Snowzilla!

The side of my house during the blizzard.

Hey, everyone — it’s been a crazy few days here in DC. Much of the East Coast of the US got buried by the Blizzard of 2016 (called Snowzilla by the Washington Post.) They’re still arguing about the snow totals because apparently the dopes at the airport forgot how to measure snow, but unofficially this is probably the second biggest snowstorm after the 1922 Knickerbocker storm.

As a mostly lifelong resident of the area, I can remember the big ones. And this was definitely up there. I’m grateful that our power stayed on, and that my two oldest (one in rural VA and one in NYC) are safe and sound, and that despite a lot of coastal property damage, in terms of loss of life it could have been a lot worse, and it wasn’t.

Fat Stanley the Maltese and Lila the poodle checking out the walkway trenches we dug.

I’m whipped. I have shoveled a lot of snow. I am too old for this, I tell ya. But I got out there and shoveled. I shoveled through 3 – 4 feet of snowpack along our front walkway, along the sidewalks… dug out a patch for the dogs out back. You just get through it, you know? I was prepared — flashlights, extra food, etc. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous. It’s times like these I miss having a man around to help out with the heavy lifting. But the twins stepped up, particularly Buckethead. They’re thirteen. It’s funny what you can get through if you put your mind to it.

The federal government is closed for the second day, and school’s out. I’m going to take some ibuprofen and a hot shower and count my blessings. I’ve been chatting about gardening with Anita because it’s nice to look forward to digging in the dirt in the spring. Out there, under all that snow, my garden is waiting.