I’ve missed you internet. First it was the trojan* that incapacitated my PC and laptop and then this! I was almost back online when this monster of a storm hit late Friday night. I wasn’t the least bit prepared for it and ran to the store, like everyone else in my neighborhood, at 8pm. The shelves were empty but I made do by grabbing some sauerkraut, corned beef, swiss and pumpernickel. I threw it all in a Crock Pot and called it good.
And it was.
The mood around my house was pretty jovial. It was a Friday night, the snow hadn’t begun in earnest and everyone was still having a pretty good time. My daughter and I were playing a marathon game of Plants VS Zombies and my son was out getting his eyebrow pierced. The heat was cranked up, the Christmas movies were playing on TV and all was good.
I woke up the next morning (Saturday) and looked outside, the snow had stopped for the time being and it didn’t look as if we had more than 6 inches on the ground. 6 inches is nothing so I grabbed a cup of coffee and settled in for a couple of hours until the rest of the house woke up. I stepped outside when I let the dog out and noticed my neighbor shoveling. We exchanged “good morning”s and talked a little about the weather and what was still headed our way. I remember thinking to myself that my neighbor is a little obsessed with shoveling. I was was far more practical and was going to wait until the snow had stopped falling officially.
I say officially because the snow had stopped only for a brief moment, the worst was yet to come, and come it did.
24 hours later we had nearly 20 inches of new snow on the ground. The 5th worst snowstorm in recorded history for the Twin Cities, proving that Global Warming is oh so real because I have been alive for all five of these storms.
I have a snow blower but I can’t figure out how to start it. Either it’s the choke that is messing me up or it doesn’t work. I’m not really sure. I asked my brother if I could borrow his (because his used to be mine until we traded two years ago when I moved to a smaller lot and didn’t need as much power and width). He sent me a text message saying it was out of gas.
Now, I know my brother and how he doesn’t like confrontation of any kind. I also know that he is willing to lie if it suits his purposes. I also know he has been out in the snow all day long and the last thing he wants to do is help his sister out. Actually, it doesn’t matter if he has been in the snow all day or not, he never wants to help out his sister.
Instead of confronting him on any of these things I just played right along with him and texted back to him that I had a can of gas in my garage. He responded that I could come and get it since he was finished with it until they plowed.
If I could actually get to my garage and get my car out it I wouldn’t need to borrow the fucking snow blower.
Because I have a very passive – aggressive relationship with my brother (for reasons he won’t share with me), I simply said I couldn’t get either vehicle out due to the drifts and then I said “thanks anyway”.
I’m not sure why I thanked him.
It is 7:15pm as I type this and we just finished shoveling the car out. We haven’t yet shoveled out the truck, there is still four feet of snow between the truck and the alley that needs to be removed and there just isn’t any place left to put the damn snow.
My son and I actually considered sharing a car until spring.
* I am virus free now but not without all kinds of hell. I still haven’t managed to reinstall all my software and while I backed everything up I haven’t taken any of it off the hard drive. I have all kinds of posts that are just itching to get out (just ask me about the Minnesota bloggers who snubbed me) but until I get my computer back up to speed and catch up with work, you will have to wait. But consider this: why do we only hear Stevie Wonder songs at Christmas?
Maybe the Minnesota people are too busy digging their football stadium out from under the rubble?
Wasn’t that something! I watched them shovel the snow off of what remained on the roof. It was 10 below and they had to tie on so the winds didn’t blow them off. We are a hardy people here.
Wow. I had no idea it was so bad…I mean, yes, I read about it, but to hear it straight from someone I know out there, whoa! Glad to hear you’re safe…even if you aren’t very happy :). Or wait, I mean :(. Hope tomorrow is better for you.
Now it’s tomorrow and the schools are closed.
I went out in it today, to go to Target and the parking lots are like the Alps or something. There is just no place to put all the snow.
Next time you see your brother, kick him in the shin for me. Seriously. If you could get the frack out to go get the snowblower YOU WOULDN’T NEED THE SNOWBLOWER! And that kind of “Minnesota Nice” is why I am damn glad I don’t live in MeanNSnotty anymore. (Bitter, Me? Why do you ask? *sweet smile)
It seemed rather obvious to me too.
We haven’t had snow like that in years. In fact, our winters have become an embarrassment. It’s raining as I type.
Too bad about the stadium roof. We should be so lucky cause our crap Olympic Stadium sucks.
We’d been in a pattern where we weren’t getting these kinds of winters either. My son never believed me when I told him we got at least one snow day a year. This is his second one in 12 years.
