A day in the life of the 2011 blizzard

What a difference a day (or three) makes!

The weathermen nailed this storm.

I came downstairs at 6:30 right after my AMS message from work telling me the office was closed.  Even grown-ups get snow days occasionally.  More like blizzard days I guess.  When I got to the bottom of the stairs it was FREEZING.  Of all nights, last night the batteries died in our programmable thermostat.

Seriously??

Tripp and I (mostly Tripp) did a quick check around the house to make sure everything was OK.  It’s an old house and things often go wrong on good days with no bad weather, so we (Tripp) just made sure all the faucets downstairs and in the basement were running.  Meanwhile, I grabbed the closest jacket I could find and sat huddled in a kitchen chair waiting for my coffee. 

Once it got light enough, I decided the best way for me to take care of things was to be the family historian/photo journalist and take pictures every 15 minutes!

This photo was taken at about 8:30 a.m.

Tripp, being the rugged, tough guy he is, decided that we needed to have at least one car out.  He spent the next hour shoveling out the gate and made a path from the driveway to the front door and also a path from the front door to the curb.  Daisy kept him company while I cheered him on from inside.

Tripp also decided to take a spin around the block just to see how bad the roads were.  Thought he might try to run to work for a bit.

He was back in less than five minutes.

Two hours later…and it’s still snowing.  Hard.

I was all jacked up on three cups of coffee so I  did a little laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and took some more (shaky) pictures. 

Then I had a BRILLIANT idea! 

I got two new bread cookbooks in the mail yesterday.

I couldn’t decide which method I wanted to try first, so I am conducting an experiment with both!  Genius right!  I made two batches of bread dough today and will bake them tomorrow.  I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, another two hours later….you got it…still snowing.

While Tripp shoveled a path to the backyard for the dogs, I made a batch of brownies.  And took some more pictures.

I’m utterly invaluable huh…

Another two hours later…shocker…still snowing.

And now instead of the flaky, crystalline snow it’s big, fluffy snow flakes.

Since I’d basically dirtied every baking utensil in my kitchen and exhausted my flour canister, I decided to pack it up and head upstairs for a long overdue nap.  But not before taking yet another picture…

The snow finally let up and when it was all said and done, we measured 14 inches in our backyard.

And then amazingly, the sun peeked out.

Which always makes me feel better.

So I guess we made it through the first day of the blizzard.  Who knows how long till things get back to normal (whatever that means).  But I have learned a few things-

1. My husband is a stud
2. My down comforter is incredibly warm and cozy
3. My daughter makes an excellent napping partner
4. I cannot be trusted with a full canister of flour

Peace, Kelly