Buffalo

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Years Of Painterly Skies At Dawn

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This post has been a long time in the works, and I can’t even tell you how happy I am to share the news that I am going home.  No, not to Old Dominion.  To a new home!  After months of searching, countless houses visited, four rejected offers, and umpteen sleepless nights, we’ve finally bought a house.  We closed on Wednesday, we’re having some work done this week and next, and we plan to move in by the end of the month.

The house is outside the city, which makes us very happy.  Our experiment in urban living over the past year has taught us that we are not city people.  True, I loved living in Foggy Bottom for my first two years of law school, and we lived in some fairly urban parts of Arlington (although, as a hilarious rule, Arlington thinks it’s more urban than it actually is) but for where we are in our lives now, the city just doesn’t work.  We hoped that our walkable urban Buffalo neighborhood would be kid-friendly, but it hasn’t been – even with the playground just a few blocks away, the constant noise and the confined spaces have been tough on little Peanut.  As they have on all of us.  I’ve been getting progressively more down on our house, our neighborhood, and our urban environment in general, and I’m ready for wide-open spaces and friendly neighbors.

So we’re moving to the country.  I won’t say exactly where, but I will say that we lucked into finding a house in a lovely rural area that somehow also manages a decent commute.  We won’t have to spend much more time in the car than we do now, fighting city traffic.  And we’ll have several acres for Peanut to explore, a pool where she can learn to swim, a fabulous kitchen where I can enjoy baking again, and a big, rambling house with great bones that’s just waiting for our updates and personal touches.

I can’t wait.  I can’t wait to wake up to birdsong instead of sirens.  To run down country roads and stargaze in our backyard under velvety skies unmarred by city lights.  To float in the pool in our private backyard all summer, and snowshoe around the nearby town park all winter.  To plant an herb garden and grow tomatoes in the abundant light.  To drink my tea in the mornings on the cozy back porch (maybe we’ll get a swing!).  To experience “years of painterly skies at dawn,” a line from The Cloister Walk – a book I recently finished – that perfectly sums up the gifts I hope country life will give our family.

I’ve never lived in a rural area before.  I grew up a suburban kid and have bounced back and forth from suburb to city to suburb to city.  This is a new departure for us and we think it’s going to be great.

I can’t wait to go home!

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The Summer List: Update

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I’ve been busy, busy re-learning a lesson that I’m just now starting to remember from my childhood.  Summers in the northeast are short, and you have to make the most of them while they last.  We’ve been packing every weekend with fun – special family outings, one half marathon (so far), one trip, and plenty of the usual (Stroller Strides, neighborhood walks, cold drinks at the pub a block from our house, playground fun, you name it).  And of course, I’ve been making progress on my summer list.

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Done!  Here’s my race recap from the Fifty Yard Finish.  Complete with flashy new PR – 2:24:30, 13 minutes faster than my last half!

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  • Attend the wedding of one of hubby’s oldest friends on July 4th.

Done, and what fun to celebrate with the bride and groom, who are in for a lifetime of happiness together.

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  • At least one day at my parents’ lake house.

It was marvelous and blissful.  The only downer to the day was that it was so windy it was actually too breezy to take Peanut out on the boat.  Next time.

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Done!  Climbing Cascade and Porter was an incredible experience.  Everyone should have the chance to see the world from atop one of the ADK 46.

I didn’t blog about this, but we went and we enjoyed it immensely.  Supporting local artists is one of my favorite ways to anchor myself to a place, and we bought a few things – some gifts for family members for various occasions, and a couple of odds and ends for our house.

Working on this.  We have been trying to arrange a hike with our friends Zan and Paul, but we keep getting rained out.  One of these days, we’ll make it there.

Yummmmmmmmmm.  I now need to visit Joe’s Crab Shack, like, immediately.

Planning is underway.  We’ve got a date, time and location, and invitations should go out soon.

On a sort-of-indefinite hiatus.  I haven’t been able to run – it’s been a perfect storm keeping me off the roads.  Although it will be disappointing, I’m almost 100% sure I’ll be deferring to the 2015 race.

