Snow Daze

The woods are lovely, dark and deep... ~Robert Frost - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

I live in a basement. It's kind of like a sensory deprivation chamber. Most sounds from the upstairs and the outside are muffled (though the baby's crying always seems to come through loud and clear... he's lucky he's adorable), and when I come down the stairs and close the door behind me, all I see is black. You'd think I'd know by now not to close the door behind me before turning on the hallway light, wouldn't you?

The power went out twice yesterday - only briefly, thank goodness - and each time, I was plunged into total darkness, save for the glowing screen of my laptop. It takes living in a basement to realize I take windows for granted.

I walked up the stairs once in the early evening to see how much snow had fallen. The wintery scene outside my door was so pretty and so pure I had to get my camera to capture it. (Yes, that's a snow-coated jungle gym.) For all my carping about snow and cold, I still appreciate the beauty that nature creates. On the other hand, it's hard to appreciate the grossness that nature - and plows and cars - created on the roads. The drive to work was not treacherous this morning, but I did almost get my car stuck in the snow after pulling over to let a UPS truck by on a narrow road. Worse, on my way home tonight, my car almost spun out on some snow when I was making a turn. Scary for a few moments, but overall, I think I have a certain fearlessness when it comes to driving, maybe because I've never been in an accident myself (knock on wood). Though I am rather tense when I drive, I also feel invulnerable. Making it through today unscathed only reinforced this, which might not be a good thing. Had I more experience under my belt, I might have stayed off the roads today, might have thought it too risky to brave them in my little Honda Accord. But I am green, and I made it to work and back like a [stupid and reckless] champion.

The snow day yesterday and the delayed opening today until 11 a.m. at work totaled more time off for weather than I recall ever having at Penn State. I felt like I was back in high school, waiting for the snow closing announcements on the radio. This time, there was a weather hotline number to call, and by Tuesday evening, I already knew I wouldn't have to go to work the next day. Having already predicted this boon, I had all the ingredients for a cake ready to go for my first snow day baking experience. And what an experience it was. Let's just say I am no Duff. (But cake is cake, so as long as it tastes good, I'm okay with it.)

This morning, I discovered that my landlord and his stepson had cleared off my car for me after the blizzard, which was super nice of them. When I walked outside for the first time in 40-ish hours around 9 a.m., I fully expected to have to dig my car out of the snow and push a foot of snow off the whole vehicle, so what a pleasant surprise it was to find that I could actually see through my windows! My tires weren't stuck! The doors could open without mounds of snow falling on my feet and into the car! I only had to spend some time chipping ice from my windshield and headlights.

I should bake them something. Not a cake, though. Maybe brownies. Much simpler.

(P.S. I know the title of this post is a bad pun. I love bad puns. Deal with it.)