First snow!

Growing up in Central Queensland, we are accustomed to hot Summers and mild Winters. We may get some frost on the grass in the middle of winter, but have to breathe out really hard to see our warm breath on the coldest of days.

There are opportunities to see the snow further south, but with the football season running through Winter, this has never been an option for us. We came to France excited at the prospect that we will finally get to see and experience snow.

Among the first questions we asked veteran players and residents here was 'does it snow in Limoux?' To our delight, we were told early on that we may get snow here this year, as they had done in recent years. If not, we could always go up to the Pyrenees, as they are close by.

We could feel the temperatures cool in December, and had hoped to have a 'white Christmas' in London. But apparently, to my amazement, it wasn't quite cold enough yet. At the time I couldn't comprehend how 'colder' felt; the temperature was in the low single digits and we were covered in layers from head to toe.

When we returned from Paris we were told that snow might be a couple of weeks away. And since then, we have experienced 'colder'. The temperature has again dropped, going into the negatives on occasion.

Then on Monday, as we sat Skyping the Hatfield family from Brisbane, Marty looked out the window and questioned: "is that snow?" As we both ran outside to investigate, I danced around enjoying the light flakes that were falling from above, before Marty cleared up that this wasn't quite the snow we had been waiting for; it was in fact sleet.

We came back inside before we got wet and cold from the drops melting as they landed on us, and watched the white mist fall from above and melt on the ground. It was a very pretty sight, but not our first snow.

A few days passed as the weather remained cold. Then on Thursday morning, I woke to the sound of a leaf blower outside. As I got up out of bed and opened our thick black-out curtain, I was instantly excited by the beautiful sight of our snow-covered garden. What an amazing and pretty sight! 

I quickly got dressed and ran outside to investigate, yelling to Marty to come check out the snow. While it had stopped falling, there had been enough to put a thin layer on everything. I touched it, felt how soft it was and picked it up in my hands.

It was the coldest morning I had experienced yet, but I walked outside our courtyard to see the streets lined with snow-covered cars and the trees pretty in white. It was just as I had seen in photos; a postcard image of a small French town in winter.

Marty joined me outside and was equally as excited; only he channelled his excitement into making a tightly-packed little snowball, which he then proceeded to throw hard at me from a very close distance. Turns out we have a lot to learn about making and throwing snowballs!

Unfortunately the snow didn't last long; within an hour it was raining and the snow had melted away. The cold weather and rain has remained with us, but no more snow...yet.

It appears to be snowing in towns all around us, so we are hopeful to experience this amazing natural wonder again soon. Somehow the thoughts of snow - how beautiful it is and the fun to be had in it - makes the cold weather worthwhile.