“Batten Down the Hatches! Again? Yes, Again!!! -- February 9, 20109”

Batten down the Hatches or in other words, A MAJOR SNOW STORM is HEADED OUR WAY!!!

Again???!!!

I can’t believe I’m saying this for the third time this winter and the second time in one week!

Yes, we have another huge weather event headed our way. It’s actually here already as it began lightly snowing at 1:30pm this afternoon. The snow became heavier at about 3:30pm. All of the bare surfaces, the few that are out there, are already white. The photo below of Windy Meadow was taken about 4:30pm this afternoon as the storm was worsening.


The forecast is for between 10 to 20 inches of more snow over the next 24 hours!

They are also predicting higher winds this time so hopefully we won’t lose power. We are also hoping that the snow from this past weekend is packed down enough that it won’t add to the drifting problems.

I’m not sure where we are going to put the new snow as we still have over 2 feet of snow in the yard. We were able to get out late yesterday and then again today to pick up some more supplies. You ought to see the snow piles in the parking lots! There were still snow piles in many of the parking lots from the December 19, 2009 snow storm. Add in the snow from the February 6, 2010 snowstorm and we have mountains of snow! And a lot less room in many of the parking lots to park!

DH and I have been off of work for the last two days. We both work further south where they received 28 to 30 inches and the roads down there are still a mess. In addition a lot of trees are down on most of the major highways adding to the problem. We probably won’t be at work tomorrow as that will be the height of the storm and it will be questionable whether or not our respective places of employment will be open on Wednesday or even on Thursday. We’ve never been closed for this long, not even in the 1994 snow storms!

The public schools let out early this past Friday right before the snow storm worsened. They are still closed and will probably be closed for the rest of the week. Then on next Monday and Tuesday they are scheduled to be closed for Presidents Day and the day after. So DS may not be going back to school until a week from this Wednesday!

Yesterday, DH was a little bit under the weather so DS and I went out to Panera for lunch. We then stopped by the grocery store to restock on bread and bananas and a few other things. It’s amazing how much food we go through when we are all home as usually we eat our lunches at work and school! I then stopped by the local park so DS could do some sledding. Then we both came home and spent about an hour with the shovels getting the packed snow off the top of the driveway by the road where the plow pushed it back on our driveway. We also made sure to clear out the packed snow in front of our mailbox. Thank goodness we were up by the main road as suddenly a buck and two doe came running through the snow along the side of our property line, across the street, and down through the next yard. A car was slowly coming down our road, we are still down to slightly over one car width of cleared road, and he stopped when he saw the buck crossing the road. I started waving so he would know to not move as he couldn’t see the does. When they passed I was able to wave him on. As he drove by he rolled down his window and thanked me. :-)

In this area, we know if there is one deer there are going to be more! But we were able to let him know that there were only three and that it was safe for him to continue. It was also fun to see the deer running through the snow as they take huge leaps with snow flying! Two feet of snow does not slow them down!

We then had fun clearing the packed snow that was rapidly turning into ice from the main/flat part of the driveway. Usually, I would just let it go as it would be gone in about two days with the winter sun, but with another 10 to 20 inches on its way, we both thought we needed to clean up the packed snow and ice. It’s a lot of fun working with DS as he tells stories, pretends the snow is attacking us, has fun seeing how far he can throw the snow from his shovel, etc. Always and adventure! This was a nice workout for both of us so when we were done it was time to unpack the car, take showers and just goof off. :-)

What did we do when running around today? While DH was getting more gas for the snow blower, running a few errands, and then putting the two cars in the garage, I made a quick stop for several paperbacks and magazines for me and a new DVD for DS, plus a few other odds and ends. DH and I met for a quick lunch at Five Guys, love the burgers and fries, as DS wanted to stay home and catch up with everyone on Facebook.

Since I want to play with my quilting I decided to stop by Joann’s earlier today to pick up a couple of fat quarters. I thought this was a good idea, especially, since I’m a very novice quilter and I don’t want to ruin the good fabric! I have this vision of sitting in front of the TV watching the Winter Olympics while doing some English Paper Piecing to make a quilt. I’ll post a progress picture when I have something to share that hopefully won’t be embarrassing! LOL!

We just finished getting the candles, flashlights, and camping lantern ready, and filling up a bathtub with water (we are on well and septic and if the power goes out, we can't flush as the well pump stops pumping). We washed the dishes and now we’re doing laundry so we’re all caught up if we lose power. We are now all at home, warm, safe and dry.

DH already called our wandering plow guy so that he will stop by and dig us out again after this storm passes. So hopefully, we’ll be able to get out on Thursday or at the latest on Friday.

While we are snowed in we are planning on doing a few chores, playing a bunch of games and hopefully watching some movies if we have power. I'm also planning on washing and pressing some of my new fabrics.

Stitching? Oh, yes, I finished the January, 2010 light bulb ornament for the February Christmas SAL and I’ve already started the February, 2010 light bulb. I’m also planning on putting Uncle Sam back on the table as I need to finish him up by June, 2010 for the Black Eyed Susans challenge.

I’ll be sharing a photo of the finished January, 2010 light bulb ornament with everyone soon. :-)

We’ll be thinking again of our police officers, volunteer fire, EMT personnel, State Highway employees, and the personnel at the local Hospitals and wishing them well. Thank goodness we have them!

Many of them have been working non-stop since the first storm. Hopefully, we’ll get a break in the weather so they can have a chance to rest!

Today, the Mayor of Baltimore put out an all hands call asking for help from any private contractor with snow equipment. In addition, there are repeated reminders on both the TV and radio stations asking everyone to stay home and off the roads! Hopefully all will listen and honor their requests.

Vancouver, would you like some snow? We have some to spare that we would gladly send North! LOL!!!

I hope everyone in the path of this new storm, stays safe, dry, warm and that you hopefully find some time to stitch!

I also wanted to add that I appreciate everyone’s comments! I read and smile over each and every one. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that I have friends who enjoy reading my blog and who have been thinking of us and everyone in this area during these challenging storms. Thank you!

Cynthia
A Very Snowy Windy Meadow