First of all… why do all storms have to be named now?  Next thing you know people are going to start naming their bouts of influenza or sinus infections.  “Oh, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner, I was down and out with Head Cold Seamus.”

Okay, now onto more serious matters…

The snow started to fall lightly last night about 9 PM, and when I rolled out of bed this morning at the crack of 7, we had about eight inches or so of really wet, heavy snow.  I fueled up on bacon and eggs (the breakfast of champions) with a side of coffee, donned my winter gear and headed out into the world to shovel the walkways and a path to the barn.  Thankfully I had the wherewithal to talk to the neighbor across the way who has a bobcat.  That’s some good thinking, Sarah.  Thank you!

Dearest Husband (#1… maybe I’ll explain one day.  I can’t let Jules go around thinking she’s the only one with multiple “husbands”) had a message from his corporate office to stay at home and attempt to work.  I’m attempting to facilitate his working by remaining quiet; of course I type that, he tells me that it’s “too quiet!  I can’t work in the quiet!” and that he’s headed outside to knock snow off the satellite dish to hopefully restore the signal.  And here I thought that I was bad with distractions…

My shoveling adventure took me a half hour, plus an additional fifteen minutes of “jawwing” with the neighbor who is plowing our driveway.  The winds were fairly calm when we started, but by the end we were hit with some decent gusts and decided we better quit our yakking and get back to work.  I even had the foresight to go knock snow from our small pine trees and sequoia to help them out under their heavy loads.

The rest of my day will involved with hoping the power stays up (the utility companies already having made at least one pass checking lines) and the blizzard isn’t as bad as they say it might get.  I’ll also be mixing up my great-grandma’s Christmas “Cut Out” cookies in gluten and dairy-free form, maybe some cornmeal blueberry muffins and perhaps some fudge.  Oh, and crocheting.  I’m attempting to finish up a Christmas present.  I don’t have much left to do, but my hands gave up last night after about 6 hours of working on the project-in-question.

If you don’t live in areas affected by winter storms with lots of snow, the three most important things you can have in addition to your normal “Emergency Gear” are:  toilet paper (lots of it), hot cocoa and booze.  My parents instilled in my the inherent need to make sure the house is well stocked with papier hygiénique (ooh la la!  I typed that in French!).  Heavy snows always meant a phone call from my Mom asking, “How much toilet paper do we have at the house?”  Four rolls or less was cause to make a stop at the store on the way home.  Now, I buy in bulk – I bought an 18-pack last weekend!  As for the hot cocoa and booze – there is always plenty on hand.

If you live in areas affected, stay at home.  Stay warm.  Stay safe.  And I hope you’re stocked up on toilet paper, hot cocoa and booze.

In the meanwhile… enjoy a photo from out one of my windows.  I’ll be following the advice of Michael over at Strange Trip Times and enjoying some hot cocoa with a little “something” added.

It’s Magical!