Snow!

It's been such a hectic week, I didn't even get a chance to write about this past weekend's epic snowstorm. Now, you know how much I love winter, and I dearly love a good snow, but this winter has been pretty disappointing so far since that random freak storm at the beginning of November.

Well, last weekend made up for it in spades.

From the way the news was talking about the impending blizzard, you would think that the apocalypse was near. I know that after Sandy the Northeast is a little weather-wary, but honestly, this is winter. It snows. Sometimes it snows a lot. No need to stockpile canned goods and bottled water.

I did head to the grocery store on Thursday night to buy our special snow day snacks. When I was growing up and it would snow (which living in Pittsburgh, it did, and often), my mom would have special treats for us when we came in from playing outside, and I saw no reason not to carry that tradition into my adult life. So I stocked up on hot chocolate, ice cream, and stuff to make cookies and grilled cheese. The basics, you know?

When I woke up Friday morning, it was already snowing. In the city it was still all rain, but in the northern suburbs, the accumulation had begun.

By the time I left my office at 2, after the powers that be closed the office early, the city was a slushy, cold mess, and I hobbled my way to Grand Central Station for the train home. There wasn't much snow yet, but the second the train crossed into Westchester County, the world turned white, the roads were a disaster, and I had to clean off my car before I could drive it home.

Messy Roads

Good thing I bought an SUV

I learned to drive in Florida, and don't have a whole lot of snow driving experience, so I still get a little uneasy when this is happening outside my car:

Anyway, I made it home unscathed, and we settled in for a night of howling winds and falling snow. And we weren't disappointed. We woke up in the morning to blue skies, frigid air, and a sparkling white world.

This is what 22 inches of snow looks like on my back porch.
There are steps under there somewhere

We own a house now, so instead of sitting back and letting someone else clear the sidewalks, we realized pretty quickly that it was our responsibility, so we got the shovels out and got to work. Unfortunately, the plows on our street decided that the top of our driveway was an excellent place to deposit all the snow they plowed off the street, so we had a little work ahead of us. It took both of us, and two hours, but we finally dug everything out.

And even though I stuck close to home on Saturday, nothing would do but that I take my Sunday morning run through the still snowy streets.

The only problem with the snow? There was too much of it to melt all the way in the 40 degree temperatures we have had the past couple of days, so unfortunately, all that glorious white snow I loved so much now looks like this:

Major yuck, and with the roller-coaster temperatures and a little more wet snow on the way tonight, I think this mess will be sticking around for awhile. Too bad it can't stay white and beautiful forever right?