Went back last weekend and explored some of the trails we hadn’t gotten to see last time – such a lovely, relaxing way to spend a morning.

It has been a busy summer so far, for sure.  But we’ve enjoyed every moment, and we’ll keep enjoying every moment that we have it.  August is looking like a very busy month, but we’ll be sure to make plenty of time for family fun as long as the nice weather lasts.  How about you – how are you enjoying your summer?

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Taste of Buffalo 2014

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The Taste of Buffalo is a giant food festival downtown and one of the most hotly-anticipated events all year, in which area restaurants, cafes and food vendors gather to promote their businesses by sharing their best dishes.  Hubby and I attended in 2007, when we happened to be visiting the area on just the right weekend, and we had a blast – so we knew we were going to make a point of attending this year.  We invited my father-in-law along (would you believe he’d never been before?!).

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We arrived early, just as things were starting to get going.  The crowd of restaurants represented included everything from local institutions like Nick Charlap’s Ice Cream, to new-on-the-scene trendy spots like Merge (a vegetarian restaurant I’m dying to try, and having tasted their kale salad at Taste only makes me more eager to get there for dinner) and even a few chains like Applebee’s and Gordon Biersch.

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Almost immediately, we spotted a familiar green vehicle – Lloyd’s Taco Truck!  If I had a nickel for every time I’d seen Lloyd’s parked near my office and walked by it because I didn’t “feel like tacos” I could treat myself to an entire plate’s worth.  Since I’d been meaning to try it for so long, we made a beeline for the truck.  (And it was a good thing we were early, because when we walked by Lloyd’s on the way out, it was completely mobbed.)

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We ordered a chicken taco to share and a half order of krazy korn.  (Hubby doesn’t like corn on the cob – and he had just put away a slider on his own – so the corn was just for me and I didn’t want to fill up on one station, even an amazing station like Lloyd’s.)  The chicken taco was absolutely delicious, but the corn blew me away – rubbed with a chili butter, drizzled with secret sauce and sprinkled liberally with queso and cilantro, it was pretty much the best thing I’ve eaten in months.  Now I’m furious with myself for walking past Lloyd’s so many times, always headed for someplace not as good, and I have vowed that every time I see the green truck in my neighborhood, I will get a krazy korn and a taco.  Lloyd’s was the highlight of the 2014 Taste for me.

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We made our way from station to station, tasting seafood mac ‘n cheese (good, but hubby said my homemade mac ‘n cheese is better), Bavarian pretzels, steamed crabs from Joe’s Crab Shack (another highlight, and now on our list to visit as soon as humanly possible), and even…

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WINE!  Hubby and F-I-L each had a glass (hubby had sparkling, F-I-L had raspberry rose) and I went for three one-ounce samples so I could taste more.  We had just changed a soaking wet diaper in the grass, so we figured we deserved it.  We then headed back for a second pass, this time at the desserts.  We tried a few different things, but the raspberry Chardonnay ice cream (wish I could remember the vendor) was the best.  We left feeling just a bit overstuffed, but very happy with our morning.

If you’re in Buffalo, did you attend the Taste this year?  What was your favorite part?  If you’re elsewhere, does your city have a similar food festival?  We used to go to Taste of Ithaca when we were at Cornell, but we never made it to any food festivals in D.C.

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The Summer List

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(That was last summer, in Alexandria.  Sigh!)

It’s fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally summer!  Took long enough to get here, and even longer to actually feel like summer.  Okay, we still have some chilly days, but I’m done waiting and ready to get my summer started.  Since we had to slog through such a hard winter, I have a lot of dreams and plans and fun to fit in during these warmer months, before the cold fronts return.  Here’s what I’m thinking for the season:

What do you have on your summer agenda?

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Tifft Nature Preserve: Spring 2014

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Continuing our quest to explore and photograph Tifft Nature Preserve in every season, we went back for our spring hike a couple of weeks ago.  Given that it was already June, we were a little bit worried that we had missed the boat on the spring hike – but that worry turned out unfounded.  Between the gallons of mud and the pollen snowing down, it was definitely spring.

