Snowblind

Bob Dylan said it one way in 'You're a Big Girl Now' from his Blood on  the Tracks album:

'a change in the weather is known to be extreme...'

Jerry Jeff Walker put it another way in 'London Homesick Blues':

'Well it's cold over here
and I swear,
I wish they'd turn the heat on...'

Preparing the ordnance

Why am I quoting these obscure lyrics? Because I can? Because I've sung the songs?  Because I drive my family crazy by singing a song when someone says something that triggers a line in my memory? NO!

The reason is because it's snowing in Jerusalem!! A rare event that has everyone pretty excited. It's all over the local news. The first December snow here since the 1950's. Schools closed, big flakes drifting down, definite accumulation, kids having snowball fights, front end loaders doing duty as snow ploughs.  The only negative is that it's very slushy, because it has been raining for the last two days and it is not that cold. Utah powder it's not.

Gabriella to me:
'Dad it's the first time that snow is falling on a house that I have lived in, not just visited.

And then:
'I have never even made a snowman, how pathetic is that?'

(Well, now she can cross that one off the bucket list.)

Of course, if it is cold enough to snow, we are going to be cold, by definition.  Especially with a dearth of winter clothing, central heat that masquerades as central air and tile floors that give you frostbite, if you step on them with bare feet.

Bubby (aka Susan, Michelle's Mom) has been walking around in sandals until today. Why didn't Bubby pack any shoes, you might ask? (A good question but one that I am not prepared to pose at this time, because I know what's good for me.) Admittedly, it is hard to pack for summer and winter. Also, the summer-like weather lasted until virtually the end of November. Michelle and the kids have sneakers but no one has cold weather jackets, hats, gloves etc.  I brought my hiking boots, thinking we might do some serious hiking in the desert (which we haven't done yet but still might), but they have a hole on the top, limiting their utility in snow and slush. But it definitely beats slogging through the slush in running shoes. Actually I am very glad to have my hiking boots, especially compared with some of the clothes I packed. Before we left Michelle said, 'you must have a sports coat for the high holidays...'  (Little did we know that the rabbi would show up in sandals and an aloha shirt on Yom Kippur).  I read an article before the trip describing Israeli society as 'aggressively informal' and now I know what they meant.  But it is great fun to experience snow in Jerusalem.  And luckily I have not had to drive anywhere.

Rashbag Snow

Aspen it Ain't