Did you see the video of the dome collapsing? That was something. I don’t know how they are going to get it fixed, or even if they will bother. It’s not like playing out the season gives them a chance at all. The Vikes have been begging for a new stadium since the twins got their new outdoor (30 years ago they begged for an indoor stadium and got the dome) stadium. If the Vikes could just win a Super Bowl I’d write a check to the new stadium, but since that is never going to happen I don’t want to waste the money and they can suffer in the Dome for eternity.
I watched the video a bunch of times. It was crazy! They should call it the Sno-Dome now. But it isn’t even a dome any more.
That chain link fence is chest high, right? And it looks like the tires on your car have disappeared. That’ harsh, sister.
Hey, did the dog get lost in the snow? It must have come up to his chin, right? Will a dog take a dump under snow? I mean if the snow goes up to his tail, will he still pop a squat?
Your brother is a punk. Does he read your blog? If so — dude, you are a punk. It was the weekend, she had the gas and you had an operating vehicle. Punk.
I cannot wait to hear about the MN bloggers.
I made my son shovel a path in the grass area for the dog. Unfortunately the dog isn’t having any of it. He keeps peeing and pooping on the sidewalk. I don’t think he will poop if he squats and the snow is in his ass. Then again, when you gotta go you gotta go.
[…] Alright, I told Jen I would not complain about winter in the D since Mother Nature projectile vomited snow every which way but loose over Minnesota this weekend. […]
Yay. Snow. Okay, maybe that was the kid in me. The adult who would have to shovel says “Holy Crap. Snow.”
You’re bother sucks. Family is family…or should be. You need a good neighbor. All of mine would help out.
Glad you got the crockpot filled before it started. My mouth is watering.
Eyebrows pierced? Ouch.
It is pretty, I will give you that. If this had happened after Christmas I
wouldn’t think that so much. It’s a little more sucky because school has
been canceled today and they get out for winter vacation in a week so that
makes my work week shorter. Plus it’s really cold now, too cold to play
outside.
My neighbor would have gladly snowblowed for me and has in the past but he
broke the belt on his after the first ten minutes and couldn’t get his car
out to buy a new one. Not that any stores were open.
The reuben dip is awesome here is the recipe:
1/2 pound corned beef, sliced and chopped up. One can of (15 oz) sauerkraut,
thousand island dressing, a couple dollops or squirts depending on the
bottle, swiss cheese, 1/2 cup to a cup grated. There is a real recipe but
it’s long lost and really any of the ingredients can be measure by eye
and consistency. Get those little rye or pumpernickel breads to spread it
on. Alternatively garlic bagel chips are much easier to just scoop it up
with.
He’s sporting a black eye today. I have a picture but he doesn’t want me to
post it. As long as he doesn’t pierce his mouth, tongue, cheek or nose I
don’t care. Also, he will be 18 in two months so there isn’t much I can do
to stop him at this point. Says the woman with ten holes in her ear and
three tattoos.
Holy. Hell. That is a CRAZY amount of snow.
I can’t believe your brother wouldn’t / didn’t help you out and bring his snow-blower over.
PS: I listen to Stevie Wonder YEAR ROUND!
I knew there was someone who appreciated Stevie all year but they don’t play him on the radio anymore, just his Christmas song. Stevie needs to be heard!
I like to rock out to him after I’ve put on my Outfit and gone Outside!
Of course you do, why didn’t I think of that?
🙂
And it isn’t even winter yet, officially! Boy you sure got dumped on. We’re still waiting. Not that I’m looking forward to it. Since you’re such an experienced shoveler I’ll give you a call when the snow starts piling up here.
It’s been winter here since about a week or two before Thanksgiving, and I’m sick of it. I’m ready for summer again.
I’d be happy to send my son up there to do the shoveling, he’s much better at it than I am.
The blizzard missed Montana. It’s in the 40ies and raining here. Mud season has come early. It is up to my knees and I am not a tall goat. If you never hear from me again you will know I got sucked up by a sinkhole of mud.
Merry Christmas
A mud bath in warmer temps might be fun but that sounds awful. I hope you don’t get sucked in to a sink hole.
Merry Christmas to you too!
That’s a lot of snow! We had a dusting last night, which in spite of 28 degree temps, it has disappeared. Probably something to do with the 35 mph winds. We have currently have a wind chill of 12. Brrrr!
Anything below 20F is just not fun. Since the storm ended we’ve had below zero temps. It’s all Canada’s fault with that damn Alberta Clipper, or maybe that’s More Canada’s fault, not sure, I’d have to check the map.
