An Unusual "October Blizzard"

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?"  The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges.  There were swollen river crossings, dysentery, and extreme isolation.  During this period of self-quarantine, I decided to reread The Long Winter to discover - What Would Laura Do?

The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Chapter 4 - "October Blizzard"




Laura wakes up to Pa singing and slapping his chest.  She is confused.  The air is freezing and her quilt is coated with crackling ice, due to a leak in the roof.  Pa's foretellings were correct - an October blizzard has roared onto the prairie. (A quick recap of Pa's predictions: thick muskrat walls, eerie changes in the weather, no water fowl, and an early frost.)

Most of us would chose to stay in bed, but Laura gets up and dresses by the fire.  She notices snow has blown under the door and blanketed the floor.  She mentally adds "shoveling the shanty" to her list of chores.  Shockingly, the entire family gets up, gets dressed and does what needs to be done.  There is no floating around the shanty in ath-leisure wondering if chores can be delayed in order to binge watch snow accumulations.  

My mental health is better when I get dressed, feather on eyebrows, coat my eyelashes with mascara, and have something of a schedule to follow.  Friends suggest abandoning "real clothes" and makeup since I am sheltering in place.  "Who is going to see you?" they ask.  Well.  Me.  I am going to see me and I prefer not to be taken aback every time I pass a mirror.

The Ingalls spend the day huddled around the stove, wearing coats and wrapped in shawls.  Ma entertains the group by boiling beans.  She serves the family a warming bean broth at lunch and bubbling baked beans for dinner.  Pa lightens the mood by telling stories about "Grandpa and the Pig on the Sled".

This is a great time to both tell stories from your past and ask people about their past.  I have been playing Scrabble with my son, Gus.  A game I often played with my Grandma Edie.  While playing, I tell Gus how Grandma Edie strictly followed the rules.  For example, if your word is challenged and NOT in the Scrabble dictionary, you lose a turn.  (Gus looks up words constantly and I don't care.  We are both learning something.)  I tell Gus how Grandma would drink Mountain Dew from a coffee cup and say "Piffle, Piffle" when her letters were lame.  I like talking about my grandma and, oddly, Gus seems interested.  

The Holy Grail.  Pa's fiddle.

Pa eventually pulls out his fiddle and plays some rousing tunes.  The girls get up and briskly quick-step march around the shanty, singing with all their might.  This is the type of cozy scene I would reread as a child.  I wished my dad played an instrument and my mom would lovingly boil beans all day.  I knew the Ingalls could get through anything because they had each other.  

The chapter ends bleakly, "The blizzard lasted two more long days and two more nights."  Two more days of shoveling the shanty, shivering by the fire, and sipping bean broth.  (I worry that Ma is being too generous with the beans that need to last the family through Spring.)

WWLD Summary

• Get up.  Get dressed.  Get going.
• Use a slow cooker to make something you and your family will love.  Beans optional.
• Tell stories.  Ask for stories.  Make-up stories.  Stories matter.
• Listen to music.
• Get some exercise - even if it is just marching around your house.

See you tomorrow for Chapter 5, "After the Storm."

Prairie Eydie  (I know.  I should have ditched the aviators for a more authentic look.)





Check out this past post from Prairie Sherry.  You will learn how to decoupage a chair - step by step.  Try it!  You've got the time.

Malbec, a Chair, Lucille Ball, and Zucchini Cakes