After several snow days, who knows what Mother Nature has in store for us?

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Jimmie Smith.

Happy birthday this week to Jeff Glasscock, Mark Dragoni, Karen Rice, Barbara Owens, David Jirik, Jacob Heeb, Bonnie Rister, Margaret Poinsett, Joyce Loucks, Jordan Duncan, Amy Sanders, David Gladwell, Clair Abernathy, Travis McGuire, Dortha Halter, Regina Spier, Karen Whitaker, Stefanie Hall, Rob Horman, Nancy Hampton, Ashlee Glastetter, Lorene Kinsey, Andy Obermann, Sarah Gordon, Vickie Taylor, Reggie Seyer, Pam Wilson, Charles Hemingway, Jaimie Ralph, Marty Moore, Rosemary Ross, Sheila Richardson, Taylor Friga, Danny Lindy, Susan Hampton, Whitney Horrell and Sam Burnett.

Happy anniversary to Mike and Reta Mantel, Gary and Judy Jones, Larry and Deana Grey and Andy and Adrianne Obermann.

This first day of March is Peanut Butter Lovers' Day, and this month is Irish American Month, Music to Our Schools Month, National Craft Month, National Women's History Month and Social Workers Month.

This week in Missouri wild ducks and geese migrate north, barred owls nest, bald eagle chicks hatch and Eastern cottontail rabbits bear first litters. Although Mother Nature may delay some of these activities, we are told it is time to set up nest boxes for wood ducks and bluebirds. Remember to feed the birds.

Slip-sliding-away

We had another week of frigid temperatures, so much of the snow remains. This last wave of snow and ice reached as far south as Dallas and had drivers slip-sliding away on an inch or so of ice. The kids in the hard-hit towns have enjoyed their snow/sleet days, but now they are cutting into spring breaks.

With all the gadgets available, kids today have lots of ways to entertain themselves. These snow days, however, bring back memories of how we used to entertain ourselves indoors. Conditions had to be pretty severe to keep us in the house, because we could always bundle up and play outside. Basements offered lots of choices such as ping-pong and roller skating, and upstairs there were jigsaw puzzles, cookie baking, board games, and in our house, four girls competing for the piano or sewing machine. There were also chores to do around the house, especially if your mother spotted you lazing around!

Mattel's View Master

Remember the View Master? My sister, Carolyn, had one and we could spend hours clicking through the colorful photos on the cardboard reels. The View Master was introduced at the New York World's Fair in 1939 and Mattel says it sold more than 100 million of them. Now Mattel and Google are trying to bring it into the 21st century with help from smartphones and virtual reality technology. It's due to debut this fall on Android devices first and will cost approximately $30.

Several functions such as the city council meeting and the annual Thorngate ex-employees get-together had to be canceled because of the heavy snowfall on the 16th. City council made up its missed meeting last Monday, and we will let you know when Thorngate reschedules the dinner at Delmonicos. City council will meet Monday night at City Hall.

We will all be screaming for ice cream tomorrow when the Chaffee Drive-in, aka Dairy Queen, re-opens for the season! Unlike last year, hopefully the weather will cooperate. We can bet that one of the first customers in line will be DQ frequenter Bob Burnett. Bob said he tried to save up some sundaes in his freezer during the off season but they went pretty fast. With all the biking and hiking the very fit Bob does, he merits those treats. Neither heat nor cold keeps Bob off his bike, and while not a creature was stirring nor even a mouse, Bob was out in the snow on his Specialized Fat Boy bike. Bob said it is a fun bike with oversized tires that can travel over sand, snow and one-of-a-kind trails.

We will be sending good vibes to all three CHS Robotic teams who will head to Rolla this weekend for state competition.

The Chamber of Commerce has launched its 2015 Membership Drive. Annual dues for individuals is $15 and for businesses $35 to $100, depending on sales volume. You can mail your check to the Chamber at P.O. Box 35, Chaffee, 63740. Members' names are posted on the Chamber's website. They meet the second Wednesday each month, usually at noon. This month's meeting is March 11 at the Chaffee Banking Center at 5:30 p.m. All are invited to attend.

We thank our city employees and others who helped residents by clearing sidewalks and driveways during the winter weather.

Special words

Remember to tell those special people in your life you love them -- those three words mean so very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of Betty McFerron, Carol Goodwin and others who are missing loved ones. They continue to be with our homebound, those in hospitals and nursing homes. Email your news and comments to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at 573-887-6430 or 214-207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that was relocated from Willow to Fairbanks, Alaska, due to lack of snow.