Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

You're Gonna Win The Snow Globe Award!

Here's to my hometown...Erie PA!!! You are famous yet again.  Yes, you have wonderful people. Yes, you have a beautiful Great Lake with a beautiful recreational peninsula which draws thousands every summer.  But what you are best at is SNOW!!!!!

This holiday is one for the record books as you all know as you look out your windows dreading the moment you have to once again shovel out.  The average snowfall for Erie, in a year, is 101 inches and Erieland has received more than that just in the month of December...and most of that has fallen since Christmas Day.  I remember when I was five we had a record breaking snow like this...it was such fun as a kid.  I know it is a beautiful winter wonderland right now, so try to enjoy the beautiful sight, grab a blankie and a hot cup of cocoa and wait it out.

Scenes from 1956 Erie Blizzard

Our little house on Parade Blvd.  That's Dad digging out the driveway.

A neighboring house.  Can you see the hood of the car in foreground?

Our street.  That large truck is the National Guard to the rescue!!

Meanwhile, enjoy this little poem I wrote a while back not knowing a record-breaker was on its way to you.  Sending love a good wishes to all of my family and friends back home in Erie. Miss you!

Lake Effect Snow Sonnet

You who do not live on a lake

Will never understand snow.

You may have seen a soft white flake,

But you can’t begin to know,

The blinding white that will not stop,

The drifts that pile miles high,

Cars that lie covered to the top,

The roads one can’t get by.

This snow topples lines and trees,

It can even crush a roof.

Plows give up and let things freeze.

Do you need any more proof?

This snow’s a snow that will leave you wheezing.

This snow’s a snow that grows unceasing.

You Wanna Bake Cookies?

Before the big snowstorm hit last weekend, I rummaged through my pantry to make sure I had enough staples to last the duration of the storm and it's aftermath.  I know, it's crazy...how long could we possibly be trapped in our houses???  But, as I scanned my shelves, I spied an unopened bag of...TaDa!!!...chocolate chips.  Of course, the perfect thing to bake to comfort us through the blizzard.  Images of warm, chocolate chip cookies, steaming mugs of coffee, and a crackling fire circled my brain.  What a find.

So, I quickly got to work and began whipping up a batch of everyone's favorite cookie.  As I struggled to blend the butter and sugars together (I'm not as strong as I use to be ) my mind shifted back to the very first time I saw these cookies being made.  I was in 7th grade and visiting my BFF, Sandi. Sandi, her sister Norma and I would often get together to play cards and games like Rack-o and Yahtzee.  Remember those games?

Of course we needed sustenance to wage war on one another (Sandi's the fiercest competitor I know).  The next thing I knew, Sandi was competently taking out bowls and baking supplies and whipping up a batch of chocolate chip cookies as though she had done it a hundred times before.  I was damned impressed!  The most baking I had ever done to that date was assisting my grandmother with the baking of Christmas cookies.  I had never made a batch of anything by myself, so you can imagine how blown away I was to see my best friend commanding the kitchen like an expert.  By the way, the cookies were yummy. And now, I can never make a batch of chocolate chip cookies, without thinking of that day and my  amazing friend.

I once received a plaque that read: friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life. This is so very true.  Sandi is the only one of my high school friends with whom I have maintained a continuous friendship.  She lives on the west coast and I live on the east coast, but the distance has not diminished our deep affection for one another.  How could I forget the girl who wrote on the chalkboard (to my mortification) for all to see "Karen loves Tiger Lou."  Tiger Lou was our class's version of the science nerd, and Sandi thought our classmates would get a little chuckle at my expense... oh, by the way, he went on to be instrumental in the development of fiber optics (sheesh... who could have guessed that!  Shout out to Tiger...way to go Tiger!) That's my friend Sandi; she has a great sense of humor and a big heart.  Who else but a best friend would traverse the continental United States twice, just to attend my daughters' weddings.  Sandi really is a sweet part of the cookie of my life.  Thanks for the memories girl!

And so, I guess, the point I'm trying to make is that it is important to take the time to reflect on who is important in your life.  Family are easy to love...they're family...ya have ta!  But good friends are precious treasures...cherish them. They really are the chocolate chips of life.

I'd love to hear about your thoughts of friendship or your memories of your BFF!  Leave a comment