire appt is Tuesday, DOH!)

Then he proved to be the wonderful man I'd always hoped for, "Would you like me to drive you to the horses?" OH YES! THANK YOU! and he got out of his cozy nighttime clothes and put on real clothes for me. He fought horrible, horrible traffic for me, and I kept holding his hand on the gear shift and saying, "It's ok, the horses won't fire us if we're late. I'm just so glad you're driving me!"

I hope it isn't too boring to read about how grateful I am. I love this man! I told him, "I'll hurry!" and threw a bale on the wheelbarrow. He gave me his head-lamp so that I wouldn't hurt myself on the electric fences trying to get in and out with the hay in the total darkness. Funnily, all the horses except Baasha were afraid of that headlamp. They all hung way back, staring at me from far away, I could only see their glowing eyes, except for Baasha, who said, "Hi mom, you look stupid with that light in your forehead!" *giggle*

I was dying to know how the new Amigo winter blanket fared during the wet, driving snow last night. Would he be wet underneath? I stuck my whole arm under his blanket and was delighted to see he's toasty warm, and dry under there. It wasn't a friendly romantic snow, it was a bitter, horizontally driven wet snow lashing the trees around, until hours later, when it turned to big flakes the children were trying to catch in their mouths.

Thankfully the trough wasn't frozen so I dumped another tank of water in there. I dumped the horses' hay pellets and grain directly onto the snow in 4 little piles and very carefully lay hay in two separate piles in addition to the big hay feeder, hoping my baby will get lots.

I noticed all the other horses were in the shelters when I arrived, and Baasha was nibbling at what was left in the hay feeder. I have the suspicion that the other Arabs are freezing cuz they are wearing only rain coats with no insulation. These rain coats press their hair to their bodies and inhibit any natural insulation the hair could give. That's why they were all in the shelters, I think. This would be a case where the horses would actually be warmer with no blankets.

I have to endorse the Rambo/Amigo blankets now. I was a total Weatherbeeta snob before, but I see that the new Amigo fits wonderfully, way up over his withers, but yet doesn't have that "dress" look goin' on. Somehow it stays in place even without crossed hind leg straps. My horse is easy on blankets, but I am very very happy with it overall. I keep thanking my man for buying it for me!

QUICK HOUSE UPDATE: We went out there again today (in the snow!) to get some paperwork describing the materials used in the house. The bank wants to know about the floor material, wall material, roof material, and whether the windows are double glass. We got all that and of course I was just gazing out the window picturing my horse standing there. Mrs. S said, "Oh dear, the fire went out!" and Mr. S said, "Well, put another log in, honey." And she said, "OK, but I always have to!" and I thought, "Oh Lord, let us get this house, and let me put logs in the woodstove while it's snowing outside! I can think of nothing I'd rather do!"

I finally got a look at this side of the house, which for some reason I'd never seen. Look, it's those slate shingles I love, characteristic of the region. Lovely!

Monday we will authorize the bank to send out an appraiser, and that will take 3 or 4 days. When they agree the price is appropriate, we can set up a date with a lawyer/notar. I can't stand this, but I remember a sermon in church recently, "God cannot teach patience and trust when everything happens immediately for you." *AGH*

P.S. - I was tagged this week to share a few personal things about myself. I'm giving it some thought, FantastykVoyager.