Yesterday around eight in the morning the whole Voss family, Mommy, Daddy, Patrick (our almost-three-years old son), and Buffy the dog engaged in a lovely family activity: Snow shoveling. Well, we did it right after breakfast, but before showering, and it was necessary. We have had snow falling for the last three days, and at the moment there is no end in sight. The 150 feet long driveway had already been plowed, but the guy who does that for us had to plow around the big branch that broke from one of our huge oak trees. That tree made it now to the top of our to-be-cut list for the summer. The snow was very heavy and did a lot of damage in the neighborhood.

On an up-note the distinct quality of the snow enabled us to build the second snow man this year. The last one did not hold up to the strong winds we had during these last days, and my son kept asking for him. So, we started a new one. My wife donated the carrot and the Boston Red Sox hat while my son continued to put more “arms” on the snow man. When he was finished we had to decide for a name. With the Red Sox hat I came up with two choices for my son, either “Tito” or “Youk” (Think Kevin Youkilis). My son decided in favor of Tito which is Terry Francona’s nick name (For those baseball-impaired: Terry Francona is the manager for the Boston Red Sox). My wife, a vivid Red Sox fan, was pleased with the choice. Sorry, Youk…