in between the next snowpacolypse

Thankfully, there was a break in the snow today.  But it has started snowing again.  There is a light dusting already on my steps and the path I shoveled earlier.  More to come...

I most of today out and about.  I needed to be out of my house for a while, and I needed to be around other humans.  I walked down to the Eastern Market area, and got my nails done, went to the library and CVS, got some lunch at Le Pain Quotidien (yum), and went grocery shopping at Eastern Market.  There were no lines there, and I always feel like the prices are better.  Plus, it's the only place I know where I can buy only four strips of bacon at a time, and instead of change at the produce stands they give oranges.  Yay for Eastern Market!

There is an igloo in Lincoln Park today!

Everyone was out enjoying the break in the weather,

including exhausted parents with stir crazy kids.

The route around the inside of the park is ice from all the kids with sleds going round and round.

I almost fell several times, and started walking on the snow instead.

A snowy view of the Library of Congress dome.

My treat from bakery at Eastern Market.

A Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  Yum!

Let it snow.  Let it snow.  Let it sn...

Enough already for this city.

photos by me

snowpacolypse 2 - the day after the day after and more to come tomorrow

From weather.com:

... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE... SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS... 10 TO 20 INCHES.

Seriously, 10 to 20 MORE inches.  Where are we going to put it?!?!?!  The news is saying the city is dumping snow at the old hospital grounds.  That's just up the street from me.  But seriously, 10 to 20 more inches... uh, okay.  I'm waiting to see if Metro will be running before I decide if I'm going into work tomorrow--no word yet.

Snow day today--the first of this year and the second for this winter which have been declared by the Federal Government.  As a federal employee, I'm thankful I didn't have to try and get to work today.  My car is still buried. I didn't even try to dig it out, because there's no way I'm going to be driving on these streets.

I went for a walk around the neighborhood, because I needed to get out and get some fresh air.  I helped push out two cars that were stuck on A Street NE, where not one snow plow had passed by.  One Honda was high-centered on the snow and it took four passers-by and the two women in the car to dig out the snow and then push it out.  Fun stuff!

Maybe there was a snow plow that came through this street.

On the roads where the snow plows did their job,

this is what it takes to dig your car out.

Here's what the car above probably looked before it was dug out.

Imagine 10 to 20 more inches on top of this!

Digging out is a neighborhood affair.  This guy hired the neighbor boys to dig his car out.

The owner of the car talked to me as I went by, and said he needed to get to Baltimore tonight.

Okay, sure.  Be stupid and drive--good luck and be safe.

This is A Street NE where dug out the Honda.

Amazing that this street hasn't been plowed yet.

Cross country skier going through the intersection.

I should order some skis, it would be easiest way to get around the neighborhood and get to work.

Plus, my thighs and butt would look AWESOME.

Looking down East Capitol Street, I can finally see pavement

and the Capitol in the distance.

Lots of trees in the neighborhood have storm damage from the weight of the snow.

I'm just glad none of the big trees around my house have had problems.

My friend CSB said the streets near the schools have been plowed in her neighborhood.

But this street is right next to the middle school, and only two blocks away from me.

As you can see, no snow plow.

Well, Mother Nature is showing her great power this week.

I really hope the storm tomorrow rolls right by without dumping on us.

Other friends from church have also been blogging about the storm.

Check out their new puppy in the snow here.  Very cute and fun!

photos by me

snowpacolypse - the day after

Church was cancelled today, again.

That's two weeks in a row. 

It now seems silly by comparision that last week we only had

six inches of snow, and church was cancelled.

I didn't make it to the potluck brunch this morning.

I didn't sleep well last night, and so at 0330 I cancelled my alarm for this morning.

I slept until I woke up on my own at 1130.

I love sleeping in.

Thankfully, I am not one of the 200K people without power or heat.

I am almost caught up with laundry as well.

Did I mention that I got a new washer!

The Hallmark Channel is showing 48 hours of I Love Lucy re-runs.

I think Lucy is the perfect antidote for the Superbowl.

Plus, I have the whole Jeeves and Wooster series on DVD, which was a Christmas gift from a friend.

Another perfect antidote for the Superbowl.

I did venture out to do some shovelling.

My back is in rebellion now.

