Ani’s Advent Calendar 2018! Eating snow with Jo Pinto

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Sue Vincent

I’ve eaten a fair bit of snow in my time. Granted, it is usually attached to a ball…’cause if you get the ball rolling juust right, it can pick up loads of the stuff! It’s a good game… though some people don’t seem to understand that it can still be thrown…

The worst one though was when she cheated… I’d never met a snowball before, and chased it as she lobbed it through the air, expecting my teeth to meet on that familiar furry surface, just under the snow. You can imagine my face when it collapsed and disappeared! I was only young at the time… it was my first snow day… and some people thought it was so funny I thought I’d never get her home…

But, ‘pparently, there are other ways of eating snow, as writer Jo Pino explains…

Snow Ice Cream

by Jo Elizabeth Pinto

Jo Pinto with her guide on an autumn street

As soon as the door closed behind the social worker, silence fell over the room, broken only by the soft crackling sounds of a log settling in the fireplace. The teenager stood beside the door where he’d been standing since his arrival, a rolled-up blanket tucked under one arm.

“You hungry, Ben?” the middle-aged man at the table asked, busy mending a pair of jeans. “There’s chili in the fridge.”

“No thanks.”

“Suit yourself. You’ll have to put down that bedroll sooner or later, though. Why not drop it on the couch for now?”

Ben hesitated, then shuffled across the hardwood floor and laid his blanket on the couch. His gaze darted around the room, coming to rest on a framed picture over the fireplace. He froze, staring at the smiling couple in the photo. The sullen scowl on his face hardened into an angry glare.

He strode to the fireplace in three quick steps, snatched the framed photograph off the wall, and flung it face down on the floor. “How could you? I don’t wanna look at ‘em!”

“Fair enough.” The man calmly crossed the room and picked up the photo. He glanced at it, then slid it into a desk drawer. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about seeing your folks up there. My question just got answered.”

“Yeah, it did,” Ben snapped.

“Look, Ben …” The man trailed off, then tried again. “The Iraq thing sucks. You lost a dad; I lost a brother. We need to make this work while your mom pulls herself together. We can fight each other or be a team, but either way, it’s you and me.”

Ben stared at his tennis shoes.

His uncle glanced out the window by the table. “It’s snowing again.”

Ben shrugged.

“Your dad loved the snow. Winter was always his glory season.”

Ben nodded slightly.

His uncle pressed on. “His old racing sled is still in the barn somewhere. He was legendary—the fastest thing on runners around here. He set records on the hill behind the church that haven’t been touched in thirty years.”

A hint of a smile creased Ben’s mouth for a second. Then the boy bit his lip and went back to glowering at his Reeboks.

“We could drag out that sled tomorrow when there’s more daylight.”

Ben shrugged again.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the old girl again myself, maybe giving her a fresh coat of paint.” The man picked up the torn jeans from the table and found his needle. “Ever had snow ice cream?”

“Snow what?”

“Your dad and I used to … I’m surprised he never …” It was the uncle’s turn to look down at his shoes.  He swallowed hard. “Grab two spoons and two big mugs from the dish drainer.”

Ben obeyed, eyebrows raised.

“Go outside and put a nice clean snowball in each mug, about twice the size of your fist.”

While Ben carried the mugs outside, his uncle took a jug of cream from the refrigerator. He whistled absently as he reached for a glass bottle on a high cupboard shelf.

“What’s that?” Ben asked as he re-entered the kitchen on a blast of icy wind.

“Maple syrup.”

“How come it’s so dark?”

“It’s real syrup from tree sap, not fake junk made of corn. Tastes like heaven.”

The man splashed some cream over the fresh snow in each mug, then drizzled syrup generously on top. He handed his nephew a spoon and began stirring his own concoction.

“Mix it up good,” he said as he took his first bite. “A treat fit for God Almighty.”

He watched as Ben stirred up his ice cream and then put the spoon to his lips. A smile spread slowly over the boy’s face, starting at the corners of his mouth and making it all the way to his eyes.

J. E. PintoAbout the Author

J. E. Pinto is a magnet for underdogs! Early in her married life, her home became a hangout for troubled neighborhood kids. This experience lit the flame for her first novel, The Bright Side of Darkness.

Pinto’s Spanish-American roots grow deep in the Rocky Mountains, dating back six generations. J. E. Pinto lives with her family in Colorado where she works as a writer and also proofreads textbooks and audio books. One of her favorite pastimes is taking a nature walk with her service dog.

“The Bright Side of Darkness” is my award-winning novel, available via Amazon in Kindle, audio, and paperback formats. The paperback version of my novel is also available at Barnes & Noble online.

