Well, we talked about the first snow last week. And I thought that this year, it might be fun to keep count of how many snowfalls we have. I’ve never done that before. Last night was the beginning of our second snowfall.
It started suddenly and was nasty driving home. In fact, my personal day started with flaming cheese toast, and ended with hyperspace snow. Do you know what hyperspace snow is? It’s when you’re driving and the snow is coming at you so thick and fast and sideways that it looks like what happened when they made the jump to hyperspace in Star Wars.
With Snobama last week, they had the snowplows mobilized before the first flakes hit the ground. Everyone was bustling around the CDOT garage when I passed it on the way home. Last night, not only were there no plows (okay, it was a little early to plow), but there were no sand trucks, and the roads were really slick.
Still it was cozy to be home, albeit around 9:00 pm after a too-long day at works. I was guardedly optimistic about being able to work from home today, but alas, the company was open, and my computer, which I brought home with me, was acting like a high schooler refusing to get out of bed in the morning. I kept poking it to try to make it wake up. It would flash me a look, grunt, and go back to sleep. After 20 minutes on the phone with the Help Desk, I gave up the ghost and decided to go into the office.
The windshield wipers worked this morning, and the snow, while deepish, wasn’t bad to scrape off the truck. Though even saying that I scraped snow off the truck inspires a fresh wave of nausea. I think someone needs to remind me why I live here.
They said on the TV that the buses were running 15 minutes late, which is fine to say that on the TV, but if no one tells the buses that, then you can’t risk showing up for your bus 15 minutes late, because chances are, it wasn’t. Although this time, it was. In fact, it was 40 minutes late. So rather than sit in my puffing car, tempting carbon monoxide poisoning, I stood in the freezing cold for 40 minutes. This bus stop has no benches and a shelter that consists of a three-sided, metal, open-grill enclosure, which offers no shelter from the storm. By the time the bus decided to arrive (maybe it was acting like a teenager too), I couldn’t feel my toes, and any semblance of revelling in the lovely twinkling snowflakes was gone with the bitterly cold wind.
While I was standing there, trying not to be cold, I decided that if I’m going to count the winter storms, I might as well name them, just like they do hurricanes, except not quite so traditional. Already helped along in this mission by Denver’s creative masses, we had a name for our first storm. Now it’s up to me to label this one. And we’re expecting a third storm on Saturday that some say will be worse than this, while others say it will merely be a few droplets of chilly camel spit.
I realized also that, as a new homeowner, I probably am supposed to be shovelling my sidewalk. They have kind of a Snowy Sidewalk Nazi mentality in certain parts of the County, and have been known to throw little old ladies in jail with hardened criminals for violating the “keep your sidewalk free from snow” laws. I don’t know the general attitude of MY town towards this, but I noticed an awful lot of clean sidewalks on my drive to the bus stop. Which means that I need to get a snow shovel. And a younger back. I wonder if there’s a place I could pick up both? And a million dollars? And my house in the tropics? Sounds like I’m looking for “All-Mart”.
Now, I’m grudgingly ensconced in Cubeland, instead of snuggled on the Red Couch, but I am being pleasantly productive. I hope to get home by morning. And I’ll leave you with the beginning of the running list of named winter storms:
1. Snobama (October 26, 2011)
2. The Storm of Great Grumpiness (November 2, 2011)
Stay warm, wherever you are. But if you ARE somewhere warm, no gloating, or I’ll be forced to hunt you down and put snow down your back.
14 comments
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November 2, 2011 at 7:06 pm
ceciliag
get out there and start shovelling!.. I am SO glad we have no snow police out here, and NO snow yet AND it is lovely and warm .. i kid you not! (I am ducking!) c
November 2, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Seasweetie
You will find me out front with the garden shovel at 5:00 tomorrow morning. Ick.
November 2, 2011 at 7:19 pm
suzicate
Oh no, please no snow down the back! I’ll keep the warmth here my little secret, oops did I just let it out?
November 2, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Seasweetie
Aw, suzicate, have a heart!
November 2, 2011 at 7:34 pm
slpmartin
Okay…here’s the thing…today it was 83,,,sunny…a pefect day with a little wind in the valley….if you can make it here with a snowball without it melting…you are welcome to put it down my back. 🙂 Stay warm!
November 2, 2011 at 7:40 pm
Seasweetie
That’s what soft-sided coolers and plane tickets are for, slp!
November 2, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Katherine Gordy Levine
Thought you might be a Colorodian. We moved her to help raise grandchildren and know why we move here. It helps not to have to leave the house except to walk the dog when the snow begins pelting on.
I was told somewhere by someone that wearing sun glasses tames hyper snow. Haven’t tried that trick yet, but hoping you well and will let me know if it works.
My son works for one of the big landscape companies and was up all night plowing. He does not want another snow storm. He is management and doesn’t collect big the way the contract workers do.
Stay strong.
November 2, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Seasweetie
Thanks, Katherine, and welcome to the blog and to Colorado! I am looking forward to checking out your blog, and I will definitely try to sun glasses trick – I have never heard that before! Hopefully, I won’t have to try it as soon as this Saturday…
November 3, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Cin
We haven’t got snow yet, but it has been cold enough. Just lots of rain.
Keep safe and warm! And good luck with the whole shoveling thing…
November 4, 2011 at 9:54 am
Seasweetie
I think I’d rather have snow than cold rain. Hope you are well, Cin.
November 4, 2011 at 8:18 am
photokunstler
Oh my, you are ruining all my romantic notions of snow and storms!!
(plugging ears) I will not listen!
Snow is pretty and fluffy and beautiful and wood stoves are fun and warm and romantic.
I know why I left the coldest, or second coldest, national capital in the world… I remember… but every now and then, the dream of a snowfall…
November 4, 2011 at 9:53 am
Seasweetie
Snow can be pretty and fluffy and beautiful, especially if you can stay by the woodstove and not leave the house until it is 70 degrees again.
November 4, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Barbara Rodgers
Sounds like winter has begun in earnest for you there! I’m one of those strange people who loves shoveling snow and then coming inside for some hot cocoa. As long as I don’t have to drive in it!
November 4, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Seasweetie
You know, shovelling is okay when it’s light, fluffy snow. Since I was shovelless, I didn’t get to it until AFTER the snowplow apparently vomited on my sidewalk, leaving huge crunchy, immoveable chunks of icy snow glued to the sidewalk. So I looked at it and went inside and had some hot cocoa. 🙂