Dear California. . .

I'm going to play a little catch up here as it's been quite a while since I've blogged!

On November 11, 2008, I embarked on a new chapter of my life. I relocated myself and Leo {my fur child} to New England to be closer to my family. For years, I personally debated the need to be closer and obviously home won me over. Seeing my family once or twice a year for a short amount of time just wasn't cutting it.

I arrived in California for an audition on November 11, 2001, I was a wide eyed 21 year old with no idea of what was in store. I spent 7 amazing years living in Southern California working for some of the best photographer's in our country and learning more than I could have ever imagined.

There is a novel waiting to be written inside me that will one day tell the story of my time there but let's fast forward to the present. . .

My Mom accompanied me on the cross country journey home which was so much fun and we got to spend much needed quality time together. It took us a week to get to New Jersey and then another two weeks for me to make it to Maine. My parents moved to Maine last October to a town where we vacationed my whole life. Their town is small and as they say in New England, it's a wicked small town. Located in the North Woods of Maine about 15 miles from the Canadian border.

Photograph taken last year during my first visit to the house



Last year, this area wound up with about 16 feet of snow. One of the worst winters in 50 years. We have absolutely no idea what we're in for this winter. This morning, I woke up and looked out my window. The sun wasn't even up yet so it was just barely light and I sat up and said, "NO WAY!" The snow was all the way up to my window and drifts had crusted the window panes. Yesterday, Maine received a nice dumping of the fluffy stuff from sweet Mother Nature. We guess we ended up with 2 feet of snow but it's hard to tell because we already had an accumulation of 1.5ish feet.

Today, I officially feel like I've arrived in New England. I got a true taste of what it's like to live here and although I love California and the consistent breezy 72 degrees, I love New England MORE. :)

Here are some photographs I took when the sun came up of our house.

First things first in the morning. Leo must do his business. Today, he was officially screwed because the snow was way way over his head. We dug him a spot and we stood there and laughed at him. He had NO idea what this was and just cracked us up.



View to the road




This is one of my favorites. Tunnel to the road.



A big topic in our house is how in the world the animals survive this weather. It's the ARCTIC!! Where do they sleep!? How do they move around!!



I got a little chilly so I headed back to the house.





My Mom's car



My hard working, frosty Dad







On his way back out to the road



My favorite photograph from this morning.



It sums up what this blizzard feels like, the hard work it takes to dig out and being home. So, California it's almost 7:30 am and you're just waking up. The forecast says you'll have a little rain today and your highs are around 58 degrees. Here it'll reach a high of about 11 and with the wind, it'll feel -2. LOL!

Even though it's rough outside, we have everything and more that we need inside.

To my California family, I'm wishing you were all here to experience Mother Nature and drink something warm with me while we watch the snow blow around from a warm, cozy house.

Lots of love!
Melissa and Leo from the Arctic!