The forecast was for snow on Christmas Day.
In all of my 82 years,
I have never seen snow fall on Christmas Day.
That would be a White Christmas for sure.
But, as most things these days, it didn't happen.
We were a bit apprehensive because, if it had, maybe the kids
wouldn't have been able to come up on Christmas day,
but it didn't, so we really had a lovely celebration.
Tami and Tim brought tamales and rice,
Jake and Jacenda brought blueberry pie
and we provided salad and green beans.
It was delicious and after dinner
we exchanged gifts
and then they had to leave to go home.
Snow is usually a joyful condition around our part of the world.
But when we woke up the day after Christmas,
all of the photos in this post were what we faced
and it wasn't entirely joyful.
Our beautiful crape myrtle tree,
which has stood at the corner of our lot for probably more years than I have been alive,
took a hard hit in the storm.
It is about half the size that it was before Mother Nature took hold.
Branches broke in three different places.
All over the streets there are broken boughs
and a few vehicles were damaged from falling limbs.
I haven't heard of anyone being hurt
so that is the good news.
We lost power for three days.
We are blessed to heat the Cottage and to cook with gas, so none of that was interrupted.
We also had the TV, the refrigerator and a few lights hooked up to the generator.
There are still some without power so we feel very fortunate.
We did not have the internet or Netflix, however!
All of it did give me time to start taking down some Christmas decorations.
I can't believe I am already saying and doing that.
We just put them up!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Years.
Believe it or not, we actually stayed up long enough to welcome in the new year.
I hope I have something more interesting to write about next week.
Transitioning between holidays is always a busy and messy time
with never much pretty to show for it for awhile.
There is nothing pleasurable
about the Secret Garden or the screened porch
these days...
We haven't had any more snow but...
Baby, it's cold outside!
That is a whole lotta snow for you. We ae used to it here but I can't say I enjoy the snow. Nope! If you want more I can send a couple semi-loads to you. lol
ReplyDeleteI have not been feeling all the great so Christmas take-down will be a couple days before I get at it.
Blessings and Happy New Year to you and your family, Judy- xo Diana
Thanks so much, Diana. I hope you are feeling a whole lot better. I feel well but still have no energy to dive in and get anything done. I'm still taking down decorations, or actually moving them from room to room. Happy New Year to you and your also..xxoJudy
DeleteHappy New Year Judy! Sorry to hear about your Crepe Myrtle. Hopefully it will come back better than ever. Being without power is awful. Glad you had gas for heat and cooking. The snow sure looks pretty but it can be a burden. We had a little yesterday and more to come Thursday into Friday. I live on the East coast in Maryland so we get the Nor'Easters that dump a bunch of snow at times. Thankfully, this time it stayed more to the south of us. All my Christmas is packed up and put away. The house sure looks bare. Take care and stay safe and warm.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Lynda. We still have snow on the ground but the sun in out though it is very cold. I still am in the process of putting things away. I just can't seem to get moving..Hope you are having a good new year so far..xxoJudy
DeleteWowsie that is a lot of snow for you Judy. We did not have any snow for Christmas. It came a few days ago and the temps dropped. So unusual for us here in the midwest. We were having your California weather and you were having ours. Glad you enjoyed the family for Christmas. xoxo Kris
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kris. I'm sure glad we only got a little bit of your weather. Wow, it is very cold even with the sun shining, but not enough to melt most of the snow. Hope you had a good Christmas too..xxoJudy
DeleteOh my! You have far more snow than we do here in Michigan. I'm sorry about your crepe myrtle. What a beautiful tree. But glad nothing fell on the house or did damage there. No power. It reminds me of when our neighborhood, except for two short streets, were out of power for 11 days. Rick was on the bad side. I had power. How that happened, I don't know but I had overnight guests, served as a charging station and more. I am grateful you had a working generator and were able to "feed it" to keep you warm. At least you were able to spend Christmas with loved ones. We're still working on that! Well, your new year started with a bang (or the old one left that way) so where can you go but up? Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jeanie. We are plugging along but it seems to be a slow process this year for some reason. All I want to do is sit, eat and watch TV. It is so cold with snow still on the ground but the sun shining brightly. We never know what to expect most of the time..Hope the new year is going well for you so far..xxoJudy
DeleteNo snow for Christmas here either and we should have it. Now we have some on the ground, but with the frigid single digit temps it froze, so walking on it you will hear crunch crunch crunch. So sorry to hear about your beautiful crape myrtle tree. Such a loss. We lost our Redbud tree this year and not even sure why. Just died on us. Janice
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Janice. Our tree isn't a complete loss but it is sure looing lop sided. Since we have lived here we have had snow and wind and rain and it never fazed it. Guess this drop was a bit heavier. It is still on the ground and as cold as you know what..Hope the new year is going well for you so far..xxoJudy
