Welcome 2010!

It's day 2 of the new year and we're trapped... snowed in... snow up to *here*.

So far, this year is off to a blustery start. Not that I'm complaining. After all, what's to complain about being trapped with your preschooler while a nor'easter gusts and swirls snow unendingly around you, when the novelty of brand spankin' new Christmas gifts have already worn off? Or, that he's throwing himself on the floor, sliding down the hardwood to see how far he can go, and then crying that his legs hurt? And then does it again? Or when he shoves a dinosaur in his ear and then screams with pain? And then fusses while we check inside his ear with his new lego-man keychain-flashlight (yes, you read that right) to look for blood or seeping fluid (possibly brain)?

That's when I break out the chocolate. For me, not him. He doesn't need anymore encouragement.

And it's still snowing.

It's rather disconcerting when the national weather forecast for the region uses the words "astronomical" when describing the tides and storm surges expected for the day, and winds up to 100 km per hour (approximately 60 mph). People are warned to stay away from the coastal areas. Yay me.

Luckily, we're far enough away from the beaches that even if the sea level raises several dozen feet or there's a tidal wave we won't be affected. And frankly, the snow that has fallen so gently and lays so heavily across the yard and fields and roads will in all probability stop the water from reaching us.

I feel better now.

I'm not entirely sure how much snow has fallen... it's hard to judge precisely because we've shoveled and plowed and shoveled again, so there's snow banks and far-flung shovelfuls of fluffy white everywhere. At 7:30 pm, Atlantic time, I measured 46 cms (18 inches). That's much more than the predicted 30 cms (12 inches). Granted, it's not that much snow. But it is to have it all fall at once. In one day. And it rather startled me when I stepped off the porch and saw my boots disappear. Yes, it reached my knees.

And it's still falling. The areas I shoveled right down to the ground are now over my boot-tops. But we're fine. In fact, I just heard the snowplow go by. Again. Not that one could tell.

Happy new year!