Ice Storm!

No, I didnt go run in the ice storm. That would have been silly. And I am only 'stupid,' not silly. There is a big difference. I HAVE, however, been running in the snow and the cold, dressing as well as I can, and wearing my ice grippy things. Below is a picture taken yesterday morning before things started getting bad--this was at the end of a run, and this is how I typically look; I grow out a long beard since I am outside so much in the winter, and I get these 'beard crystals' (which, as my friend Pete has pointed out, sounds like a 'prison term'). Also, as an aside, I am wearing my high school track jacket....#goTigers

I honestly have no idea how we didnt lose power. But I am not going to ask any questions, and *technically* the storm wont be over til tomorrow. But whatever. We first got a couple of inches of snow, and then a thick, thick layer of ice over all of that, making the snow ROCK solid. Walking on top of it, you couldnt even stamp your boot through the crust (not that you would want to anyway, since then you would slip and fall). The cars had to idle for about 15 minutes just to start allowing some of the windshield ice to be loosened up by the heat....

Blowing up this pic doesnt really do it justice--but it was almost impossible to walk on this. Even with grips on shoes. And, on a whim, I decided to try to take the snowmobile for a little jaunt--bad idea. The icy crust was almost too much for even the picked-track and carbide steel skis!

But when you are young, all the world is your playground, as it was for Callum and Maira today....our whole driveway/yard/snowbank collection was a frozen playground for them: Everything was a 'slide.'

You can see one of our rosebushes out front and get an idea of ice deposits. Folks using snowblowers around the neighborhood found that their work was, for the most part, in vain.

All things considered, today was one of the most delightful days I have shared with the family in a while! Granted, we missed church for the second week in a row due to storms, which stinks, but we just hunkered down and had a blast. Amanda slept in and I read the kids some new books sent by Jawn Croquett. We played legos. We played 'nutcracker,' where we 'acted out' the fight scenes from the ballet (to the music, of course). Then we all watched ELF together--Callum was HYSTERICAL with laughter, and Maira got some of the humor too. We finished our gingerbread house. We played outside. And then we went over to the Carlton's for lasagna soup and the second to last Pats game (they won against the Ravens!). Only three days til Christmas!!!

And, finally, here is some more ice buildup on bushes....