The Short Long Winter
Mom: So, Patrick, do you like The Long Winter?
Patrick: Nope.
Mom (surprised): Really, why not?
Patrick: It's long!
*******
Life imitated art in the cottage tonight.
To begin with, I served the family a meal to mirror the one we had been reading about in The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder--pot roast, pan gravy, mashed potatoes--it was everything a snowed-in pioneer family with dwindling provisions could desire. The girls, bless their hearts, instantly recognized my purpose, entering right into character. With one or two pointed remarks about "running low on flour," "the train from the east" and "burning straw," dinner was passed most pleasantly, although we all missed Pa who was apparently out in the stable tending to the stock.
Later on, Ma was washing up with Mary and Laura, when Mary remarked upon how determinedly cold the kitchen seemed. (Blindness sharpens the other senses.) The indefatiguable Laura looked wide-eyed and shivery, and even Ma had to admit that the sink water was running rather icily.
Sure enough, our heat was out--in real life--and no crisis has ever been better timed!
With all the gravity and unflappable level-headedness of Ma, I told the children we must pass the time as best we could until the heater could be fixed, ordering them to wear their warmest nightclothes. [They change into pajamas every night--why is it that tonight the process seemed--and was--magical?] They were back in a flash and all smiles, with Marie sporting an ensemble that could best be described as a "get-up": a too-short red plaid nightgown, stray ballerina pajama pants, and a lamb-studded pink button down sweater. Crowning the effort most emphatically was mommy's brown felt hat, absurdly cute when worn by a seven year old and tilted just so. Our intrepid girl looked as if she could have held out until Spring and quite possibly intended to do just that.
Still in character as Mary and Laura, the older girls swaddled Maureen (our Grace) in toasty blankets, and we all huddled together in the big four poster bed upstairs to read. The advancing chill added to the ambiance, so that it was a joy to begin each new chapter--The Wheat in the Wall, Not Really Hungry, For Daily Bread, Four Days' Blizzard--surrounded by those bright-eyed blanket-bound listeners. Patrick and Maureen dozed on a pillow next to me, and the older girls lounged comfortably on all sides. I half expected to hear Pa's fiddle ring out in the distance or perhaps the windswept whir of a storm brewing, but the next sound we heard was a smart rap on the front door.
No, gentle readers, it was not Mr. Edwards or even Almanzo Wilder, but only the oil burner repair man. The moment his unmistakable poundings met Ma's ear, she thrust baby Grace (by this time played by understudy Eileen) to the nearest empty-handed girl and bounded off to let him in, returning to 2007 by way of the front stairs and ending our little fantasy for the night.
But, oh, it was fun while it lasted!
What an awesome fantasy! I love reading about your cottage adventures.
Posted by: Cheryl | January 23, 2007 at 06:07 AM
Oh, how lovely - and chilly. Talk about a book coming to live and bringing a family together. Now tht is living literature!
Posted by: Marjorie | January 23, 2007 at 06:52 AM
Fabulous!!
Posted by: helene | January 23, 2007 at 08:27 AM
Cute, Cute - thank goodness for the oil burner man!
Posted by: Cheryl | January 23, 2007 at 09:00 AM
How fun!! That was a great story, Alice. We are reading "The Long Winter" right now too. It's so funny how that book makes you cherish heat and food. I woke up thanking God I could feed my children. And then I flipped on the heater. :)
Posted by: Jennifer | January 23, 2007 at 09:09 AM
Sweet!
Posted by: Jane Ramsey | January 23, 2007 at 09:20 AM
That really sounds idyllic. Luckily, it was only a short time. I'm glad that the repairman was there. But, don't these things always happen when Pa is not around?
Posted by: KC | January 23, 2007 at 09:22 AM
That's so neat that your furnace conked out in such a timely fashion! I've been reading wintery books with my kids, too, but hadn't thought of that particular one. Maybe I'll follow your lead!
And how much fun was that to make the theme dinner with the book? I love doing things like that!
Posted by: Beck | January 23, 2007 at 09:32 AM
How perfect! :)
Posted by: Love2learn Mom | January 23, 2007 at 10:02 AM
Alice, only you could turn a no heat situation into a Little House episode:) Thanks for sharing, that was fun.
Posted by: Kelly | January 23, 2007 at 02:08 PM
That is great! What fun!
Posted by: Theresa | January 23, 2007 at 04:58 PM
Don't you just love these moments of living literature, Alice? :)
What perfect timing. :)
Posted by: Cay in La. | January 23, 2007 at 06:04 PM
How wonderful - I love it! We play Little House in our home on occasion by dressing in white petticoats, reading the stories and imagining ourselves in Ma and her girls' shoes, though we haven't tried it without heat yet! Beautiful.
Posted by: Kristen Laurence | January 23, 2007 at 06:33 PM
How fun - what a great living education!
Posted by: MaryM | January 23, 2007 at 08:33 PM
Oh! How I love stories like this when stories transcend into real life. Isn't it wonderful to live, eat and talk like the characters in the books? And the learning is a bonus to the fun and wonderful memories we share with our children. Lovely!
Posted by: GGenevieve | January 23, 2007 at 08:49 PM
Terrific fun! I love Patrick's terse reason for his dislike of A Long Winter.
Posted by: Suzanne Temple | January 24, 2007 at 08:40 AM
The account of your evening makes me smile! Thank you for including all the details of the "story". I can feel the chill and taste that delicious pot roast! :)
Posted by: Rebecca | January 24, 2007 at 08:51 AM
Alice,You made me feel like
I was right there and now
I need to make a pot roast.
Posted by: Therese | January 24, 2007 at 04:48 PM
How to make a book come alive....
Cold - yet neat experience!
Posted by: Maria | January 24, 2007 at 07:47 PM
I loved your story! Hope you are toasty again now! BTW, the pics of your tree and rose wreath were gorgeous! As Anne-with-an-E would say it gave me such a thrill!
Posted by: Julie in WI | January 24, 2007 at 10:22 PM
So glad you and the girls didn't have to get chapped hands twisting hay sticks! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Kimberlee | January 24, 2007 at 10:44 PM
What a great story! I hope you have heat today. :)
Posted by: Amy | January 25, 2007 at 04:35 PM
Sorry about your furnace. As always, you have a way of rising above challenges! It seems like you had a nice end to a rather trying day!
Posted by: Mary Beth P | January 26, 2007 at 04:39 PM