Sadly, no pictures

...because, well, see my previous post for the reason I didn't take any pictures of Andy with my siblings.

Having Jess and Jake here for the week was a treat. All of our guests from CA have brought sunshine with them, keeping the real Pittsburgh winter at bay. The winter everyone says is inevitable, in a "just wait and see..." knowing way.

Before I persuade family to choose Pittsburgh over 300 days a year of sunshine, I must first survive a winter here. No, it may not be a Minnesota winter, or even an upstate NY winter, but it's certainly not a coastal California winter. I can tell that much already.

For one thing, there are really no evergreens to speak of, besides the dead pines and firs people put up in their living rooms! Christmas decorations go up earlier, and it makes sense in this climate. The landscape is incredibly beautiful, in a stark and dramatic way that leaves no doubt about the season. Hills are visible where they weren't before. From our upstairs' window, we can see the cemetery hillside and the rooftops of our neighbors' Tudor homes. The full folliage of summer and fall hid these sights from us, like a curtain that has now been drawn. Neighbors have waited until now to rake the leaves; no sense going through the effort until every last leaf has fallen.

Although Jess and Jake saw mostly blue skies this visit, we did get a sprinkling of snow on Monday. We were walking back from the Squirrel Hill shopping district when the snow began to fall. We stopped walking and turned our faces to the sky. We laughed and twirled and held out our hands. We taught Andy to catch snowflakes with his mitten paws. It snowed just enough to dust our hats and coats with white powder before melting. Just a fleeting glimpse of a different climate, another way of life. Winter magic.

Maybe Jessica and Jacob will be back for school here in the fall. Jacob toured the University of Pittsburgh; Jessica, the Western School of Health and Business.

If this winter does come in like a lion, I will just have to keep it to myself.