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Last time we visited Tifft, Peanut was still in the Baby Bjorn.  What a difference a couple of months makes!

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Peanut was considerably more interested in this pond now that it was no longer frozen over.  (And yes, ponds are still her favorite ecosystem.)

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We started on the main path with the goal of finding our way back to the boardwalk, but that plan went awry somewhere along the line as the paths became more and more overgrown…

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And finally turned into full-on bog.

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It’s a bit difficult to see in the picture, but there was absolutely nothing solid about this ground.  I picked my way over the logs (years of ballet lessons finally paying off right there) and Peanut cackled at the hilarity of seeing Mommy wobble her way through a muddy bog.  After getting ourselves thoroughly dirty, we realized we’d made a wrong turn somewhere, the path was at a dead end, and the boardwalk was nowhere to be seen.  So we picked our way back through the mud, and Peanut acted like she was watching a live Comedy Central show.

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Found it, finally!  These are some relieved faces:

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Well, Mommy and Daddy are relieved.  Peanut is disappointed that we’re not all still playing in the mud.

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The boardwalk is my favorite part of Tifft.  Not only are there always plenty of animals to spot – this time we saw geese, turtles, and (my favorite!) great blue herons – but it reminds me of a few hikes near our home in Virginia that involved boardwalks through the wetlands.

By the way, if anyone is wondering how Peanut feels about the Deuter child carrier, she spent most of the walk making this face:

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And these faces, too:

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So I think it’s safe to say she’s a big fan.  She didn’t spend much time checking out the scenery, though.  Throughout most of the hike, she really only had eyes for me.

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Hi Mom.  Whatcha doing?

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Anyone else enjoying spring hikes lately?

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Buffalo Marathon Relay 2014

Faster than a speeding toddler!  More powerful than a supermarket tantrum!  It’s Paula Radcliffe!  It’s Kara Goucher!  Noooooooo… it’s SUPERMOM!

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Yesterday I ran in the Buffalo Marathon Relay with Team Fit4Mom!  (Informally nicknamed Team Supermom because we wore matching “Supermom” t-shirts.)  You may remember that signing up for this relay was one of my bold acts for January – I’m not the fastest runner out there and I normally shy away from group events because I’m worried I’ll let people down.  But I am trying to put myself out there more this year and committing to this race was one way for me to do that.

The Buffalo Marathon is a massive event in our city!  Of course, there are the truly hardcore marathoners who set out for 26.2 miles.  There’s also a half marathon, a 5K, and a relay event.  The relay teams field four runners; the first three legs are 10Ks (6.2 miles) and the anchor runs a 12K (7.4 miles).  I signed up with three of my Stroller Strides friends and was assigned to run leg #2.

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The race started at 7:00 a.m., but since I was running the second leg I didn’t have to be there right away.  We headed out the door a little after 7:00, made it downtown by 7:25 and I was at my post, right after the 10K mark, waiting for hand-off around 7:35.  Our first runner was our fastest team member, so I wanted to make sure I was there waiting when she arrived.  While I waited I amused myself by taking selfies and pictures of my feet.

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Let’s run!

Our leg 1 runner cruised up to the 10K mat around 7:56 or so (I think; I’d looked at my clock a few minutes before she arrived but had been keeping my eyes on the runners after that, so I’m estimating her arrival time).  She handed me the team belt with our timing chip and I set off on my run, buckling the belt as I went.

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I think I lucked into the best leg of the relay, by far.  When I signed up for the team, I told them I’d run any of the 10K legs but would prefer not to run leg 1, just because I figured I’d be one of the slowest team members and I didn’t need start line crowds slowing me down even further.  My team asked if I’d be willing to run leg 2, and I said sure – not realizing until I looked at the map the day before that most of my leg was down by the waterfront.  That meant that, for the bulk of my run, I was treated to views like this:

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And this:

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I spy a lighthouse in the distance!  Seriously, how could anyone possibly complain about this route?  It was gorgeous and awesome.  I guess it can get rather windy on that part of the course, but Sunday’s weather was perfect for running – just a very light, refreshing breeze – and I had no trouble with the leg.

