Monday, December 07, 2009

Winter Wonderland to the Extreme

I love a White Christmas! There is something about having snow for Christmas that is just icing on the cake of a wonderful holiday. It just doesn't seem the same if it's a "brown" Christmas.

But seriously now. This was just a tad extreme. Not quite what I had in mind. Friday morning it was beautiful outside. By noon the sky turned grey and the wind started to pick up a bit. By afternoon the snow started. As all of Alberta was under a blizzard warning we weren't surprised.


But then by Saturday it got crazy. Winds got up to 70 km/hr (about 43 mph). The problem wasn't so much the falling snow, but that plus the blowing snow combined. Highways were shut down. Cities came almost to a stand still. At least 6 cars got stuck by Saturday afternoon in front of my house as they tried to make room to pass each other and the snow on the side out of the worn path sucked them in. Bad news. More bad news? Minimum 2 hour wait on a tow truck.

The drift. Oh the drift! You had to be here. That is snow blowing off my roof onto my deck. Yes, it's up to my patio table. My poor dog held it in. I'm sure I saw his legs crossing at some point. Then he braved the blowing snow and it was a quick trip out let me tell you. He had a little path we managed to shovel out for him. And he did not waste anytime.



I don't know if you can see by this pic but the drifted snow is higher than my deck. How many days it'll take to shovel that out no one knows. No going through that gate for awhile, I guess.

I noticed none of you all sent a dog sled or a St. Bernard to my rescue like I requested. So no Christmas shopping for me even though my to do list was a mile long for this weekend. But a sweet young man with an ATV with a shovel on the front came around and helped push my friend onto my driveway when she got high centered. He used that thing to shovel the end of my driveway off so that that wouldn't happen again and then he did a few passes in front of our house so cars could park without getting stuck and then that young man literally shovelled off his whole street so that cars could get in and out without getting stuck. Bless his heart! I'm sure there were angel wings tucked under his winter parka somewhere.

So instead of shopping, I spent the weekend inside. I lit my balsalm candle, my youngest made us frothy hot mocha's, we turned on the electric fireplace (hey, it's better than nothing!) and we put up the tree and watched "The Secret Garden", "It's a Wonderful Life" & "Christmas with the Kranks". Now that is cozy comfort to the extreme. And I do have 2 shopping weekends left, right?


14 comments:

ellen b. said...

Oh boy Susanne...that is extreme. We are frigid here but no precipitation so no snow. I can get around but I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet...yikes!

Finding Pam said...

That is a lot of snow! We rarely get even a flurry.

Your alternative was an excellant choice. I loved your movie selections.

I hope that you get all your shopping done in time.

Jientje said...

Yikes!! I may be pretty ... but ...
It's a good thing angels are around when you need them!

Donnetta said...

Oh that brings back memories of my year last year and our feet and feet of snow!!

Hubby and I were just talking this morning that it seems to be one extreme or the other. Last year our city was shut down due to snow.

This year, instead of snow (nothing on the ground so far) we have temps with highs in the teens. BBBrrrrr....

Light another candle, pour another cup of coffee, put your feet up, stay warm and enjoy....

Barbara H. said...

My, that is extreme!I don't think I have ever had that much snow -- 12" was the most and that was unusual. And never at Christmas. I love the cozy weekend you made of it, and bless that young man's heart!

Karyn said...

Sounds like a perfect way to spend a snowed in weekend!

There are angels here and there with ATV's equipped with blades....I've heard of at least one other who did the same thing for his neighborhood.

Hard to believe that it was 'shirtsleeve' weather a mere 8 or so days ago!

Anonymous said...

WOW...that is just beautiful. Cold, but beautiful :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my! We got 2 in. of a lovely snowfall.....but you, that is that crazy Canadian weather! Wow!
And I really have done no shopping and I didn't have extreme weather! :)
Stay warm.

Melli said...

Mm mm mmmmm! I have only seen snow like that 3 times in my life! The first time I was 9 years old and the snow literally came up to my CHIN! I wasn't going anywhere! The next time was when my eldest was 18 months old. I didn't have to build an igloo for her -- we just dug out a fort and had couches and chairs and everything in there! She thought it was great but had no appreciation!!! LOL! And the last time was 22 years ago when we were in the middle of building this house! Needless to say - no work got done on it for a few days! My two youngest have NEVER seen snow like that! I think the most they've seen is about 18 inches. But without the drifts! The thing with those drifts is it makes it impossible to calculate how much snow you actually GOT! 1/2 an inch here -- 48 inches there!!! LOL! Well... for your sake I hope this isn't just the beginning!

Karen said...

Nothing like a good snow storm to humble us and remind us all Who's boss! Cocoa and movies and a nice fire sounds like a good compromise. At least you have a couple weeks left to catch up on your shopping and to-do list!

Carrie said...

Ok, so *I* think that's totally cool. Once a year. Only. =D But then I'm originally from South Texas (waaay south) and every Christmas was brown. Seasons? What are those? I LOVE being in Oregon because you experience changes in the weather - but nothing too extreme where we are. Still. Once nice, fun blizzard a year that kept my husband home from work and gave us something fun to look at and talk about would be fun.

Catherine said...

Loved your cozy, indoor activities -- that's the only way to wait out a blizzard, in my book.

2cats said...

I think you beat the blizzard at it's own game. It wanted you miserable and instead you were cozy. Our snow is supposed to start Tuesday night, I am supposed to take the car in on Wednesday morning. I hope I make it.

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

Wow. I would never make it!