Beardface and I live in Virginia. A SOUTHERN state. We reside approximately 3 hours drive south of the Mason-Dixon line. Yet, today was the second time in about a month that we were completely snowed in.
Both being native northerners (he from Wisconsin, and I from New Jersey) we scoff at the frightened southerners when they predict snow. Winters around here used to go like this:
Weather man predicts snow (1-2 inches). People in our city panic. They buy the grocery stores out of bread, eggs, and milk, and many schools and businesses call for delayed openings and closings. We'd all wake up in the morning to either a light dusting or no snow, giving the city children a snow-free day off. This was a pattern we both had grown accustomed to living in this city for a few years.
Well, for whatever reason, this winter we have already survived a storm carrying 14 inches of snow, and today's was near 10 inches of snow. Though these sound like meager amounts of snow to those from the Midwest or places like Buffalo, NY, in our city, this amount of snow can be completely debilitating. There are not enough city plows to cover all of the streets, and local officials have switched from traditional rock salt to a saline solution. (Yes, you read that correctly. The local government decided contact solution would be effective in clearing snow from the roads in 20 degree weather. It's too bad saline solution freezing near 25 degrees.)
So needless to say, Beardface and I prepared ourselves to shovel, taking turns clearing out our portion of the driveway, and part of our neighbors.
Since we hadn't gotten a chance to go grocery shopping, I opted to bake my own bread. It was sickenly easy for how delicious it tastes, though it is time consuming.
We've got our fingers crossed for clear roads for tomorrow. Until then, though, I have to marvel at the amount of snow we've gotten (and there's call for more next weekend!). So much for global warming.
