There's snow place like home . . .

  

On Christmas Eve I saw

God's autograph in the snow.

Tiny creature tracks so fine,

All lacy in a row.

And with the dazzling Christmas dawn,

My eyes did then behold

God's signature grown ever dear

etched in sunlight gold.

~Rosalyn Hart Finch

Growing up as a child in Canada, long about the beginning of December . . .  I would start to look for snow. As the days grew shorter, the temperatures dipped, and the ground grew hard and cold . . . I would scan the sky daily for those tell tale feathery first flakes that would begin to fall and alight on my eyelashes and face. 

Is there anything on earth that tastes better? I think not! 

Those first few flakes of the season were eagerly anticipated and greeted with great aplomb, for if the snow was falling . . . the arrival of Christmas and Santa Claus could not be too awfully far behind!  

 

Withy my adult eyes and heart, I now find that there is nothing more peaceful then the air that rings with silence early in the morning after a heavy night-time snowfall. How I love to look out over  pristine fields adorned with a heavy white blanket, only disturbed by the small hop-hop-hopping's of tiny bird feet upon it's surface. 

All the branches of the surrounding trees draped in heavenly sugar like decorations. There is no more beautiful sight on earth . . .  to my way of thinking anyways.

Like Lorelai Gilmore, I can always tell when snow is "in the air" . . . seriously. I swear I can smell it's impending arrival.  The sky takes on a peculiar dark grey leaden appearance. There is a feeling that comes over me. It's hard to explain or describe with words . . . but when all these things are in place, snow is a comin' . . . 

  

When I was a child, the first snowfall of the year always brought about a flurry of activity. Our absolute first chore was to build a snowman. 

We would spend hours rolling the snow into big balls, three in number . . . each one getting a little bit smaller than the last. Once rolled we would heap them one on top of the other, with the very smallest on top. Those first snowmen were always adorned with the last few escaped leaves from the autumn's flurry of raking . . . little prizes missed from the rake's ruthless prongs. 

Sticks were sought out and discarded, for only the straightest and best were sufficient for the snowman's most capable arms. Stones were prised from the frozen earth at the sides of the roadway to be used as eyes and mouth, and my mother always begrudgingly donated a carrot for the nose. An old scarf and hat were also donated, after much begging of course! (I'm quite sure she kept an old one in the utility room to be used year after year for just this purpose!) 

What a wondrous sight that snowman would be to behold when he was done!! 

Snowmen seemed to spring up all over the neighbourhood like welcome immigrants from a mysterious and snowy foreign land that was visited upon us for a time . . . 

  

 I know that the snow was not as welcomed by our parents, for it heralded the season of the back breaking labour of shovelling and having to clean the car off everytime you wanted to go somewhere . . . but it was truly a wonderful gift from above for us children. It would be several weeks or months before the novelty would start to wear off.

I do admit that I miss the snow over here, especially around Christmas time. 

Mom always hated a Green Christmas. A green Christmas to her always meant a season of doom, for . . . if all the old wive's tales were to be believed . . . it meant a season of illness and possibly even death in the family. So, while we kids eagerly awaited those first snowy flakes for all the joy that  they would bring . . . our parents eagerly awaited them as well, despite the work they would bring, for they heralded a season of good health for the family and for others . . . 

The closest I have been to a White Christmas over here in the UK was several years back when we had a snow on boxing day.  We had invited a friend who was alone for the holidays over to spend the day with us.  She was a South African lady named Eileen and she came with her Cavelier Spaniel, Bobby.  She lived almost by the church, so it was a bit of a drive down the motorway and several villages away from Chester.

Todd went to pick her up mid-morning and we had a lovely day together once the dogs had settled into some form of quiet companionship. (Mitzi has always been afraid of other dogs.)  We shared some good food and pleasant conversation.  She is a colourful lady having lived a very colourful life.  I never tire of her company. She has since gotten married again and Bobby has moved on to the next life.

That day as we went to drive her home in the late afternoon, we realised that the rain that had started to fall was mixed with flakes of snow.   This only got worse as we drove into Wales where she lived. By the time we got to her village, the car was only moving slowly forward through about 3 inches of snow that had accumulated.  It always snows much worse and heavier in Wales.

We managed to get her and Bobby home safely and did make it back home here in Chester, but it was quite a drive!  We don't have snow tires here in the UK and a snowfall always brings about a great deal of driving scariness!  Thankfully we were behind a road gritter all the way back!  Home Sweet Home had never been so welcome as it was on that day! 

  

So, while my child's heart longs for a White Christmas, the adult in me only does so  . . .  so long as we have no need to journey far from our home!  

There is no snow here this morning, just lashings of heavy rain pelting against the windows. Mitzie is going to the Groomers this morning for her cut and blow and will be smelling like a Princess by the end of the day.  I usually change all of her bedding while they are gone and the blanket we keep on the sofa to clean ones, as well as the cover on the pillow she sleeps on next to my bed, plus my groceries are arriving later this morning as well, so I will be busy organizing and making room for them.  I try to get in the Christmas stuff over several shops so it isn't as costly all at once! 

A thought to carry with you  . . .  

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *When someone 

does something wrong,

don't forget all the things

that they have done right.

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚  

I have no new recipe to share today.  I ended up not feeling very well yesterday. We went to go out to the shops and I had to make Todd turn around and go home. Needless to say there was no cooking going on.  Hopefully today will be better!

I hope you have a lovely day filled with a multitude of joyful and happy things!  Don't forget along the way! 

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And I do too!