Three winters!!!

Winter used to be my favorite time of the year!

I just loved this season! Well mostly because I grew up in a tropical state where the rest of the months are hot, humid and more or less the same :P

But it's also because I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I grew up in Goa where Christmas is one the biggest festivals the state celebrates vivaciously.

All the beautiful Goan Portuguese houses put on their Christmas lights, the Star shaped lantern gets hung in the balcony and the elaborate cribs get displayed in the patio. Christmas rum cake, dodol, bebinca and many more such delicious treats get served in every catholic household and bakery.
Ornamented Christmas trees were my favorite!
I was so obsessed with the idea of having a Christmas tree, that one year my mother finally bought one ( a real one) to surprise me! We got a few tiny lights and ornaments and soon the tree was set up in the living room.

And that made most of my winter in Goa! Cozy, full of delicious Goan sweets and gifts.

Winters in Singapore were more glamorous! Singapore is glamorous throughout the year but in winter it's a few notches higher!

The air is pleasant and cool and the city strip is dazzling in full glory. The Malls in Orchard are must see for those spending their first winter in Singapore! They stand tall and proud decked up with the most magnificent and classy decorations! Malls, streets and stores everywhere are playing "Siiiillllent night" all the time!

Here in California however, unlike the rest of the year when the weather is absolutely perfect, winters are pretty gloomy; especially for people like me who are not used to seeing the sun set at 4 in the evening. Christmas too is quite a private, family affair! Of course, there are those hard-to-resist Holiday Sales in all the stores that follow shortly after but that's about it.
I spent most of my winter indoors, drinking loads of hot chocolate and attempting some new knit projects!

And then our Skiing trip happened!!

It was my second attempt at Skiing but was more enjoyable this time! It's a new sport to me and though I'm just a beginner who struggled most of the time, it felt amazing.. just amazing to zoom down those snow-clad hills! I was freakishly scared and sweaty even when it was freezing cold and yet it felt AWESOME! And the icing on the cake was that just moments after it began to SNOW! I was going down the hills when I felt the feathery, powdery snow brushing against my cheeks! I must say this! There couldn't have been a better timing to experience my first snow! I'd only read it in books about how the first snowfall felt! I finally experienced it!

Sierra at Tahoe. Pic courtesy: Veena

It was an amazing experience altogether,  the skiing, watching the snowfall from the window with friends over hot tea in our cozy lil vacation rental cottage, the late night movies and the games!

Moral of the story- I am finally back to liking winter now that I have something (Skiing ;-)) to look forward to!