Thursday Thoughts

Wow, can you believe this weather? It looks like it is going to stay this way at least until next week. The snow has melted and this is giving us a nice break between storms. It is wonderful to be able to get out into the sunshine and fresh air, take the dog for a walk, clean up the yard a little bit, sweep off the driveway and just generally clean up the mess that the snow and rain creates.

Since I am from Pennsylvania originally, I am very familiar with winter weather. The thing I find the most depressing about winter back there, was the length of time that you had to be indoors. It just seemed to go on and on and on without much of a break between storms. The sun seemed to go on a permanent vacation. I find that here in Pine Cove, we are lucky enough to get some breaks between storms, which is really uplifting for the spirits.

I very vividly remember the last winter I spent in PA, which was the winter of 85-86. My husband had already moved to California and so I was now solely responsible for all the snow removal.

It quickly became apparent that I was not going to be able to keep up. We had no snow blower, nor could I afford to hire someone to do it. By the time I would arrive home from work at 6 pm, it was dark, cold and frozen. We had two cars at the time and I realized that keeping one shoveled out would be about all I could manage. So by the end of January, the second car was buried and not to be seen again until spring. I had no idea if this would damage the car or not, but at that point, I didn't really care. Luckily, once all the snow melted away, it started right up on the first try after being buried for about 4 months.

Naturally, it had to be a bad winter that year with hardly any breaks between storms. It seemed I would no sooner get my driveway all nice and cleared and within a day or two another storm came through and I was back to square 1. When I think back on that time now, I don't know how I managed. I guess the fact that I was in my 20's and not my 50's probably helped a lot. But I made it through and come May, spring arrived and I joined my husband here in California.

Many people have asked us why we left snow just to come and live in more snow. What they don't realize is that while our winters here can be rough, they are not nearly as bad as what they get on the east coast or in the mid west. We seem to be blessed with these breaks in the weather that allow for several weeks of nice, calm weather with no snow to deal with. We get to enjoy some milder temps, some sunshine and some down time with no shoveling. By the time the storms return to the hill, we will all be ready for them, having had a respite and time to renew ourselves just a little bit. The next storm will be a welcome change and it will allow us to retreat back indoors, snuggled up by the fire with a hot cup of tea, a book or a movie and just watch as the falling snow magically transforms Pine Cove into a winter wonderland once again.