Way back in September, Leanne Shirtliffe (aka: Ironic Mom) asked me when I might want to have the Things make a stop in Rochester on their Excellent Adventure, and I knew I wanted them during the winter. Duh!
There is so much to do here when there is snow. I figured we would go skiing, make snow critters, go sledding and ice-skating, have them help us make snow tunnels, and bring them inside to a roaring fire. You get the idea. When Leanne contacted me in December, I had to decline her offer because there was no snow in Rochester. She asked me again a few weeks later, and while we were still without snow – I figured by the time the Things made it to me, we’d certainly have some white stuff. But as anyone from this part of the United States can tell you, the weather this year has been positively wonky. Here is a pictorial about our time with the Things.
I swear Rochester is usually much more fun than is perhaps depicted here. Maybe.
• • •
In Rochester, this season,
winter’s been strangely mild.
No sledding, no skiing.
for adult or for child.
When one day,
I found I had nothing to do
I opened my door
And found Things 1 and 2.
They were positively chilled
Having spent the night outside
So I brought them in our home
To entertain them, we tried.
We wanted to show the Things
A most wonderful day.
We took off to Great Places
We took off and away.
Lake Ontario. Toronto, Canada is on the other side.
We drove to Lake Ontario.
We drove with great care.
And though I said, “Pull over carefully!”
Hubby pulled over There.
The Things thought this was funny. Hubby? Not so much.
When he parked There in that spot
Hubby rolled over a bolt.
And when his tire popped,
We felt the horrible jolt.
The Things thought tire shopping was fun. Hubby? No so much.
The Things knew stuff like this happens
As things sometimes do
So they didn’t worry,
No, they didn’t stew.
They played in the tires
That had been stacked, just so.
They played until the people
At the tire shop said, “Go.”
The next morning I found the Things
They were quite a sight.
They’d gotten into some trouble.
(I’d suspected they might.)
They’d found some bracelets from GoGuiltyPleasures
and seemed a little low.
But I untangled them and told them
we’d more places to go.
The Things liked learning about Brownie cameras. Hubby? Not so much.
We took the Things to George Eastman House
Home of Kodak fame
I explained that if it hadn’t been for George
Picture taking wouldn’t be the same.
Jim's Diner on Winton. Tell them Renée sent you.
We all began to shiver
So we drove to our favorite diner.
The Things showed good manners and exclaimed:
“This coffee couldn’t be finer!”
We took the Things to Lock 33
On the Canal called Erie.
We had no mule whose name was Sal
And the Things were mighty weary.
What
Still, we took them to Wegmans Market
Best grocery store under the sky,
And once inside the Things perked up
There were so many things to try.
Jimmy from Produce loved The Things
They thought the store was swell.
They hid in the red peppers
And in a pile of lobster shells.
We took the Things to temple.
To show them how services were led.
They were very respectful
And wore one yarmulke on top of their heads.
One night the Things seemed homesick.
I saw a tear near Thing 1’s eye.
I pulled out a postcard of the Rockies
and brought out the Canada Dry.
The next day, miraculously
the snow – it had arrived!
And Thing 1 and Thing 2
seemed amazingly revived.
Happy Things!
They watched Tech Support at Rochester Fencing Club.
And even took a class.
And while they loved their toothpick sabers
They decided to take a pass.
We took the Things skiing
They liked to go vroom
They liked when I went very fast
So I zigged and zagged and zoomed!
The Things at Bristol Mountain
When their stay was over
We said splendiferous goodbyes.
We gave the Things good scrub downs
And gave each other high-fives.
As I shoved placed them in an envelope
addressed for their next temporary stay
We agreed we would miss those Things
and sent them safely on their way!
Fare thee well, Things. We hardly knew ye.
**NOTE: The snow melted the minute I sent the Things overseas to their next destination. Yup, they are headed to Switzerland to begin the European leg of their Tour! {Watch the news for “global weirding” in Europe.}
To read more about where the Things have been so far, click HERE.
So what would you have liked to have done with me and the Things? In Rochester, New York? In February? With no snow? IYKWIM.
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renée a. schuls-jacobson 