Image courtesy of the U.S. National Weather Service, and shows snow depths from the most recent storm by color. The sickly green color means the deepest snow. I live within that sickly green area.

This is not a rant. This is not a whine. This is an observation.

Today marks the fourth day in row that the Federal Government has been closed in the DC Metro area. Actually, the feds closed a half-day last Friday, so this marks 4.5 work days that they have been closed in a row. As go the feds, goes my employer who “follows the lead” of the Federal Government. I get the time off with pay, as well. That’s good, because otherwise I would have to use vacation time until I reached the max and began using disability leave. Now perhaps I can preserve at least a few days of vacation time. We’ll see….

All day yesterday, we experienced a second round of a relentless series of storms. By evening, we had about 12″ (30cm) of snow accumulate on top of the 30″ (76cm) that had not begun to melt from the last storm. The snowfall yesterday was hard to measure because we had sustained winds of over 30mph (48kph). The winds blew the snow to cause drifts that looked as large as automobiles.

We lost power at 10:30am, and as my partner and I were debating about firing up the generator (which is not an easy feat), the power came back on. Yea! Thank goodness for small favours.

My partner went out yesterday morning and used the snowblower to remove the first 6″ (15cm) of snow, but said he would wait until today before he attempted to remove the rest of it. I agreed with that idea since the winds were howling, the wind chill was incredibly cold, and the blowing snow would cover what my partner removed. [Pictured is our little buddy Snowbeary who wants my partner to take him sledding.]

Meanwhile, we consider ourselves rather “lucky” compared with others I know who have been without power for four days (and counting), or who have had trees fall onto their house and caused significant damage. So far, for us, we’re okay. We are confined inside our house, but we are managing well. My aunt, bless her soul, is so pleasant and easy to care for. She reads, watches TV, and naps a lot. We are happy to have her with us. (She has even been able to help me out somewhat so I don’t have to try to get up and walk, which is still very difficult.)

I was able to prepare a great beef stew that went well with the homemade bread that I baked yesterday. It was that kind of day, and the stew was perfect: hearty and tasty.

Life is short: make the best of it!

I am learning how to get back to doing what I love to do: bake. I can sit on the island in our kitchen! Yippie!

You may wonder why that makes me happy. You see, I like to make our own breads, pasta, and other delights, but because I broke my leg and am under a doctor’s orders not to put weight on it, I can’t stand as I ordinarily do when I work in my kitchen. I thought my days of creating culinary delights were temporarily suspended.

However, I found that I can sit on the island in my kitchen and reach everything (or almost everything). Yesterday, my partner put all the ingredients on the island that I needed to make yeast-raised parmesan bread. I measured the ingredients and put them into a breadmaker which kneaded the dough. When the dough was ready, I formed four small loaves and put them in an unheated oven to rise. To hasten the yeast doing its work, I asked my partner to put a large bowl of hot water in the oven with the dough in the small pans.

A couple hours later, the dough had risen and it was ready to bake. I heated our bread oven (which is pretty much like a regular oven, but is only 10″ high and is lined with ceramic tile). I transferred the bread into the hot oven, and 33 minutes later, voi-la!

At dinnertime, I sliced the bread. My partner pan broiled some chicken breasts. When the chicken was ready, I put it on the sliced bread and placed some sliced mozzarella cheese on top. We put that in the oven and broiled it for about three minutes — and out came a “new” kind of hot chicken sandwich on fresh bread which made a great dinner. We enjoyed it with a small side salad.

These buns will be tasty today when I cover them with homemade meatballs and sauce so we can have a hot meatball sandwich for lunch. My partner will need to have a hot sandwich about that time, as he will have had to go remove snow again from our drive and walks. Sheesh, that snow is unmerciful this year!

Life is short: enjoy buns! Especially hot ones! (LOL!) [Sorry, I reserve my partner’s buns exclusively for me. Look, I may have a broken leg, but I’m not dead!]

Ordinarily, I am a very patient man. I work with a lot of the bureaucracy of our country’s federal government, which if that work has taught me anything, it is to be patient. The wheels of government grind very slowly. They take forever to make a decision, and often change their minds.

Currently, my patience, and that of my partner, has been tested and worn thin by this really crappy weather we have had to deal with. 30″ (76cm) of snow last weekend, and with our home county being in the target zone for some 8″ (20cm) to 16″ (40cm) of snow due to start falling later today through the night.

My partner has had to do everything, because I cannot stand up for more than a minute. From cooking to cleaning to shoveling snow to operating our generator to helping me bathe to going to get more gas and groceries between storms … you name it, he has to do it. It is really hard on him. He has tried to be as patient as he can be, and it hasn’t been easy.

I am frustrated as heck because there is very little that I can do. Our street was plowed yesterday morning, and a neighbor who has nothing better to do used his snowblower and opened up the rest of the street and neighbor’s driveways (all except his disabled next-door neighbor who he doesn’t like). I got a couple of buddies who I am tutoring for their upcoming citizenship test to come to the neighborhood and dig out that disabled neighbor (because I can’t tolerate spitefulness). They also dug out our fire hydrants so they would be accessible… just in case.

I have been helping to prepare volunteers with critical, time-sensitive, safety advice. These volunteers are using their 4WD vehicles to provide critical transportation for essential workers throughout our county. We almost lost a whole family who lives in our county. They used a cooking stove indoors during a power outage and almost died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. There is a lot of safety advice to give, but my expertise is knowing what is most critical information to give to certain audiences at the right time. As they say, “timing is everything.”

As far as the eye can see… more and more snow. Wish us safety and comfort as we prepare for the filming of the sequel, “Snowpocalypse II.” An alternate film also in production is “Snowzilla.” I just hope that they can mesh the mouth movements better than they were able to do with the original “Godzilla” movies (LOL!)

