I love snow. Even living in the Bavarian Alps and in Minnesota didn’t make me tired of it. Living in Florida made me love it even more. So, I was cheering on the snow totals in our area as the forecasts were coming out. We ended up getting much more sleet than they initially thought, but it was still a substantial snow event that cancelled all our normal activities for two days. It’s rare for a pastor to have a Sunday off, so we enjoyed it.
Sunday morning, Jeff pulled open the shade covering the window next to our bed so I could see the snow falling, and it made me so happy.
Everyone slept in, we had a late breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast, and lounged most of the day. Jeff did some shoveling, but we decided to pay an entrepreneurial young couple with a small front-loader $30 to plow our driveway, the curb in front of the mailbox, and the plow pile along the street.
One thing I miss about living in Minnesota is the light that reflects off the snow all winter. It is a beautiful, diffused light, even on overcast days. We had that kind of light today. (You can see our Minnesota house HERE.)
As the snow changed to sleet, we hoped we wouldn’t lose power. Our neighborhood has above-ground power lines that are over 50 years old, along with many mature trees, which means we lose power pretty easily during wind and ice events. We had the generator, firewood, and electric lamps ready just in case, but we kept power through the entire storm. I know millions of people across the country weren’t as fortunate, so I hope anyone affected by the outages is staying safe and warm.
(You can find posts about our kitchen renovation HERE.)
In addition to a rare free Sunday, schools were cancelled for Monday. Snow days used to mean a break from the school drop-off line and making lunches. It meant that I would help dress the boys in their snow gear so they could go outside and help Jeff shovel, and play in the snow. With a college freshman and a high school senior, it just means everyone sleeps in really late! Even though everything is closed on Monday, it’s still a normal workday for me. I’m getting some administrative stuff done, and you’ll find me at the easel for a few hours.
I sort of miss the excitement and change of routine that came with the old snow days, but I still love these snow days for this season of life…
9 Responses
It is beautiful to view from the windows, as long as we have power. Cleaning up and going out in it, not so much. I just reframe my thoughts with how good for our earth the snow cover is. Water for the plants and insulation from the cold temperatures. Enjoy the snow while it lasts.
I love the light snow reflexes. January can be dark here up North. As they use salt here instead of the grid high up North, it becomes one dirty, slushy road mess, but the trees, gardens and houses are beautiful. One of my kids had a job in Spain and went before Christmas. I told him not to return, it is way too cold. He extended the job into a holiday. Mum’s order XD
We had a foot of powdery perfect skiing snow. Too bad it’s so flat here, haha. My poor 9 year old grand girl couldn’t even make a snowman. We had a Level 3 snow emergency yesterday but today was cloudless blue skies and a bright perfectly sunny day. Granted it was VERY cold – 8 degrees – but one of those truly perfect winter’s days. The trees are so pretty covered in snow. We have a ton of bird feeders and wow were they hungry today not being able to eat yesterday!!! Poor birdies.
I love snow, too. One of the reasons we moved from Southern California to NE Indiana was to live in 4 seasons. And in addition to the technicolor falls out here, I love living in snow. (It’s pretty easy when you’re retired.) I love watching it fall, and I especially love that it stays on the ground if the temps are below freezing. We also got a whole day of the light, fluffy snow. We are very lucky to have missed the ice storm; my heart goes out to those experiencing loss of power. These last two days have felt like a little treat. Sunday afternoon I curled up with a pot of tea, a blanket and a clear view of the snow in our backyard to (re)watch one of my favorite movies. Such a treat! (And no, I am in hurry whatsoever for spring!)
I too enjoy watching the snow!! What are the topiary plants on each side of your sink?
They are myrtle topiaries.
🙂 thank you.
I enjoyed reading about your love for snow, especially how living in Florida made you appreciate it more. It’s cool that you were tracking the forecasts, and the sleet surprise sounds like a fun twist to the snow day.
I grew up in Illinois, and moved to Canada in my 20s. To say that we get a lot of snow up here is an understatement! And we get two more months of winter here vs. Illinois! But the snow is so beautiful. The lighting is so beautiful too, and it is bright even on cloudy days thanks to the snow, and it is even bright at night! Snow muffles noise, so it is quiet and peaceful at this time of year. The only drawback is that it gets cold enough to not be able to go outside every day, especially this winter it seems. This is not much of a problem when one has plenty of indoor hobbies with which to keep busy! But it can lead to “cabin fever” when it goes on too long. Canadians are hardy people and even when it is -10 F you will see people in t-shirts and shorts. We’ve got excellent snowplow services up here, both city-wide and for individual homeowners, so one can escape the bulk of the heavy work. I cannot imagine living somewhere that does not experience all four seasons!