Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!
First thing I do when I wake in the morning up in the high mountains of Idaho is close the window. The window is on my side of the bed, and it’s open only about an inch, maybe a half-inch, but baby, it's cold outside. Would you believe 3 degrees? Would you believe no insulation in the walls of our condo? The cold air simply pours into the room, like a torrential river. I’m talking cold. Oh, you ask "Why keep the window open?" Because my husband loves the bedroom to be cold at night. Right. But the window is on my side of the bed. Anyway, I leap out of bed, firmly close the window, then peek through the blinds to see if it has snowed during the night. That is my big excitement. I look out to check the deck railings, the barbecue, the walkway. Did we get new snow? How much?
Yes!!!! The first really big snowfall of the year and it’s swirling around. The men with the snow plows are clearing the walkways and shoveling our decks so we will not break our necks.
I quickly pull on my long socks, fleece bathrobe, warm pajama bottoms, L.L.Bean slippers and awaken my husband to share my excitement about the newly fallen snow. I then insist he go out into the cold and take photos for my blog. Now, I usually take my own photos, but it’s cold out there and I don't want any part of it. So it’s 7AM, 3 degrees and not very much light. He puts on his robe, boots, socks and I have no idea what else and like the manly man he is, takes these photos for me. So, thank you, Honey.
Pretty gutsy of me to let him take a picture looking like this, don't you think? He made me do it. Insisted I share the moment with him!
Here in Idaho, you can hear the men all talking about how they woke up in the morning and spent an hour clearing the snow. Back in the big city, the talk is all about golf, here it’s all about plowing snow.
How do you stay warm when it’s so cold? Well, the first layer is usually a cotton turtleneck, with a fleece vest, a fleece jacket, then finally fleece pants with long warm socks. And this is only for breakfast inside our condo.
The other thing I’ve learned is that wool socks keep your feet warm, but cashmere socks keep your feet even warmer, or do I just like the luxurious feel of them? Now, there is one really good thing about the freezing weather, my hair stays straight. There is no moisture in the air. It’s frozen dry, so I don’t look like Queen Elizabeth.
Later, we go to the parking lot and I delight at the amount of snow that has accumulated on our car. My husband wasn't as thrilled as I was because he had to remove all the snow so we could go to the market. We call this quality time!
That's me. Mountain Mama. Brrrrrrrrrrr.
