Sure, I could post more pictures of white stuff, but why? The big dig continues. Husband went in to work today - they brought them in on a 4 hour delay. I'm still off work - I don't know If I'll be in tomorrow or not. The University of Maryland system has postponed move in day and classes again. I'm ready for middle child to report back to school. His move in day was moved from Saturday to Weds, and now we're waiting to see if they're actually going to let him move in on Weds, or if it's going to get pushed back one more day.
I never thought I'd say I want to go back to work, but.... I'm really ready to go back to work.
Showing posts with label blizzards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blizzards. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
Blizzard 2016
It's Monday and my internet is back up and running!
It's day 4 - and the clean up continues. Our driveway is cleared. We are digging the cars out today. I don't know if we'll be in to work tomorrow, but at least our cars can dry off. I really don't want to leave the snow on the cars for one more day - we'll have to chip through a layer of ice to get into the cars if we wait much longer. The snowplows came through our neighborhood at 2:30 this morning, and then they spent the next several hours not only cleaning out the snow, but widening the paths. I got up to watch for a while, and was surprised to see that the driver of the big earth mover not only widened the road, but went to the trouble of clearing out the snow walls from the bottom of the driveways that had already been cleared. In the picture above, you can see the earth mover, and one of the county maintenance trucks. The big machine broke down around 7, and the maintenance truck showed up and worked on the rig for about half an hour before it got up and running again. I'm glad that the people showed up in the picture for scale. It gives you an idea of how huge the snow piles are.
As of today, we are still under a state of emergency. If you hang out on social media at all, people are whining and complaining because they're snowed in, they don't have enough food, they're bored, it's not fair, the snow removal trucks are moving too slow... this list goes on and on. Sad thing is, the warnings were out for over a week that this was going to be an ugly storm, and the dig out was going to be arduous. It's not like they didn't know that they needed to have supplies to be in place for a week. The governor mentioned last Thursday to make certain you had enough supplies to be on your own for a week. Planning, people, planning.
Sunset in my neighborhood last night. Look at that beautiful, clear sky! It was a beautiful sunset! At this point in time, our street had not yet been cleared.
We've been hanging in there. The house is cleaner that it has been in a long while. Not only is the basement cleaner, so is the kitchen. I've been able to sort through stuff that I've been wanting to sort through for a while now. Laundry has been DONE. I mean, really done. All of the laundry. I'm never this caught up on my laundry! If I'm snowbound for much longer, I'm going to be hitting up the scrapbook pile earlier than I had planned on! I need to assess how far behind I am and work out a plan to get caught up this year.
We've baked a lot over the past couple of days. Pumpkin muffins - made with pumpkin from my half bushel that I bought earlier this fall. Chocolate Chip cookies, and gluten free bread. Yum! I have a pot roast in the oven for dinner tonight, and last night, I made a big batch of porcupine meatballs. It's been a long time since I've had porcupine meatballs, and they were so very, very good.
As of now, Maryland is still under a State of Emergency. State Government is closed, as is the Federal Government, and all of the school systems. The road crews are still struggling to get all of the highways open, and the side streets and back roads are an absolute mess. I'm certain that you heard the Governor closed down I-70 and 270 on Saturday night due to accidents. This is the first time I remember the highways being shut down in Maryland in the 25 years that I've lived here.
I'm more than a little concerned about flooding. Our temps are supposed to go way up into the 50's mid-week. If it gets that high, and all of this snow melts at once, we are going to have some very ugly flooding. So glad I live at the top of a hill!
It's day 4 - and the clean up continues. Our driveway is cleared. We are digging the cars out today. I don't know if we'll be in to work tomorrow, but at least our cars can dry off. I really don't want to leave the snow on the cars for one more day - we'll have to chip through a layer of ice to get into the cars if we wait much longer. The snowplows came through our neighborhood at 2:30 this morning, and then they spent the next several hours not only cleaning out the snow, but widening the paths. I got up to watch for a while, and was surprised to see that the driver of the big earth mover not only widened the road, but went to the trouble of clearing out the snow walls from the bottom of the driveways that had already been cleared. In the picture above, you can see the earth mover, and one of the county maintenance trucks. The big machine broke down around 7, and the maintenance truck showed up and worked on the rig for about half an hour before it got up and running again. I'm glad that the people showed up in the picture for scale. It gives you an idea of how huge the snow piles are.
As of today, we are still under a state of emergency. If you hang out on social media at all, people are whining and complaining because they're snowed in, they don't have enough food, they're bored, it's not fair, the snow removal trucks are moving too slow... this list goes on and on. Sad thing is, the warnings were out for over a week that this was going to be an ugly storm, and the dig out was going to be arduous. It's not like they didn't know that they needed to have supplies to be in place for a week. The governor mentioned last Thursday to make certain you had enough supplies to be on your own for a week. Planning, people, planning.
