A winter weekend to remember

When, on Friday afternoon, with snow falling at a massive rate, a peal of thunder rolled through town accompanied by a few flashes of brilliant blue lightning, it reminded me of a memorable Christmastime snowstorm when I was about 5. On a walk to midnight mass with my family, because the roads were too snowy for car travel, we experienced a thunder snowstorm.

This weekend was the same kind of snowy winter weekend of which memories are made. The snow began falling Friday, and never really ended until late Sunday afternoon. Holidays converged around the solstice today with Hanukkah beginning, and Christmas just days away.

For my family it meant an early arrival home from work, sledding on Foss Hill, hot chocolate with a neighbor, a quiet meal at a Main Street restaurant, hours of shoveling, a trip to Hartford for "A Christmas Carol," a walk through deserted downtown streets, more shoveling and sledding on Sunday, and some live Christmas tunes with Dave Downs at Brewbakers.

We spent a few hours at a Hanukkah party today where Sally Bachner prepared latkes from scratch (shredded potatoes, onions, salt, eggs, matzoh flour and hot olive oil), and we gathered for the lighting of the first menorah candles.

Then we walked to another neighbors for a post-shopping soup dinner where the parents noshed and ate, and the kids waited impatiently for desert.