In a startling turn of events, we are "snowed in" while everyone back home seems to be enjoying a relatively green Christmas. I say "snowed in" because of course we could get out if we had anywhere to go today.
Last night was the crazy church-hopping night. It started with our sitter calling at 5 p.m. to find out if we were still going out or if our gigs had been cancelled due to the weather. At that time, there was sleet and some ice/snow pellets but not much accumulation. She said that her dad would drive her over, and I volunteered to take her home later.
When we arrived at Church #1 (the Presbyterians) it was deserted. I think that less than 100 people showed up for the 9 p.m. service. When we left, it was snowing but the wind was also blowing enough that scraping the car wasn't an issue. We headed out for Independence and Church #2.
The roads were somewhat snow covered but visibility was just fine. I wished that I had brought my camera when I saw the following road sign:
"Blizzard warning. Travel not advised."
Hmm, I thought. And what are we supposed to do when we're already on the highway with no easy way off since the minimal plowing that was done managed to nicely block several of the exits!??!
We arrived at Church #2 with about 10 minutes to spare before the pre-Midnight-Mass concert began. Mass ended at 1:15 and we headed out to see what awaited us in the parking lot. We were met by bitter winds and drifting snow. Thanks to our super-long scrapers, we had the van cleaned off and were on our way in no time.
The drive home took a little over an hour instead of the usual 40 minutes. There were a couple of points with poor visibility, but it was mostly slow due to snow-covered roads and lack of snow removal equipment. Ben would think it wrong if I did not mention the plows we saw driving by with their blades in the air doing nothing!
Once we reached the main road that leads to our street, we ended up behind a couple of snow plows. This would have been good were it not for the fact that they were nicely plowing the main road but effectively blocking the side streets. Luckily for us, they turned around at 155th St. and we had to turn in on 157th. Ben gunned it around the corner and we happily sped down the drifting snow on our street.
No, we weren't stupid enough to pull in the driveway. Instead, Ben turned around and parked the car at the end of the drive so that I could easily get out to take the sitter home. I warned her that she was in for an adventure, and off we went gunning it up the hill and back to the main road.
Unfortunately, the sitter's house was off the beaten path. The first road we turned down had tire tracks but after that it was all up to me and the good old Canadian van with snow tires! I apologized to her for not pulling into her driveway and asked directions home, hoping that I wouldn't have to attempt to turn around on her street. I was able to head down the hill, around a few corners, and back out to the main road, albeit driving on the wrong side of the road for a few blocks since that side had been cleared!
When I arrived back in our neighbourhood, it was as if I hadn't even been there a few minutes prior. "Eh, I drove through more snow than this in a 2-door Civic while 7 months pregnant with Anna," I thought as I cheerfully gunned the van down the street and onto the driveway where I beached it in a lovely drift of snow.
Rachel and I went out for a bit this morning and I did shovel some snow, but I will need to go back out later to get it right down to the driveway. She had a great time playing in the snow - Grandma Karen, the fleece pants over leggings worked just fine for now, but we still eagerly await the pretty purple snow pants at your house!
And while this could have been mentioned earlier, I should say that Anna woke up at 2:45, just after I left with the sitter. When I got back, she was in our bed with Ben. I got changed and then Ben got up to get changed. During this time, Anna decided that she was done sleeping for the night, thank you very much.
So Ben headed downstairs with her at 3:30 a.m. Before anyone feels sorry for the good doctor (more on that in another post!), he has been napping for 3 hours now. Anna took a 2 hour nap from 10:30-12:30 and woke up screaming. It's now almost 3 p.m. and I cannot wait for bedtime to arrive. I "slept" from 3:30-7:30 and I need to clean the house and get packed since we are leaving first thing Sunday morning.
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