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Spectator support was great on this part of the course, which surprised me a bit because I thought it would be fairly difficult for people to park down there due to the road closures.  I wasn’t really expecting to see many spectators at all, and I was thrilled to discover that most of my route was lined with people – volunteers and folks waiting for their runners to come by.  There was even a band!  As I ran I got plenty of cheers – “Looking good, Supermom!  Way to go, Supermom!” – that turned my big smile even bigger.  I kept an eye open for my aunt and uncle, because my cousin and her fiancé were running the full marathon, but didn’t see them.  (I spotted them after I’d finished and they said they had been at mile 6 – before I took off – and mile 14 – after I finished.)  But I saw plenty of other people and gave out high-fives to all of the kids and to the world’s cutest golden retriever puppy.  Basically, I was grinning my face off the entire time.

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After we left the waterfront we headed down near First Niagara Center.  The last time I ran through this little alleyway was in the Freezer 5K.  It was a lot colder, and the roads were covered in snow and ice.  Today was way more fun.

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Go Sabres!  I snapped a quick picture of the arena as I ran by, but I knew I was getting close to my finish line (the hand-off to runner #3) and I was cruising.

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Mile 12!  I had to get a picture of the last mile marker of the course (for me).  My hand-off point was coming up fast at mile 12.4.

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Approaching my finish line – see the huge crowd under the bridge?  That was 20K, the hand-off point for leg 3.  I started to worry that I wouldn’t find my teammate in the crowds, but as I cruised up I spotted a tall red-headed guy, who I thought (incorrectly) was my teammate’s husband.  Her husband is tall and red-headed, but he was running the relay with the dads’ team and had left about fifteen minutes before I arrived.  But I didn’t find this out until later, because my teammate was standing right next to random husband lookalike dude.  She reached out her arm, I passed her the belt, and she was off.

I got out of the way as quickly as possible and took out my phone to call hubby and let him know I was done.  I had a feeling I had finished more quickly than I’d expected, but I was shocked when I saw that it was just after 9:00.  My secret “don’t embarrass the team” goal had been to run under 11:00 per mile and I wasn’t totally confident I could pull it off.  With race-day adrenaline I knew I was running faster than usual but I had forgotten my Garmin at home, so I had no idea what my pace was.  You can probably picture my amazement when I quickly calculated that I was running just off 10:00 – that’s a pretty good pace for me and my fastest 10K by far, even without an official time.  Woo-HOO!

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I finished so quickly that hubby, Peanut and my mom hadn’t even found their way to the 20K to see me hand-off to my teammate.  We reunited about a block away from the hand-off point and set off to kill some time while my final two teammates ran their legs.  We headed first for the car to pick up my water bottle, then we alternated between playing in the various green spaces, wandering around the city and cheering on the runners.  Peanut spent a good chunk of time playing in this little square in front of City Hall and cheering on the full marathoners as they approached mile 26.  (As one woman ran by, Peanut shouted “Good finish!”  I die.)  We spotted my aunt and uncle near the finish line and hung with them for awhile, before one of my teammates texted me that our anchor runner was on the course.  I headed over to meet up with the rest of my team and we waited to cheer our runner on for her final mile, then all headed to meet her at the finish.

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Go Supermoms go!  Final time: 4:45:11, for a team pace of 10:53/mile.  So proud of us!

I can’t end this post without saying a few words about how much these ladies have meant to me.  When we moved here, we knew very few people in town other than my in-laws.  Aside from a sorority sister who lives in the ‘burbs, I had no Buffalo friends.  It’s not always easy for me to reach out, and the Stroller Mamas provided my first community here.  They gave Peanut and me a reason to get out of the house at least once every week throughout the long, frigid winter months.  They cheered me through laps around Glen Park, hundreds upon hundreds of squats at the mall, an epic 10-minute wall sit, and more burpees than I want to think about.  They consoled me when I didn’t get a job, had a bad week, or was plain old lonely.  They were unreservedly thrilled for me when I got a job and went back to work.  I made a new year’s resolution to attend Stroller Strides classes because I wanted to get back into workouts, but this group has been so much more than just “mommy and me” group fitness classes for me.  They’ve been a lifeline and a community when I had none.  Thanks, mamas – I’ll see you in class next weekend!

