This is my first ToT post; please curb* contain your enthusiasm.
Three things I like about winter having arrived.
- The opportunity to wear my handknits (duh). I have been exulting in unpacking all my Woolly Wonders™ from their zip-locked prisons. A cowl or scarf every day! Warm socks! Fingerless gloves FTW! Not to mention sweaters and hats and mufflers (not quite cold enough for those last two yet, but soon).
- The beauty of the wintery landscape. Years ago I realized that the woodsy, rural landscape where I live is even more beautiful in its winter whiteness than its green summertime glory. I am not alone in this; Gary Paulsen, in Winterdance: The Fine Magic of Running the Iditarod (one of my favorite books of all time), talks about the beauty of the winter landscape in the north with far more eloquence than I can muster. (I tried to look up the exact quote, but apparently I gave away my copy of the book to Elder Son’s best friend a few years back.)
- The delight in driving an AWD car. Back in 1983 we bought a house on a hill in south Minneapolis. Parking in front of the house meant parking uphill, a difficult situation from which to pull out onto the street after the snows come, and the alley behind the house was uphill both ways. (Yeah, I know that is a cliché, but it really was.) By the time winter came we had replaced my vintage rear-wheel-drive Toyota with a used 4WD Subaru station wagon, I adored being able to get anywhere I wanted to go without
having to ask for helpgetting stuck, not to mention being able to pull others out of snowbanks. A few years later I got a brand spanking new 4WD Subaru station wagon, red like its predecessor, and the fun continued. In 1998 I bought an Izusu minivan with only front-wheel drive; what was I thinking? It had trouble getting up our driveway hill here in WI in winter, and our sons cursed having to push it every morning so I could drive them to school. Eventually Smokey and Younger Son found me a used AWD Volvo and the fun resumed. And now my Nissan will get to strut its stuff for the first time. (You can review our mega-fleet here. Yes, cars have played an important part of our life; such is marriage to a car collector and mechanic.)
* I never understood the liking for Larry David.
I enthusiastically read your post! I love when the weather gets cool enough to wear handknits, welcome the beauty of winter landscapes, and love Gary Paulsen. I’ve read his fiction, but not Winterdance, and am off to procure it post haste. Thank you!
On an Larry David aside, did you happen to see him on Finding your Roots? It was EXCELLENT (and he was shocked at the findings!!) Does it seem like I am trying to ignore all that crazy white stuff in those photos? Yep, that would be absolutely correct! LOL
Lol sounds like my family- first up, best car:)
I’m glad someone is finding delight in winter. Heh.
It rarely gets cold enough here in sunny California for a lot of the Woolly Wonders (heh) but it *is* time for me to pull out my fingerless gloves and scarves/shawls/cowls.Yay! I love this time of year.
I’m clicking my heels THREE TIMES while saying too early – too early – too early!!! 🙂
I agree with Kym. Also, it seems like we went from 60-70s to 40s in a flash, so too fast — too fast — too fast!!! 🙂
I’m already wearing hats indoors as well as out – this house somehow manages to be colder than the outdoors in winter while being hotter in summer. Fingerless gloves FTW.
We’re having a balmy 60 degree day here! I finally got my AWD Subaru last year and what fun to feel safe and free driving through the snow!
I’ve been driving Subarus since the aughts. They were the only kind of car that could make it up my driveway, back in my Vermont days.
Not thinking about snow. Studiously not thinking about snow. Absolutely no snow on my mind at all. Too soon. No to snow.
Agree, agree, and of course, I agree.