We have a newspaper here written by and distributed by the houseless (or anyone who needs to earn a little something) called 𝘚𝑡𝘳𝑒𝘦𝑡 𝑅𝘰𝑜𝘵𝑠 (in Seattle, it was called 𝑅𝘦𝑎𝘭 𝘊ℎ𝘢𝑛𝘨𝑒). Often I will give the vendor a dollar for an issue and say, resell mine. Like you said, they are out in the elements hustling.
Hey! I had no idea you lived in Chicago. I grew up there and my siblings are still in the area. Winter and particularly snow there, however, are reasons I would never live there again. It's the only place I know where it's common to reserve your parking spot on the street (after shoveling it out) with a chair. Code of honor.
Also love White Christmas and found myself singing SNOW! on Thanksgiving after I woke to a blanket of the white stuff. And Elle is pretty brilliant - I subscribe to her as well - but for some reason, I couldn't get your link to work.
It never occurred to me that there would be car window cleaners in the streets of small villages in Italy. That seems so very big city to me. Maybe even only big city America. Wow, that makes me sound very provincial. I'm embarrassed, but there it is.
Yes, I lived there for 8 years (North Side, Lincoln Park, and Wrigleyville) and honestly don't know how I survived those winters. We lived in a Victorian with single-pane windows and used to get frost on the baseboard in our bedroom! Fun times. In the big blizzard of '79 people reserved their parking spaces with all kinds of furniture, even dressers! I climbed a snowbank to reach the sidewalk one day and looked down to see a window in the side of it—I'd climbed over a car and didn't even know it was there!
As far as the car window cleaners go, Perugia isn't tiny (population ~160,000). I've never seen that kind of thing in very small towns.
I was in Marche last month when the first snow fell in the Sibillinis. At the hardware store, the proprietor explained that his mother always said: when the mountains put on their "cappellino", winter will begin. Strangely enough, two days after the snow hit the mountains, temperatures soared to early summer range, and soon the mountains had thrown the cappellino away once again. Seems climate change may be ruining even our folk wisdom. Hoping the next round of snow sticks around a while!
Climate change ruins everything! Only a few weeks ago I was still hearing cicadas or grasshoppers or whatever—that should NOT be happening! Wishing you some beautiful snow with staying power!
Loved your words on the memories snow is associated with.....! Also, those ugly Underwoods. I watched them almost until the end. Couldn’t bear to after Kevin Spacey’s tangle with #metoo. I felt that suddenly real life and the silver screen crossed in such an ugly way. I was done before the show was done.
Netflix fired him after that accusation, so he wasn't in the last season. All in all, a difficult series to watch! I seem to be specializing in "disillusionment" streaming; just watched The Report, about the post-911 torture coverup by the CIA. I think it really is time for White Christmas!
This is great. It looks like a snow story marathon!
I grew up on the Iowa/Minnesota border in the “50s” & “60s”. The only trees there are the ones someone planted. This was the great prairie that Lewis and Clark thought was an ocean. The wind blows for ever and nothing stops it. In March of 1963 and 1966 we had St Patrick’s Day blizzards of epic proportions. Snow and 20 30 mile an hour winds for 3 days. When it finished we had a snow drift over our house. There was no way to open the door. Being 12 or 13, my Dad dropped me out of the upstairs window on the none snowdrift side of the house and I had a tunnel to the back door.
Thank you for that image of your dad dropping you out a window! lol Those were some extreme winters, and I gotta say, better you than me! I can't imagine having little kids in that environment, all the constant layering and unlayering—I'm far too lazy for that (which is why my kids grew in in California!). But yeah, the absence of snow some winters is frightening. Thanks for sharing your story!
I wasn't quite sure where you were going with the post so I was a bit startled with moving from snow to the frustration of the last few weeks. It was a beautiful way of jolting us and leading us to remember that not talking about something surely doesn't mean not feeling involved. And I agree about the rose-sellers.
I’d started with a comment that this would be a meandering post, then took it out. Maybe I should have left it! Or maybe the jolt was good. Thanks for your thoughts!
I grew up in California and my parents had a house in Yosemite, so snow was always fun for us growing up, skiing, sledding etc.
Then not long after getting married we moved to Denver, Colorado. 15-20 years later, completely over it! After my car almost slid off of I-70 one night, and after getting caught driving in a few blizzards it was game over! We are living happily without snow here in Porto for 5 years now. No desire to ever be up close and personal with it again. I have had my lifetime supply, thank you very much!
As a hermit-type by nature I am looking forward to being on my own for the second half of December. I plan to stay home and do whatever I want for the entire two weeks of Mercury Retrograde, which I always dread. I will do edits and re-writes on old projects since Merc Retro mandates anything starting with Re... Should be great!
A house in Yosemite, my favorite place in California? I’m envious! We used to arrive on January 1st, when everyone was leaving, so we had a wintry playground mostly to ourselves. Such good memories!
Perfect words for me right now. I felt the need for a quick trip to swirling snowflakes and brisk walks to Christmas markets in Austria and Germany. Helped me to remember the beauty of of my Colorado snow and the family and friends who surrounded me. Home to my new life in Spain in a few days. It will be healing to continue to mix my memories of snowflakes with warm Mediterranean sand and sea.
Sounds ideal, a snow fix only when you want it! I’d love to get to the Salzburg Christmas market someday (or any others you’d recommend). Hope you had a great time!
