Gratitude Monday – Snowy Sunday Edition

I used a slow shutter speed to make the fluffy flakes of snow show up better against the hawthorn trees in the back yard.

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We had a snow day yesterday. In this neck of the world that simply means it finally got around to snowing like it ought. It’s November. It’s normal. I am grateful for it.
I was worried about the poor little animals who may have changed to their winter togs already. Nothing worse than white mink standing out against a yellowy-brown landscape. Critters need a place to hide.
Trees get confused when it’s too warm. They need the cold to rest just like any of us.
We need the insulation of snow and the resultant moisture.
On a personal note, I like cold weather. It gathers my energy to me instead of spreading it out. Writing is a much more enticing pastime and easier when there’s no nice weather whispering how much you need to be outside right now.
I like to cook things that take all day and warm up the house. A pot of stew simmering on the stove is a welcome sight and imparts a wonderful, homey fragrance throughout the house. I put one on yesterday and let it simmer as I wrote.
Snow makes for good baking days. I’m grateful that my husband likes to bake and he’s good at it.
It was too miserable to go outside and carve so he made a batch of apple strudel. It’s one of his specialties.
Stew and strudel and snow. That’s plenty to be grateful for.

Monday Gratitude - A Simple Pleasure

I had to laugh last evening as a TV weather forecaster described the current cold snap. Temperatures are projected to hit more than -40 C (same as 40 below F) and he called it unseasonably cold.

No. It’s winter in Alberta. That’s seasonably cold.

I’m grateful for the cold of this season. I’ve always believed that if we have the proper winter weather, then we’ll be rewarded with proper summer weather. I have no idea if that pans out, but it gives me great comfort during howling blizzards and -40 temps. I don't have a photo of a howling blizzard for today so this mountain winterscape will have to suffice.

What I do have is a house and a furnace that keeps it warm. If I’m too cold then I can bake something. I’m grateful I learned how to bake and I’m grateful that we have hundreds of recipes around for me to ignore.
If I don’t feel like baking my husband will. He does the Christmas baking and likes to try new recipes out during the rest of the year.
And if we’ve got plenty of baking around, then a pot of stew on the stove warms the house and fills it with an inviting fragrance.

Good food made with joy is a simple pleasure of life and a wonderful way to enjoy the seasonable cold. For that, I am grateful.