Snowmageddon

As Jason and I drove to work the other day, listening to the outrageous weather report on the radio, we wondered what it will be like when someday we move to an area that doesn't freak out when it snows. I'm pretty convinced that there are areas of the country where people actually drive, work, and go to school when it snows. Here? People usually refuse to leave their houses when the first few flakes fall. It is pretty difficult to explain to Idahoans who call our office that the Congressman's staff is all at home because it is snowing--as we tell our interns, it's not that you can't drive on snowy roads, it's that no one else on the road can.


But hey, since we're here, we might as well jump into the crazed-out-ness with both boots, right? I think calling this storm "Snowmageddon" is a bit ridiculous, but it is one of DC's biggest snow storms in recorded history. That's why there was no school in Arlington and the government shut down 4 hours early, even though the snow didn't start to stick to the roads until around 4:00 yesterday. That's also why Jason got up at 6:45 a.m. yesterday to go fight the crowds the grocery store because we were out of milk and the county had warned folks to be prepared to not go out for 3-5 days...we tried to go on Thursday, but the shelves were bare and the wait at checkout was nearly an hour. The weather folks around here have a bad habit of using "snow" and "blizzard" synonymously, but this time at least there were actual blizzard conditions.



For the record, we are not freaking out. We are suffering through a long weekend with a full pantry, a pile of fire logs, and stacks of things to do. This is seriously the best winter ever.

So far, we have:
* Watched it snow outside. A lot. Once it finally stopped this evening, we measured 18 inches. That's a lot of snow to fall in one day.

* Read Pride and Prejudice. Because sometimes January is just too much to bear, and Jane Austen is the only thing that gets me through. I sat by the fire last night until I finished it.

*Did yoga together. Jason did his first downward facing dog after breakfast this morning. I suspect it will also be his last.* Eaten split pea soup. What is a snow storm without soup? Our tummies are still warm from the yumminess of split pea soup. Mmmm...
* Baked. The breadmaker has proven once again that is is not just taking up space, making a batch of homemade bagels a snap. Maybe there's still time for cookies tonight.

* Planned the garden. Nearly 20 inches of snow covers my garden, but that isn't stopping me from picking out seeds and plants for planting this spring! My friend Deanna is planting her first garden this year, so we've been pouring over seed catalogs.

* Started the 2010 budget process. Dangerous to discuss the budget when we are stuck in the house together for three days, I know, but as this is our 6th budget process, we've managed to minimize the more intense...discussions. Besides, we're being gazelle-intense.
* Made snow cream. First time for both of us--we intended to do it during the last big storm, but we got distracted by packing and Christmas, etc. Yum!
Church has, unfortunately, already been canceled for tomorrow, and they're waiting until afternoon to see whether Monday will be another day off. I think a snowman is in order...