There is no greater fun -- when it isn't killing you -- than living in cold weather. Cold weather brings snow, the chill of football in the air, and the crisp snap of impending holiday cheer.
Unlike city living, where the snow is a burden and a traffic danger, snow in the Midwest is -- after being pushed from the streets by snowplows -- friendly on lawns and delightful on playgrounds.
Making Snow Angels and Snowmen were the rites of childhood and throwing yourself belly-first on a Flexible Flyer steel runner sled and speeding it down a giant hill with your boots kicking in the air behind you is a delight those who live in the perpetual sunshine of warm weather can never begin to imagine what they're missing.
Unlike city living, where the snow is a burden and a traffic danger, snow in the Midwest is -- after being pushed from the streets by snowplows -- friendly on lawns and delightful on playgrounds.
Making Snow Angels and Snowmen were the rites of childhood and throwing yourself belly-first on a Flexible Flyer steel runner sled and speeding it down a giant hill with your boots kicking in the air behind you is a delight those who live in the perpetual sunshine of warm weather can never begin to imagine what they're missing.
I had some good times growing up in Vermont and playing in the snow. Angels making was a must. Riding a toboggan was a must.
Right-o, Anne! Toboggans required lots of people and speeds were incredible. A steel sled gave one a danger and accuracy in speed to avoid cars and other kids. I broke a front tooth riding one when I hit a bump. That's a peril of sledding on your stomach!
I wasn't much for stomach surfing. I think that's harder when you're a girl than a boy. We did make snowmen, though. And snow forts. And snowballs. The weather hasn't been that cold on the East Coast this year has it?
Right now it's raining and 59 degrees in Jersey! We used to get hard snow 10 years ago in October.
Since then it seems we might get a dusting of snow or two but we don't see heavy hard stuff until January.
I think that''s an indication of global warning!
59? Now that's alarming. How are the young kids supposed to enjoy the snow when they don't even get to see much of it anymore? We are seeing the world get warmer. It seems your snowfalls are being delayed by three months. That, to me, is a big change.
It is a big change, Anne! The weather is much warmer all year round now on the East Coast. It is hotter and more uncomfortable! I guess we need more pollution to block those sun rays from hitting us!
:grin:
We didn't (and still don't) get a lot of snow - however I was five years old when the "big snow" hit the south of the UK on Boxing Day 1962.
We were in the process of moving to Wiltshire from Leicestershire at the time. My father had just bought a local village post office and was undergoing his training before taking over. He was staying in a local pub about 2 miles away from the post office and our new home. It offered accommodation , which the new village pub did not.
I have vivid memories of walking to see him at work down a footpath ( which should have been a road) with snow drifts towering over my head.
The other vivid memory I have of my stay at the pub - the water pipes froze and burst over my bedroom n the middle of the night!
We had a lot of fun sledging - this is the nearest comparison I can find.
http://www.gymworld.co.uk/prodpage.asp?ProdID=2242
We had another weapon up our sleeves - a large metal tray - much easier and lighter to carry back up to the start.
My own children have been able to build snowmen about three times in their lives. Last time was last year, when it snowed on Christmas Day - much to everyones delight.
Hi Nicola!
I'm surprised you don't get much snow! That's quite fascinating!
I love your story about trudging about to see your father.
When you say "bought a local village post office" -- do you mean to make the building into something else? Or is mail delivery privatized in the UK?
I love your sled image. It is much more elegant than mine. In addition to sleds, many kids would pull off the aluminum lids of their garbage cans and careen down the hill on those lipped half-moons of fun!
Our drifts would be so big you could carve a snow cave and live in it for days before it collapsed on you. The caves were quite warm and always quiet.
The best thing was making a snowman with new snow and as you rolled the mounds of snow along the lawn you would reveal the grass underneath. At the ball grew bigger you left behind stripes of what used to be a green lawn behind you -- ever a reminder of the glorious used to be.
In those days there were two sections to the Mail service - there was the Royal Mail thst delivered the post and Post Offices.
Post Offices were often housed in village shops. They sold stamps, postal orders, accepted parcels, acted as local sorting offices, paid out NHS benefits and pensions etc. You could also pay your TV licence , dog licence as well.
So my dad bought the village shop and post office and ran it for ten years. He moved away from that when he saw the writing on the wall for local shops - supermarkets were starting to arrive and the whole Post Office system was under threat ( and still is).
