With the thermometer showing a bone-chilling eight below zero on Monday, I remembered how my children would be unhappy as they were growing up, when that kind of weather kept them mostly inside. If they did venture out to try the new sled or toboggan, they were soon back in the house with complaints of “nothing to do” or “what shall we do?”

Parents are challenged by those words, and there isn’t anything worse than trying to make a “shut in day” productive or at least interesting. Once, during a power failure, we had only the Ben Franklin wood stove for heat and a wood stove in the kitchen to cook on. For a day or two, indoor picnics were appealing enough to provide something to do, but when they became common fare, we were back to the “what can we do now?” question.

Jigsaw puzzles helped a lot, some of the time. I am never without one, even now. Scrabble, Yahtzee, Parcheesi, Dominoes and the old, worn checkerboard were all given a chance to stem the idleness. But there were other hours to be filled, and it’s a good thing if Mom and Pop can come up with ideas to pass the time away.

For a long, long time, I kept a few pieces of coal on hand to make a “Crystal Garden.” I guess now it is possible to buy coal again, but for a while it wasn’t a commodity that was readily available. If I was lucky there would be a few oranges on hand and some clove sticks on the spice shelf. When everyone was able to make a fragrant spice ball by sticking cloves into the orange – it did make time go by!

I have always had a collection of cones, seed pods, bits of moss and any other outdoor “goodies” in a box. It is the only thing needed to inspire making a potpourri mixture. If you can find those items, you can add slices of oranges, lemons and limes, cut thin and dried for a while in an oven at 200 degrees.

You raid the spice shelf again to find cinnamon sticks (break them into small pieces), cloves, bay leaves, allspice, and add some grated nutmeg cloves and cloves and cinnamon, too. Put the whole collection in a big bowl and stir well (let the children do the mixing), and if Dad has a few wood shavings in his workshop, they can be cut into small slices and added to the mix.

Most households can yield a little jar of oil – orange, a little vanilla or other flavors of cooking supplies. I remember having oil of wintergreen one time when we made potpourri, and it was a great addition. When the mix is finished, it needs to be stored to “season” for a of couple days in airtight jars. A small jar of the homemade “recipe” can be opened and put into a decorative dish or wooden bowl, and will provide a pleasing scent in the room.

The crystal garden is easy to make if you have the coal, or a porous brick, as the base. Put it in a shallow bowl. Glass is best. Then mix together 12 tablespoons of salt, 12 tablespoons of water and 12 tablespoons of laundry bluing. Mix well and add 2 tablespoons of regular household ammonia.

Pour the mixture over the coal so it will be two inches deep on the side of the coal. With an eye dropper, add a few drops of regular ink, green ink or red ink. The colored crystals will grow and soon you’ll have a garden. Do not move or jar the bowl, since the crystals are fragile. They will usually last a day or two.

These “recipes” are not only for shut-in days, but can be made anytime. And they are not only for children. Try one – they are fun!

This coldest day of the year so far has brought all the birds to the yard and the feeders. A pair of red birds (cardinals) has been around all morning, and they and the mockingbird are at the water dish every once in a while. The bluejay looked as if he was about to take a bath when he came to drink, but thank goodness he didn’t!

Last week’s quote was by Andrew Mellon. Who said “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”?