Snow Daze - Week of Feb. 20th

"A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder." ~Susan Orlean

Monday was a day off for Cam due to his mid-winter break.  He was back in school on Tuesday and then Tuesday evening, the local meteorologists indicated a winter storm warning would be in effect beginning at 10am on Wednesday.  From one day to the next was a dramatic weather change.  Out of caution, all of the local schools were closed on Wednesday.  Then, Thursday ice, freezing rain and snow was in the forecast along with another storm warning, so once again, the local education system shut down for the day.  It was a rare occasion that for both Wednesday and Thursday, the closure announcement came before Cam was asleep both nights.  Catching some extra zzz's was a bonus for us all.  

However, since both Chris and Jane are set up as remote workers, neither of them had any breaks.  While Cam worked on keeping himself busy, his desk was moved out to the living room.  He would've rather been in school, but we all made the best of it.

Friday was a full day of school and we had an outing planned that early evening.  Fish and chips is now a weekly special at one of our local favorite restaurants, JT's, but only during Lent.

The history of the fish fry dates back to the 1800s.

German and Polish Catholic immigrants settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1860s and began the tradition of the Friday fish fry. During Lent, they didn’t eat meat on Fridays, instead eating the fish they caught in Lake Michigan. From 1920 to 1933, Prohibition prevented taverns from selling alcohol. To keep customers coming to their businesses, Midwestern tavern owners sold meals of fried fish. Supper clubs rose in popularity during the mid-1900s, and their Friday fish fries became a tradition for many Midwesterners.

Ms. Ann, Katherine & Paul, Bexley and Sophia all met us at JT's for dinner.  Cam has declared that their homemade batter on the cod is the best in all of Grand Rapids!  

Saturday was consumed with home projects and having our longtime friends, Steve, Patti and Emma for dinner.  Burgers, homemade french fries and veggies were on the menu.  We committed to try to gather together more often.

In the early afternoon on Sunday, we headed northward to visit Coco, Max and the kiddos.  We hadn't seen them in a few weeks and they already looked different.  While Calla helped make brownies, she took on the expert position of batter taster.  Cam and Arthur looked quizzically at each other and we all had fun catching up and chatting.  After dinner and quite a few brownies, the sun was already setting.

We said our goodbyes with the promise of hanging out again very soon.  The beach looked inviting, but will be even more so once that snow finishes melting away.

Camology Quotes:

Chris sometimes acts more like a kid than his son, which we all appreciate and laugh about.  One evening, Chris was spinning Cam around while he was in transit in his ceiling track lift.  Cam "jokingly" laid down the law for his dad as it related to the spinning antics...

"Not at bed and not when I first wake up, Dad.  I need to set some boundaries for you!"