Daniella N.: January 2010

I was thinking about how I don't really remember any prolific experience that I could relate to my first snow adventure.
My mother and father's parents both own/owned property in the country. I would have to say that I have much fonder memories of times spent outside of the city in the winter, rather then in the city.
I remember building snowman with my grandfather Vince. He used to have a dog named Major Jones (that's how I came up with your nick name, not insinuating that your a dog, I was more in love with his personality then anything else...he was my best friend.) When I was young I couldn't say his name so I called him Woofy. My grandmother, Maxine used to give me a basket full of rice crispy with little pastel coloured marshmallows in it. I would share with the squirrels. They were usually stale,( the marshmallows, not the squirrels) but I didn't mind, it was fun that way. I could spend more time sucking them till they were soft. Sometimes I would just see if I could break them with my teeth. We would always used a carrot for a nose. After we would walk through the forest and watch the deer.

My mothers parents cottage was filled with snowmobiling, ice skating on the lake, snow angels, and catching snow flakes on my tongue. One time I was GT snow racing with the Neighbours grandson. We had made a jump that flew onto the frozen lake. I was the first one to try. I aced it. Then he tried and hit the jump wrong, flew off and landed on his nose and cut it open. Blood everywhere. He was embarrassed cause I'm the girl...

My dad would try and make up for the fact that we were in the city, cold and bored and would sometime and take me tobogganing. He was kinda young, and not so smart sometimes. For an example, he would take me to the top of a really steep hill and stick me in the front of the toboggan cause my legs were small enough to fit into the curl of wood. My dads a big man. Lots of weight makes you go fast. I would end up getting a face full of snow, and sometimes I would fall off. I Would cry, but it was always worth it.

I never had money to go snowboarding with the other kids. Though Joan Bailey did take me skiing for a few seasons and at that stage of my adolescence, that was probably the best time of my life. I had never felt freedom like that before, except on my bike.

Now... I spend my time going back and forth back and forth, always preoccupied with things that aren't really going to matter in the end. So, today I decided to watch the snow fall.

I forgot how amazing it is that these tiny little individual frozen water impressions, each their own unique design could fall from the sky in the purest virgin white form.

I didn't record any sound with it so you have to listen to THIS song while you watch it.

These are things that make me happy.