Sunset in my neighborhood last night. Look at that beautiful, clear sky! It was a beautiful sunset! At this point in time, our street had not yet been cleared.
 |
| Tiger |
We've been hanging in there. The house is cleaner that it has been in a long while. Not only is the basement cleaner, so is the kitchen. I've been able to sort through stuff that I've been wanting to sort through for a while now. Laundry has been DONE. I mean, really done. All of the laundry. I'm never this caught up on my laundry! If I'm snowbound for much longer, I'm going to be hitting up the scrapbook pile earlier than I had planned on! I need to assess how far behind I am and work out a plan to get caught up this year.
We've baked a lot over the past couple of days. Pumpkin muffins - made with pumpkin from my half bushel that I bought earlier this fall. Chocolate Chip cookies, and gluten free bread. Yum! I have a pot roast in the oven for dinner tonight, and last night, I made a big batch of porcupine meatballs. It's been a long time since I've had porcupine meatballs, and they were so very, very good.
As of now, Maryland is still under a State of Emergency. State Government is closed, as is the Federal Government, and all of the school systems. The road crews are still struggling to get all of the highways open, and the side streets and back roads are an absolute mess. I'm certain that you heard the Governor closed down I-70 and 270 on Saturday night due to accidents. This is the first time I remember the highways being shut down in Maryland in the 25 years that I've lived here.
I'm more than a little concerned about flooding. Our temps are supposed to go way up into the 50's mid-week. If it gets that high, and all of this snow melts at once, we are going to have some very ugly flooding. So glad I live at the top of a hill!
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Blizzard of 2016
 |
| Friday night at sundown. Doesn't look like much, does it? |
The snow storm of the century has begun! Last night, the weather was still a little wimpy. I had expected it to roll in with a huge crash-bang! But no, it silently tiptoed in. Tiny little snowflakes wandered lazily down from the sky, meandering on their own independent pathways on a slow, gentle, journey towards the ground. The State of Emergency for Maryland began early yesterday. We had originally planned a college trip with the middle child in order to look at a graduate school in Virginia. We cancelled our plans Weds. morning and decided we'd wait until spring break. Since I already had the day off, I didnd't go in at all. We met up with friends for breakfast at Panera. I was surprised to see how many people were leaving with loaves of bread, bagels, sweet buns. When we arrived at 8, the shelves were full of bagels and bread. When we left a little after 9, there was no bread left and only 2 bins of bagels. (I guess it's safe to say our town loves Panera's bread!) I ran a few more errands with the kids before we went home and "parked it" just a little before noon.
 |
| Sundown, around 5:00 Friday. |
Husband went in to work and was sent home at noon because of the impending weather. Our school system went in, and the kids had a 3 hour early dismissal. Middle child's college was supposed to start Monday, and move in day was supposed to be today. That's been pushed back. As of today, move in day for everyone is Monday, and classes begin on Tuesday. I'm curious to see what that's going to look like come Monday morning! I don't foresee the roads and parking lots being cleared enough for us to move everybody in Monday morning.
Last night, we had a great dinner, ran laundry, cleaned the messy room in the basement (which isn't quite so messy anymore), played Farkel, and Apples to Apples. There was about 4 inches of snow on the ground when we went to bed.
This morning, we woke up to the sounds of thunder snow. You know, a snow storm that has so much energy it thunders. I never heard of Thunder Snow until I moved to the Mid-Atlantic. The wind has picked up, and the snow is blowing sideways. We live on top of a hill, and I can usually see the 3 miles from the top of this ridge to the top of the next one, where the center of town lies. This morning I can see the houses across the street, but not any farther. 
As measured in our driveway this morning, we are at 19" of snow. Think about that for a minute. 15 inches of snow fell between the time we went to bed at 11:00 and the time we went out to get wood for the stove at 7. That's 8 hours. That's a LOT of snow. I do have a couple of safety concerns. Tragedies that happen every time we get a major snowstorm. We don't get major snowstorms every year, so people get lazy, forget, or have moved in from another area south of here and just don't realize the consequences...
One- If your power does go out, do NOT cook on a kerosene or propane stove INSIDE the house. The carbon monoxide will kill you. Cook outside in a sheltered place. We have our grill set up under the carport. The neighbor has an outdoor covered kitchen. Yes, it's cold.
Two- If you have a gas furnace, fireplace, or water heater, make certain that the outdoor vents are kept clear. This is a significant snowfall, and those vents could easily become clogged or covered with snow. If your vents are on the roof - keep an eye on them. Carbon Monoxide will build up and be released into your house if the vents are not cleared.
Three - If you have a fire hydrant near your house, get out and clean around it as you can. A 3 foot radius is what the fire crews need in order to access the hydrant. Nobody likes to think of it, but houses do burn to the ground during snowstorms. Be careful with open flames, and remember to dump your fireplace ashes in a fireproof container. We heard of a house that burned to the ground last year because somebody dumped their ashes into a cardboard box and put the box outside, on the wood deck, next to the house.
Stay safe!
 |
| It's so pretty! I love the silence a snowstorm brings! |
 |
| The big old tree in the back yard. It's such an elegant tree. |
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Preparing for a Major Snow Dump
Have you heard? There's a snow storm headed to the Mid-Atlantic! HOORAY!
