Snowballs in Spring

My snowball tree is filled with an abundance of pristine, white blossoms. They grow in beautiful, clustered orbs. Each branch is heavily laden with snowballs.

My tree was a gift from Karleen. Each spring when it blooms, I think of her and appreciate my tree {and her} even more. Just seeing it reminds me of early childhood memories. My family lived in a barracks that had been converted into an apartment for university married students {like my parents}. Units were small and close, but the back lawns were all connected and all the neighborhood children had a wonderful time playing together outside. When the snowball bushes bloomed, we had wonderful snowball fights with the soft, pristine blossoms. 

The floral snowballs also remind me of real snowballs! The kind that are hard when they hit you and that melt when you try to bring them inside! And they remind me of the quintessential Hostess Snowball. Do you remember them? They were a concoction of chocolate cake covered in marshmallow and rolled in coconut. So tempting in the package at the store, but mother would never buy them {they are "just fluff" she'd say and "not good for growing kids"}. But how pretty they were! Instead we'd use the idea to make homemade truffles at home and sis and I would roll them in unsweetened, flaked coconut until they were as dense and pretty as the blossoms on the snowball tree!

And you can make some too! Here's a recipe I enjoy. Find the coconut and you can roll to your heart's content. The recipe even includes tea!

Basil & Tea Truffles

• 2 cups heavy cream (or SILK soy creamer)
• 1/2 cup packed, fresh basil
• 2 tea bags, Earl Grey tea
• Pinch of salt
• 1 lb. chocolate, bittersweet, chopped
• Crushed cookies (gluten-free if necessary), toasted chopped nuts, shredded coconut or cocoa powder, for rolling.

Bring the cream to a low simmer over medium heat. Then remove from heat and add tea bags and basil leaves. Steep for 15 minutes. Then strain mixture and discard the solids. Return the pan of infused cream to the heat and simmer for five more minutes. Then, stir in chocolate until melted and combined. 

Cover mixture and place in fridge. Cool completely (2 hours or overnight). 

When ready to create truffles, place the topping or toppings of your choice in bowls. Use a spoon to scoop by teaspoonful and make a rounded 1 inch ball. Then roll in one of the toppings listed above. Each truffle should be well coated. 

Store truffles in a covered container in the fridge until ready for use.

A Dreamer's Snowfall

I love this poem! Especially these parts. . .

A song is in the snowfall,
A bird of soft, white wings. . .

A God is in the snowfall,
The God of peaceful homes. . .

And this:

A beauty's in the snowfall,
A Cinderella's shoe,
It's like a picture postcard
A world that's bright and new!

I hope you are enjoying winter. Has there been a snowfall near you recently?

Snow on the Mountain

Snow

Winter

Cold.

A time to wait

for spring

and all things new.

Cleansing

Pure and

Fresh.

Anticipation.

Snow Ice Cream

 

A Dreamer's Snowfall

 

SNOW Ice Cream

It's very cold outside! With temperatures in the teens, we've been staying inside by a cozy wood fire most of the day. Skiffs of snow, patches of sunlight, gray cloudy skies, and a gentle, but very cold breeze reminds us that winter is here! The snow reminds me of childhood moments that brought my sister and me great pleasure. What creative little girls we were! I think we came by it naturally, as our mother was creative as well and always went along with our crazy plans and experiments. Sometimes we would take fresh snow and carefully pack it away in a plastic container, tucking it far back in the freezer, so we could enjoy it again during a very hot day in July! Or we'd scrape the snow off a frozen puddle on a concrete pad in the field next door, put on our ice skates, and go skating. Mind you, the patch was probably no more then 10 x 10 feet square! But, we were inventive and didn't mind the lack of very much space to skate (nor the fact that the ice was so thin, we were actually skating on concrete!). We'd catch clean, fresh snow as it was falling and try to eat it before it melted --- such fun, the feeling of it melting in your mouth. My sister grew up to enjoy snow camping --- sleeping in snow caves she learned to build in wilderness survival classes. I preferred to sleep in a warm, cozy place but did enjoy times of snowshoeing on snowshoes that my dad made out of conduit, leather, and cording. Our family would snowshoe deep into the woods, enjoying the fresh snow and the quiet of the wilderness --- no cars, no noise --- just the silence of a wintry forest where sounds were buffered by the insulation of clean, fresh snow. And then there was the ice cream! Yummy snow ice cream! Have you ever made it? 

Here's a recipe similar to the one we enjoyed. If you have a chance, try it out! What memories it will help you create:

Snow Ice Cream

1 gallon snow
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk (dairy or soy)

When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

Bucky and Feathered Snow

When he spoke, what tender words he used!  So softly, that like flakes of feathered snow,  they melted as they fell.

John Dryden


Photo:  Remembering Bucky, who's pictured enjoying a cozy comforter and warm sunshine filtering through curtains on a winter day.

Snow Flakes

Snow Flakes

by Emily Dickenson

I counted till they danced so

Their slippers leaped the town,

And then I took a pencil

To note the rebels down.

And then they grew so jolly

I did resign the prig,

And ten of my once stately toes

Are marshalled for a jig!

Winter On My Head

 

 Early Winter

Snow 

 

Boughs



Twig Beauty 

 

Cozy and Warm



Among Clouds 

 

Winter is on my head,
but eternal spring
is in my heart.

Victor Hugo

Flakes of Feathered Snow

When he spoke, what tender words he used!  So softly, that like flakes of feathered snow,  they melted as they fell.

John Dryden

Photo:  Bucky, enjoying a cozy comforter and warm sunshine filtering through curtains on a winter day.

Stay Warm!

Sending warm wishes your way! It seems that winter really has arrived for those in the northern states. Brrrrr --- it was a cold day! Snow this morning and temperatures in the teens has encouraged everyone to find their winter mittens, gloves, and boots! There's nothing like snow and cold weather to get everyone into a holiday mood!

Stay warm!