Anyone else running strong in a superhero shirt this weekend?

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Morning Wanderings at Knox Farm

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Now that the weather is finally improving (welcome, spring!) we’re on the hunt for some new hikes within an easy driving distance of our house.  A partner at work told me about Knox Farm and I knew right away that we had to check it out.  The farm was once the country estate of the wealthy Knox family (the original owners of the Buffalo Sabres, and they’re still revered to this day for bringing the NHL to the area) and now it’s a state park, with over 600 acres to explore and plenty of trails.  We knew that it would be a perfect family-friendly morning activity: removed enough from the hustle and bustle of the city to let hubby and me feel like we were really escaping, but close enough to get a good morning’s walk in without treading on Peanut’s naptime.

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The farm is situated among rolling green fields.  I loved this tangle of fences.  We spent a few minutes taking in the panorama and deciding where to walk.

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Peanut was having a blast up there in her chariot!  She loves her good doggie-spotting vantage point.  She kept up a running commentary:
“Doggie!  Doggie!  Hi, doggie!  Hi!  Woof!  Woof!”  I lost count of how many dogs we saw – there were a lot of dogs out with their moms and dads, enjoying the sunshine.

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Do you see what I see?  A pretty country lane, with actual leaves on the trees!  Words cannot express how happy I am to see all this green after the winter we had.  (Our Stroller Strides class moved into the park on Saturday, and I don’t think I stopped smiling throughout the entire workout, for the same reason.  I am just! so! happy! to be outside and to see views like this.)

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We explored the paved trails for a little while – and I thought about what a nice area this would be for marathon training runs – and then figured out how to get off the beaten (asphalt) path and into the woods.  We headed across a green field, making for a large grove where we thought we might find some classic beaten-dirt hiking trails.  We were very happy with what we found – a network of beautifully maintained wooded trails.  Peanut was especially excited, because she got to hop down from her chariot and walk for awhile too.

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Peanut was a hoot on the trail.  She immediately found a stick and did some raking in the dirt, and – being a typical curious toddler – she made several attempts to escape and get (literally) into the weeds.  I gave a few mom-style lectures about how we always stay on the trail and we never ever EVER touch a plant unless we know what it is.  After I’d finished my spiel, she looked up at me, pointed, and said “Green grass!”  As if to say, “I know that one, Mom, so can I touch it?”  Tricksy hobbitses.  I amended my lecture and lamely added, “And we also don’t touch plants even if we know what they are.”

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I wanted to take a picture of our whole family with feet on the trail.  Peanut thought this was her opportunity to climb up on top of one of my feet.  I snapped the picture anyway, and I love it because it so perfectly captures what our family outings are like right now: hubby’s well-worn hiking boots, my running shoes (my hiking boots never turned up after our move, and I needed new ones anyway… and I know I shouldn’t hike in my running shoes, but my old sneakers also disappeared into the void with my boots), and two little pink Saucony sneakers standing on top of a parental shoe.

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Here’s a cool discovery: we found a Little Free Library in the woods!  (I don’t think it’s an official one, because I checked the map later and didn’t find it, but the idea was the same.)  We didn’t look at any of the books, but when we returned the same way, there was a dad and two little kids who’d grabbed a few titles and were reading aloud at the nearby picnic table.  Peanut was completely enthralled with this and now probably expects book-reading opportunities on all of her hikes.

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I’ve been on many a hike, and I’ve taken in many a spectacular view.  But the view above is my favorite of all time.  I’ve been waiting a long time for that one.

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How was your weekend?  Did you get outdoors and enjoy some spring sunshine too?

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In Which We Visit the Buffalo Botanical Gardens Three Times, and Peanut Loves Ponds

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Continuing on our quest to ferret out all the best family-friendly activities in Buffalo, we’ve got a new winner: the Botanical Gardens!  I’d been wanting to poke around here for awhile, and hubby planned a special surprise visit as a treat for the night after Valentine’s Day: an evening exploring the Night Lights.  The Night Lights are a light show inside the Botanical Gardens (I believe they’re a seasonal special event, but it could be more frequent than that).

