Snowmaggedon

A late spring storm that started as wind and rain turned to snow, and overnight, a blizzard which effectively shut down most of the city. Even before I knew that, though, I looked out my window and watched  my neighbours struggling to get out of their driveways, eventually abandoning cars and minivans and catching rides with truck-driving neighbours. So I'd already called snow day for the kids before we turned on the radio and realized that they had closed schools and were sending kids home, and that much of the other side of town had lost power.

Thus the kids and I spent the day at home. I had every intention of making them do useful chores, and to get some work done at home myself. We were off to a good start, before finding out that we had been asked to minimize water use and power consumption - thus, no laundry, washing dishes, or vacuuming. But come on. We figured we should at least cook, and I reasoned that turning on the oven would also help warm up the house (I use this rationale a lot in the winter).

So I finally had the chance to test drive the new Kitchen-Aid and  make french bread, while the girl made tiny cupcakes with ganache frosting.





I tidied up and decluttered the reading space in my bedroom so I could do some actual school work. But really I was too curious and interested in what was going on outside the house, and spent an inordinate amount of time checking the twitter feeds for Lethbridge to see how things were progressing and whether it would be safe to take a bath without feeling guilty.  My powers of concentration were not at their peak.



Everything began to melt with gratifying speed by late afternoon, and the neighborhood kids were out in force doing snow removal, but more importantly making sure there was a clear channel through the slush to the grate in front of our house, since it drains the entire street. There was great glee in this task.



We realize that we were incredibly lucky not to have lost power, as did the other side of town, and I don't think it's been fully restored yet. I could probably write something deeply philosophical about how dependent we are on electricity, clean water, and communication. But I'll refrain from pontificating, and just close out the day grateful for the safety of my family, for warmth, and shelter.

(This is my day in five pictures, by the way - one of Tammy's creative experiments for April)