SnOw!!!

 Wow, we've had a lot of snow!  Where we live, we don't get snow every year.  I think we've received more snow, at one time, than I've seen here in the years I've lived here.  

The snow makes everything look so pretty!  😊

The snow started Sunday, 1/5, around 9am.  And it snowed almost non-stop until Monday morning.  We got a little sleet in there too, but not enough to knock out the power.  Usually, we get ice storms in the winter instead of snow.  I think we had up to a foot of snow.  Our neighbors used their tractor to plow our driveway.  Praise the Lord!

We also received more snow on Friday into Saturday, 1/10-11.  I think total accumulation was around 12 in.  We had some melting in between snows, so there was probably 8+ inches on the ground on Sunday, 1/12.  We'd shoveled on Saturday so we could make it out to church Sunday morning.

On Wednesday, between the two snow storms, I had to go out for physical therapy (I've had hip pain... getting old I guess 😅) and shopping: groceries at Aldi and Kroger, and check out the local Big Lots.  If you haven't been keeping up on the news, Big Lots is closing and Kroger isn't doing well either.  That's a rant for another day!  😒  Anyway, I loaded the car with my shopping.  

On Monday, we'd done some shoveling on the sidewalk and driveway.  Usually, the snow doesn't last that long so no one is used to having to shovel it.  I grew up in the Northeast, so I automatically think to shovel when the snow stops, but we don't usually have to here.  This year is different.  I think I heard that we haven't had this much snow in 15 years!  On top of that, we're also having colder temperatures than normal.  Weather patterns are cyclical, so we're probably coming into another "cold" time.  Danny said that they used to get lots of snow and cold when he was growing up here in the '80s.  Then, it just kind of stopped and we've had warmer winters, for the most part, since I moved here some 17 years ago.   

When I had left Wednesday afternoon, I had had to drive through the snow bank at the end of the driveway.  Coming home later, I knew I would have to plow through it again.  I tried getting into position and zipping into the driveway.  Nope. I got into the driveway... and stuck.  I tried backing up and going forward again.  Nope.  Tried again. Nope.  Really stuck.  I called Danny, who was in the house, and said that I was home, but I was stuck in the driveway.  He and the older boys came out to try pushing the car.  That didn't work.  We tried different combinations of people pushing, forward and backward, and the only thing that was accomplished was getting more stuck.  😑  Then, we decided, "Hey, maybe we should empty the car. There's lots of weight in here."  Oops.  Should have done that first.  So, some of the younger children and I unloaded the car and Danny and the older boys shoveled the car out and the rest of the driveway.  Then, we tried to push the car again.  Success! 😁

Thursday, the older children worked on making sure the driveway and sidewalk were as clear of snow as possible.  They had to shovel again on Saturday after the second snow, but it was a lot easier and the snow left on the sidewalk melted off Sunday.  

There's still snow on the driveway (it's gravel), but it can be driven on. The snow that's still on the ground has a thick layer of ice on it now from the warmer weather we had for a couple days. At least the sidewalk and steps are completely free of snow and ice.

 The children were able to play in the snow a few times, which is a treat.  When they come in, I have to hang up the wet snow clothes to dry. I have a really nifty clothes hang dryer for that.  

This tripod clothes dryer came from Aldi.  Can't remember when we got it, but it's very useful!

I took a little video of the snow, too.  It's a short on my YouTube channel.  I don't have anything else on the channel yet.  I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing with it.

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!