More snow pros and cons

Pro: luckily, our city is good with snow removal. We don't usually see these backhoes, but actually picking up the snow and moving it elsewhere is necessary when you get this much. Below is our usual snowplow/salt/sander.

Con: as the snow on the roof melts, it drips onto the front porch. Each morning, there is literally a 2 inch thick layer of ice. At this point, it is nearly impossible to find ice melting salt or sand anywhere, even if we wanted to use some. Although we do have 4 distinct seasons in Maryland and get a dose of snow every year, people around here still go crazy and raid the stores of bread, milk, eggs, etc. It's really unnecessary. In addition, people don't know how to drive on the roads, either driving dangerously fast or dangerously slow. Though our city limits is good with plowing, the main roads and highways are not always plowed logically - 3 lanes will suddenly need to merge into 1 as a wall of snow will halt traffic in lanes. The big pro of living in Rhode Island (we lived in RI for 4 years) is that they really know how to deal with snow. Roads are salted and plowed promptly and properly. I guess the big con is that the potholes in RI are notorious and something serious to contend with after the winter season!

Below, you get a sense of how it's necessary to literally dig your car out.

Though shoveling on a calm, brisk, afternoon can be exhilarating, a cold wind that blows snow/ice into your face doesn't feel so good. After finishing the front, we moved onto the next task - shoveling the perimeter of the house. Why? Because (con), one year there were a few warm days after a big snow that caused the snow around the house to quickly melt and flood our basement!

Other thoughts:

Pro: being in pajamas for a week straight now.

Con: being a kid and having to cancel a sleepover.

Pro: being a kid who doesn't have school for the next several days and being able to reschedule for tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day, or the next day...

Pro: actually paying attention to the needs INSIDE the house (as opposed to neglecting the house for the garden). How come I hadn't realized our wall hangings were outdated? Or that we could really use a new couch? Or that the storage space is at a minimum in this house? Or that the kids' broken dresser really needs to be fixed or replaced?

Con: being out of my gym/work routine, and being stuck in the house means I'm eating just because I'm bored and have probably gained 5 pounds this week. I think I ate 100 cream puffs this week (just went to Costco and was going to bring these to preschool for my little one's birthday).

Con: CABIN FEVER. If you've ever been snowed in, you know what I mean. Family is great and all, but...

And the biggest CON: my sister, BIL, and almost 1 year old niece who has JUST learned to walk were supposed to fly in from North Carolina today. This is too sad to leave you with so I'll think of a final pro...

Pro: I got to hit Blockbuster before this second storm. It was funny because as expected, it was busy, but every customer had about 5 or 6 movies, bracing for another snow-in. Though I rarely have time to watch movies, not working means I don't have to get up at 5am, and that means I get to stay up really late (I am a night owl). I've had a Grey's Anatomy (DVR'd) marathon, watched Truman Show and Remember the Titans, watched The Wrestler last night (still can't get that out of my head), going to watch Julie and Julia tonight, and The Lady in the Water tomorrow night.

Pros and cons of a big snowfall

We're not necessarily "paralyzed" as the news reports claim, but the D.C. area certainly does not need an additional 10 to 20 inches of snow as predicted in the next 24 hours. Below is what we awakened to a couple of days ago - lots of beautiful, fluffy, snow! There are many pros and cons involved with a heavy snowfall. I thought my tropical blogger friends might appreciate some of the realities of living in this clime (more Northern friends know what I'm talking about all too well!). First pro/con reality: no school!!! And for those of us who work in schools, no work!!! This is the hugest YAY! a big snowfall can bring. Some cancellations are not so happily received - my master gardener class has been cancelled and I'm pretty sure Starbucks is closed too. Here's a con - and just a con for me since as I get older, I'm getting crankier - sledding. Having a younger child means I actually have to get out there and sled as well. Though the sledding is fun, taking off my glove every five seconds to wipe a little one's runny nose, isn't so fun. Carrying a little one back from the hill b/c she's sooooo tired is not so fun.



Pro: some of the most gorgeous scenery. Even the old creek we take for granted looks cool and refreshing.





Another beautiful pro: icicles! Does it get more idyllic than that? Con: now look at it another way - sharp daggers waiting to fall on some one's unsuspecting head! We'd been watching that big one get longer and longer, then decided to smash them all down. We suspected that the weight of the icicles on the gutters was an expensive spring repair waiting to happen.





Con: fines are doled out if residents do not shovel their sidewalks within a reasonable amount of time. Pro: each year it snows, I look forward to getting out there and shoveling. It really is fun to be out among neighbors, working on the sidewalk, but the work gets quickly tedious, especially if (con) there is a layer of ice below the 2 feet of snow.






Con: when there is this much snow, it's difficult to figure out where to even dump the snow! Here you can see the snow piled up on the corner of the driveway. My husband's car is actually on the street behind the snow.

Con: most of the smaller streets were not plowed until late in the day (our city is usually really good with this). With a snow like this, an unplowed road means you cannot travel through. One road which leads to our house was closed due to a fallen power line. Another was closed due to a fallen tree, and the other, I can navigate with my SUV, but most sedans cannot safely navigate due to the ice and the incline of the road. A neighbor's friend in another town over lost power for about 2 days when she asked me to go rescue her and her baby. Having no power means no heat, no ability to cook. Since people had ransacked the stores, and since the street for this friend had not been plowed, meant a very uncomfortable situation. Though I thought it would be an easy feat to drive my car out, when I got out there, I realized the best bet was to drive my husband's car in the photo below. Pro: we live on a larger street, so we'd been plowed when many secondary streets had not. Con: the drawback of plowing means all the cars on the street become blocked in with a thick and tall layer of plowed icy snow. It required a 4-person 30 minute dig out before we could go pick up the friend in need.

Con: after this magnolia below has survived ice storms, Brood-X cicadas, torrential rainfalls, and my cable tie tourniquet, alas it has been split in two sections. I don't see a pro here at all. :(

Pro: I think with a big snow storm like this, as long as one accepts the reality of some of these cons like I've mentioned, it can ultimately be kind of fun. You don't see photos of my older kid because she's been pretty much gone for the past few days - at the hill, at a friend's house, at a friend's hill, here. As long as there's a a dryer running to get wet clothes ready for the next sledding excursion, a continuous supply of hot cocoa and snacks, the older ones are content. Of course my younger one below, has also been having a grand time.

How to make it snow

This is what you see first thing in the morning if you're a kid who has 1) worn your pajamas inside out, 2) flushed multiple ice cubes down the toilet, and 3) yelled outside at night, "Let it snow"!

Then, you call all your friends and make sure they've done the same.

Below, the collection of kids' and their friends' wet gear after an afternoon's fun at the hill. If you're lucky, your mom makes hot cocoa and has snacks for everyone as you all watch holiday movies downstairs. Winter is grand when you're young!