It’s officially summer in Japan now, and, boy, have I felt it this week. I’m a Seattle girl, and my bread and butter are cloudy skies, a light drizzle, and cool temperatures, so these sunny, hot, humid days are the bane of my existence! And summer’s only just begun, so I’ve many more months of this torment to come. Mere weeks before my arrival in Ogaki, however, Seattle experienced a freak cold snap that left the region buried in a foot or more of snow, shivering in perpetual sub-freezing temperatures for almost two weeks straight. Seattle gets a couple snow flurries every year, but temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius) are exceptionally rare, and more than a dusting of snow is so unusual that its presence shuts down…everything, really. 

Fortunately, I was babysitting my Niecey Baby, Missy Elliot, at the time, and she is a space heater without the fire hazard or the electric bill! Plus, she’s really cute, of course.

On the days that I particularly resent the summer sun, I like to look through pictures of my sister’s fur baby playing in the snow, having the time of her life. Allow me to share some of those fond memories of last winter with you, too <3