sNOw Day

As most of the country was already buried under snow, they were predicting Houston would have it's own little Snow-pocolypse. Schools and businesses were shut down; the City was closed. Everyone was anticipating something that no one believed Houston could handle. And we got it- sort of. Houston definitely could not handle the ice that coated the city over night. It was good that schools and businesses were closed. News outlets reported hundreds of accidents in the first wave of morning commuters. However, there was no snow. The snow day thousands of children anticipated turned in to nothing more than a 3 day weekend, but one where you had to spend the 1st day inside because traveling the streets was dangerous.

A lot of people threw caution to the wind when the fluffy snow didn't appear. Snow is friendly and fun. What we got instead was black ice, which is sneaky and dangerous. Even us Yanks, who grew up with these driving conditions, have a healthy fear of black ice. I was given a gentle reminder of the power of black ice by the clear, almost invisible layer of it that coated just the edge of the top of our front step. I went out to take pictures and almost busted my butt down the concrete stairs thanks to that sneaky little strip.

Here you can see the coating of ice on Ray's car, plus some little icicles hanging on our historic district sign. The orange cones are for playing soccer in the front yard and live permanently on the porch. They were also coated with ice that looked like drops of rain that froze the very second they hit solid matter.

Stuck inside, I decided there was only one thing I could do. Retreat to the kitchen and cook. I had chili fixins- and what could be better for a freeze in than chili? Despite being a native Texan, my husband still loves my chili, made with beef and beans. The boys love it to and it is a weekly meal during our short lived cold season.

I am not much of a baker; baking is too exact of a science and I enjoy improvising when I cook. I do love to make some quick breads, though, since they allow for a little flexibility. We had some bananas in the house that had just gone over-ripe and the day just begged for banana bread! I don't mash the bananas as smooth as I should; I enjoy a lump or 2 of banana. I also add about 2x as much vanilla as any recipe calls for. It's just better that way. For anyone who might be wondering, I have found that the old school Betty Crocker Banana Bread recipe is tried and true. The catch with it is that you have to have buttermilk available. I ended up braving the icy roads to go 3 blocks to Fiesta for some, to learn later (via FB of course) that you can easily make your own with milk and vinegar. Good to know!

Before:

After:

While I was cementing my status as Snow Day Domestic Goddess, Daddy entertained the boys:

When stickers on Daddy's forehead game lost it's luster, our electronic babysitter came on duty for a while:

And apparently, Truitt had some important work he could phone in:

Eventually, Daddy was able to brave the elements and head to his office. The boys did the nap thing and then, by afternoon snack time, the banana bread was ready to go (and very good, I must say). The boys had been very good for Mommy and were able to have one of their favorite treats: banana bread with Nutella.

Of course no good deed goes unpunished and I ended up cleaning up all the baking dishes plus this little present from Mathis:

Oh well.

It ended up going by rather quickly. That afternoon Truitt's Monster Truck Jam buddies, Gavin and Logan, came over with their parents. The 4 kids trashed the house while the grown ups enjoyed some beers. Not a bad end to the snow day that never was.