Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Snow day!!! The days we actually get enough snow to really play in are few and far between. Sometimes a few years between.  In the past when we have gotten large snows I have been on the school calendar committee and my husband has been out of town (big snows might be why they've decided I've served enough times on that committee) but this year my husband is in town and I have no committee duties. Awesome.

























In this area of the South anything goes with your combinations of outdoor apparel.  We don't invest in high tech climate control undergarments or beautifully designed snow suits because we might outgrow them while we wait on enough snow to come round to use them.  As you can see I think my oldest granddaughter has on three colorful jackets and that is only the beginning.  She wanted to dress herself and she put on three pairs of leggings and then a pair of jeans I can no longer squeeze myself into and we tied then on her with a belt.  I guess she thinks three is the magic number for warmth.  Little bit does her "snow fashion" pose in a combination of leopard print, pink polka-dots, and purple floral boots.  As I said, anything goes.  As for me I did put my cold weather tennis gear on under some jeans and then had several layers of jackets to coats.  Actually I thought I was going to combust during the process of layering everyone up and getting them out the door.

Another thing we like in the south is to make snow cream.  There was a lot of debate yesterday on the news and Facebook about what was the best and official recipe.  I say whatever you grew up on is the best!  Basically we would add some milk, some vanilla and some sugar and mix it all up.  Everyone has their own method of collecting the snow.  Just don't bring in any snow with any color to it, if you know what I mean.  Be prepared to eat it fast which is half the fun.  I think the girls liked it.  This is how much they left me.   

What I love the most about a blanket of white snow is how it makes the world around me seem so large.  The stretches of white create a vastness that I take for granted on a day to day basis.  Reminding me that I am just a tiny speck in the scheme of things. There is absolutely nothing that compares to the quiet in the early morning after new fallen snow. Then the sound of the crunch of your feet as you venture into it. 

 The biggest snow I can remember was a little frightening and arrived at a time when my husband was to of town.  Over night we had gotten twelve inches of snow and unlike the picture above all of the trees on our property were bowing down to earth.  At the time we had two horses housed in a little barn, surrounded by trees, that my dad and I built together when I was a young girl.  I actually was scared to death of what I might find when I reached the barn.  What would I do and how would I go back in and tell the girls if something was wrong?  The silence was erie as I silently prayed each step of the way that the animals inside our little barn were safe and secure.  Oh how happy and thankful I was to hear their nickers begging for their morning grain.  That snow was a definite reminder of just how powerful nature can be.

The snow today was particularly beautiful.  There were these big beautiful flakes.  They came down so fast at one time it looked like a blizzard.

My front steps have disappeared and I guess my planter is looking forward to warmer days.

But for now we are all loving it.  This snow has provided lots of fun that we can remember and talk about for years to come.  So as our layers dry out for the next round we will sit back and sip on some hot chocolate, with marshmallows on top of course.               -  Marianne