Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

It's snowing outside my window! Yay! I'm almost as excited as my own kids about the white stuff, but then my commute to work involves walking from the kitchen to my desk in the corner of the sitting room. I empathise with those struggling to get to work, I really do. I used to do the same thing myself. But moving on...

Did you know, when your granny used to say "Ooh, it's too cold for snow!" she wasn't just passing on some old wives' tale, she was actually telling the truth? Because snow is frozen water, if there are not enough water droplets in the air it can't snow - simple as that. As a result, the driest place on Earth isn't in the Sahara Desert or the Arizona Desert. It's actually a place known as the Dry Valleys and it's in Antarctica. The area is completely free of ice and snow, and it never rains there at all! In fact, parts of the Antarctic continent haven't seen any rain for around 2 million years! But Antarctica is also the wettest place in world, due to the fact that 70% of the Earth's water is found there in the form of ice.

If you're feeling a little on the chilly side when you get in from work tonight, why not sit down in front of the fire tonight and enjoy a Snowball? Of the alcoholic variety...

Snowball Cocktail

2 oz Advocaat
Top up Lemonade
1/2 oz Fresh Lime juice

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations to create a great speciality drink from an easy to make recipe!

You'll find plenty more festive and seasonal recipes in What is Myrrh Anyway? and Christmas Miscellany. And if you feel that nothing but a hot toddy could warm you up in this weather, then you need to pick up a copy of my brand new Scottish Miscellany, available here.