Well, not really. We are one of thousands of households in the Chicago suburbs who have weathered the Blizzard of 2011. Our newscasters tell us this was the third worst winter storm since they started keeping stats on the weather here.
\nTuesday morning, Dear Husband finished up on a job site and made it home in time to drive me to the grocery store. The roads were clean at noon, following a small snowstorm, and I could have driven myself, but I wanted to give him the chance to pick up whatever he might want to weather the storm. It started snowing around 3:00, and the snow was so dense that it almost looked foggy. It was forecast that we would have 8.5 inches of snow by 10:00. I think we lagged behind a bit, but obviously the snowfall increased over night.
\nThe wind picked up, and it was fierce. I was so concerned about the wind bringing a tree down on the house that I gathered my clothing and anything I might need for today, and moved it closer to the interior of the house. We have a gorgeous old evergreen tree that stands next to the SW corner of the house. That corner has two skylights over our bathroom and dressing area, and I was worried about that tree coming through the skylights Still…I went to bed. There was no point in sitting up and worrying about it.
\nWhen I woke, it was sunny, and the wind had abated. Dear Husband was plowing the driveway and the area on the east side of the house. My stepson had shoveled during the night (he’s a night owl), and DH had even put out seed for the birds. Tomorrow, I’ll shovel a path to the bird feeders and fill them up again.
\nWe think we got 22 inches of snow. It’s tough to get an accurate reading because of the incredible drifts. We have an herb garden on the north side of the house that is raised to the height of two landscaping timbers. You can see the head and shoulders of the St. Francis statue in the center bed. The southern side of the bed has two spare timbers sitting on one edge, and you can see just the side of the top spare timber! You can’t tell where the beds are and where the walkways are.
\nWe lucked out. No interruption in electricity or any other services. The house is warm, we have light, and the computer and TV are working. I spent the day in my fabric sweatshop, cranking out pieces for charity quilts. It’s been a great day. It feels as though it should be Sunday.
\nOne more thought. I was railing at DH that people no longer help each other because we are afraid of being sued, but today I heard TWO stories from friends about neighbors who had come to shovel them out. There’s hope for us all, yet! Go visit Joy, at the Joy of Six blog. She was one of the lucky recipients of neighborhood kindness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, not really. We are one of thousands of households in the Chicago suburbs who have weathered the Blizzard of 2011. Our newscasters tell us this was the third worst winter storm since they started keeping stats on the weather … Continue reading