Blizzard 2010

My Hero

As many have said, this past weekend truly was a storm to remember.  I have childhood memories of the ’91 blizzard, but the 2010 blizzard is the first where I’ve been old enough to be aware of roads, food supply, and digging out.  What an adventure!

Our experience of the storm weekend from the Eikum home was pretty mellow, and I like it that way.

Friday:

-Beth came over and I stayed up late organizing the kitchen and baking paximadia (future blog post will explain that term).

-Bert was out at a friend’s b-day poker party, but found the roads weren’t too treacherous on the way home.

Saturday:

-We awoke to swirling snow, and lots of it.  There was no hope in real shoveling because of the high winds, so we hunkered down for the day.  Bert did shovel his trusty path to his garage stall where he spends most Saturdays lately, and I organized, cleaned, and baked.  Seeing a trend?

-In the evening, I wrapped gifts in the dining room while Bert worked on the kitchen to Elf playing in the background.

Sunday:

-Church was cancelled.

-The wind finally settled down, and it was COLD.  But the snow was gorgeous.

-Bert borrowed our brother-in-law’s snow blower – Praise the Lord! - and embarked on a day of heavy-duty snow clearing. The official count for our area was 16.5 inches.

-The metrodome collapsed.  Crazy.

-I walked to the neighborhood market to get a half gallon of milk (one of the last two on the shelf).  There were full gallons, but who wants to carry that home?  It was fun to see the neighborhood in full digging-out mode.  Some were more discouraged than others.  I was particularly thankful for a strong husband during this portion of my day!!

-I made a meal for a friend with said purchased milk (home-style mac and cheese, yum!).  And Bert and I braved the Mpls neighborhood roads to deliver it.  Road widths around here are MUCH narrower from the drifts, making driving a very cozy experience with much give and take.

-We trekked to Bert’s parent’s home in Bloomington to help with their driveway.  The borrowed snow blower and gas can were nestled into our Ford Escape.  Did I mention the snow blower was leaking oil?  I got a swift headache and stomach ache from the fumes, so I proceeded to stick my head out the window for the 15 minute drive.  Did I mention it was 8 degrees?  I daydreamed of snowboarding as my face basked in the cold sun.

-Bert plowed while I got to help put lights on the tree at my wonderful in-law’s home.

-We stopped by my sister-in-laws to take in their impressive home renovation updates and say hi to the family.

-We also stopped at Cub on the way home as our fridge was very sparse.

And that was the end of our Blizzard 2010 weekend!