Let it snow

"How'd ya like to hang a stocking on a great big coconut tree?"
-"Christmas Island"

Well, today Albuquerque was given a heavy coating of snow. It was gorgeous and welcomed, but it still comes at a price. We live in a desert. For us, driving in the snow is like an amateur juggling chef's knives.

On my parents' street, today I saw a woman in a Nissan Xterra fishtailing from one side of the street to the other. Her face was as pale as the snow, and she gripped the wheel as if she was on a carnival ride. And, though the street was icy, it wasn't that icy. I hope she made it home.

Luckily, I'm on Christmas break and today was my day off from work. Kim works at a middle school, and since they were closed she too had the day off.

We started the day by going for a long walk and gawking at the snow. Those of you from an area that gets tons of snow may think this is silly, but for us this is pretty much our one annual snowfall. We've gotta enjoy it while we can (we do the same thing on the rare occasion that it actually rains).

Then, after my dachsund chewed up my only beanie, we braved the roads and went to REI for a new one. We survived, and were even able to run a couple of errands.

We returned home, made some chai, and watched Little Miss Sunshine. A perfect snow day. We might as well enjoy this until the sun returns.

Unfortunately, the roads are growing worse tonight (they are supposed to freeze over) and my brother is still required to go to work. We're still not sure why--he works at Ben and Jerry's.