How wonderful is a Central New York blizzard!
We are expecting somewhere around a foot of snow today and tonight, with high winds and gusts this evening. There's a storm warning out there and schools all over the area are closed. The snow has been coming down steadily since before dawn, enough so we already have five inches or so of fluffy stuff.
Bob went out with Boo this morning on skiis (Bob, not Boo). Boo could have used some - he came trudging back right in the ski trail and perked up for two quick lopes when I called him, but then right back to trudging. He had another aspirin and is flat out in front of the fire where he'll remain most of the day.
I walked out to get the paper and since there was none, I kept walking down the hill. I didn't have my warming, battery-operated vest on or glasses or a scarf, but it was so pretty out there I couldn't resist. The road was plowed and it was actually easy walking - and so gorgeous!
Blizzards are part of the folklore of growing up and living in Central New York. I have pictures of me as a little girl with my dog, Penny, surrounded by mounds of snow on our front steps. I think that was the blizzard of '66. Schools were amazingly closed for a week - at least I remember it that way. Living on a side street with very little through traffic we rarely got plowed out, so we stayed and played and shoveled.
Alex and I missed the blizzard of '93 because we went to Saratoga ahead of it. That town looked like what I imagine an alpine village would look like - high banks of snow so that people and cars moved carefully as if through tunnels. We came home to Skaneateles to find waist-high snow in our driveway - I never had it plowed. We drove over to a friend's house on Austin and got her shovel, then started in making space for the car at least at the end of the driveway. I remember breaking a shovel in the process, but we made it inside. That was a March storm, probably what this blizzard will be like - so in two weeks all the snow was gone.
Bob and I missed one a few years back. We were going to Florida for the SU-South Florida game in Tampa when a blizzard knocked out most flights on the east coast. We had the option of staying and flying another time, but we went. It was cold in Florida - I bought gloves and a scarf - and I know I wish we'd stayed for the blizzard.
Preparing has always left me shaking my head. I see grocery stores with staples depleted, people walking out with 2 twelve-packs of toilet paper, carts piled high with meat and sodas and milk and bread. At the most we will be unable to travel for a couple days - at the most! I know very few refrigerators - and I see a lot - that aren't already stocked. But still, there's something about preparing for an "Event" that makes it more exciting.
I'm going to get in wood now and make sure the candle holders are stocked with candles just in case the power goes out. I might try to round up some batteries, too, so we can read. I'll shovel the base of the driveway and get to the Big M, buy some veggies for ratatouille and look forward to an afternoon of cooking and storm-watching.
I've been looking forward to this blizzard all season and I aim to enjoy it! I hope you are safe and can enjoy it, too!
