In Which My Mom Joins the Chain Gang

Not really. Quite.
But...
This morning the kids and I were driving in to town to pick up my bifocals (which are absolutely Excellent, by the way!) and I slowed way down when we saw the signs and cones for road workers. Then I slowed down even more because the road workers were actually prisoners on trash duty (and there were lots of them and they were walking in the middle of the road. Not timid sorts of people.). There was a car pulled over on our side of the road, right across from the correctional facility van, and the kids both asked at the same time, "Isn't that Granny?"
And by golly it was Granny, chatting with the guard/van driver! I was a little concerned and pulled over just past her and called out asking if everything was okay. She said it was, got back in her car, and we both continued in to town. But the kids and I were very curious!

After I got home I called my parents' house, hoping to find out what Mom was up to. Only she wasn't home yet, so I told my dad about it, and then he was curious too!  A while later my mom stopped by (with sugar snap peas, because she is generous like that!) and so we got the story. Turns out that she's been distressed by the amount of trash by the roadsides, and when she saw this civic minded group (the van wasn't there when she first pulled over) she thought maybe she could join them! She asked if they were volunteers and they laughed! Of course, we had to tease her about what she would have to do to join this gang (I don't think my mom has ever had so much as a speeding ticket), but really I think that her eagerness to volunteer and make the world a better, cleaner place is wonderful. And I'll bet the guard is still chuckling!

And these pictures are from yesterday morning...

They don't begin to capture the lovely pinkness of the snow and the sparkle as the sun hit the icy branches, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  And the snow is pretty much all gone now, which is also just right!  Now we've had our snow and we can move right on to spring!

And this is one I took of the cats this afternoon.

I heard the clink of cups and turned around to see the cats playing with Katie's tea set!