Hurricane Aftermath

We were prepared for the worst but it wasn't as bad as expected, at least at my house. We had a massive amount of rain and some high winds, but the winds weren't as high as they could have been. There were no thunderstorms either, and we did not lose power. There's still a fair amount of wind, and our power often goes out with little reason, so hopefully our good fortune will continue.

I haven't been away from the house, but apparently this area, Salem County, NJ, had major flooding that caused at least one death and closed roads. Overall though, we were lucky compared to the possibilities that had been predicted.

Snow

We are getting a white day after Christmas instead of Christmas. I was hoping there would be less snow this winter than last, but we are off to a bad start. It looks like we are going to get around a foot in the first major storm of the year.

Poor Preparation for Snow

When it started snowing early yesterday morning I wasn't worried. For years I haven't bothered with the snow at all. I don't even have a snow shovel. I just sweep off the steps and let the rest of it melt normally. I've never had a problem getting out anyway. We rarely get that much snow. Now, since I have one four wheel drive vehicle, I was even less worried.

So today I go outside and my one car is completely buried. You can't see anything but snow. The four wheel drive SUV is surrounded by snow drifts over three feet high. The rest of the driveway and everything else where it hasn't drifted has about two feet of snow. I sweep off the window of the SUV and stumble through the drifts and get in. Fortunately it starts right up. I put it in 4wd and figure I'm going to drive thru the snow out to the road. Wrong. The snow drifts are so deep that trying to move creates a wall of snow in front that brings me to a halt. 

I tell my wife we aren't going anywhere until I get a snow shovel, and I'm looking at probably at least four hours of heavy labor to clear a path from my driveway to the road. I walk a half mile to a hardware store and buy a shovel. Everyone in the neighborhood is digging, but most people were less stupid than I and started on their driveways while it was still snowing. I'm starting to revise my four hour estimate of labor upward. But then I am saved. On the way back I passed three high school kids looking to make some money. They cleared my driveway and got me out for $25, a major bargain. (The picture is after it was shoveled). And now I have a shovel so I won't be caught so unprepared again.