Blizzard

Winter took it's sweet time showing up this year. Christmas was a balmy 75 degrees, and even into January we weren't seeing temperatures much lower than 40. But the temperature finally dropped and a storm came through, giving us our first snow of the season.

It started last Wednesday with a light dusting. We only got about an inch, but the temperature plummeted so quickly when the sun went down that all of the roads in the area became a sheet of ice. It shook people up even more than normal because we knew we were getting hit with the blizzard starting Friday evening. The snow wasn't supposed to start until late Friday afternoon, but a fair number of people didn't go to work. The whole morning was bright and clear and eerily quiet, like some sort of ghost town.

There was a lot of concern about the evening rush hour. Everyone wanted to get home before the snow started and caused a mess everywhere. And I was a little worried that they'd decide to shut down the trains early. So I went home at 1, even though the snow had just barely started. Kevin had stocked us up with food and alcohol, so once I got home we went into full hibernation mode. We set up our extra mattress in the basement with plenty of pillows and blankets and parked ourselves there with food and wine, only venturing out to walk Kina while we could still get to the park.

On Saturday morning we woke up to a surprising amount of snow. Kevin and several other neighbors spent the morning beginning to clear off the sidewalks, and Kina had fun running around the snow maze with the German Shepherd who lives next door. It was nice to be able to let her run around without her leash, since the snow kept her from going too far. That stopped once we'd dug out to the street and the Bobcat started plowing the roads. By the afternoon there were too many other dogs and too much open space to let Kina roam free, but she had fun while it lasted.

We spent the weekend huddled up watching TV and playing games. We were lucky in that we never lost power. And both our neighbors and our HOA were great about snow removal. The snow had finished falling when we woke up Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon our whole neighborhood was completely dug out. The rest of the area was not so lucky.

On Monday, the trains weren't running above ground, so I elected to take a sick day and stay home. It was a little strange to be taking a snow day, especially since we had no problem getting to Safeway in the afternoon and the snow had long stopped falling. But it was nice to get the extra bit of vacation.

The trains still weren't running to my stop on Tuesday, but I didn't feel like I could justify taking another sick day. I took the car we'd dug out and drove to work. The commute wasn't even too bad, since the government and schools were still officially closed. And warmer temperatures meant that the roads were clear and most of the snow banks were well on their way to melting.

It was a fantastic weekend. I'm always glad for an excuse to just hang out at home for a few days, and the snow was gorgeous. I hope we get more snow before the season ends this year, but I'll be content with a few inches. One good snowstorm is enough to keep me sated until next year. Not that I'd mind getting stuck at home again. Especially since I have plenty of sick time to use if it does happen.