As I was shoveling, this guy came down 19th Street.

He lifted the bucket to go through intersection.

I'm glad to finally see my un-represented tax dollars hard at work.

I think my car is a hopeless cause today.

Yep, it's hopeless.

I'm parked around the corner, and we haven't had a snow plow pass by there yet.

Lots of tire tracks from other cars, but no plows.

See my wind shield wipers poking up from the snow on the front window.

It keeps them from freezing to the window.

I have cleared a place to walk.

I even did part of the public sidewalk.

My back won't take any more this afternoon.

One of my neighbors borrowed my weapon of choice to clear their steps,

the back patio and do part of the sidewalk.

I might go out in a few more minutes to help out.

But in the meantime, I have a hot date with Lucy and my heating pad.

My friend T has been posting about the storm too.

Click here to see her photos.

photos by me

Snowpacolypse 2 on Saturday - ii

This is an awesome snowstorm.  I'm amazed at how much snow there is out there, but I'm always amazed at the great snowstorms.  I'm even from northern Utah and I've seen snowstorms. 

The walk to Eastern Market for lunch was fun.  It was easiest to walk in the street, as there were indications that at some point a snow plow had passed through.

Supposedly a snow plow passed by here.

Lincoln Park in the snow.

The masses out for the snowball fight and walking their dogs.

Too, too cute.

The neighborhood around Eastern Market.

We didn't recognize where we were until we stopped to think about it.

So beautiful.  Look how high the snow is on the fence.

7th Street SE in the snow.  Eastern Market on the left.

On the way home from Stadium Armory Metro.

The metro was so quiet.  There were only 6 people on the platform.

Very surreal.

Yep, we're snowed in.

If you read the top sign, you'll see the street I live on is designated as a

SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTE.

This means that residents are not allowed to park on the street during a

SNOW EMERGENCY.

The City is supposed to plow this street to keep it open

as one of major routes in and out of the city.

Personally, I think if you're going to designate a street as a

SNOW EMERGENCY ROUTE

and tell the residents they can't park on the street during a

SNOW EMERGENCY

then snow plows should be going up and down the street regularly instead of once a day.

Yep, it's deep.  The snow hits just above my knees here.

photos by me

Snowpacolypse 2 on Saturday - i

This was 12 hours ago, midnight EST.

This was about 6 hours later, around 6am EST.

This was about an hour ago, before I started shoveling, at 11am EST.

I was literally snowed in.

I couldn't open my front door.

My door now opens.  It's very slick,

and no sooner is the surface clear, then it is covered again by snow.

This is my weapon of choice against the snow. Rrrrrrrrrr!

I am the woman.

The view from the bottom of my stairs.

But on a happier note, I have clean towels stacked up again in my bathroom.

The appliance delivery guys knocked on my door at 0645 yesterday to deliver my new washer.

They wanted to get ahead of the storm with their deliveries.

Yay!!!!

I can do laundry in the comfort of my own home.

Now, I'm off to walk about and meet a friend for lunch near Eastern Market.

Wish me luck!

Oh, and for laughs here are two of my favorite links providing storm coverage:

PANIC

And The Curse of Snowbama.

photos by me

looking back

This week I cancelled my MySpace account.  I rarely check it, and when I do I have e-mails from random, unknown men, whose awkardly worded attempts at flirting with a perfect stranger were vaguely disquieting and uncomfortable.  So, I cancelled my account, however I did keep my blog posts and thought they would be fun to share here. 

The post below was written two years ago.  I remember this day.  I had been on a blind date with a perfectly nice, handsome, interesting man to whom I felt absolutely no attraction.  I had also just received word minutes before I met him that one of my dearest friends had died.

If there was ever a woman that I would call my second mom, it was this dear friend.  She braided my hair when I was younger, painted my face for Halloween, always loved me no matter what and made my birthday dinner and cake for me on my sixteenth birthday when my parents were out of town.  She let me come and play her piano any time.  When I would go home on leave, my time wasn't complete if I didn't stop by to say hello and play the grand piano.  I still miss her when I go home; Paradise just isn't the same.  I love you, Norene.