Thanks for that rich history, Nicola! I love the idea of buying a Post Office.
What is a "TV licence?"
In the UK we have to pay a licence fee each year for the *pleasure* of watching a TV. Most of this funds the BBC - which of course is why the BBC is supposed to be independent and unbiased.
Incredible! I suppose we pay the same sort of fees to our cable companies for FCC add-ons, but true over-the-air broadcast television has always been free.
How much do you play a year? How is this enforced? Do they cut you off from your television if you won't pay?
Hi David,
It was nice and warm here the other day. I think we sent the rain your way. (We had so much rain that we had to use two pumps to keep the water that was running off the soaked ground away from our patio and from pooling up near the house).
I like the warmer weather, but I can't get into the holiday spirit when it is warm enough that a coat isn't needed. We were out late last night doing some last minute shopping and I was able to leave the jacket in the car so I wouldn't burn up when I went inside the store.
I miss sledding. The glaciers flattened everything around here, so there aren't many hills available.
Hi Chris!
I feel for you. Water is a powerful natural resource and it flows where it feels like going. I'm glad you had extra strong pumps!
I'm with you on the holiday spirit. It hasn't really even been cold here yet, let alone bitterly cold where your teeth chatter and smoke. It's great for the heating, bill, though! We're using less energy now than we did in the early summer!
I grew up on a hill so steep you could not drive a car up the hill if there was snow on the ground. You would climb to the top of the street with your sled in tow and slam down the hill in less than 30 seconds. You had to bail out at the last moment, though, or you risked being blindsided by a car coming the opposite way at the cross street waiting for you at the bottom of the hill.
I also lived right across the street from the local elementary school -- where my mother taught for 35 years -- and the school was built into the hill so you had two giant hills with razed land in between so if you timed it right you could make it through the flatlands and still have enough energy to make it to the next hill. That was about a two-minute ride and you didn’t have to worry about cross traffic or stopping.
You could really feel the wind in your ears.
We have to pay TV licence and we then get the BBC for *free*. If you want Sky or cable you then have to pay again to them.
We currently pay £136 a year for a colour TV.
They send around detector vans and fine you up to £1000 fo r non-payment.
Nicola!
You're such a kidder, I can't tell if you're being serious or not. Are there really detector vans? If so, what and exactly how are they "detecting" you?
Do you have broadcast TV or is everything there hooked with a wire and a box?
I am not kidding.
"Penalties
If you are caught using a TV without a valid licence you could face a fine of up to £1,000. The TV Licensing Officers have lists of all properties without current licences, and if your house does not have a licence it is likely that they will visit."
Also see Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom
Detector Vans -
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/detectionandpenalties.jsp
We have a mixture of both broadcast, cable and satellite. Here we have satellite as the hills all around prevent bradcast signal and the cables do not reach !
I just had a daydream nightmare that the government here started requiring licenses to read blogs. ;)
Nicola!
I am absolutely stunned! This sounds like a Monty Python sketch from your "TV Licensing" link:
What madness!
Chris!
We're sending the licensing van to your house right now!
:mrgreen:
I wish it was a Monty Python Sketch ! They monitor this quite heavily - they are currently demanding that I get a licence for what was the bottom flat - and is now our "play facility". They cannot seem to accept that it does not have a television - I want to see the look on their faces !
My daughter as a TV card on her laptop so she can watch TV on that where ever she goes - she has a TV licence as well !
Incredible!
So the license isn't per house, but per-TV? How crazy is that?
Correct !
UK Crazy !
Is income taxed at 50%? I remember reading something crazy about high taxes and how UK stars like Ringo and Jagger and others were trying to get American citizenship so they wouldn't have to lose so much money off the top but somehow the UK thwarted them from changing citizenship to avoid taxation...
As a child I found snow amusing and lovely; with every passing year I like it less and wish I could escape it entirely. I must be getting old and cranky.
I'm with you, icedmocha! The older I get the less cold and snow and rain I want. Now I understand the lure of Arizona!
Not I. I wish Crestline---5000 feet---were at 6000 so we would get more snow. Most people think I'm crazy. Arizona has no allurement for me. Watch it if you become a "snowbird," David. The year-rounders disdain them..."ole codgers, those snowbirders," they sneer.
I'm with you on your warning, Shirley: I won't fall too much in love with always-on heat.
:grin:
Snow can be great fun but it is also cold and dangerous if you aren't super-careful!