Window Wonderland

You know, Washington state is a very nice place to live, but sadly, we hardly ever get snow until after the holidays. In the 20-some years I've lived here, I can only remember one or two white Christmases.

Hooray! I hear you think. Because snow is a pain. Shoveling it, driving in it, slipping in it -- plus it's cold! Let's all move to Washington!

Ah, but no, my friends. I love the snow. Growing up in North Dakota, snow was as much a part of Christmas as cookies and reindeer. If I look outside my window and see green, it feels like I'm being lied to. December? Christmas? I think. Heavens to Betsy, no -- why, it can't be any later in the year than October, surely!

So this year, to cover up the view of the lawn (and to minimize the habit of the dog to sit and watch out the window for things to bark at) I created a miniature snowscape using parchment paper. Spray adhesive sticks the whole thing to the window, yet the paper still lets light in.

Here we have a polar bear making his way through the snow to a cluster of pines. I'm not sure if there are pine forests up on the tundra where polar bears live, but in my winter wonderland, that bear likes a few douglas firs around.

The middle window is the playground of a troop of happy penguins. There are even two in the middle there holding flippers; so in love. Awwww...

And on the other side a reindeer keeps watch for jolly fat men in red suits who might try to toss jingle bells over his back and make him pull a sleigh. Or maybe he's just nervous about that polar bear he heard was hanging around. Don't worry, little reindeer -- the bear will have to eat his way through all those penguins before he gets to you, and by then, he's bound to be full.