Stormy Weather

I shouldn’t be surprised that the first major snow storm of the year turned into something a little left of perdition. This is 2020 after all. We knew it was coming and in typical New England fashion the forecast changed each day leading up to it, including the day of. It started out Saturday morning with some heavy rain and wasn’t supposed to start snowing until after noon. I was on my early morning Facetime call with the FBR when she asked, as she usually does, what the weather was like up here. When we went to the window, I noticed that snowflakes were mixing with the rain and before the call was over, huge, wet snowflakes were falling in earnest.

BRS, A Dedicated Snow bunny out in her Yard Sunday

That continued throughout the day coating everything. I planned on clearing the driveway Sunday morning because my entire Saturday was devoted to a serial watch of the three Lord of the Rings movies since I received the 4K version of these favorite films on Thursday. Shortly after the warg riders were dispatched and Aragorn took his fall I checked in on the weather and heard a strong recommendation to clear driveways that night because everything was gong to freeze solid overnight.

Deckzilla Early Saturday Afternoon

We ended up getting ten inches since we’re on an elevated position. Just a few miles away on lower ground they received much less. The kicker was the last couple inches were soaking wet which weighted everything down. This compacted everything into a very heavy, wet mess. After Helms Deep was saved, I ventured outside into this chaos and fired up the snow blower. The snow was so heavy it would only allow itself to be thrown a couple feet. This meant I ended up having to throw the same snow three times to get it off the driveway. The snow bank at the street was formidable and consisted of huge boulders of snow(this being great snowman type of snow). I ended up chopping them up and carrying most of the pieces to the side. After several dozen clearings of the clogged chute I declared a hard fought victory and headed inside where my Favorite Panamanian had some hot chocolate waiting for me.

FBR Still Having Fun with Facetime Filters

Pee Wee Communing with my Daughter During Our Call

My late night activity was redeemed Sunday morning when I saw one of my neighbors literally using an axe to cut the now very frozen boulders blocking his driveway.  My next door neighbor recently had surgery (something I know way too much about) so I did hm a favor and cleared his driveway. I ended up just kicking the boulders to dislodge them and then carrying them to the side. Like I said, 2020, in spades.

Screenshot of My Son with BR3
She Wears this Very Judgmental Facial Expression
Like She's Angry We're ruining her Cuddle Time with Dad

All of this work took over an hour and a half on Saturday night which delayed the movie watch, but I was not to be daunted. Sauron met his demise and ten movie endings later I snuck upstairs at 1:45 in the morning. Fortunately my Favorite Panamanian was so sound asleep she didn’t realize my idiocy until I revealed it the next morning over breakfast. Still, I enjoyed the watch, even though I missed having my son at my side as in previous viewings.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                            

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn