SNOW!!!!  

 We woke up to snow yesterday morning!  What is it about snow, especially waking up to it that gives me such a thrill?  

I know that as a kid it was partly because we knew that there would be no school for the day.  Not that school was a bad thing, but because it meant a fun change of routine.  It meant getting up and dressed as fast as we could to rush out all bundled up to make a snowman.  We sometimes would bridle up our horses and take them for a walk around.  One year  we had silver thaw on top of about 3 feet of snow...maybe it was more, but I am trying to make a realistic adult guess on the depth, it seemed more like 6 feet in my mind back then.  There was a good inch of ice on everything and the horses had to stop and crack the ice with every step.  Then, snowman built, horses back in the barn, going in and standing over the heater vent to get warmed up again, and having hot chocolate and cookies.  Sometimes it meant no power, which to a kid that was fun too.  Sitting by candlelight to eat, and no TV meant sitting and talking to everyone while we played Monopoly or worked a puzzle.  It meant more time together than the normal routine gave.  

That same excitement happened a few years later when I became a Mom.  Instead of me rushing out, I helped the kids bundle up, watched as the neighbor kids joined mine on our hillside with sleds, sheets of plastic and skis.  Then all of them would come inside, hang their coats by the wood stove and munch on cookies and another generation would pull out the board games and play by candle light. 

 This shot shows the view of the hillside when we first woke up, a little while later it was starting to melt and then even later, another storm moved on through giving us an ever changing view throughout the day.

 I took advantage of the break and took a walk around the yard.  All bundled up of course and hurried back in to make homemade chicken noodle soup.  mmmm....nice cozy way to spend the day.  Can you believe that Netflix now has a video of a fireplace...yep, nonstop fire going, with sound...it pops and cracks and hums.  You can get it with music or just fire.....looks and sounds like the real thing and on our TV screen is bigger than life.  Now just add a scented candle and crank up the furnace and bring on the board game.