White Christmas

I woke up around 7:30 this morning, opened the blinds, and what to my wondering eyes would appear . . . SNOW! And lots of it.

I've lived in Colorado most of my life, and this is the first time I can remember it snowing this much on Christmas Day. According to the weather record books, it's snowed in Denver on Christmas Day only 13 times in the past 106 years. This is number 14. The record books also say the most snow that's fallen on Christmas Day was in 1912, when the city got two inches. We're expecting 6-8 inches today.

And by the way, this storm was not forecast. I went to bed last night expecting it to be cold today, but there was only a slight chance of flurries. It's a Christmas surprise for sure.

My husband Mike couldn't really understand why I was so thrilled to see it snowing this morning. He's a California boy, and snow is just snow to him, even on Christmas Day. It's so special to me because I know how rare it is in Denver. Last Christmas we had lots of snow on the ground -- Christmas Day actually fell between two blizzards that dumped a total of about four feet of snow. But no snow actually fell from the sky on Christmas Day. (The photo above was taken from right outside our condo on Dec. 21, 2006, the day after the first blizzard hit.)

And besides, there's nothing better than a snowstorm on a day when you plan to be inside, drink coffee and hot cocoa, open presents and watch movies. We have nowhere to go, so let it snow!

As for the movie today, I think I'm in the mood for "White Christmas."