First Snow

It's snowing!!! It's snowing!!! Experts say that the coastal areas of Washington get, on average, only two to three days of snow per year due to the "warm" Pacific breezes that keep the temperature hovering just above freezing, but we were lucky enough to move just in time for this year's two days of snow. The only snow we saw in California was in Tahoe when we were snowshoeing! I didn't realize how much I missed the changing seasons until I saw the giant white drops of snow outside our window this morning. Hot chocolate, days spent by the fire, bowls set out to catch snow for snow cream, snow balls, snow angels, sledding - all the wonderful things about winter almost passed us by this season. In fact, the week before Thanksgiving was spent sunning on the beach, and the week of Christmas, oranges waited unpicked on many front yard trees.

Today, however, I plan to pack all of winter's wonders into one day. As I sat down to write this, I opened a Dove dark chocolate candy, a chocolate lover's fortune cookie, which instructed me to "find my passion". Well, find it I have. I am drinking fair trade hot chocolate, enjoying a fire in the fire place, looking at a new book I can't wait to curl up and read, and seriously considering bundling up in my coat, scarf, and earmuffs to walk in the snow to the nearest coffee shop. Ted and I visited two coffee shops on Tuesday, and found that there is much more to the local coffee scene than Starbuck's. These people are as serious about their coffee as Napa Valley vintners are about their wine! To the residents of Olympia, coffee making, and coffee drinking, are art forms. The local blends have a deep, rich, dark flavor - lacking the bitterness of some dark roasts. My favorite out of the two coffee shops was Batdorf and Bronson, a small local chain that roasts and brews their coffee right in the city limits. Talk about fresh! I have a feeling that everyone who received a surprise day off work or school to enjoy the fresh snow will also be visiting the warm environs of one of the local cafes. And walking, bundled up in the snow, to enjoy a break from the rain, and the richness of this seldom seen winter wonderland.
Right now, a young girl is passing my window, face upturned, catching snowflakes with her tongue. Does life get any better or any simpler? Enjoy the day.

Post By: Rebecca
Photo By: Alan (Taken while snowshoeing in Tahoe in February)