Snow in Calabria!
“Amò! Guarda la neve!”
“Honey! Look at the snow!”
P opened the balcony shutters this morning and found that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas–we got snooooooooow!
Don’t you just love how at the bottom, the land around the olive trees is all green but then by the time your eyes reach the sky, everything turns all white?
Oh that Mother Nature . . . .
So, yes, it’s just a dusting, but it’s actually visible from my house; usually you have have to go farther up into the mountains before you hit the white stuff.
A lot of people don’t know this, but there’s actually some great skiing in Calabria (they tell me; I’m not a skier) in the Sila Mountains where you’ll find the Sila National Park.
And yes, I know a lot of you are having blizzard or blizzard-like conditions right now, so this may not seem exciting (by the way, I do hope you’re all safe and not throwing out your back shoveling), but for someone like me who despite now living in southern Italy grew up with
snow days
and school delays
and watching flakes fall in complete silence
and flapping my arms and legs to make snow angels
and sipping hot chocolate with marshmallow
while wet gloves, hats, scarves sizzle
and dry on the radiator
even a simple dusting can make my entire winter.
I love snow!
It’s still raining and cold cold cold, but no worries, because I have a lot of this in store today (much like yesterday):
But I won’t be lonely. Besides the pooches and remaining pups, I’ll have P around as he’s been enlisted to help (official nutcracker and crusher), and also this guy and his heavenly voice:
Don’t worry, I’ll also make time to take Stella’s cue and find a nice lap by the fire.
Buona domenica!
37 Beans of Wisdom to “Snow in Calabria!”
-
[...] Last weekend was spent baking cookies, and this weekend is being spent delivering them to their new home... bleedingespresso.com/2007/12/weekend-o-cookies.html
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
Nice pictures of the snow on the hills and Monastery!
We had 3-6 inches of snow on Thursday and now we are getting some snow that is supposed to be turning into sleet and/or freezing rain. I would rather have good old fashioned (and dry) snow any day. Earlier inn the night on one of the Italian news sites I read that Italy is cold and getting snow.
lovely! I have that exact HCJ Christmas CD playing!
If only. Everything as far as the eye can see is covered in 8″ od snow here, and it is cold as a bugger and shows no sign of melting it, either.
So I will make Christmas fruit and nut roll for my hairdresser.
Judith in BRRRumbria
http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/
We got snow too! 🙂
ragazza…i am positively swooning!! being cozied in at home on a grey day with SNOW, a fire, your sweetheart, your hounds, & harry crooning! sigh.
Pretty, pretty, pretty. Pretty snow, pretty walnuts, pretty puppy dog.
We are having an ice storm today. Snow + sleet + winds on and off = Sam happy to be an indoor kitty and not a railroad track stray anymore.
More on that later at my place, if I can ever finish this necklace I’ve been unable to work on for most of the last week and a half. 🙂
I wish you had posted that advice about throwing out your back a few days ago…..
Life in Calabria sounds just lovely! I am very happy for you.
We are getting lots and lots of snow here in Maine!
Fran
Wow, what beautiful photographs! It is how do you say, pictrure perfect! How cozy Stella looks all snuggled up by the fire.
Lovely!
Wow! Looks pretty. Wish we only had that much! More coming today! Have a fun day listening to music by the fire. I like Harry,*alot* but for me nothing beats Nat King Cole singing, *chestnuts roasting on the open fire*
Despite the freezing rain that has been falling here since last night,
the charm of your photo and post were not at all lost on me.
You are right, it is exactly the snow on the top, and the green on the bottom that lends the scene a special magic.
What a wonderful day you will have (are having).
Don’t tell her sweetness I said so, but Stella looks just a wee bit big to be a lap dog. 🙂
Your other photo does nothing but add to my longing for nut kiffles. (something I didn’t even like two years ago)
snap! I was just talking to my english bloke about drying the snow covered gloves and hats on the radiator. Sounds like a simple memory, but it’s filled with joy because it reminds me of days off from school and snow forts and tunnels, hot soup and pajamas..time for reflection as you gaze out the window and draw on the steam covered glass. We have so much snow here in Upstate NY! I’m baking hot cross buns and the cinnomon scented rooms just cozies us up even more. BTW..that fireplace is very homey!
