I really love snow, but this year it is beginning to try my patience! The good news is that the Locals say the gardening should be better.
We had about 18" in early/mid January, followed by a couple inches here and there... then 2 days ago another 8" on top of what had not melted in the interim. Now, more snow is forecast from tonight (Monday, as I write this) through Thursday.
The photo above is my house when I lived in Annapolis, Maryland years ago, and my friends up there tell me it's like that again from this weekend's snowstorm. Thankfully, we aren't that deep here!
I just want to get out of my driveway and do more than a quick run to the grocery store! I even had to cancel a 3 day trip to upper mid-Virginia (this week) to see my doctors and have some tests done, thanks to the storm. Sigh.
The trip would have been a good antidote for 'cabin fever'.
I finally made it into town today to pick up a prescription, and found the town looking a lot different after our big snow. Wish I had taken my camera. There are mini-mountains of snow piled up everywhere, and the ones in the strip center parking lot are about twice as tall as the top of most pickup cabs. Unfortunately, it's all dirty, yucky gray snow, not pretty at all.
The main street downtown was closed off while they were transferring the snow piles into dump trucks to move elsewhere, leaving the on-street parking once again available. The business section of downtown is just 4 blocks long if you include the full block with the courthouse, so snow removal is not as large as job as a bigger town would have.
I stopped at the jewelry store, hoping they could order the minute hand I'm missing from my dress watch. The store was jammed... I forgot about last minute Christmas shopping! The older woman who tried to help me spoke very little English, so it was a bust. I tried asking her how she ended up in this little burg in moving from Bogata, Columbia, but her English was no better than my Spanish. The language initially surprised me because the whole family (in the store) was blond/blue eyed, not Latin-looking at all.
Back home, I let my fingers do the keyboard walking on Google for a minute hand. Problem is that this watch is vintage and collectible (although not that old, I bought it new in 1971), and I want an original hand so there's no devaluation. I just emailed a place in Rhode Island that may have original parts.
The minute hand became loose in the case after I had it cleaned 15+ years ago, and I opened the case to stick it back on the pin. Well, I managed to drop the tiny hand in the carpeting and never found it, so the watch has been in my drawer for years now. I'd really like to wear it occasionally; I'd even sell it if I could get half what it's worth, but that won't happen in today's market.
The day was overcast so the photo isn't very bright, but this is the picture from my front porch yesterday. They did finally get our road plowed, so now we have a 3' high ridge of icy snow where the driveway should connect to the road.
It warmed to about 34ยบ during the day so the snowfall compressed quite a bit and it doesn't look like 15" anymore except by the fences. The 3 dark spots at the right center edge are 3 automobile tires leaning upright against the fence. (I use them for planting potatoes.)
My sister made it home last night, after sleeping 2 nights in the guard shack where she works. Her car is parked down the road because The Kid's car is blocking the driveway between our bridge and the road. Looks like more snow shoveling is on my agenda for today.
As predicted, we had a snowstorm yesterday... heavy and persistent snow. I'd say we got about 15" total, and the roads are a mess. School is out for the holidays so this road won't get plowed, a priority for the school bus routes when school is in session.
The Kid (22) got home about 10 PM, and we had only about 8" of snow by then. I had told her mother to tell her to park on our bridge (covered) across the creek but she didn't quite get the message straight, and drove into the yard. When she remembered she was supposed to park on the bridge, she tried to move the car and managed to get it sideways across the driveway. We shoveled it out enough today to get almost out to the street, then she tried for the road, got it sideways again and I gave up. She got a ride to work and will spend the night with friends.
My sister never made it home at all last night as the hills around where she works weren't passable; she spent the night in the guard shack. At least she had heat, food and water!
It has snowed off and on all day today, without much additional accumulation so I guess the bulk of the storm has passed. The snow is really beautiful and I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.
