Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Which is all I'm gonna be doing, because there's never been a white Christmas in Savannah, as far as I know. They've had snow here, just not at Christmas.

The bad thing about being a northerner living in the south is that sometimes I pine for snow. Usually, though, it's in August when the temp is in the 90's (that's Fahrenheit, y'all) with the heat index up into the 100's.

I know some of my northern friends (and family!) laugh at me when I talk about missing snow, but there's something about a fresh snowfall that makes me happy. Especially when I get to look at it from inside a warm and cozy house, made even cozier by a fire in the fireplace. In Savannah, you don't really need a fireplace. The coldest lows are generally just below freezing, and the coldest highs are usually in the upper 40's. Not cold at all by Michigan standards. Without snow, Christmas lights tend to look a little cheesy, to say nothing of those giant inflatable snow men sitting in yards that almost never see snow. And yet, everyone here dutifully puts up their lights, and sings Jingle Bells and Let it Snow! It's a mite...incongruous.

To that end, I am posting a video that my best friend, Jillian, sent me. She felt bad that a couple of days ago I was on my back patio grilling steak while it was 70 degrees out, and thought I might appreciate the fact that in the Greater Toronto Area, they'd gotten about a foot of fresh snow. With her permission, here is her video. And thanks Jill for making me a bit homesick.


17 comments:

Natalie said...

Snow, feh. We're supposed to get some in Delaware today and I'm pretty non-plussed about it.

And lest you get too nostalgic for snow and cold, remember that winter it was so damn cold we were trapped in the dorm for a week or something crazy like that? Brrrrr!

the rotten correspondent said...

Isn't it true that you always miss what you think you can't have? In your case it's snow, but think of how hard you'll be laughing when we get an ice storm that knocks out all our power for a week.

Or how jealous some of us will be when you go hang out at the beach for an afternoon.

I liked the video. Made me miss Michigan.

the rotten correspondent said...

I know the video is Canada, BTW. But it does look like MI.

I'm just sayin'...

www.ayewonder.com said...

I live in Boston and hate snow. Of course, we have it on the ground already.

Now, I saw this quite by happenstance today and thought of you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwB4HA3UD2Q&NR=1

willowtree said...

"Without snow, Christmas lights tend to look a little cheesy"...Excuse me!? Not all of us share that opinion!

Oh wait, you said Christmas lights, sorry I didn't see that, I think xmas lights look crappy no matter what the situation.

I hate snow.

Dumdad said...

That was fun to be transported to Canada while sitting in the warmth in Paris.

I love snow when it first starts falling and the fun of snowball fights with the kids and building snowmen. But after the initial excitement it all turns to mush and misery.

I'd prefer to be lying on a beach watching the sea and drinking a beer.

Anonymous said...

Seems to me that snow is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. We have to drive up to the mountains here if we ever want to see snow. I kind of like it that way.

laurie said...

c'mon up, jen. we're closer than toronto, and we have a ton of new snow, too.

Susan said...

Jen, I'm a like you. Our climates are similar and I miss snow, too.

Beth said...

We've got snow here in Michigan, Jen, but not enough to really count (you can see the grass sticking up through it).

If you really need a snow fix this winter, I'd be happy to trade houses for a week....I'd love to be in warm Savannah and you could have our fireplace and house and SNOW at you disposal.

Jen said...

Okay, y'all, half your comments here didn't make it to my inbox. I haven't cruised around blogger, but is anyone else having this trouble? They didn't even make it in to the spam folder. How odd!

natalie Thanks for popping by! Oh, I do remember that winter. It was about -30, and the car wouldn't start, it was so cold. It was so cold, they canceled classes for the first time in 50 years. I think we discovered Whose Line is it Anyway? that week.

RC Ah, but here's the kicker: we sometimes get ice storms, too. Not snow, just ice. Now, if I could once in a while get snow to balance out the ice, I'd be okay. And you're right, suburban Toronto looks a bit like suburban Detroit.

grand view Oh, that video was awful. But it looks like Ethan lives in a nice house, so he's got that going for him. No one who lives up north likes snow, Mike. I didn't love it all the time I lived there, either. I just miss it a bit now.

WT And snow hates you. And since you hate Christmas lights, too, I'll post some pics of all the hard work my hubby did climbing up on the roof to put ours up.

dundad It's not quite warm enough to lay on the beach, and we're not allowed to take alcohol on public beaches, either. But I do like to take a light jacket, and sit on the sand and watch the ships come in and leave port. I like snow when it first falls, too. If it only stayed about a month, and then left by mid-January, my life and climate would be perfect!

jrh They sometimes get snow up in the mountains where Ray's folks live, but it's usually just a dusting, and melts pretty quickly. I could drive up to VA, but it's an awful long drive from here, just to see snow.

Actually, Laurie, it's closer to drive to Toronto! Do you have any idea how far north you are?! LOL

my two cents Finally, someone not laughing at me. You understand what I mean about the nostalgia factor. It's you and me, girl.

Ms. Pixel If I thought I'd be in good shape to travel, I might take you up on that. We were going to go to auntie barbie's house for Christmas this year (her house has a FABULOUS fireplace), but the logistics of driving that far are just too ridiculous.

Bellevelma said...

Five inches of snow here and schools are starting late today. First snowfall of the year, but really, that's enough for me.

willowtree said...

Damn straight snow hates me!! Why else would it make me all wet, cold and uncomfortable?

Jo Beaufoix said...

Your friend is a star for doing that. We get a lot less snow than we used to. I remember sledging and building proper igloos etc, but the climate must have really changed as that rarely happens now. We've had one night of snow so far this year in early November, then it was gone. Rain though? We have rain. We always have rain. Sighhhh.
Snow makes me happy too though. I don't know why.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I am a star, Jo. I can't deny the truth. Environment Canada says that Canada is in for the coldest winter in 15 years.. I'm freaking out a little 'cause a couple of years ago I got frostbite on my knees and legs while having to walk to the train station to get to work. (Takes less than 5 minutes) DO keep in mind I was wearing legwarmers that went just below my knee and a big jacket just above my knee and two sweaters. Yeah, I'm jealous of a lot of things with Jen - the weather is one of the main ones... having her husband meet Bobby Deen is another one that just makes me sigh... *sigh*

Diana said...

I so get it. One of the things I was terribly excited about moving out to Wisconsin from Oregon several years ago was that we'd finally have more than a token amount of snow.

So far, there's about a foot on the ground. The lights look so pretty shining up through it. Of course this means that we won't get them put away until April, but that's the way it goes. I hope I never stop being excited about it.

Anonymous said...

hey jen,

i'm a native savannahian, and, believe it or not, we had a white Christmas in 1989. here's a link referring to it:

http://savannahnow.com/node/416593

i was a sophomore in high school when it happened. we had a crazy storm (for us). we received six inches of anow over two days and everything shut down. jacksonville, fl had an inch of snow and there was freezing rain in tampa! definetely a freak storm. as you know, there are no snow plows in paradise lol. i'm 32 and have only seen it snow in savannah three times, and this was one of them. we got flurries in 2000 (i think), but that was the last time it actually snowed. personally, i hope it's 75 and sunny on christmas, but that's just me. i still laugh that last year i went to a new years party at a friends house and people we were wearing t-shirts outside at midnight. happy holidays!!!