The Calm After The Storm

Cocaine Princess here.

On Thursday evening we were put on high alert because the worst storm to hit our region in 5 years was coming, at least that's what every meteorologist kept repeating over and over again- the storm will be a cowboy kind of an event. We're going to be hit by an Alberta clipper & a Texas low all at once. I was so sick of hearing about this monstrous winter storm that I made a decision not to listen or read the news and switched over to watch NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup: Community, Parks and Recreation (how awesomely funny is Ron Swanson!), The Office and 1600 Penn, but I couldn't escape the weather updates. During commercial break the news kept giving updates with their "Official Storm Tracker" and if that wasn't bad enough when the shows returned weather central kept informing their viewers by flashing written headlines across the TV screen.

Friday February 8th
I woke up at around 4am because the Sandman hates me for reasons I have yet to figure out and looked out the window. It was beyond calm outside. There were a handful of snowflakes scattered across the lawn. I snickered and sarcastically said, "OMG talk about a major winter storm!" Once more those individuals who claim to be weather specialists exaggerated and got it wrong. I proceeded with my daily morning workout.

Four Hours Later
*Gulp* Oh boy, what can I say other than that because when I looked out the window again I couldn't see a thing except for sheets of white. Okay, so the forecasters were right and wrong-- wrong about the timing of it. They were more than certain the storm would make landfall between the hours of 12am and 2am. 

Question: Who the hell (unless they have a death wish) gets into their car and goes driving in the middle of a frigging winter storm? Answer: Close to 350 people according to the police because that's how many calls 911 received from drivers whose cars had skidded off the road into a ditch. Here's a picture captured by the Ministry Of Transportation of motorists on one of our major highways shoveling the snow themselves after their cars had gotten stuck in the snow. 

Once more I ask the question, who the hell  gets into their car and goes driving in the middle of a frigging winter storm?!  I never quite understand why the media kept warning viewers to stay home and off the roads because I thought that fell under common sense but apparently not everyone possess such a thing.  The storm continued to rage on that day. It was more than clear Mother Nature was on the warpath because she refused to stop dumping the white stuff. It kept falling non stop. At one point I found myself staring out the window and yelling, "no more!"

The Calm After The Storm
The storm that arrived with a vengeance finally said its goodbye. The next morning the sun was shining bright, as the saying goes, it was the calm after the storm and the cleanup began. The entire neighborhood resembled a winter wonderland. As most of you know I'm not a fan of winter, snow or cold but there's beauty in winter-- the sun reflecting off the pure white colored snow,  tree branches glazed in ice, children making forts and snow angels..... Here are some pics I took on Saturday:

Remember this pic I posted on my Friday entry? It was taken one day earlier:

I took the exact picture the day after the storm but it was impossible for me to take it from the same angle because the snow was too deep and I would have been swallowed in alive.

In the afternoon I spotted a town worker who came by with his mini plow to clear the sidewalks but as you can tell he didn't finish the job. He quit midway!

This shrub looks like a heart doesn't it? The storm split the poor shrub in half.

A snow bank:

I was very thankful our power didn't go off but had that been the case we were fully prepared-- the reactor lights were plugged in and ready to light up in case of a blackout, a cozy fireplace and a pantry full of dry goods......Unfortunately I did wind up overeating quite a bit this weekend which is the one downside to being snowed in.

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess