Thursday 17 December 2009

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas.




Yes - you've guessed it - we awoke to a sprinkling of snow this morning - very pretty. Within half an hour it had gone and the sun was trying to break through the cloud. Then suddenly the sky went dark and we had a huge blizzard. And that more or less set the pattern for the day.
I went into our little market town and parked while I went to the Post Office and did a bit of shopping. When I returned to the car it was covered in deep snow.
Yes, it is very pretty but I have to say that ten minutes of it is quite enough for me. I hate driving in it and I am scared of falling when I have to walk in it, so it does rather hamper my life.
More Christmas cards have arrived today - we are getting a dozen or so at each post. So far we have had fifty three cards and out of those only six have any religious motif whatsoever (even the one I get every year from a vicar friend was not a religious card!) There are robins galore and plenty of stage coaches and snow. Isn't it odd the things we associate with Christmas?
There does seem to be a preoccupation with Christmas in Victorian times on this year's cards. They all make it look so jolly - roaring fires, carol singers, lighted windows glowing into the snow. I think it is all a pipe dream really because cold snowy weather would be pretty awful before the days of central heating.
I remember as a child sleeping in a bedroom without heating (if you were really, really ill you might get a fire in the firegrate) and in the morning the water in the jug on the washstand was often frozen on the top. If this happened then you had to use the water our of your stone hot water bottle (which had been down at the bottom of the bed all night and was therefore luke warm) to pour into the bowl and wash with. We thought nothing of it, of course, because it was the norm. But today, looking back on those conditions, they all seem a bit primitive.
But I do love Christmas cards, whatever the picture on the front is. I have moved around the country quite a bit in my job and have left friends all over the place. I only hear from a lot of these people at Christmas and it is such fun to catch up on their lives.
I hope when I awake in the morning the snow has gone and that we have our usual warm, damp spell over the festive season. But I am not getting my hopes up.

27 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

It's been sleeting all day here and the pavements are all slippery and slidy, not what I want for Christmas. A good deep snow would be nice though, at least from the aesthetic point of view.....

Mark Kreider said...

Enjoy your first bit of winter! Blue skies on Long Island but in high 20s to low 30s. Brrrrr....

Caroline Gill said...

Just a thin flutter of flakes here, but bitterly cold. It's certainly not deep and crisp and even...

... and yes, I also love the chance to catch up on everyone's news.

Amanda Sheridan said...

I remember heating up pennies (the old big ones of course) on the kitchen range and melting eyeholes in the frost on the INSIDE of my bedroom window. Mum used to wrap us up warm in our pyjamas plus a jumper and hat and mittens to go to bed and pile the blankets on. We never thought anything of it!

Cloudia said...

I so enjoy your white scenes.
Come visit for greener vistas, Weaver:


Aloha,


Comfort Spiral

Heather said...

We've had sleet showers today but no snow yet. Hard frost forecast for tonight. I can remember the joys of winter more than 60 years ago - ice on the inside of the bedroom window and chilblains. Great fun. No fitted carpets either - it was floor boards or lino with rugs. I am in danger of sounding like a Monty Python sketch!! It is lovely to receive Christmas cards and have a little contact with friends and relatives far away.

Bernie said...

I love the picture of the hoarfrost on your trees.

We used to get dressed in front of the stove(half wood and half gas) when I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan because we had no heat upstairs either except what from the chimney in the bathroom! I still like a cool bedroon but I like it when the furnace kicks in in the morning:)

How do you feel about letters addressed to everyone and stuck in Christmas Cards instead of a personal note to each one?

Totalfeckineejit said...

I'll have the snow , Weaver.Throw it over here!

CHummelKornell said...

Our bit of snow is totally gone and today we had 48 degree temperatures. I must admit the sunshine and blue skies were nice but I really do long for the snow. I think this weekend we will go farther north to see if we can find snow for snow shoeing. Great exercise and it feels so good to be outside.

May you be blessed with blue skies and sunshine tomorrow.

Dinesh chandra said...

The snow is the aesthetic. Every body like snow on the Christmas day, but the cold no body like,
I love the warm greeny days.Happy Christmas.

Regards

Dinesh Chandra

Unknown said...

Hello Weaver,

Yes, we had the snow too yesterday which hung around and put something of a damp squib on our late night opening! There was a little more today but it's very patchy. Cold though! I think there's more to come over the weekend, so stay warm!

Dave King said...

An appreciable fall for us over night, but I would have appreciated more no fall at all - must be getting old! Enjoyed the post very much.

Unknown said...

I so wish I was back in the cottage at Sedburgh to wake up to the fantastic views of the snow covered hills. But I can see your point of view, it is not so idyllic when you are driving or having to work in the sub-zero conditions

The Weaver of Grass said...

Juliet - yes I am torn between loving it and hating it too.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Mark - "low" thirties = brrr indeed.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Caroline - nice to hear from you again. I think the eastern side of the country is getting the worst of the weather - in from the Urals.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Amanda - love the idea of heating up pennies, i have never heard of that before. But you are right, we thought nothing of going to bed in as many layers as we wore in the daytime - and I don;t ever remember being cold. Maybe it was the feather beds we slept in.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Cloudia - I do like to imagine how warm it is with you at the moment - I don't suppose you care to think about the cold though.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Heather - yes we had it tough in the old days - not quite living in a cardboard box but near enough. My brother once left his clothes under the window and the window slightly open and in the morning his clothes were covered in snow.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Bernie - I have answered your question in my post today.

The Weaver of Grass said...

TFE - If I had the energy to pick up a big shovel, I would do just that. At present it looks so pretty but unfortunately when it begins to go it will just be a mess of slush.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you CHK - could do with a bit of that warm weather.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Dinesh - warm, greeny days - I like the thought.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Derrick - sorry the snow ruined your late night opening. Today is market day here and only one stall opened and the town was completely empty - not good for trade.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Dave - yes I feel the same. I am scared of falling over and breaking something, I hate the icy cold weather - I rather like looking out of the window at it, but only for a limited amount of time - then I want the sun back please.

Golden West said...

Your pictures are very Christmasy, Weaver! I'm sure Tess is happy to have a run in the snow!

BT said...

Your photos are like my post today Weaver!! I like to look at the snow but find it soo cold after a short while out in it. Now it's freezing I don't like that at all. But I do love Christmas cards too.