Winter Has Arrived

I was born in Allentown and I'm sure we had snowy winters - but I don't remember that....  Because when I was 3 years old Grandad became a missionary and we left Pennsylvania.  Grammie, Grandad, Aunt Julie and I lived briefly in Mexico and then moved to the Dominican Republic (in the Caribbean where it is hot) from 1968-1971.  I will write more about this later.  Then we ended up in Philadelphia when I was 7 years old.  So my winters really  started in the early 1970's.  What are some of those memories?

• The Lucia Fest at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church where Grandad was the minister.  My first year, I was the second candle girl (I'm sure I was adorable!!).  Unlike both you boys, I was not a tomte.  As an aside, you might be interested in more information about troublesome tomte.
• Christmas including Aunt Julie's birthday, which meant going to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services and of course presents!!!!!
• New Year's Day including my birthday and of course more presents!!!!!  New Year's Day also meant going to the Mummers Parade.  I just learned that Swedish settlers in the Philadelphia area contributed to the Mummers tradition.
• Very Long walks back and forth from school. .... pretty awful on bitter, windy days.
• Occasional major snow storms (school closings!), and shoveling out church walkways afterwards.  Occasional ice storms and dangerous slippery sidewalks afterwards.  Dirty snow lingering too long on city streets.
• Warmer weather arriving in late March, with purple crocuses peaking through the ground and Easter around the corner.

Brock has said that winter is his favorite season of the year as he loves, loves, loves to go sledding.  He has even threatened to move away to Russia.  Sasha is equally enthusiastic about sledding, but favors living at a lake/creek side location with readily available fishing.  As I get older, I am finding it harder to appreciate the cold, ice & snow but will stay as cheerful as I can.  I do think winter scenery is lovely, as in this lake picture my friend Susan took from her back porch early Thursday morning:

Well, in keeping with the upcoming Christmas season and on the theme of staying warm and well-fed, here's a song I'm sure you will enjoy: