A couple of weeks ago I wistfully wondered when we would get a good snowfall. I dreamed of finally inflating the snow-tube I got Dave for Christmas two years ago and taking rides down the hill in the backyard. Well, as they say, you should be careful what you wish for.
For several days the weather folk had been predicting a major storm was potentially headed our way. Over the weekend, while checking in with The Weather Channel, I discovered what I thought was an advertisement above the weather map turned out to be the name given our winter storm, Saturn. The maps showed us residing in the epicenter of the maximum snowfall for our area. With a named storm and threatening maps, I decided to run to Foodlion for an extra gallon of milk and a couple of boxes of cookies. We already had a pantry full of canned goods and other ready to eat stuff, but cookies are best in times of stress.
As predicted, the snow began to fall here last Tuesday night at about ten o’clock. The snowflakes were big and wet. I was so excited at the prospect of my sledding adventure the next day that it was difficult to fall asleep. Once I did, my rest was interrupted several times by the sounds of the power coming back on. Apparently, every electrical device in our house has some kind of buzz or beep associated with interrupted electrical current. Each time the power resumed, the washer buzzed, the smoke detectors beeped and the CD player in the kitchen clicked in a vain attempt to recapture the disc it had ejected when the power went out. All this buzzing, beeping and clicking was punctuated by the jingling of kitty collar bells as Izzie and Purrl scurried from room to room to escape the noises and find peace.
Realizing that maybe this wasn’t going to be the kind of event I hoped for with snow play and warm cocoa, I lay awake mentally inventorying my dry goods planning cold meals for at least a couple of days. Cereal for breakfast, pb&j for lunch and ham sandwiches for dinner….
A little before 5:00 AM I thought I’d take advantage of a moment with power to brew a pot of coffee so we could at least have something hot to drink with our breakfast. But, just as I pushed the power button on the coffee maker, there was a green flash outside and everything went dark again. I calmly went to the pantry to grab my portable light bulb but it was dead. The second one worked and I went to the garage to grab the lantern. It worked fine but the big flashlight next to it was also dead.
All this activity had me too wound up to go back to bed. Instead, I threw the switch on the gas fireplace and after a pregnant pause followed by a reassuring “poof” I had heat! I curled up on the couch with a yellow fuzzy afghan and napped there for an hour or so.
Breakfast was easy. We had plenty of milk and cereal, juice and fruit so that part was pretty normal. Sadly, the coffee never made it through its cycle so we were reduced to drinking Cokes for our morning jolt; a truly Southern tradition, but not one I readily embrace except as a means of avoiding a caffeine headache.
Not long after we’d finished our breakfast, the power came back on! In short order the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the house and we held warm mugs in our hands. The sky was really gray and it was still snowing pretty hard so we decided to wait a while before we headed out to shovel and then play.
By the time we actually got bundled up and out the door to shovel, the temperature was close to 40 degrees and the snow was becoming wetter and heavier. Dave fired up the snow-blower and headed down the drive while I cleared the walk with my ergonomic snow shovel.
The news reporters called this “heart attack” snow because of its density and weight. It was quite a job clearing the ten inches or so of snow from our sixty foot drive. It looked like Dave had the easier job pushing the snow-blower but after I gave it a try, I decided I’d rather go back to the shovel. Although it moves the snow faster, it is loud and is harder to push up the drive than it looked. I think had the snow been lighter and fluffy, it might have been another story. We’ll see, hopefully next year.
Our snow removal took a little over an hour. It was after lunch time when we finished and I was sopping wet, pooped and hungry. So, we came inside, put our hats and gloves over the heat ducts and warmed up some chili and rice and then settled down for well deserved afternoon naps.
No, we never did inflate the snow tube. We didn’t make a snowman or even throw a snowball like we did when we were kids. Instead, we did the grown-up stuff that grown-ups do. Today, I am reminded of the grown-up stuff by a really stiff lower back. I am also aware of just how poorly prepared I was had the power outage continued. At least two of my back up lights had dead batteries and it probably would be a good idea to have a couple of cans of Sterno on hand to at least heat my supply of canned goods when my gas grill has ten inches of snow on top.
Despite the lack of snow play time, it winter storm Saturn was a beauty to behold. Seeing everything around me blanketed in white, hearing the insulating quiet of the snow and then the giggles of the little ones across the street as they slid down the hill in the front lawn with their daddy all made the day one to remember. But then, as the sun went down and the day ended, God smiled on us and promised nicer weather on the way.
Last night I slept well. The excitement and physical work of the day had worn me out. My snow lust for this year had been sated. I think I’ll readjust my wistful wonderings to springtime and start looking for the signs of new life. Spring is only two weeks away.