The Bright Side of Darkness won a first place Indie Book Award for “First Novel over Eighty Thousand Words,” as well as First Place for “Inspirational Fiction.” The novel also won several awards from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association: First Place for “Inspirational Fiction,” Second Place for “Audio Book,” and First Place for “Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

The Bright Side of Darkness

What is a family? Rick Myers is a despondent seventeen-year-old who just lost his parents in a car wreck. His family is now the four teenage buddies he’s grown up with in a run-down apartment building. Fast with their fists, flip with their mouths, and loyal to a fault, “the crew” is all he has.
At least he thinks so until he meets Daisy, an intelligent, independent, self-assured blind girl. Her guts in a world where she’s often painfully vulnerable intrigue Rick, and her hopeful outlook inspires him to begin believing in himself.
But when the dark side of Daisy’s past catches up with her, tragedy scatters the crew and severely tests Rick’s resolve to build his promising future. Fortunately, his life is changed by a couple with a pay-it-forward attitude, forged out of their personal struggle with grief and loss. Their support makes all the difference to Rick and eventually to the ones he holds most dear as they face their own challenges.
“The Bright Side of Darkness” is a story of redemption and the ultimate victory that comes from the determination of the human spirit

Find and follow J. E. Pinto

Amazon author page    Goodreads book page    Goodreads Blog   Facebook

To see my guest blog posts about parenting in the dark, please click here:
https://blindmotherhood.com/

To read guest posts on a variety of topics, please click here:
https://campbellsworld.wordpress.com/

About Sue Vincent

Sue Vincent was a Yorkshire born writer, esoteric teacher and a Director of The Silent Eye. She was immersed in the Mysteries all her life. Sue maintained a popular blog and is co-author of The Mystical Hexagram with Dr G.M.Vasey. Sue lived in Buckinghamshire, having been stranded there due to an accident with a blindfold, a pin and a map. She had a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion, the hidden country of the heart. Sue  passed into spirit at the end of March 2021.
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75 Responses to Ani’s Advent Calendar 2018! Eating snow with Jo Pinto

  1. Ritu says:
    December 19, 2018 at 06:30

    A lovely feature and great to meet Jo!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. jenanita01 says:
    December 19, 2018 at 08:50

    Such a lovely story, finding something to smile about in a time of sorrow…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  5. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. says:
    December 19, 2018 at 09:55

    Fantastic Ani and Sue and lovely short story Jo…. we enjoy snow margaritas on a ski trip with our friends from Texas to Verbiere one year… fresh snow in a washing up bowl… tequila and triple sec and 8 straws!!!! Have pressed for later in the day….xx

    Like

    Reply
  6. Patty says:
    December 19, 2018 at 11:16

    Reblogged this on Campbells World.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Patty says:
    December 19, 2018 at 11:38

    So way proud to see one of my totally talented friend client here.

    Thanks for having her.

    Jo, you have done a great job. This story makes me tear up and want snow ice cream all at the same time.

    And.

    What I’d give for a true bottle of maple syrup.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Darlene says:
    December 19, 2018 at 12:41

    A wonderful story and well written too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler) says:
    December 19, 2018 at 14:04

    I like to eat snow too. I never saw my humans eat any though, and haven’t eaten snow like that… Just plain snow. Lots of licks, Lilie

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Jo Elizabeth says:
      December 19, 2018 at 17:55

      I like to run in snow till my whole face is white, then spin around and kick up a cloud behind me. Snow is the best! Anlyn the Labradorable Lap Dog. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. OIKOS™-Publishing says:
    December 19, 2018 at 17:22

    What a story! Love it very much, and i got an idea. 🙂 Whats about a new fur colour Ani? 😉 Michael

    Like

    Reply

  11. Pingback: Ani’s Advent Calendar 2018! Eating snow with Jo Pinto | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

  12. robbiesinspiration says:
    December 19, 2018 at 18:24

    A wonderful story, Jo.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Mary Smith says:
    December 19, 2018 at 19:21

    What a lovely story. And I like the sound of snow ice cream!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Jo Elizabeth says:
      December 19, 2018 at 23:29

      It is quite tasty, if you are far from people where you can find pure clean snow. I haven’t made it for a long time because my little farm town has grown into a small city–not a snow ice cream kind of place anymore.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. joylennick says:
    December 19, 2018 at 20:04

    A delightful story. Thank you. x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. willowdot21 says:
    December 19, 2018 at 20:09

    Such a good story 💜😱

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. noelleg44 says:
    December 20, 2018 at 00:18

    Wonderful story from Jo. We often had snow ice cream when I was a kid!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. dgkaye says:
    December 20, 2018 at 00:49

    Wonderful glimpse into Jo’s work. And Ani, you were fooled by a snowball – ‘pparently! Lol 😉 xxx

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  20. Pingback: Ani’s Advent Calendar 2018! Eating snow with Jo Pinto – Where Genres Collide

  21. Widdershins says:
    December 20, 2018 at 06:15

    What a great story. 😀 … love snow-icecream! 😀

    Like

    Reply
  22. Jennie says:
    December 20, 2018 at 10:54

    My goodness…a story that will stick in my heart. Just wonderful.

    Like

    Reply
  23. Ben, Munro buddy and budding dog-poet says:
    December 20, 2018 at 14:55

    Great story. I’m going to get my people to make me some snow ice cream. It must be better than being made a fool of. My people did that to me in my first snow too Ani. Love Ben xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  24. Ben, Munro buddy and budding dog-poet says:
    December 20, 2018 at 19:06

    I know Ani, sometimes you’d think we are totally different species (hee, hee) xx

    Like

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