DeleteSo happy you are safe and warm, I have thought of you so often!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jain. We are safe and well as I hope you are. Happy New Year..xxoJudy
DeleteOh, Goodness Judy. Your poor tree---maybe with a good trim it will spring back to life. We had a similar problem with our Hawthorn and cut it way back in anticipation of taking it down--and it sprang back twice as thick and healthy, too! That is a bunch of snow--we only got about 4" and our neighbors have decided we are 'old people' and came and cleared the walks, porch and driveway. Which was totally sweet! Glad you are safe...and three days away from a computer has a plus side, lol. Hugs, Sandi
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Sandi. Helpful neighbors are such a treasure. We have those too. Hope the old tree can be saved. It isn't dead but was thoroughly trimmed by Mother Nature..Happy New Year..xxoJudy
DeleteAs beautiful as snow looks coming down the reality hits when it's over. It is cold, messy and heavy enough to break branches. It does look beautiful though. We were out of town for Christmas and we just got rain but boy was it cold. Glad you got to see your family for Christmas. Sorry you lost power for three days, but it looks like you were prepared. Happy New Year to you and your hubby.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. With having the generator it isn't such a burden to have no power - for awhile! Some poor people in the very far outreaches of our town are still out. We feel very blessed. Snow is beautiful and I am always happy when it happens but this was an especially hard one which we are not used to. Now it is great big black piles of nasty in the parking lots. Not pretty now!..Happy New Year..xxoJudy
DeleteThat's a lot of snow, Judy! I'm glad you're warm and safe and I hope your trees recover. We had a tiny dusting on Christmas Eve, but even here, in the land of ice and snow, a white Christmas is a rare occurrence. It is a big magical, but honestly, after Christmas is over, I'm ready for summer weather again!! Ps...love your Christmas kitchen, I had to go back and look at it again.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kim. I love a tiny dusting of snow! I probably won't go as far a mid summer but mid spring would be very nice right about now. It is cold!!..Happy New Year..xxoJudy
DeleteWow you had a heavy snow there! Beautiful! Dinner of tamales and rice with blueberry pie sounds so delicious! So pretty are your pictures of the snow. We need to get a generator so at least when the lights go out I can make sure the food keeps. Many Happy Wishes for a Wonderful New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Betsy. It was very hard before we got the generator and we lost a lot of food but with the generator hooked up to the frig, now it isn't so bad when it happens..Happy New Year..xxoJudy
DeleteYes sure is pretty there. You were so lucky (smart) to have heating and cooking with propane.. and a generator! That's next on my "wish" list. We don't lose power that often, but we do now and then. Maybe you could do a post about your generator, what kind etc. We had snow here for a few days, but it is gone now for the time being. Now we are having rain off and on, and then starting Saturday, I think we are having a week or so of pretty nice days. That's so wonderful! A little snow is enough for me. it's so good to get outside in the sunshine! Have a good week. My Christmas decs are still out, but not that many, so not much to have to put away. I'm still enjoying them! xoxo Marilyn
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Marilyn. We are thankful that we have the generator as it keeps the frig going and the TV. Two of the most wonderful things in my life these days!! We got it at Tractor Supply and it was not that expensive. You have to put gas in it to keep it running and Jerry had to go out in the snow and the cold a couple of times during the three days we were out of power. It looks kikd of hard to start to me (pulling the old cord) but he doesn't seem to mind it. We turn it off at night as it is pretty noisy but when all you neighbors have one too than it isn't too bad. We still have our front lawn covered with snow and sunny days. It looks pretty and bright when the sun comes through the windows but it is still very cold..I have everything put away from Christmas except the tree. We ordered a bag to store it in and it hasn't come yet. We don't turn on the lights still..Happy New Year..xxoJudy
DeleteJudy,
ReplyDeleteI know you were not happy with this snow storm but it sure does look lovely and I think your secret garden looks very pleasurable!!!we had some snow, only 2 1/2 inches and then we had an ice storm yesterday....We will be going into the single digits on Tuesday..Winter has definitely arrived in NEPA after having a record breaking warm December...I am changing over the house from Christmas to Winter/ Valentine's decorations...Already have the den, outside and Powder Room done..Now working in the Kitchen...Happy New Year to you and yours and I am so thrilled to hear that you were able to spend Christmas with family!! How wonderful!! stay safe, healthy and happy!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Thanks so much, Deb. We did have a very good Christmas and still have snow in the front. It is very cold even though the sun has been shining most days. Everything is put away except the tree and I am slowly working on that. I have done some winter decorating and don't normally do too much for Valentines, just a few hearts strewn around but it is good because it is one month closer to spring!..Happy New Year..xxoJudy
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