Sunday, snowy Sunday

A Note: In Friday's comments, a reader (whom I do not know) left links to photos of my Warsaw apartment street. One is from the years of my earliest childhood: it shows the building of my current apartment (and a handful of other buildings) standing proud among the ruins of postwar Warsaw. I knew this Warsaw of course, but as I moved from infancy to childhood, the ruins gradually disappeared. To the commenter -- thank you for for these images. They really do provide a context to my notes on my days in Poland.



This morning, I wake up to a stillness outside. The kind you feel just before a snowstorm rolls in and adds another layer of silence to an otherwise not so quiet city. (Though the neighborhood where my daughter lives with her husband is, in fact, remarkably quiet. Chicago isn't like New York. Here, you can sometimes hear a pin drop on the sidewalk. New York is never absolutely still.)

We walk to a favorite place of my little one and her husband for brunch (Trenchermen).  They're surprised that I'd never eaten there before, but I list all the neighborhood brunch places where we have dined and it's obvious that the list is long: there are so many eating choices here!

And now flakes begin to come down. I see them clinging to my girl's jacket -- oh, it really is going to be a snowy day!






With just a touch of holiday about it.






Brunch is so good! worth lingering over...






But we can't let the day run away from us. I have a task: I want to do what I used to do here in the past -- go to American Apparel and buy thick socks. I haven't restocked since my trip here years ago!

And they have a task as well -- to go to the corner Christmas tree place to buy and cart home their own tree. And so it has come to be that this year, I'm there at the buying of each daughter's tree. Remarkable!

Looks good!






It's a bit of a hike home, but they're up for it. Oh, the snow is becoming so delightful!






I could sit in my daughters' homes for a long long time and just watch them go about their business. But you never want to overstay your welcome. These two have so little free time! And, too, I have a bus to catch.

I take a lovely walk, admiring the prettiness of the snow, of the lights, of a city at the brink of a holiday. Perhaps I take too long for this. Maybe I shouldn't have stopped at a shop with a fantastic sale to pick up a skirt for my forthcoming trip and for the holidays. Because when I finally climb the stairs up to the El train that'll take me to the airport (from where I'll catch the Madison bound bus), I see that the snow is getting to be quite intense. And the trains are not as frequent on a Sunday afternoon.






But I do make it -- with two minutes to spare.

It's a very slick and snowy ride north! Still, a few hours later, I'm in Madison.

The bus rolls in, my car -- left in the parking lot -- is covered in snow, Ed calls me with news of a flat tire on his car and I have the young family due for dinner in an hour. A challenge!


But the fact is -- it's a beautiful world out there. The first big snow is like the first crocus or daffodil in spring -- it reminds us of all the bounty the coming season has to offer.

Dinner -- a simple but favorite spaghetti one -- is on time.

(I remember when Snowdrop first enjoyed spaghetti... She is so much older now...)






A few quiet moments...







Oh, how I wish I could put up a photo with both my daughters in one frame right now! But -- there are plenty of good things to include here. Tomorrow - Ed and I will test the snow and Snowdrop will come over and there is the matter of the tree... Hmmm: I wonder if the Chicago couple has decorated theirs yet...

Plenty of really good things...