Snow

“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels.” Anon

I am looking out the window onto the ravine. The tree branches are covered in snow. The ravine floor is white and the trees look stark across the gray sky. The back deck of the house is covered with more than a foot of white powder. It is beautiful.

Yesterday's dump of snow resulted in the cancellation of my scheduled lunch meeting. The plows cleared our driveway before noon and I thought I would venture out for a few hours to run some errands and do some shopping. But I kept putting it off, hour after hour until I finally decided to stay put. When I went to bed I realized I had spent a whole day without setting eyes on another human being. Merv is still away and even my cleaning lady didn't feel confident enough to venture out in the snow. I woke today with the temptation to spend another day in isolation. It's so cold outside. But I will fight it harder this time. There are a few chores I want to do in the house but after that, I'm going to head out. Merv will be home sometime this evening, if indeed his flight is unaffected by the storms raging on the eastern seaboard. This afternoon I will make a batch of slow cooker chili in case he is hungry when he gets home.

I've been avoiding watching more than the local news the past couple of days. Even in the face of the Arizona massacre that happened last Saturday, our friends to the south can't seem to find a way to turn down their hateful, political rhetoric. I just don't want to hear it. Even the local news is tough right now. I am deeply saddened by the death of Sgt. Ryan Russell who was struck and killed by a stolen snowplow shortly after he started his early morning shift yesterday. It was senseless and heartbreaking. Let's hope the news gets better in the coming days.