Ann M. Martin

Let it Snow!

January 2003

Hi, readers! With the holidays behind us, I'm more than ready to start enjoying the winter months and the beginning of a wonderful new year. Now that the season is well underway in my neck of the woods, there's absolutely no doubt that winter has arrived. And I'm happy to report that I am absolutely loving it! My home is in the Catskill Mountains, a part of the country that is known for its extraordinarily beautiful winters. So far this season, it has certainly lived up to its reputation.

We hadn't had a really great snowstorm here in quite some time, so you can imagine how excited I was when the snow started falling on Christmas Eve. But when it stopped early the following morning, I was disappointed to think that the big snowfall predictions were wrong. At least my good friends from New York City could still drive up as planned later that day with their two young children. Little did they know what they had in store for them, because by noon of Christmas Day, it looked like a blizzard outside! The roads were not yet plowed and the snow was very deep, so my friends abandoned their car about a mile from my house. The kids thought this was all very exciting. (They don't get to see a lot of snow in the city.) We were able to get everybody back to the house in a good four-wheel drive car, and the next few days were spent making snowmen, sliding down the driveway on trays, and sledding on the big hill in town. The kids had a ball, and I don't think I could have wished for anything better than a fifteen-inch snowfall for holiday fun.

A few days after all the roads were plowed and things had settled down, we got another fifteen-inch snowstorm! The kids in my area had just returned to school after their winter break, so they were treated to a day off and a couple of late morning openings. Even though I'm long out of school, I still feel very happy when I hear that school will be closed and everyone will be getting a surprise snow day. Some of my favorite childhood memories are the times I spent building forts and going sledding with my sister and friends when school was closed.

If you'd like to see what winter looks like around here, be sure and click on the "Ann's Photos" link on the webpage. And I hope you enjoy the doggie "outtake."

Until next time, happy sledding to all my snow-loving readers!

Love, Ann