I was waiting for the blind date on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant when my sister called to tell me the news.  Just as she told me I saw the perfectly, nice, handsome, interesting man walking towards, and I burst into tears.  I was still crying when he came up to me and waited, patient and concerned, until I finished my conversation.  He was very kind and concerned at my obvious distress.  I was impressed that he hadn't been scared off by the unexplained emotional distress of a female stranger in the first few moments of our meeting.  I pulled myself together and went on the blind date.

I'm surprised at the entry below, because it doesn't capture what I was truly feeling that day.  I needed to write, but apparently couldn't write what I honestly felt at the time.  Everything I wrote is true, it was a good day in spite of the bad news.  But, I think I would have been much more true to myself if I had written about who I loved that day.

written on 19 January 2007

So, today was a rockin' day spent being a tourist. From the top of the Washington Monument, we looked down and watched Marine 1 fly below us and land at the White House to pick up George. Pretty rockin'! The Botanical Gardens made me feel as though it was summer again for an hour or so. The Library of Congress took me back to Italy for the afternoon as I walked among beautiful mosaics, marble carvings and paintings.

I love DC. It was the first city I visited that exceeded my expectations and it still does every time I go out and play. I love the crazy layout of the streets that gets me lost every time I come up out of the Metro. I love that every evening on the drive home, I see the Capitol with the sunsetting behind it. I love the walk around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial and then around to the FDR Memorial when cherries are in blossom. I love that the Metro doesn't always run when it's supposed and makes me late for stuff. I love living five blocks from Eastern Market and the smell of meat in dead of summer (blegh!). I love walking the C&O canal in Georgetown, and finding the Chagall mural in some guy's backyard. I love walking Memorial Bridge over to Arlington, and the quiet that I find there.

Basically, DC is now my home and I'm learning its ins and outs. It's been quite a ride since I moved here and I am so looking forward to more. Woohoo!

photo by me

i just discovered

i just discovered this lovely little blog, that is filled with wisdom, observation and beauty by author Kate DiCamillo.  here are just a few of her books.

her essay on seeing a water fountain is... well it's hard to describe.  i just know i like the way this woman thinks and tells a story.

she has tips for aspiring writers, that make me smile and want see more of this wonderful, bright world i live in.  hopefully, you don't mind if i share a bit more of what i see.  (the essay that proceeds her tips describes how i feel about writing.)

reading her blog is like drinking from a water fountain on a hot summer day.  you never want to stop drinking, the water feels so cool and good going down your throat into your belly and takes the sting out of the heat.  her writing elicits the same response and takes the sting out of the world.

image from: katedicamillo.com

ah, weekend

on friday, i just wanted to put my head down on my desk and have a good cry, and i couldn't figure out why.  i was tired after working a couple of very long weeks without a weekend to recuperate, but i didn't think that was reason enough to cry while at work.  i guess i was a bit tired and homesick.

i wanted to run home and be taken care off all weekend.  i wanted to have my mom make her cream of turkey with rice soup with homemade bread and apple pie bars for dessert.  i wanted to watch dumb fort documentaries with my dad, and then watch a romantic comedy with him and my mom.  i wanted to go for a long walk up through the fields and enjoy the silence found only in the mountains of northern utah.  sometimes i wish i didn't live so far away from places where it's easy to find quiet.

instead of running to utah, i spent the weekend enjoying my home here.  it snowed really hard most of the day yesterday, and i spent it helping a friend finish up the chores that come with moving.  it was fun to spend time with her and we laughed about some of our adventures together as we worked.  mainly she needed moral support while buckling down to do the last of her packing and decision making.  i hate that part of moving as well, so i was glad to help and spend time with her.  it felt good last night to go to bed tired from physical exertions and read until i fell asleep.

unexpectedly, i had a very quiet day today.  church was cancelled due to the six to eight inches of snow we received yesterday (yes, i know we are snow wimps here in dc).  with the morning free, i spent it alternating between sleeping and reading, deliciously warm and comfortably tucked in my bed, and relishing not having anything to do or anywhere to be.  it's not often that i have so much time in which to do nothing, or so much time to be quiet.  i spent the rest of the day enjoying my free time, reading, watching a movie, crocheting, chatting briefly with a friend and going for a walk to watch the sunset through the bare branches of the trees around lincoln park.

i'm thankful for weekends that recharge my batteries.  i'm now ready for the new week ahead.