We arrived to find the dome all lit up and glowing green from within.  It was bitter cold, so I stood outside in line holding a place for our family while hubby kept Peanut warm and happy in the car.  When I got close to the door I called him and they darted up to join me right as I was about to make it through the entrance.  Once inside, we were immediately dazzled by the green, sparkling lights darting all over the central dome.

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(This picture does not do the dome justice.  It’s gorgeous.)  We drifted along with the crowd, checking out both the plants and the fun lighting.

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Peanut and I were both obsessed with this little rainbow waterfall.  I couldn’t help but think of Fancy Nancy; I think this is exactly the sort of event she’d adore. (Adore is fancy for love!)  And speaking of adoration, while at the Night Lights, Peanut discovered her new soulmate: the koi pond.  (Can a pond be your soulmate?  If not, please don’t tell Peanut.)  She was completely enamored of the fish swimming through the clear water and darting under and around the lily pads.  So much so, that she talked about the pond nonstop all the following week and we decided to make a return visit only seven days later.

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Two things: (1) the Botanical Gardens are even more beautiful in the sunlight than they are at night, and (2) darned if it wasn’t blissful to be SO. WARM.  We all stripped off our coats immediately and basked in the tropical heat – a nice change from the biting chill outside.

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The Botanical Gardens are set up as a series of greenhouses, each one dedicated to a different plant type or habitat.  There’s a room filled with ivy, another with dozens of Bonsais and miniature trees, and my favorite (other than the pond, of course!) was the desert room, where I drifted from plant stand to plant stand admiring the succulents and the cacti.  (I’d love to have a succulent garden one day, but I don’t know if it could withstand our Buffalo winters unless it was under glass like this one.)

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Naturally, we spent a bit of time playing in the “family garden,” which was a room filled with activities for the littles.  There was a sandbox, a few plants that the kids could touch, and a couple of tiny lawn mower push toys.  Peanut went straight for the lawn mower and set up a few spectacular crashes.

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After we spent some time in the family garden, Peanut was clamoring to head back to the pond, so we found our way back there.  Grandma and Grandpa had joined us for the outing, and Peanut spent some time showing them her favorite fish.

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Peanut and Daddy also befriended a giant ivy dinosaur, as one does, you know.

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It’s been a couple of months now, and Peanut still talks about the pond constantly.  We read her pond books (In My Pond and Who’s Hiding in the Pond?) daily, and every afternoon when I get her up from her nap, she greets me with the same description of her dreams: “A pond!  Fish!  Blub blub!”  It’s love, people.  It’s pond love, between a baby and her pond.  (Sung to the tune of “Guy Love” from Scrubs, natch.)

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We’ve since been back a third time, this time with Nana and Grandad, and Peanut had just as much fun communing with the koi and walking the little footbridge.  On our third visit, she also discovered the sand box in the family garden, and narrowly avoided filling her pants with sand, so that’s fun.  😉  I think it’s safe to say we’ll be going back for a fourth visit ASAP.

Do you have Botanical Gardens in your city?  Do you love koi ponds as much as Peanut does?

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Tifft Nature Preserve: Winter 2014

Tifft Nature Preserve is an urban wildlife sanctuary located practically in the heart of Buffalo.  I’d been itching to visit for months, and hubby and I thought it’d be fun to go at least once in each season, and photograph the landscape as its elements changed with the months.  A few weeks ago, we bundled Peanut into the car and set off for our winter visit.

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Before we even got out of the car, we’d already seen two deer.  Deer in the middle of the city!  Love it.

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(This guy ^ was closer than he looks.  I need to learn to work my camera a little bit better, clearly.  Or maybe I should have swapped in my zoom lens.)

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There were beautiful paths leading in several different directions, so we picked one to follow.  I can’t wait to see what this trail looks like in spring and summer!  I expect it’s a riot of green overhead and all around.

