It was the storm that wasn’t supposed to happen. Forecast: Zero Snow Accumulation.

Actual results varied. We have almost 10 inches in our driveway. Most of the danger is from the sleet that happened in the first 6 hours. A small group of trees were so heavily weighted down they blocked the driveway. I chopped a bunch over the summer and the rest will be leaving this spring. Vine maples. Beautiful but problematic. Very problematic.

We’ve checked the forecast throughout the day, but they seem to change it based on the conditions. We picked up another 1″-2″ today when accumulations were supposed to be “minimal”. We’ll see what tonight brings. It’s supposed to have a high of 28 degrees or so. That’s Fahrenheit, or “real temperatures” as we call them in America. It’s 4 degrees below the freezing temperature of water; I have no idea what that is in Kelvin or whatever our Canadian friends in the north use.

Perhaps four Cold Stares from the Queen?

We could use some Californian fire about now. I almost regret making fun of them. Almost.

Late in the afternoon a pear tree on the *other* side of the driveway uprooted itself and fell across, causing a full blockage. It made driving down the hill to rescue Codex from work “interesting”. Felt like I was in one of the those Viagra commercials from years ago. You remember those? “It isn’t your first rodeo. Solve the problem in a Manly Fashion, then take our pills and…” well, you get it, right?

Yuck. Double yuck. Cure: Whiskey, over compacted snowball ice. Then comes the Advil, because the elliptical doesn’t prepare you for sawing trees and maneuvering 6″-8″ trunks by hand off the driveway.

A better plan is to double the whiskey and skip the Advil. I’m a dude.

So far, the power has stayed on, with a brief 30-second exception. Frankly, that’s a minor miracle. It means Friday’s comic is on track. We’ll try not to repeat what happened on Monday.

Prayers to all of you stuck in the second Snowpacalypse in as many years. Apparently the Northeast part of the country is about to get hit, which means those of you in the Midwest should be prepared.

Laugh all you like, Canadians. I kinda deserve it.

–> Quizzer

PS If we must suffer Canadian Winter, please send the Northern Lights. It’s one of the three items on my bucket list.