Merry Christmas!

The eye of the storm

I'm inclined to think that if the weather weren't so crazy all over the country--snow in Las Vegas and New Orleans??--then you would have already heard about our very literal storm of a lifetime. But since the wild weather of the Inland Northwest was trumped by other storms in more metropolitan areas, I am taking it upon myself to give you the rundown of our week.

Between Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning we had 37.5 inches of snow. I have seen three feet of snow before, but I have never seen it come all at once in the same storm over such a short period of time. Apparently no one else has either--at least in this neck of the woods--since this storm broke every snowfall record in the region. By Thursday morning we were completely snowed in, although Jeremy very diligently kept our walkway and driveway plowed--he shoveled five times during the storm.


Clara loved getting all bundled up and going out to play in the snow. She took her snow shovel (a big black spoon) and helped Jeremy, then she went sledding on a cookie sheet down the driveway. The only thing she didn't like is when she tried to wade across the street through two feet of snow to find the neighbors light-up nativity scene. She fell face-first into the snow and got herself a nice snowburn across her nose and under her eyes for her efforts.



The plows finally rolled through yesterday morning, and I took my life into my hands by venturing to the grocery store along with what must have been the entire population of the county, all moving very slowly on plowed but dangerous roads. But now we have milk to last us through the next storm (six to 10 inches predicted tomorrow and Monday!) and we're grateful that Jeremy works from home so he doesn't have to venture out in the foul weather. The only downside to this series of storms is that the snowplow deposited a 10-foot (I kid you not!) mountain of snow in our front yard as it came around the bend. Oh well. Clara will be sledding until June at this rate on our very own mini-mountain.

:::Jeremy and Clara play in what Jeremy has since dubbed the "chump change snow" on Wednesday evening:::


:::"Just a man and his snow shovel," as Jeremy has been fond of saying recently. Also, he likes to call those his "snow khakis":::


:::Clara and me in our driveway. That's the street behind us, which may explain why we didn't venture out:::


:::The aftermath--Saturday morning:::

Carpet naps

Clara decided yesterday that she needed to take a short rest on the carpet--probably because Jonathan was lying on one of her blankets and it suddenly looked like a grand time. I put the "crown" blanket and pillow--which she recently got from her great-grandmother--on the floor, then put all of her other "covers" on her, then she told me to leave so she could take her short rest.

"Should I take Jonathan?" I asked.

"Jon-than Care-la short rest! Carpet!" she replied, nodding emphatically.


So I left. Jonathan, as you can see, was pleased as punch to be near his "sisty," and Clara was bound and determined to take her rest on the carpet. I only left them alone for about two minutes before going in to get Jonathan. She protested fiercely, but I just told her that Jonathan wasn't tired yet.

Believe it or not, she did not fall asleep on the floor, although she did lie there for quite some time--probably 30 minutes. Then I heard a little knock at her door. I went to open it, and I found Clara standing there, all done with her "nap."

"Fun rest, Mom," she said.

Forty-five minutes later, she was fast asleep in her bed. I just love that girl.


By the way, please stay tuned for a report on our current weather. Even after two winters in Syracuse, I have never seen the likes of snow like this. We're at 33 inches and counting--all in the last 24 hours or so. Also we're snowed in. Fear not, though: we have milk and we have diapers. What more could we wish for?

Baby, it's cold outside!

For some reason I thought it would be less cold and dark in the Inland Northwest than it was in Central New York. I was wrong. This is the farthest north we've ever lived, and I guess that comes with cold and dreary winter weather. I'm told this is colder than usual--and I hope that's true, since I think four of the next seven days will have a high temperature under 3 degrees. Brrrr!

Before the real arctic air settled in, Jeremy and Clara enjoyed a romp in the backyard snow. Clara was insistent that Jeremy make her a snowman with a carrot nose. The snow was so dry, though, that it was nearly impossible to form a ball, so she ended up with a 10-inch snowman--though it was made with the three traditional snowballs and had a teeny-tiny carrot nose.


Happy winter!