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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Christmas Feeling In the Air

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Snow comes to north Texas, 
but not regularly every winter. 
Some years there is no snow, but 
many winters we have ice storms. 

Often what looks like snow is really ice. 


Garden Shed Snowy Scenes 

look like there is a small accumulation of snow 
on which we should be able to easily walk. 


Looks are deceiving. 
This is frozen snow with ice. 
For over two days, I could not even walk on my deck. 
Too slippery with no traction. 

Don't even think about driving. 

The garden shed looks serene, 
and the snow/ice creates a 

Christmas feeling in the air. 


Schools are closed, church services are canceled, Christmas parades are postponed, 
my Country French Christmas sale is closed for this weekend, 
and the rest of the nation makes fun of Texans as being 
afraid of a little snow and as not knowing how to drive in snow. 



Oh, if only this were snow. 
Do you see any footprints on the garden shed porch? 
I walked, slid around on it, but there are no footprints. 
Walking on ice doesn't create footprints. 


I could not get inside through these doors 
because the ice would not budge enough for me to squeeze inside,  
and the ice/snow drift was just high enough 
that the door would not open over the top of the ice. 
I went through the door on the north side that opens inward. 


Opening the French door a little from the inside,  
I hung the greenery-filled basket on the door 
and began taking photos. 

Any blogger worth her byline cannot pass up an 
opportunity to take winter wonderland photos. 


The snow/ice storm hit in the wee hours of Friday morning, 
and it was Saturday afternoon before I was able to navigate the slippery ice 
from my backdoor to the garden shed. 
A couple of times I stepped onto the first step out the backdoor, 
then immediately turned around and went back inside. 


The new greenhouse is beautiful, but, 
oh so cold....
Brrr... 

Everything comes to a standstill. 
Painting projects for Christmas decorations cannot take place. 
Instead, how about cutting greenery? 


 All summer I have watched the blue juniper trees with delight. 
All over the area, the trees are loaded with the biggest crop of blue berries 
that I have ever seen in thirty-five years living in the area. 


The berries are the perfect shade of bleu to go with my house's colors. 
All summer I have envisioned all the beautiful natural arrangements 
for Christmas decorations. 


My first attempts at cutting branches are disappointing. 
The branches are covered in ice, my hands inside my gloves are freezing, 
and the branches are very hard to cut. 


No giving up. 
After maneuvering the slippery ice on the ground 
and finding some branches with less ice than others, 
I cut a few branches. 


Into the garage they go... 
to thaw overnight... 


Now, onto those small Charlie Brown cedars planned 
for crocks in the house as more Christmas greenery...  


No cutting the little cedar trees today. 


Indiana Jones, my adventuresome cat, 
is not content to stay inside sleeping. 
He insists on investigating the snow and ice with me. 


He is too funny to watch as he tries to avoid walking on the frozen white stuff. 


Back inside, 


Lazarus, my sister's cat, and I sit by the fire and enjoy the 

Christmas feeling in the air.
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