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Peanut wasn’t sure what we were doing tramping around in the snow, but – once again – she was not impressed.

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We passed a bat habitat that the nature preserve had set up in the trees, which I thought was extremely cool (almost like a modern art installation).  Although I – like every woman, I think – have a horror of getting a bat stuck in my hair, I actually really like bats as a rule.  They’re good for keeping local insect populations under control, and if you actually watch them swooping through the evening sky, they’re really quite graceful.  Obviously we didn’t see any bats (it being the middle of the day) but I like knowing that the nature preserve is taking steps to protect the local population.

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More nature: deer tracks!  I felt like I was tracking a Jaguar with Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet.

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We found a small frozen pond tucked away down the trail.  Peanut is recently obsessed with ponds (more on this next week) and we took advantage of the opportunity to show her her favorite ecosystem all frozen over.

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I don’t think she really put two and two together.

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Just before we turned back, we saw this small offshoot trail leading to a wide expanse of snow and grass.  I might be completely losing it, but something about the landscape reminded me of the beach.  Maybe the small path leading to the great wide open?  Or the tall grasses that look so much like the Outer Banks’ famous sea oats?  Either way, it was a beautiful sight.

Thanks for the lovely walk, Tifft Nature Preserve!  Can’t wait to see you bedecked in your spring finery.  Anytime now…

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Why I Love Winter

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The other day, I was scrolling through Twitter and saw a tweet from the Another Mother Runner ladies to the effect of, “Yes, we’re all sick of winter, but let’s try to think positive for a minute.”  (I’m paraphrasing, but that was the gist.)  And the tweet caught me off guard and pulled me up a bit, because I’ve definitely been guilty of whining and moaning and complaining about winter this year.  (I know it’s not just Buffalo, and that most of the country is getting pounded, so I can commiserate with everyone else who is sick of it… but, at the same time, when there are more people who are sick of it, there’s more complaining on the internet.  To which I have added more than my fair share.)  So I decided to take a leaf out of Sarah and Dimity’s book and look on the bright side.  It should be easy for me, because I grew up loving the cold season.  I love to ski, snowboard, ice skate, cross-country ski, hike on snowy trails, and I used to enjoy every blessed moment of the chilly times.  I’ve missed out on a lot of the good stuff winter has to offer this year because we have the wee one.  Next year, I think, she’ll be up for more fun times in the snow and I can’t wait for that.  But in the meantime, let’s look on the bright side.  Here’s what I love about winter:

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  • When Peanut makes that ^ face.  I’ll gladly drag her around on that sled as long as she wants, if she keeps those smiles and giggles coming.
  • The feeling of snowflakes getting caught in my eyelashes while I’m out on a run.

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  • Feathery etching on the windows in the morning.
  • Mountain sports!  Skiing and snowboarding and feeling the wind in my hhhhhh-arms (name that TV show… I know Katie will get it).
  • The Olympics, of course!  Only every four years, but Olympic winters are extra-magical.

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  • The solemn peace of a forest under cover of a fresh snowfall.
  • Hand-knit scarves and tams and wraps and anything else, because they bring the cozy like nothing you can buy.

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  • Watching big flakes float down, while wrapped in a cozy blanket, knowing you have nowhere to be and nothing to do but curl up with a book and/or cuddle with your sweetie and sip tea or cocoa.
  • Citrus fruits!  I can’t get enough; they’re a winter staple.

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  • The sound of snow crunching under my feet as I walk or run on a wooded trail… or a city street.  Both have their own magic in the winter.
  • The particular blue of a winter sky.

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  • Baby hats.  Especially ones that look like kitties.  (Please ignore my disheveled appearance and focus on the baby, mmmmm-kay?)

The days are getting longer, and daylight savings is here, and soon it’ll be spring, and this winter – dreadful as it’s been at times – will be a memory.  And I do hope next year isn’t quite as vicious.  But I’m going to make an effort, for as long as this winter lasts, to look on the bright side, complain less, and remember that even though it tries my patience from time to time, I’m a northern girl and I do love winter.

Why do you love winter?  C’mon, you can think of something.