Ok. I obviously did not make myself clear. I wanted a “snow day” not a “too cold for human habitation day.” The first allows one to sleep late and loaf around reading The DaVinci Code and baking cookies; the second requires grown ups to put on every piece of apparel they own and go to work while children snigger, slumber or both. Where is the justice in that??

In spite of it all, yes, I still like winter. Walking past the subway stop going to and from the parking lot is always pleasant, the smell of frozen metal always evoking memories of sledding at Chestnut Ridge. Hey, better to focus on that than on the fact that I still do not have a secretary and my paralegal just quit. But I’m so easy to get along with! Why is this happening?

Everyone accepts the existence of dust devils but no one ever mentions snow devils which, to my way of thinking, seem to present the same phenomenon but, obviously with snow instead of dust. I was thinking about this yesterday during my sometimes white knuckle drive to the Appellate Division. When the whiteouts cleared, there were definitely snow devils whipping up in the fields and across the road. It is an understatement to say that it was very cool in light of the zero degree weather but you get my drift. * [*Sadly, all bad puns are, in fact, intentional.]

We awoke this morning to almost a foot of snow. It was enough to make it impossible to open the front gate without a few minutes worth of shoveling but, alas, not enough to cancel school. I love snow days. I feel that, as a citizen of Western New York, it is my right to expect 1-3 snow days per year. As I drove the Flash to the airport at 5:30 this morning, my inner six year old chanted “Snow Day!” and didn’t stop until I had deposited Mona Lisa and the Sprite at the door of their school. There is something so…so liberating…about a snow day. It is like a free pass from all adult responsibilities. How often does that happen? Where else does that happen?! It’s definitely a northeast thing so you might not understand but take my word for it, it’s pretty sweet.

For all that this has been a working weekend, I have managed to squeeze out a few meager crumbs of pleasure. Ok., who am I kidding? There have been some real highlights.

1- It was [finally] my turn to read Wicked. As an undergraduate at BU, I quickly learned that “wicked’ is an adjective used in Massachusetts to mean “really really.” Very true in this case. I guess the “great read” part fell off of the title along the line. What wicked good fun!
2- Friday dinner at the Sterling. We have finally found a place that we can all agree on and how convenient that it is located right up the block from the dance studio frequented [and I Do mean frequently] by the Sprite. Great food, nice people, beers of many lands and yes, Virginia, the desserts are homemade and fabulous.
3- The Return of the King! Mona Lisa and I have been waiting for this for a long time but it was worth it. My only comment is that it is my opinion that people have forgotten how to behave in public places. Everyone is so used to watching videos and dvds that they no longer recognize that strangers sitting next to them in public places may not have the same tolerance for their “charming habits” as their kith and kin. Of course, the alternative theory is that their families and pets can’t stand their rudeness either, hence the public viewing place. Am I complaining about the super-sized patron who sat next to us belching and talking through the entire movie? You bet I am. At least in the old days there would have been a crabby usher with a flashlight to publicly humiliate them. I heard something about John Ashcroft suggesting the installation of the stocks in movie theater lobbies…now that’s quality of life oriented governance! But I digress. I will only say this about the film—it was so good that we considered staying for a second [3 ½ hour] showing.