[Breakfast in Vermont; 1/24/15]
We were fortunate to be invited to spend the weekend in Stowe, Vermont to celebrate a friend's 60th birthday at the ski house that she and her husband bought last summer. D and I drove up on Friday afternoon (3+ hours), arriving just after dark, to find their beautiful new place all lit up, warm, and welcoming. But the real beauty was waking the next morning to have breakfast overlooking the gorgeous views.
[The ski house]
Although my friend and her family are avid skiers, we didn't ski this weekend but got out for a little bit of hiking. Then, Saturday evening, her husband cooked up an amazing feast for us (eight of us in all). We four women all worked together in the '80s and have stayed friends ever since, though there have been stretches where we didn't see much of each other given child-rearing and family obligations and such. But there's such joy and comfort in old friendships.
We had lovely weather all weekend, sunny and not too cold on Saturday. After dinner, we ladies enjoyed the outdoor hot tub under the deck with the snow falling lightly around us. Sunday was quite chilly when we headed back home, but clear and dry. Alas, we headed out of snow country just in time to settle in for a blizzard that started on Monday evening and didn't end until early this morning after having dumped about 2 feet of snow where I live - almost 3 feet in some parts.
[The scene today outside my apartment]
Fortunately, it was very cold so the snow was light and fluffy - good for not pulling down the power lines and also not too heavy to shovel. I am a bit stiff today, though! My neighbor and I dug our cars out of our contiguous driveways yesterday, but our landlord finally arrived this afternoon with the snowblower to clear it out completely. Which is good because they're predicting more snow to come, albeit a smaller amount this time. My friends in Vermont have the right idea - if you can't beat the winter in New England, embrace it!
What a beautiful place to visit. Glad to see that you're sort-of coping with the weather at home. The news reports have been alarming, but England is very easily terrified by about two inches of snow!
Posted by: Relatively Retiring | Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 06:08 AM
RR: We have colleagues in London who are always astonished by the amount of snow we get! But we are prepared for it here, so cleanup and coping are all routine.
Posted by: Leslee | Friday, January 30, 2015 at 07:40 AM