PS: If blog posts appear that are not related to our current situation with the weather, then it is likely that we have lost power and internet service again, and this blog has gone on “automatic,” meaning that some other posts I have written for “anytime” will appear each day until our power and internet service is restored.

I don’t swear (often), but when this emergency message just popped up on my computer, all I could say was, “oh shit!”

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THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN STERLING VA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TUESDAY TO 4 PM EST WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW MIXED WITH SLEET AT TIMES TUESDAY EVENING.

* ACCUMULATIONS: 10 TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW.

* TIMING: MID-MORNING TUES THROUGH WED AFTERNOON.

* TEMPS: TEMPS NEAR FREEZING AT THE ONSET TUESDAY AFTERNOON. TEMPS WILL DROP INTO THE MID 20s TUESDAY NIGHT. HIGHS IN THE LWR 30s WEDNESDAY.

* WINDS: LIGHT SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS TUES BECOMING NORTH-NORTHWESTERLY 15 TO 25 MPH WEDNESDAY.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW & STRONG WINDS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

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Due to this impending version of “Snopocalypse II,” I had to cancel my doctor’s appointment scheduled for Wednesday to get a cast on my leg. Who knows, it may be summer solstice before the snow and ice melt enough for me to get back to the doctor’s office.

Life is short: and with these ongoing storms, it may be shorter! Arrrgggh!

Like we get 30″ (76cm) of snow every day. To my neighbors: of course the snow plow hasn’t come down your side street yet, and it’s not because the operators are sipping lattes at the local coffee house. Would you want to have that kind of job? No? Then kwitcherbitchen.

The snow plow operators have been working day and night since before the snow began to fall, and all through it and for days following. Give ’em a break!

Look, everything is closed on Monday, including schools, local, state, and federal government offices, and most private facilities. Stay home, recover from your hangover at your party watching that football game, chill… read a book. But stop whining!

I would much rather that the plows give priority to making hospitals and other community essentials accessible, as well as help utility repair crews identify and be able to reach downed wires so they can restore power. That’s much more important than whether I can get out or not… and should be the same for you.

Relax, take a “time out.” Life will resume its regular hectic pace soon enough. Enjoy this chilled-out holiday!

Meanwhile, the computer is now going off, and my partner and I are retreating to our media room to watch some movies we have recorded. I’m not a football fan, so we’re not all hyped about “the game.” We’ll sit, relax, hold hands, have some popcorn, enjoy a movie, and hit the sack at our usual early hour.

Life is short: chill out!

The sun rose this morning and shone its beautiful golden rays on the trees in the forest behind our house, striking a contrast with the snow. It is a gorgeous sight to behold… as were two cop buddies of mine who somehow made it to our house at 5am and finished shoveling us out. I made them some hot cocoa and buns, which I pulled hot out of the oven just as they finished up. Thanks, guys! You’re the best! (I’ll find a way to repay the favour when I’m rebooted and back on my feet.)

Life is short: enjoy its beauty and celebrate good friendships.

Just imagine… in about six weeks, this hill behind our house will have thousands of bright yellow, orange, and multicoloured daffodils blooming on it…. just imagine…

As of 4:30pm, it is STILL snowing. It started snowing 30 hours ago! Measurements that my partner took around the yard reveal anywhere from 24″ (61cm) to 30″ (76cm) and we have some drifts as much as FIVE FEET (153cm)!

We lost power to our home in the middle of the night, which we anticipated would happen because the snow that fell was wet and heavy, and there were a lot of reports of power lines being hit by falling tree limbs. At daylight, we worked on getting the generator running so we would have heat and preserve the food in our refrigerator and freezers.

My partner has become a pro at using the snow blower, bless him. We are just amazed. It truly is the biggest snowfall we have ever had. I don’t expect a county plow to come until the middle of the week. Meanwhile, my partner, my aunt, and I are safe, warm, dry, and managing to deal with this just fine. (Power came back on about 2pm, which was a welcome surprise!)

Oh sh*t… this wicked winter just ain’t ever gonna end.

It began to snow yesterday morning about 10:30am, and continued snowing all day and all night. The forecast is for over TWO FEET (20m, or so it will seem) of accumulated snow by the time this storm ends. [For the unfamiliar, the average amount of snowfall during an entire winter season in the DC/Maryland area is less than 15″ or 38cm. We got more than that already in our record-breaking December, 2009, snowfall.]

My poor ol’ hard-workin’ partner has been out there… shoveling away. He also decided that this snowfall was just so much that he would use the snow blower, after initially saying that he did not want to try to use it. The machine is hard for him to handle, but he will do okay with it. It’s not really that hard to use, once you become accustomed to it.

I have quit feeling guilty that I can’t be out there to help him. I have accepted the fact that I have a broken leg and there’s nothing I can do about the snow. I am caring for my aunt, who is staying with us “for the duration” and I am doing some other things that I can do via the Internet — as long as we have power. The snow is heavy and has covered tree branches, so I would not be surprised if we lose electrical power and internet connectivity. That’s okay, we are prepared.

How prepared are we?

• We have enough food and water to last us for at least a week. Most of the food can be eaten without heating, if need be.

• While we enjoy VoIP telephone service so we can make “free” long-distance calls throughout the U.S. and Canada, we kept one hard-wired telephone which is powered independently by the phone company, so we will have a working phone if the power goes out.

• Plenty of flashlights and extra batteries are at hand. No candles — which are huge fire hazards.

• We have a generator that can be connected to power essential circuits in the house through a properly installed transfer switch, and adequate fuel stored safely.

• The generator will power a circuit that will keep the fan in our gas-fueled furnace operating so we will be warm.

• Most of all, we have each other. We’ll take care of each other and get through this just fine.

Life is short: be prepared!