Snowstorm!

I've never seen a snowstorm before, so even though I knew there was going to be heavy snow, I'm still in awe of what I've seen today. I woke up to a winter postcard, thick snow gently falling into a fluffy blanket over the world. One of my hummingbirds has spent most of the day huddled, fluffy and thick, on the feeder, where he's mostly out of the wind. Periodically he has to fend off advances from another hummingbird who wants his spot, so I've been watching hummingbird fights most of the day.

I refilled the birdseed feeder, popped up some popcorn and sprinkled it on the balcony for the jays and crows, put 13-bean and barley soup in the crockpot, and got all beautiful for work. I was excited to finally break in my new Santa stripper outfit, so I did my face up in green glitter eyeliner and red lipstick, packed my bag and headed for work. Thus began some of the most terrifying thirty minutes of my life. By then the snow was falling so hard it was difficult to see, and the streets are one big skating rink. I made it less than half a mile from my apartment before my little car got stuck on the ice. Any attempt to move resulted in loudly spinning wheels but no motion; any time I let up on the brake, I would just roll backward. Trying desperately not to panic, I put on my hazard flashers and called K, but before he could tell me what to do, three very nice young men pulled over to help me. Cheerfully complaining about how hard it was to get traction on the ice, they pushed me until I moved again, and advised me not to try to go further because the roads were even worse up ahead. So I turned around and somehow made it home, white-knuckling the wheel and reciting every prayer I knew.

By the time I made it home, the snow had increased into a fullblown storm. I considered taking the bus to work, but it's Sunday so the bus service isn't optimal, and I worried about getting home safely in the dark through all this snow and ice. So, reluctantly, I called off. I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to breaking in my new Santa suit on a snowy day, but I have to think about my safety first. So I took a bunch of pictures in my Santa suit - I wanted to take some out on the balcony in the snow, but the neighbors were out and I am shy - and now I'm going to spend the day doing some holiday baking and then knitting by the fire while I watch the snow fall. At present we have over six inches of accumulation outside and it's still coming down!

I like snow a lot better when I'm safely indoors. Thank goodness I stocked up on everything yesterday!