Why is this Queen smiling?

(It's actually twirly-whirly snowing at the same time, in this picture.)

This afternoon, as I walked to the bus on green grass, looking at the roses blooming in our front yard, I asked myself, "How will it feel like Christmas here, if there is no snow?"

As if to answer my quasi-grumbly question, I started seeing a white flake or two. Was I imagining things? The flakes were so tiny. By the time I got to the bus stop, I couldn't see anymore snowflakes.

"You could barely call that snow," I thought to myself, "but it was still exciting while it lasted."

When I got onto the bus, I started to see more snowflakes. "Now, wouldn't it be nice if we got some good big twirly-whirly snowflakes, so I could look up into the sky and spin around saying 'Wheeeee!'?" I asked myself, again.

By the time I got off the bus, the snow had increased! Almost right away the snowflakes were huge! And twirly! And whirly! You can just guess my behaviour.

In fact, the snow was Stars-Hollowing, in that the flakes were big but dry, and yet they didn't really stick to your clothes very well, and they melted upon hitting the ground. I felt so Christmasy that I instantly went to the University Centre café and bought myself some baking (Skor brownie), which I promptly ate outside in the snow. It was very fun to sit there and watch people react to the snow. The first person to open up an umbrella received a silent cheer from me. Meg's stories were true! People here can't handle it!

Well, I was instantly Pollyanna and every Nora Ephron-Meg Ryan character rolled into one. "Isn't the snow wonderful? Don't you just love snow?" I enthused to my German class. They were far less excited, as was my grad secretary. They humoured while clearly thinking I was insane.

By the end of German class, the snow was staying on the ground! Fratty boys were having snowball fights, while everyone else turned up their collars and rushed inside. There was so much, I pretty much ran to the health clinic for my final allergy shot (before my re-testing on the 19th and 20th). I had mellowed out and was just watching the snowfall, while I was resting after my shot, when a young man burst into waiting room.

"Isn't it great outside?" he asked us. I nodded, but was shy of everyone else. Soon after, the others were gone, and the Excited Young Man made another comment about the snow.

"I know; it's pretty much the best day ever," I affirmed.

"You're not from here either, are you?" he asked. (He's from Fort St. John.)

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

So, with the weather outside, I indulged and bought candy canes. I'm also moments away from breaking out the hot chocolate (with candy canes? Yum.) and Bing Crosby Christmas. Please tell me I have Bing Crosby's Christmas. If not, it's going to have to be Barbara Streisand, and then Chris is going to be traumatised.

All I have to say is happy birthday to me, one week early.