Enjoy your dusting. I need to go out into the sleet later to shovel Grumble.
love the pictures and so cozy!!!! the fireplace
Beautiful showing, Michelle! I love how with just a few photos, you set such a cozy, holiday scene. 🙂 And, I, too, love Harry Connick Jr. at Christmastime, especially!
Christina
I’ve voted! Beautiful photo. 😉
Nora
Sounds like the perfect day, and as someone who grew up in Africa I still get all emotional when I see snow. I was in Switzerland, when I was 17, the first time I saw it. The first snow of the season, just before Christmas, floating down in slowmotion flakes the size of a choc chip cookie. Seriously, so big that I could make out the beautiful snowflake designs as they glided past my nose. My sister and I phoned my mom on a public call box and just cried over the phone for ten minutes until our money ran out.
I know just what you mean about getting all excited with a light dusting of snow. How I wish we would get a few flakes of snow just once here on Oahu. We did however have a “Snow Day” at our school last week which was pretty cool.
Here is my blog post on our “Snow Day”. I apologize for the long link but I am not sure how to use the HTML tags to make a link in the comments section.
http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/girasoli/2007/12/snow_day.html
~girasoli
I’m jealous, I’d love to have a white christmas…but its all hot & humid here.
The photos are very pretty of the snow dusted hill tops
Snow that you don’t have to shovel is the best kind! 🙂
Stella Bella looks sooo happy. And the fire looks so cozy. I like your fireplace. Granite with big pink feldspar crystals. Is it from a local source?
Those are some of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever seen, and they brought tears to my eyes. I could feel your happiness through the lens! 🙂 I love snow too. 🙂
I wish I were there… well, just a few more months and a prior hop down to Buenos Aires and I’ll be making my dreams come true – well, I already am, but you know what I mean. 🙂
Hope you have fun!
Snow in Calabria. That IS special!
Evidently, the Pennsylvania snow gods have found you and made their delivery.
So beautiful — the green around the olive trees would be exciting enough for me, but then to see the frosty landscape further up is quite awe inspiring.
Happy holidays to you!
We had snow – only a little bit of accumulation so far but it was coated with freezing rain and sleet – just that little extra touch to ruin a great snow scene ya know! (And enough of the yucky stuff to make driving in these hills of central PA a bit treacherous.)
Waou…What a beautiful view!
Lucky you!
🙂
Wow Snow!! Not as much as Chicago but it will do!
PS I tagged you….check out my blog!!
Beautiful picture! I prefer my snow as a dusting too actually, but I’m not getting my wish! : )
*Gil, sleet and freezing rain are the worst! All the bad stuff and none of the good 🙁 Hope all is well.
*Erin, I just can’t get enough of Harry at Christmastime 🙂
*Giusi, sorry to hear of your snow woes. I hope the fruit and nut roll cooperated.
*Giulia, I saw your post the other day through Bloglines but didn’t have time to comment; I’ll be over 🙂
*Qualcosa, it was a *sigh*ful day to be sure 🙂
*Sara, hope that necklace has taken form, and yeah for Sam and his indoor status!
*Fran, yeah, I love snow but I’m not sure that I love *Maine* snow 😉
*Jenn, why no, Stella isn’t viziata, why do ask?
*Robin, ooh, Nat King Cole. I’m not big on downloading music generally, but I should definitely do it for Christmas time….
*Taffiny, Stella’s definitely not lap dog size and she definitely doesn’t care. Even Luna likes to get in on the lap action and she’s even bigger….
I’ve never had nut kiffles I don’t think. Although I do have the urge to call them kut niffles….tell me more 🙂
*Maryann, yes, those are the memories! There was such a particular smell associated with the wet stuff drying on the radiator too…almost like it was burning! Sounds like you had a lovely day too 🙂
*BLC, I don’t envy I’m sorry to say. Hope your back made it through safely!
*Alexandra, thanks 🙂
*Christina, I wish every day could be like this through the holidays–getting things accomplished because I want to not because I have to, taking my time. “Bad” weather has a way of doing that to us, doesn’t it?
*Nora, thanks so much!
