Yesterday I took ridiculous quantities of pictures of my kids playing in the snow.

It melted almost as soon as it hit the ground, but we ran around outside as much as we could before we got too wet/cold.  It was awesome.  If anything, I wish it snowed more often here.  It's less wet than rain and twice as much fun.

And the snowflakes were beautiful.  The only other snow I've ever seen was in Tahoe and it was never this pretty.  Such big fluffy flakes:

The full set of snow photos can be seen here.

Saturday we also hung up the Christmas lights and you know what?  It was COLD.  I had on my fake-uggs, a sweater, jeans, my heaviest coat and my fuzzy-lined leather gloves and I was still frozen solid.  Dave kept getting pissed when he thought I was holding the ladder for him and instead I was hiding inside next to the front door trying to defrost.  I'm pretty sure it's time for some long-johns.

Speaking of Christmas lights, if you see a house that has only blue lights up, do you assume that family is Jewish?  Dave thought I was making it up, but I grew up in a town where one out of three kids was Jewish.  If they put up lights, they were always blue.  This is the front of our house, what says you?

Comments

[Sabrina]

We have blue lights on our house too. They're left over decorations from my wedding. I never heard the Jewish thing.

Your kids are cute.

[Jen]

I always assume that blue lights mean Jewish, but then I usually see a Christmas tree in the window. I guess they are becoming popular.

[Lia]

I agree with the blue=Jewish thing.

[margalit]

Well I'm Jewish and I live in a town that is more than 50% Jewish and I was brought up in a town that was maybe 95% Jewish, and I've never ever known ANY Jewish person to put up holiday lights like that. Ever. I"m sure it's done by secular Jews who don't consider themselve anything other than gastronomical Jews, but I don't know of anyone like that. I can't even imagine anyone Jewish hanging lights in our city. I think the neighbors would be apoplectic.

But we don't even use electric haunukot around here.

[Jasmina]

I'm Jewish, live in a community that I would guess is 5% Jewish, and I've never known any Jewish family to put up lights at this time of year (never even known anyone to have a "Hanukkah bush"). One of our Christian nannies once bought a string of blue lights, thinking she could put them up in the window for Hanukkah to please the kids, who always envied Christmas lights, but we said no way. So I can see where one might assume that blue lights mean Hanukkah. I do see some "blue light specials" around, but I believe they are all Christian households doing it up in a non-traditional way. I don't presume to speak for all Jews, but I think it's safe to say that most Jews recoil from degrading our religion by doing anything that suggests that Hanukkah (in reality a minor Jewish holiday) is merely a "Jewish Christmas". (Sorry if I got too preachy, there.)

[Jasmina]

I'm Jewish, live in a community that I would guess is 5% Jewish, and I've never known any Jewish family to put up lights at this time of year (never even known anyone to have a "Hanukkah bush"). One of our Christian nannies once bought a string of blue lights, thinking she could put them up in the window for Hanukkah to please the kids, who always envied Christmas lights, but we said no way. So I can see where one might assume that blue lights mean Hanukkah. I do see some "blue light specials" around, but I believe they are all Christian households doing it up in a non-traditional way. I don't presume to speak for all Jews, but I think it's safe to say that most Jews recoil from degrading our religion by doing anything that suggests that Hanukkah (in reality a minor Jewish holiday) is merely a "Jewish Christmas". (Sorry if I got too preachy, there.)

[Seeeeestor]

here's my tip on not getting cold: your hands and neck are the thermometers of your body, if they are cold, you will feel cold all over. Put your gloves and scarf on while you are inside to lock in the heat and dont give your hands and neck a chance to touch the cold air. A scarf is a MUST

[Henny Penny]

Most of my life I wouldn't have thought blue lights - Jewish household. Shoot, I didn't even connect one of the those spinning Stars of David in the yard with a Jewish household. But now my twin is Jewish and I am more aware of religious signification and I have noticed homes with a spinning Stars of David may also have blue lights. But I don't automatically think every house with blue lights is a Jewish household.

[kalisah]

Guilty. But my husband & his family are Jewish, so I probably tend to think about it more than the average Gentile might.

It's not so much that I assume the home is a Jewish home, as it reminds me that there are other cultures at that time of year. Like, "Oh, blue lights! We have Jewish people in our neighborhood?"

PS - love the photo of Genoa peeking out of her pink hood!

[kalisah]

Also - in reference to those comments about Jewish families that would NEVER put lights up for the holiday:

In the south, there are a lot of neighborhood associations that REQUIRE holiday lights. Seriously.

[Victoria]

I have heard of the blue lights = Jewish home before, but also blue lights = law enforcement home. I think they look great.

[Ali]

Yeah, we waited too long last year to go light shopping and all that was left were the blue icicles. My husband and I joked that our neighbors were going to think we converted to Judaism!

Oh, and sprinkle pepper in your socks to keep your feet warm. My husband used to work at a ski resort and he said this was the only thing that worked for him. It reacts with your pores or something to get blood moving more.

[OMSH]

Um...no, I have never even considered that blue lights = a Jewish household.

Hmmmm...

NOW, if it were blue lights with a bunch of Stars of David hanging, THEN I might get a clue.

I feel so naive.
Blue lights = Jewish household.

Now I know.

[Sadie]

Your house looks pretty!
And no, I would not think blue lights = Jewish home, on the grounds that I wouldn't think Jewish people put up holiday lights.
I have always loved blue Christmas lights because to me, they look very peaceful. And here in the Northeast, they are even prettier in the snow. We've always done blue lights on my mom's bushes, just to be different than the neighbors.