In general, we don't get a lot of snow in this part of Maryland. We get several little snow storms, and a really big one every couple of years. The problem with this kind of snow is that clearing it out so that people can get around again gets to be a huge task that takes days. What would take the good folks in New England a day to clean out can easily take a week to clean out around here. When Snowmaggedon hit six years ago, it took 5 days for the plows to get to our street to clean us out, and then we were hit by another massive storm a couple of days later. It took a full week after that storm before we were able to get out of the neighborhood again.
I grew up in the Mid-West, where the snow was always more serious, and we were always prepared for the big one. We knew that storms would hit, we just didn't know when.
Fast forward 30 some years, and weather forecasting has improved to the point where we can predict and prepare for storms days in advance. Being caught by surprise by the weather is no longer quite the reality it used to be back when I was a kid.
Needless to say, I spent a day earlier this week inventorying our supplies and picking up what we needed to round out what we think we'll need for a week at home.
One of our snow shovels broke last season. It was one of the cheap ones. I replaced it with one of the sturdier, all metal heavy duty shovels. I also bought another broom to supplement the one we sweep the cars off. One extra bag of rock salt - purchased, and stored in it's water proof container outside.
For the cats, I picked up an extra bag of food. I just bought one last week, but I bought an extra one, because I really don't want to have hungry, whiny cats roaming around the house in case if this turns out to be more than one storm that keeps us housebound for more than the week we're expecting.
The quick run to the grocery store Tuesday evening included toilet paper, almond milk, a couple of pounds of ground beef and chicken, a bag of potatoes, a bag of onions, a bag of carrots, and a bag of rice. I'm actually out of rice. How did that happen? Can you believe that I had less than 12 items? I was able to check out through the Express Lane!
Back at home, we made certain that the shovels were within easy reach of the door.
Our firewood is stacked under the carport, so for the most part, our wood stays dry when it snows. We have some drifting, but the wood itself never gets soaked.
We are as ready as we are ever going to be for the upcoming storm! Who knows if it will be as big as they are predicting? The weather maps and models do look impressive!
In preparation for the storm, all of our cell phones are being charged - just in case the power goes out. We supplement our heat with wood, so if we do lose power, we'll be warm, and we'll be able to cook. We have solar lanterns outside, and they're storing up a charge now. We also have a couple of old oil lamps that are on standby, just in case if we need them, as well as a hand cranked weather radio and a hand cranked LED lantern.
If you live in the Mid-Atlantic area, are you ready to be snowed in for a while? Do you have enough to see you through a week without getting out of the house?
 |
| Weds. night, and the stores are empty. |
In general, we don't get a lot of snow in this part of Maryland. We get several little snow storms, and a really big one every couple of years. The problem with this kind of snow is that clearing it out so that people can get around again gets to be a huge task that takes days. What would take the good folks in New England a day to clean out can easily take a week to clean out around here. When Snowmaggedon hit six years ago, it took 5 days for the plows to get to our street to clean us out, and then we were hit by another massive storm a couple of days later. It took a full week after that storm before we were able to get out of the neighborhood again.
I grew up in the Mid-West, where the snow was always more serious, and we were always prepared for the big one. We knew that storms would hit, we just didn't know when.
Fast forward 30 some years, and weather forecasting has improved to the point where we can predict and prepare for storms days in advance. Being caught by surprise by the weather is no longer quite the reality it used to be back when I was a kid.
Needless to say, I spent a day earlier this week inventorying our supplies and picking up what we needed to round out what we think we'll need for a week at home.
 |
| source: Baltimore County Public Library |
For the cats, I picked up an extra bag of food. I just bought one last week, but I bought an extra one, because I really don't want to have hungry, whiny cats roaming around the house in case if this turns out to be more than one storm that keeps us housebound for more than the week we're expecting.
The quick run to the grocery store Tuesday evening included toilet paper, almond milk, a couple of pounds of ground beef and chicken, a bag of potatoes, a bag of onions, a bag of carrots, and a bag of rice. I'm actually out of rice. How did that happen? Can you believe that I had less than 12 items? I was able to check out through the Express Lane!
Back at home, we made certain that the shovels were within easy reach of the door.
Our firewood is stacked under the carport, so for the most part, our wood stays dry when it snows. We have some drifting, but the wood itself never gets soaked.
We are as ready as we are ever going to be for the upcoming storm! Who knows if it will be as big as they are predicting? The weather maps and models do look impressive!
 |
| Image: Foot's Forecast |
In preparation for the storm, all of our cell phones are being charged - just in case the power goes out. We supplement our heat with wood, so if we do lose power, we'll be warm, and we'll be able to cook. We have solar lanterns outside, and they're storing up a charge now. We also have a couple of old oil lamps that are on standby, just in case if we need them, as well as a hand cranked weather radio and a hand cranked LED lantern.
If you live in the Mid-Atlantic area, are you ready to be snowed in for a while? Do you have enough to see you through a week without getting out of the house?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)