*AV, what a wonderful snow memory! My cousin’s wife is Japanese and had never seen snow before she came to the US one Christmas–we were having my Mom’s Christmas as I explained on another post (2 weeks before Christmas) when the flakes started falling. Those photos of her in the snow are some of the cutest I’ve ever seen 🙂
*Girasoli, I know people in snowy climates sometimes envy the warmth, but really, there’s nothing like a good snow dusting even for us, eh? I see you’re a Massachusetts girl, so I know you can appreciate the white stuff 😉
Love your “Snow Day!” Too funny 🙂
*Madelyne, I’m afraid our snow is already gone; doubtful we’ll get more…but I know what you mean about a white Christmas 😉
*Stefanie, 100% agreed.
*Homebody, yes, the fireplace is made from all local materials, even the wood mantle. It’s very simple, but I love it 🙂 P and I are now in discussions for a fireplace at the new house and he’s leaning toward not wanting one! The horror! Can I start a petition or something?!
*Tina, why thank you! And yes, soon enough, you’ll be a little further along on your dream; as you said, you’re already living it…but soon you’ll be LIVING it 😉
*Heart, Calabria is more often than not a land of contradictions it seems, so the greenery mixed with snow is about right 🙂
*Jeni, ugh. I know those roads well, as you well know. My brother is hard at work clearing them off for you if that helps 😉
*Zen Chef, thank you! I’m not complaining 😉
*Katerina, hmmm, I’m intrigued. Be right over!
*Anali, no you’re definitely not in a dusting spot 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
That darn east coast snow storm just missed us!!I was counting on a snow day to get the last bit of baking done!Your pictures are heart warming and although I’m also Not a skier, I did ride the ski lifts in Sila in July. Breathtaking views!
Everything looks gorgeously cozy — perfectly set for the holidays!
YAY Snow!!!!
Can’t have Christmas without snow… so now you have white stuff, you have decor, fire in fireplace, yummy stuff in the kitchen, you are all set!
AND you have Harry Connick Jr, what else could you possibly ask for? That’s as good as it gets!
;o)
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
Isn’t snow magical? I’m so glad the dusting warmed your heart. It feels more like Christmas when snow is present. It’s just the way it is, no?
I would say your place definitely has a Christmas feel going on. Lovely! Love HCJ and the fire with Stella. Just need a marshmallow at the end of a wire hanger poking in the fire place now. (I’m guessing you can’t buy them there? – homemade perhaps?)
xo
You know, as much as I hate driving in the stuff, and don’t necessarily enjoy digging the car out from underneath it, I still think snow is beautiful and feel that it’s not Christmas without at least a dusting of it.
Of course, this year, after the two storms we were just hit with, the frigid temps, and the rumor of yet another storm, we’re not only going to have a “white” Christmas, we’re going to have a “buried” Christmas! 😉
I love the contrast of the green fields with the white hills. Great picture!
*Alexmom, I definitely have to get to those ski lifts for a ride too 🙂
*Anno, snow outside just seems to make any inside cozier, doesn’t it? Of course our snow is already all gone, but the memory remains 🙂
*Scarlett, I completely agree. A girl really can’t ask for more 🙂
*Cheeky, you’re right–no marshmallows in sight. I’ve had some flown in, but they’re all gone…guess I *will* have to make them myself 😉
*Karina, aw, a buried Christmas doesn’t sound like too much fun–although it does give an excuse if you don’t want to go visiting 😉
I cannot believe it was snowing in Calabria and as far down as Sicily too! I saw it on the news and hope there will be a little snow left when I get back (being an Australian not used to snow the novelty has yet to wear off!)
*Leanne, so long as you head up into the mountains, I’m sure you’ll catch some snow…well, depending on when you come back of course 🙂
The first time I happened on to your site I was thrilled to find a young American Italian woman living my dream! I didn’t post a comment at the time, due to not actually having much time with four children pulling at my apron strings…but I was thrilled to read your opening letter about your journeyings and happenings in your ancestral land. I am half Calabrian, my mother’s mom and dad are from Badolato, Catanzaro and my dad’s family is Roman and Abruzzi. I love the pictures of the snow dusting! I live in Southern California in a picturesque town called Temecula. It is a vineyard community and the whether is very Mediterranean. So once in a great while we will be surprised with a winter splashing of snow that melts in a matter of hours…but it happens. 🙂
…oh, and your family may miss you terribly, but admiring that you are also living their dreams!
Vive la buona vita!
Laurie
“Dalla Mia Cucina”
Ciao Laurie! I’m sending you an email now 🙂