King of the (snow) mountain

Over the course of the last week (well, I guess its been since Saturday) we've gotten just about 3 feet of snow in the city of Philadelphia.  Yesterday, everything was shut down- even the major highways.  Today, school is cancelled again.  The roads are looking a little bit better, but there is snow EVERYWHERE and honestly very few reasons to actually go outside.

I rarely miss home, except when it snows.  I miss waking up to find out school has been cancelled because there is so much snow, or because its so cold.  I miss the constant "Mom- my gloves are wet!" that would happen all day when I would play outside with my siblings in the snow.  We used to make a luge in our front yard for our snow tubes.  It would end up curving into the road, so if you got enough speed you would slide down the street for a bit too.  We lived in a quiet neighborhood.  A few years, we had an ice skating rink.  My dad never figured out the science of it to make it smooth, so we mostly just used it for broom hockey.  Falling on the ice never felt so good.  I also miss watching Disney (my 12 year old Golden Retriever) roll around and make puppy angels in the snow.  We'd all trek up to the local elementary school a half mile away, sometimes the dog tailing right behind us, and sled for hours down the giant hill.  A memory I don't miss? Building ramps for the sleds, going down over them, getting flipped off and the wind knocked out of you.  That never really felt great.

I haven't had a chance to go sledding yet in all this snow, but I have been blessed with the opportunity to dig out Kevin's (boyfriend) car twice with the help of some friendly strangers.  We realized its a lot easier if I'm the one driving, instead of the one pushing.  Those darn boots with the fur have very little traction.  It is so nice to see strangers help you out.  It reminds me of the commercial about how kind acts are contagious- it's so true!  Another great benefit of the snow?  It gives me the opportunity to actually just sit around and not do anything.  I didn't quite follow that rule entirely, but this is the most sitting still I've done in a long time.  And I love it.

Today, because it is absolutely gorgeous out (minus the howling wind that has me scared and curled up in a ball in bed) I think I may go on a photo adventure.  Just me and my camera. And maybe a few stops at a few stores, if I am so lucky to find them open.