A Real Winter.

Back when Jamie and I first made the decision to move to Minneapolis I had a picture in my head of what the winter would be like.  I envisioned blankets of white snow on the houses, the crunch and squeaks of boots on the snowy sidewalks, the smell of logs in a fireplace, and plenty of cold.

Now that I'm actually in winter in Minneapolis I am realizing that I never really knew what "cold" was.  This is cold:

The fact that it's actually warmer than it has been the last couple of days...or the fact that when I was looking at the forecast for the rest of the week and thought to myself, "oh it's going to be warm out!" because it's getting up to 20 degrees...that's cold.  When there is frost on the inside of the front door...that's really cold.

I worry a little bit about what's in store for January and February.  But all that said, I have to say I love it.  

I love that it snowed on my birthday for the first time in my life.  I love how holiday decorations glow on houses when the lights reflect off the snow.  I love the added camaraderie that comes when you bump into a neighbor outside in the bitter cold.  I love how bright the sunlight is now that it comes from the above and below.  I love how despite the cold, everybody is still outside and living their lives.  What I love most of all is how warm the house feels.

While I'm sure the novelty of it will rub off soon enough, I feel like this is where I belong.

View from our lake last week.