The snow has started!
I did all my errands yesterday, refreshing our supplies of bagels, fruit, and heavy whipping cream and tracking down sweat shirts, snow boots, and a winter coat for my severely under-dressed youngest child. Then this morning my husband tore around the house vacuuming, straightening up, and even dusting (or so a child reported) before taking the three younger children into town to get gas and more groceries and snow clothes.
Aside Number One:
I saw a comment on social media in which someone mentioned that it makes them pissed-off mad when people empty the grocery shelves of bread and milk pre-snowstorm. Which confused me. Isn’t it smart to go shopping before a storm? I mean, don’t go crazy and take more than you’ll use, but what about simple foresight? I want plenty of milk on hand for multiple rounds of hot chocolate, plus lots of butter and eggs for my cookies and cakes. But now I’m wondering if I should feel guilty for hitting up the grocery store?
Aside Number Two:
My son is taking an EMT class, and during last night’s session they toured the dispatch offices. My son reported on the eve of the snowstorm, the EMS system was revving into high gear, prepping for Day One’s rash of accidents. Day Two, he said, should be fairly calm because everyone is stuck at home. But on Day Three and Four of a snowstorm, the police department starts getting a lot of calls because—get this—there’ll be a spike in domestic violence. That there would actually be a connection between snowstorms and domestic violence incidences never occurred to me, but I guess it makes sense, in a sadly twisted sort of way. We’ll all be crawling out of our skin by then.
Right before the snow hit, I got a call from a friend who had just gotten a newborn foster baby. “Let me bring you lunch,” I said.
So as the first flakes started falling, I flew around the kitchen cooking and assembling: macaroni and cheese, peas, slaw, and vanilla pudding. A loaf of fresh sourdough bread, clementines, and a wedge of pesto torte and crackers completed the meal. By the time I finished, the kitchen windows were fogged and the roads were blanketed with snow. My husband still wasn’t back from town, so my older son and I loaded up the little black car (never mind that the gas tank was nearly empty) and struck out.
“We are those idiots driving in a snow storm,” I muttered as we inched along. My son kept his foot off the brake and didn’t even flinch as an oncoming car slid gracefully into the ditch.
“The car behind them is stopping,” I said. “Keep going.”
Delivery made (and new baby briefly clucked over—so cute!), we crept home. When we turned onto our road, I heaved a huge sigh. Only then did I realize that I had been barely breathing all along.
Now, in typical Murch fashion, my husband and the kids are outside preparing for the storm in the storm. And I, in typical Jennifer fashion, am gearing up for a rash of baking while fretting about the huge mess I’ll have on my hands should the power go out.
This same time, years previous: lazy stuffed cabbage rolls, the quotidian (1.20.14), hobo beans, world’s best pancakes, the quotidian (1.23.12), moving forward, chocolate cream pie, corn tortillas, and peanut noodles.
8 Comments
Karen Sue
There's a certain amount of milk we go through in a few days…so if I'm not getting to the store for a few days, I buys today's and the next time's. I think sometimes snowed in DOES mean more cooking and baking, and if you're going to do that, you need the ingredients. Some people will complain about EVERYTHING. Enjoy the snow and being snug and warm and fed…
Becky
I went to the store for milk because we were legitimately low and if we were going to have breakfast on Thursday (pre-storm), I needed to get milk. Same thing for filling up my gas tank. The two trips after that were because I was trying to make my husband a birthday dinner and realized I was missing key ingredients. I generally keep a well stocked pantry (I think this is why some of the self declared 'preppers' that take my canning classes think I'm one of them, because my approach to canning is to consider what I want on my shelves in those January and February snowstorms) so the amount of stocking up I do when the forecast calls for snow is minimal.
We've had a steady stream of neighbors popping in and my daughter's BFF elected to get snowed in with us, so we've had company. I'm fairly sure that today we'll be making a break for it though, although it will probably be on food, as our roads are no where near clear.
Melissa @ thelittlegrayhouse
Sounds like fun to me. Once again the mountains surrounding Chattanooga "protected" us from getting more than a dusting. The grocery stores were empty of their bread and milk anyway. Have fun baking in the snow. There is definitely something magical about being in the kitchen when the snow is falling outside.
Mama Pea
And here we sit in northern Minnesnowta (!) with a piddling amount of snow. I think we've gotten only a total of about 6" all winter so far. Something is definitely wrong with this picture.
Stay safe, warm, well-fed and cozy. I know you will . . . if your power holds out. Even if it doesn't, I know you know how to make it through in good shape.
Mavis
Jealous beyond words of the snow. When I was on the east coast last winter during a heavy snowfall, I was AMAZED Costco was not packed full of peeps buying every last thing off the shelves. Advanced weather warnings here of an inch of store get the shelves cleared. I think peeps on the East coast are just more hearty and know what to expect. I want to move east. Like, every moment of every day.
Lana
I think it depends on where on the east coast because here in SC everyone goes nuts if we are even expecting a dusting of snow.
Lana
Last year I saw people loading up 6-8 gallons of milk and similar amounts of bread in Sam's before a snowstorm. They had a crazy look in their eyes. I wondered if they even had fridge space for all that milk!
Second Sister
Enjoy the snow! I heard the term "snowmagedan" used about this one that's coming your way. A little melodramatic, to be sure! Hope its more fun than that.