First real snowfall!!

I was going to add more pictures of my old stomping ground but changed my mind. Who cares about the Happy Pioneer Valley when we had our first real snowfall on Sunday?? It was snowing when I woke up. By the time I walked to the convenience store (note to self: I need proper winter boots!) there was already some accumulation. At most we probably got an inch or two - it warmed up as the day went on and all the snow had melted by mid-afternoon. I can only recall two times that I've seen real snow since I left Iowa. I went to Tahoe in May and we woke up to a surprise 6" of snow. It melted quickly - by the next morning we were on our bicycles. A year ago I got caught in a horrific snow storm driving back to my parents' from a job interview in Salem, MA. It took 5 hours to drive 30 miles so I didn't really get to experience the snow properly.

These pictures aren't so great because there wasn't that much snow this early and frankly, there isn't a lot in the "downtown" area. What we lack in coffee shops and other cool places to go we make up for in pizza places. There must be 10 within 6 blocks.
The church across the street from my building. One of the other faculty in my building who lives on the side facing the church says it's where all the prostitutes hang out at night. I've only seen them at the taxi stand around the corner from the fire station so I can't verify this. I'm fascinated by the building next to it. At about the second floor level its engraved with 1896. It's built in an art deco/gothic style and from what I can tell, completely empty.

A whole lot of nuthin' in "downtown". It looks like this on a Friday night, a Wednesday afternoon or a Sunday morning. The street is one-way so there's always a lot of traffic but no one stops because there's no where to stop.

This is my building! I live on the third floor facing the main drag. It's an old historic hotel from the 1920s that they converted into apartments and condos. I'll post some pictures of the inside - it's really cool.

I'm sure by the end of winter we'll have tons more snow. There's something beautiful and magical about waking up early on a quiet Sunday morning to snow . . . .