Wow! I am so not ready for all that snow. Waiting for the “official” stop of the snow is wise. I try to reason this point with my husband every winter. Never works. He’s got that early-bird worm syndrome that apparently carries on to excessive snow shoveling. Don’t even ask me what else he has. No anti virus around could handle that.
I wish my son had that affliction, I wouldn’t have to nag as much.
I do not envy you and your snow in the least. I am a weak, sun-drenched, Californian who complains if it’s less than 50 degrees outside. It could be worse. I could be in Hawaii. Oh, the complaints you would hear from me then. Love your random last sentence, by the way.
As much as I really miss warmth I don’t think I could handle perfect weather all year round. I really need something to complain about the weather here never fails to give me that.
Oh baby, I’ve been worried about you! Jesus, Jen! This is dreadful! I am glad you and yours are safe and okay. Still, be careful! It’s nasty out there and don’t go to football games in enclosed stadiums!
I don’t do football so you don’t need to worry about that. I did see on the news today where another panel collapsed. They’ll have a new stadium in a year.
I swear, we had 1/2″ of unexpected snow yesterday and it turned everyone into a bunch of fucking idiots. But it was beautiful – the roads were find and there was just enough snow to make a 6 inch snowman and a couple of snow balls to throw down the kids pants. I had no problem until this morning when the temps went down to 25 – 12 with wind chill and I had to go out with the stupid dog and 0 dark thirty and freeze my ass off. My mind started wandering and I started thinking of all those poor souls up north – I don’t know how you do it, I don’t know why you do it. You’re all crazy. Move South.
I don’t know why we do it either except it’s really hard to move in the winter because you can’t get the moving truck close enough to the house to get all your shit into it. We just hunker down and wait for spring and then we forget all about winter. Or, we drink a lot.
All that snow you got has now made it way east to us. Thanks for that gift, Jen!
I have a snowblower somewhere in my garage… I think. I never could figure out how it worked. So, like you, I’m stuck with doing it the old fashioned way. But since I’m still on crutches, that snow will probably stay there until spring. I wonder if I can stretch out my disability payments until then?
I wanted to do that, just leave it there til spring, but they ticket us for not shoveling. And, I wanted to get out of the house. I hope you get off those crutches soon-it’s ski season.
If I’d known you were making corned beef and sauerkraut and about to get 2 feet of snow, I’d have come up there and shoveled your drive for you, Jen. Assuming I could’ve gotten there, of course.
I’ve been making it everyday it seems. The boy can’t get enough of it and the girl thinks it stinks, but it’s so good.
SNOWWWWW!!!!!! I LOVE IT!! I know you must hate it after getting so much all the time. We never EVER get any but last year got a storm and it actually snowed yesterday… the kids were so excited.
Eyebrow pierce? That is actually the only pierce I really don’t get. I mean above the waist. Do they do that a lot there? A bunch of the neighborhood boys here are getting their lips pierced. OW!!!! I also see a lot of the ring in the ear that they make bigger and bigger… I laugh thinking about how they will look at 55 with huge holes in their ears. I have always liked the tiny diamond in a woman’s nose…
Are you telling me you understand the piercings below the waist? Cuz I don’t, please explain.
HAHA!!! NOOOOOO I do NOT understand them!! LOL! Above is good to go ha ha!
Oh well THIS time I can relate! We have just gotten rid of two foot of snow here (with more on the way apparently), and did we get any help with our snow shovelling? No we didn’t. We were housebound for a week.
People just are not as helpful as they used to be, including brothers it would seem.
I’ve seen some nasty behavior from drivers out there. We’re supposed to be “Minnesota Nice” where we help each other but I’ve seen so much road rage. Okay, I did loose my cool the other day when some dumbass decided to cross the street when it was a left hand green light. Dude, my car weighs a lot more than you do and it doesn’t stop nearly as fast as you think it does on this ice.
Since the divorce I live in an apartment now. NO MORE SNOWBLOWING. I suppose that’s the upside of having to give away 33% of my paycheck every week.
Great. Now I’m depressed. Thanks a lot. Oh well..at least I don’t have to shovel.
As a divorced woman who looks after the kids 98.9% of the time I’m pretty
sure before your divorce more than 50% of your income was being *given away*.
You should consider yourself lucky. You could be a woman earning less than
you for the same work and having to care for the kids for more than 50% of
the time. I love you like crazy Mooooog but don’t even go there.
I hate snow. I hate the cold. I hate when darkness descends at 4:30 p.m. I feel like I’m stuck in a meat locker. My family and I live on top of a mountain on an access road with three other homes. We share a plow service although we didn’t decide on said plow service until tonight. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.