A collection of the holiday chapters from the Little House books
Remember just a few days ago when I said I wasn’t ready for the summer to end? Well, I take it back.
And I’ll tell you why: because it’s HOT out! Temperature-wise, this has been an unusually cool summer, and that’s exactly the way I like it. But all of a sudden, we’re dealing with heat indexes above 100 degrees and it’s muggy and gross and… Ugh. Just ugh.
So, I’ve been sitting in front of my air conditioner, shoveling ice cream in my face and reading descriptions of snow-filled fun from the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Here’s a tidbit from Little House in the Big Woods:
The days were clear and bright. Laura and Mary stood on chairs by the window and looked out across the glittering snow at the glittering trees. Snow was piled all along their bare, dark branches, and it sparkled in the sunshine. Icicles hung from the eaves of the house to the snowbanks, great icicles as large at the top as Laura’s arm. They were like glass and full of sharp lights.
Over the years, I’ve regularly pulled out my Little House collection and re-read the winter chapters around the holidays, mainly because I love all the descriptions of food. Recently, I discovered a compilation of just those chapters, pulled together in one book called A Little House Christmas: Holiday Stories from the Little House Books. Obviously, I snatched it up before any actual kids could get their grubby little paws on it. Mine! Little did I know I’d one day be using it to beat the heat of a New York City summer.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to reading about the candy that Laura and Mary would make by pouring a hot molasses and sugar mixture over cold, fresh snow. Btw, when I was a kid I attempted my own version of this by squeezing maple syrup over ice cubes. It didn’t work.
— Karen