"sometimes I’ll “forget” to take the pack"
We have a newspaper here written by and distributed by the houseless (or anyone who needs to earn a little something) called 𝘚𝑡𝘳𝑒𝘦𝑡 𝑅𝘰𝑜𝘵𝑠 (in Seattle, it was called 𝑅𝘦𝑎𝘭 𝘊ℎ𝘢𝑛𝘨𝑒). Often I will give the vendor a dollar for an issue and say, resell mine. Like you said, they are out in the elements hustling.
That's a good idea, which I'll definitely adopt!
Hey! I had no idea you lived in Chicago. I grew up there and my siblings are still in the area. Winter and particularly snow there, however, are reasons I would never live there again. It's the only place I know where it's common to reserve your parking spot on the street (after shoveling it out) with a chair. Code of honor.
Also love White Christmas and found myself singing SNOW! on Thanksgiving after I woke to a blanket of the white stuff. And Elle is pretty brilliant - I subscribe to her as well - but for some reason, I couldn't get your link to work.
It never occurred to me that there would be car window cleaners in the streets of small villages in Italy. That seems so very big city to me. Maybe even only big city America. Wow, that makes me sound very provincial. I'm embarrassed, but there it is.
Happy Winter to you!
Yes, I lived there for 8 years (North Side, Lincoln Park, and Wrigleyville) and honestly don't know how I survived those winters. We lived in a Victorian with single-pane windows and used to get frost on the baseboard in our bedroom! Fun times. In the big blizzard of '79 people reserved their parking spaces with all kinds of furniture, even dressers! I climbed a snowbank to reach the sidewalk one day and looked down to see a window in the side of it—I'd climbed over a car and didn't even know it was there!
As far as the car window cleaners go, Perugia isn't tiny (population ~160,000). I've never seen that kind of thing in very small towns.
Happy winter to you too!
Ah! I didn't realize Perugia was that large, wow!
and yes, I remember the blizzard of '79!!! Yikes.
I was in Marche last month when the first snow fell in the Sibillinis. At the hardware store, the proprietor explained that his mother always said: when the mountains put on their "cappellino", winter will begin. Strangely enough, two days after the snow hit the mountains, temperatures soared to early summer range, and soon the mountains had thrown the cappellino away once again. Seems climate change may be ruining even our folk wisdom. Hoping the next round of snow sticks around a while!
Climate change ruins everything! Only a few weeks ago I was still hearing cicadas or grasshoppers or whatever—that should NOT be happening! Wishing you some beautiful snow with staying power!
Loved your words on the memories snow is associated with.....! Also, those ugly Underwoods. I watched them almost until the end. Couldn’t bear to after Kevin Spacey’s tangle with #metoo. I felt that suddenly real life and the silver screen crossed in such an ugly way. I was done before the show was done.
Netflix fired him after that accusation, so he wasn't in the last season. All in all, a difficult series to watch! I seem to be specializing in "disillusionment" streaming; just watched The Report, about the post-911 torture coverup by the CIA. I think it really is time for White Christmas!
This is great. It looks like a snow story marathon!
I grew up on the Iowa/Minnesota border in the “50s” & “60s”. The only trees there are the ones someone planted. This was the great prairie that Lewis and Clark thought was an ocean. The wind blows for ever and nothing stops it. In March of 1963 and 1966 we had St Patrick’s Day blizzards of epic proportions. Snow and 20 30 mile an hour winds for 3 days. When it finished we had a snow drift over our house. There was no way to open the door. Being 12 or 13, my Dad dropped me out of the upstairs window on the none snowdrift side of the house and I had a tunnel to the back door.
Now, sadly, there are winters with no snow.
Thank you for that image of your dad dropping you out a window! lol Those were some extreme winters, and I gotta say, better you than me! I can't imagine having little kids in that environment, all the constant layering and unlayering—I'm far too lazy for that (which is why my kids grew in in California!). But yeah, the absence of snow some winters is frightening. Thanks for sharing your story!
I wasn't quite sure where you were going with the post so I was a bit startled with moving from snow to the frustration of the last few weeks. It was a beautiful way of jolting us and leading us to remember that not talking about something surely doesn't mean not feeling involved. And I agree about the rose-sellers.
I’d started with a comment that this would be a meandering post, then took it out. Maybe I should have left it! Or maybe the jolt was good. Thanks for your thoughts!
Jolts are good, it worked perfectly.
Thanks Cheryl, wow, so many memories!
I grew up in California and my parents had a house in Yosemite, so snow was always fun for us growing up, skiing, sledding etc.
Then not long after getting married we moved to Denver, Colorado. 15-20 years later, completely over it! After my car almost slid off of I-70 one night, and after getting caught driving in a few blizzards it was game over! We are living happily without snow here in Porto for 5 years now. No desire to ever be up close and personal with it again. I have had my lifetime supply, thank you very much!
As a hermit-type by nature I am looking forward to being on my own for the second half of December. I plan to stay home and do whatever I want for the entire two weeks of Mercury Retrograde, which I always dread. I will do edits and re-writes on old projects since Merc Retro mandates anything starting with Re... Should be great!
Best to you, enjoy the season. Abraços.
A house in Yosemite, my favorite place in California? I’m envious! We used to arrive on January 1st, when everyone was leaving, so we had a wintry playground mostly to ourselves. Such good memories!
Your two weeks alone sound wonderful, enjoy!
Perfect words for me right now. I felt the need for a quick trip to swirling snowflakes and brisk walks to Christmas markets in Austria and Germany. Helped me to remember the beauty of of my Colorado snow and the family and friends who surrounded me. Home to my new life in Spain in a few days. It will be healing to continue to mix my memories of snowflakes with warm Mediterranean sand and sea.
Sounds ideal, a snow fix only when you want it! I’d love to get to the Salzburg Christmas market someday (or any others you’d recommend). Hope you had a great time!