snow day! liveblog
I got the notice that my office would be closed today at 10:00 yesterday morning. At 7:15 in the evening they called off school in town. After a crazy icy day yesterday that saw a 55-car pileup on Rt 128 and countless other accidents around town—not to mention a perilous commute for Leah and me!—the powers that be were in no mood to take chances with the snow in the forecast tomorrow. So everyone is hunkered down at home this morning, waiting... Waiting for the first flakes to fall... Waiting for the temperature to drop below freezing... Waiting... for Snowmageddon 2017. I'll update throughout the day to let you know how it's going.
6:50 am: After a night awake with sick and anxious kids it's nice to be awoken by the chickens early enough that I don't miss any of the excitement.
7:30 am: First fine flakes begin to fall. Lijah throws up for the eighth time since 10:00 last night.
8:30 am: Fine snow falling heavily in whipping wind. Unsalted surfaces are covered, and snow is encroaching on the edges of the roadway.
9:00 am: Harvey and I enjoy a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast, with tea and apple cider. We don't have any orange juice and only a little milk, but otherwise our supplies look good. Zion throws up.
9:20 am: Harvey finally does his chores. There are six eggs to bring in; he puts some of them in his coat pockets and one smashes in there when he bends down to take off his boots. Zion wishes he could throw up again. Lijah falls asleep in Mama's lap.
11:30 am: The plow comes by for the first time; not much more than a couple inches of snow to move.
12:40 pm: Snow falling much more quickly, accumulating at least an inch an hour. Sick boys watching Daniel Tiger on Amazon Prime.
2:30 pm: Snow continues to fall heavily. Harvey and I join the neighbors in a snowy walk through the woods and local construction site. Maybe 8 inches of snow on the ground, but it's hard to tell with how much it's blowing around everywhere.
expedition
5:30 pm: The air is slightly less full of blowing snow, but the wind hasn't let up any. Roads are all white despite near-constant plowing, but it doesn't stop the few people out from driving at their usual speed. Also there are no sidewalks, naturally.
7:00 pm: Just a few misty flakes coming down now. Maybe 9 or 10 inches on the ground, and more in drifty areas. Zion wakes up raring to go, and eats tortilla chips, rice and cheese in a flour tortilla, and a hot dog. Lijah is a little slower but is also revived some by corn chips.
8:30 pm: Calm outside, calming inside as we try and get our boys who slept all day to bed. Harvey doesn't have any problems, of course: he fell asleep instantly.