Big Dump '08: Condition Red

I'm sitting here typing as I watch my neighbor shovel the snow off the roof. The former record for snowfall is 13 inches in a 24 hour period. We just got 19 inches in a 24 hour period. The city calls this Condition Red. Anytime you are in a state of red it is not good. Basically it means that the plows won't get to my street until some time in April. Yesterday I drove to work with some light snow blowing around and by the time I went home at 5:00, I was beginning to wonder if I'd even make it. I did make it home yesterday evening with some fancy maneuvering, but I haven't left since. Pretty much everything is closed that can be, and half the drivers that braved the roads are stuck, with many of the cars just abandoned in the road under a mound of the still falling snow. Since the snow is up to the average adults knees there is also quite a few people just walking down main arterials just because there is nowhere else to walk.
These photos are right out my back door. I marked the inches in increments of 10 so you can see that it is just below the 20 mark. I also stepped into it up to my knee. Most of my friends are measuring the depth with their children. I'm seeing photos on Facebook of children lost in the fluffy whiteness with nothing but huge grins from purple lips visible. For the most part, and I'm guessing it's because this is our first major snow, everybody is taking this in good spirits. The kids, of course, are in their perfect vision of winter while most of the adults have become kids again for the moment.

The weather is on TV non-stop now and I just got word that one of the major malls has just completely closed. There is a ticker running across the bottom of the screen just listing everything that has closed today... it might be easier to list what is open. The surprising thing is that they haven't given this storm a dramatic name yet. I decided to adopt the one the two radio DJs called it this morning; Big Dump '08.

I had a fluffy squirrel bound by my sliding glass door and as I have been curled up in sweaters and blankets inside, I felt a little guilty. I had a sunflower left over from my dad's garden, so I tossed it out for him. I'm a sucker.

Well, it is still snowing so I'll have to keep you all updated. It sounds like we'll just keep getting more. The good news is that the Gonzaga game is still on for tonight! Also, if I run out of eggnog, I'm in walking distance of a grocery store.

*Deanna*