Ah yes, winter vacation was quite long this year. The snow has been so nice. I especially loved the fog that rolled in on New Year’s Eve. It really made everything look so surreal. But it did begin to feel a little suffocating after awhile. I watched so much television that I have developed a crush on Dr. Robert Jarvik, maker of the artificial heart. They have him hocking Lipitor in a commercial. But that’s ok, I think he should be anchoring the nightly news so we can look at him on a regular basis.

It was a long vacation. The walls started to close in on me last week. With all the decorations, children, husband and pets, it was like being in the middle of PetsMart during the pre-holiday rush, only with people you know.

“I had to use it or lose it” my dear husband explained to me. He had to use up his 2006 vacation time and would be home for seventeen straight days. Great, there were a few tasks I had on the to-do list like use the screwdriver or lose the lock on the back door. But alas, his idea was more like use the La-Z-Boy or lose the afternoon nap.

After the first big snow, we watched the kids in the neighborhood sledding down our hill all day. The snow continued to come down and by 9pm we couldn’t stand it anymore, it was our turn to get out there. We weren’t properly equipped but that didn’t stop us. We don’t own a sled or even a removable garbage can lid. If we were going to make this work, we had to be creative.

Being the only member of my immediate family to grow up in Michigan, I was the one with snow expertise. I canvassed my garage for materials to make the best pseudo sled. Given what I could find, it was not encouraging. First up, we took the lids to the Rubbermaid Christmas storage boxes. They were big enough and flat, but were they smooth enough to glide down the hill at an exhilarating speed capable of producing appropriate screams and laughter? It didn’t take but one try to realize the answer; no.

Bright and early the next morning we piled into the Jeep and trudged on down to Wal-Mart where I thought would be my best chance to score a sled. On the way, I contemplated my plan B, just in case we weren’t the only ones who had this idea. With visions of my old red plaid cushioned family toboggan in my head, we marched into Wal-Mart.

After searching the Sporting Goods department with no luck, I asked the clerk at the counter for help. Before I could even finish my sentence, an exasperated smirk came over her face like this wasn’t the first time she had heard this question. “No, we don’t have any sleds but I can suggest some alternatives” she tells me. Great, I’ll take a toboggan or at worst a good old aluminum saucer. “You can use an air mattress, a lid to a Rubbermaid container or a piece of cardboard, but just until it gets soggy”. So much for a shiny new toy. You can’t say she wasn’t helpful. At this point defeat set in. We knew the lid idea was a no-go, but I did have an abundance of empty Christmas boxes I could cut up. And no, I was not going to drag my air mattress up that hill – it was still too new.

We went home and shoveled out the driveway for a second time. Since we struck out with the sled, I spent an hour building a snow cat. The kids started out helping, but interest faded after twenty minutes and I was left to finish it off. I worked hard on him only to have my husband say “from the back those ears look like devil horns”. I bet Dr. Jarvik wouldn’t call them devil horns.

Quote of the Week: “Rules were made to be frozen.” – Snow Day the movie.

Jennifer Huard’s column appears each Thursday. E-mail her at jhuard@abqjournal.com.