I had to come up with something for supper, but didn’t feel like getting groceries on such a snowy day.
As usual, there was a long, deep drift across the front of the house that extended across the sidewalk. I’d have to wade through snow a couple feet deep and more to get to my car…!
Visibility was maybe 100 ft. (30.5 meters) ahead, and the roads hadn’t been cleared yet, especially of people who don’t understand turning on their lights helps others see them, if not them see others. I had visions of getting t-boned at an intersection if I went out and drove…!
But I had an urge for spaghetti and meatballs, so I came up with a plan. I’d buy a large Subway meatball sandwich, put those meatballs in the sauce, and toast the bread they came on in the oven!
I’d have to drive completely across town to get the sandwich, but I thought I could manage if I followed snow routes, main streets that get first attention for snow removal. (But not until after the snow stops! Oops!)
The drive proved uneventful, though, and I arrived safely back home…with the prized meatball submarine sandwich, holding eight ready-to-go meatballs.
Carpet isn’t the best floor covering at the door in snow country…!
After I put the meatballs in the sauce, I saw the boys wanted to satisfy their curiosity about the latest snowstorm, which still raged outside with strong drift-making winds. I opened the door wide in the little ritual my cats and I have for snow days.
Dougy wasn’t too sure he actually wanted to get closer now that he saw how furiously it was blowing and snowing. Andy took one look from the distance and ran back into the front room.
No snow for Andy! He got the picture! And so much for our little snow day ritual. Dougy’s a brave boy, though, and he slowly eased up to the edge of the door — as far as Andy usually goes — and stopped to take in the scene.
Brave but not stupid! No way was he going to venture out into that storm!
“Snow” much for curiosity! Dougy ran off to join Andy in the warm front room!
My mail carrier may have scared off Dougy. I didn’t hear her coming, but Dougy surely did. I gratefully accepted the mail from this poor, frozen servant of the people. That’s her across the lane trudging up a handicap ramp covered in another drift. My neighbor gets a big drift the length of the ramp up to her front door.
You can’t see it, but the car on the left has a huge overhang of snow on the south (left) side. Before I could drive to get the meatball sandwich, I had to knock a similar overhang of snow from my car, the one pointed toward the camera. That’s the way it is here. The wind comes from the north, big drifts form on the opposite side of the cars. There always is a big overhang of snow and a deep drift along the driver’s side of the car unless…
…I back my car into the spot, then the big drift isn’t on the driver’s side.
Winter driving in snow country is as much about strategy as it is defensive driving. I ignored the snow warning the day before, then had to deal with the snow overhang and the long, deep drift I had to wade through to unbury my car. I got needlessly wet and cold, and tracked a lot of snow into my car. Backing into the parking space, I avoid the worst of the problem.
One further hassle: windshield wipers that freeze to the windshield. I turn my car off before the windshield wipers return to the bottom of the cycle, and the melted snow drains off them instead of pooling around them and freezing. I’m ready for the next snow now!
🙁
p.s.: Bing never sang wistfully about a “white January”! Of course, he was from Seattle and lived most of his life in Southern California. What did he know about it?
🙂
p.p.s.: The spaghetti and meatballs tasted great!
Besides, he was a dog person. Couldn’t trust him anyway. 🙂
Ha! Ha! I guess the stories his son told in his book about his life with his famous and famously abusive father were exaggerations, but, for all we know, he kicked the dog from time to time because the dog couldn’t write a book and his son could…!
(chimes in) yeah, what did Bing know? I’m freezing my tuckus out there! Woof!
You got that right! We’re a bit frost-bitten there, too!
Piddling on the computer?? Stop that, you’ll void your warranty! 🙂
I’ve seen your gravatar quite often on blogs I follow, and finally meandered over to see who in the heck this weggieboy was/is. And, I read every bit of the “Who I am” page, by the way.
See you around the blogs.
Yes, “snow is nice once a year” as you say. We just got our own snow overnight, and now it’s raining, so you can imagine the driving and accidents. I’m glad we had warning and went shopping yesterday before it got bad. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! 🙂
Thanks! I’m just catching up on washing clothes and piddling on the computer. No stress here, believe it!
Rain here this morning, Doug. My world is wrapped in a light grey shroud of mists and low hanging clouds.
I can always tell when someone comes up the walk to the door. Cats start growling and running for cover. Our mail carier only comes down the drive when packages are too big to fit in the box. She blasts the horn to let us know she is there. Every cat runs for cover!
Here, they greet visitors at the door, and usually follow the visitor, trying to sniff them and rub on their legs. Reminds me of what I used to say about the late Louie the ginger cat, who greeted people, too: Snoopy is a dog. Louie is snoopy. Therefore, Louie is a dog.” [Wink! Wink!] 😉
Still waiting for our snow…!
Glad you could eat your desired meal too!
Snow’s nice once a year, then I can do without it! Ha!
If only we could get, even once!!!
Be careful what you wish for…! LOL!
Actually I’d like it tonight… Now in fact, so I can’t get to school in the morning! (In the UK, they are NEVER prepared, even with advance warning!) or maybe during the day tomorrow, so we get sent home. I need Hubby Dearest to get to work, it’s his first day in a new job, and he has to be away two days, so as long as he arrives safely!
Best wishes for a good start in your husband’s new job, Ritu!
Last year, Atlanta had a real stinker of a storm that caused the governor of the state a lot of political grief because he didn’t rally the snow removal troops in a timely manner and the Interstate was jammed full of people and their cars and trucks that were in accidents or stuck and had to be abandoned till better weather and road crews allowed a clean-up.
