White-out. Way-cold. Big-ass drifts. Blizzard! Howling wind. Face-slapping wind. Stinging wind with one step out the door. Single digit temps. Below zero wind chills. New meaning to bone-chilling.
Prior to this, we’d had almost no snow here in Oklahoma this winter. In fact, things were decidedly balmy, as in 70+ degrees last week. At least now we’ve had a spat of real winter, and we get the benefit of moisture which we desperately need. I think most people took heed, stocked up and stayed home. Thank goodness! I worried about the farmers and ranchers and others whose jobs demand they get out, but so far most folks seem to be making the best of a dicey situation.
A few realizations:
It’s never too early to go to the store and stock up on essentials. The weather folks were predicting this storm by Thursday and Friday of last week. The storm hit Monday night and in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. People had a full three-four days of warning. We went and stocked up Saturday when things were still sane. Still, we heard some folks waited until the last minute, and sure enough, there were reports of stores being out of essentials.
You will use more milk. Hot chocolate, cookies and milk, biscuits and gravy, cheese sauce, creamy soups. Blizzards require comfort food. Comfort food requires milk. Stock up!
During a blizzard, there is probably no place outside your house where wood will not get covered in snow. We are lucky to have a wood-burning fireplace. We thought we’d be clever and move the wood pile around to the protected southern side of the house, which has a rather nice and expansive overhang. Forty-five mph wind and blinding snow doesn’t care where you put the wood – they will find it and pile on. So much for our cleverness. Still, it was better than if we’d left the wood in the old spot where there are now two-to-three foot drifts.
Thinking you’ll have time to do things such as snuggling up by the fireplace and reading a good book is probably a fantasy. I don’t know why this is but when you work from home as a rule (I do), and you’re also trying to cook a little, play with your kid or kids a little, or you have visiting parents and you want to be with them some too (my mom), somehow time evaporates even faster than snow on a warm roof once the sun comes out.
Drinking early is advisable. You’re not going anywhere in this kind of weather. Might as well make it interesting. Whether working at home or lounging languidly in front of the fireplace, spike your hot apple cider with wine all day long. Thereafter everything you do is brilliant.
*** Note: This doesn’t mean full-throttled glasses of wine with a splash of cider. Rather full-throttled cider with a splash of wine. Just don’t want anyone going around sayin’ I’m advising you to turn into a boozer.
