I was born and raised in San Diego and I never knew there was such a thing as a snow sky. It's when the temperature drops, and the sky turns a light gray, you can't see any blue, no break in the clouds, it just looks like a silky smooth blanket.
I never knew that there were different kinds of snow. There's a light, powdery snow that I hear is great for skiing. Here in the Seattle suburbs we mostly get the wet, heavy snow that's bad for skiing for great for building snowmen and having snowball fights!
I never knew you should pop your windshield wipers up so they don't stick to your windshield.
I never knew your pipes could freeze! When the temps dip down to the teens you need to open up the cupboards so your pipes are exposed to the heat of your house, and then turn your faucets on very low so the dripping water keeps them from freezing.
I never knew that it's really quiet when the snow is actually falling. There are no cars, no planes flying overhead, no birds... it's absolutely silent.
On December 26 it started to snow so I woke up early, fixed some tea, opened the blinds and sat at the kitchen table FOR ALMOST 3 HOURS and watched the snow fall. My world changed into a winter wonderland! It is so peaceful. I think it's one of the most peaceful things on the planet.
I ended up taking a walk later in the day to check out the neighborhood. It was so cold but so pretty!
The brown house is ours. Anyone who lives behind us we affectionately call 'our back door neighbors.'
I was getting ready to go to work a few days later when I saw this huge pile of ice next to my drivers side door.
Then I looked up to see this crazy icicle hanging right above my head! I ended up breaking it off when I got back home.
The temps dropped into the teens and everything froze. Our church was closed for more than a week so it was quite a few days before Beth and I finally ventured out to the store. Our refrigerators were getting empty so we were desperate!
I went down to work one night to set the alarm and spotted this crazy frozen waterfall!
When I was growing up we'd sometimes drive up to the mountains to play in the snow and I'd wonder what it was like to live there. I never knew that one day I'd get to find out.