I’ve a sister who lives in Seattle, Washington, and a little snow there (in a very hilly city!) is a recipe for disaster and bumper car traffic, with lots of multiple car smash-ups.
For that matter, Interstate 80, the major east-west road through the middle latitude of the US, was closed in the Western Nebraska segment yesterday by the weather, mostly because of blowing snow obscuring visibility.
The State of Wyoming blocked the road at the state border since it wasn’t much better there.
The state patrol opened the road again after three hours, but strongly advised people not to travel on it or other roads in the area except in instances of extreme need.
My parents are in Finland at the moment, enjoying meeting their new grandson, (my brother and sis in law live there, so we now have a Finnjabi in the family! finnish and Punjabi!)
As you can well imagine, Finland, lots of snow! My parents are amazed at how its dealt with there, with no fuss, the sheer amount that falls there,compared to here is immense, yet no reason to shut roads, schools, airports!
Why don’t we learn??! No, that would be too easy!
Neat! I can’t imagine what it must be like moving from a place where light clothing is sufficient year around to a place where the sun barely breaks the horizon in Winter, and snow is measured in meters, but I like the idea of a Finnjabi child! For that matter, though you are farther north than I am (42°N), you have a more moderate climate than here because of the Gulf Stream, I believe it is.
Lol! You’re more knowledgeable aboiut these things than me, but yet we get it quite mild, and being in the South East, we tend to get the mildest weather in the country the majority of the time!
Do you have Google Earth loaded on your computer or device? I like to take “trips” to random places or places I read about in the news just to see what they look like on the ground and in the typical neighborhoods. Get into places on the south coast of England, and you see what look like palm trees in people’s gardens! What???
Yes I do, its great isnt it! I love to see our homes back in Kenya and India! Here, there is a house down our road and yes they actually do have a palm tree in their front garden!! That’s in Kent!
I’m glad I wasn’t hallucinating! Ha!
Ha ha! No, nothing wrong with your eyes! 😊
It just goes in the face of every thing I associate with England in particular, and UK in general: a cold, rainy country full of pasty-faced people who are warm-hearted if reserved, but definitely short on Vitamin D from lack of exposure to the sun! LOL! So much for stereotypes.
Well I guess that old adage is so true… Never judge a book by its cover!
😉
I see that you’ve got some of the White stuff there and had to tromp thru the snow to enjoy a sandwich. I’m sorry to report that we have not had any snow here yet. It’s just plain wet, cold, grey, and miserable outside. I’m hoping the weather get’s much better so I can get out with my camera. As far as Meatball sandwiches are concerned, I do enjoy having one on occasion from the store that is just down the road from us. Be well and stay warm there.
I don’t have to go out till Wednesday, when I volunteer at a local museum. Last week, however, we didn’t open because of the subzero weather and the low likelihood of anyone showing up. If we don’t open this week (less likely to happen since it’s supposed to get relatively warmer), the next time I need to get out is Thursday, when the boys have an appointment with their groomer.
If you’d like, I’ll trade some of my white for some of your wet!
I’m glad you could have your spaghetti and meatballs safely after such an adventure – I’ m sure they tasted even better for the same reason! 🙂
Exactly! Why I decided I had to have it with meatballs instead of plain with sauce and Parmesan cheese I don’t know, but once I made up my mind, it was inevitable I’d go out in a snowstorm to get the missing ingredient! Ha!
Ok, here is some advice to “snow country” *slightly sniggering*: Take the windshield-wipers away from the glass – that way they cannot freeze on the pane. Or put in some foil-windscreen-saver – like those:
http://www.bettmer.de/Haushalt-Genuss/Auto-Werkzeug/Autozubehoer/Windschutzscheiben-Folie-Anti-Frost.html (That is a german website with advertising-goodies – but I am sure you can get that in snow-country in every supermarket.)
Interesting! I suspect there is such a thing over here, too, if I look for it. Amazon probably carries them, for that matter. I’ll check!
Cannot promise it will not freeze onto the pane when rain comes down – but it is foil – tin foil, it should not, unless it is encrusted with ice.
Amazon had something that covered the whole windshield and was held in place with the windshield wipers and flaps that you shut in the doors. I think maybe silicon cutting mats for the kitchen might do as good a job if placed under the wipers. Of course, a nice heated garage would be best of all!
some people here use cardboard – but I think that runs the risk of getting stuck when it gets too wet.
I know people who just place a blanket over the window and secure it under the windshield wipers and (I guess) by the doors. It seems to me it’s have to be something that didn’t absorb water to be effective. I would think that the blanket would be like the cardboard if wet!
I love how crisp and white the snow looks in your pic. Snow never looks like that around here!
It was still snowing when I took the photos and hadn’t had time to get that worn look it gets after it melts and people and animals track all over it! It will look much the worse for wear by Monday as the temperatures are supposed to go above freezing for the first time in days.
Come to think of it, the strong winds smooth and sculpt it, too, giving it lovely shapes where it drifts over and around objects.
I love the idea of snow much more than actually having it – mainly because I don’t live walking distance to the kids school so I tend to have to keep them off if the snow gets bad (its very hilly here!). We didn’t get any snow at all winter 2013/14.
If I don’t have to go out in it for any reason, I like it, but sometimes there is no option. I think you are wise to handle it the way you do for your kids!