Wednesday, February 10, 2010

news from the great white north(east)

Well, they were right, it snowed. And it is still snowing, a little bit at least. We probably got a new nine inches or so, on top of what was left of the close-to-a-foot that fell over the weekend. This is a heavy wet snow and it's wreaking havoc on trees and power lines all over the area. We are lucky that our power lines run underground, but we're not immune to outages, so I'm glad I was able to cook dinner before anything happened. (although hopefully nothing will!)

One of our aged arborvitae on the back deck snapped at the top, and will likely have to be taken down, which makes me very sad. Kevin has been lobbying to take these trees down, but they are teeming with residential avian life and I hate to destroy their homes, plus they have given us a nice screen from prying neighbors' eyes over the past few years. There's also a white birch that usually stands alongside the house but now has one branch weighed down so heavily that it is almost touching the ground of the driveway. I had dogs outside earlier and heard a loud crack, and looked across the street to see an evergreen branch lying on the ground, right next to the man clearing the snow off of his car under his carport, which had shredded under the weight of the snow.

I'm hoping not to have lost any of the landscaping I bought years ago and finally am seeing come to maturity. I've really been looking forward to this spring and summer, expecting that most of my puny little cheap shrubs will look lush and full for the first time this year. I'll have a walk around tomorrow and try to assess.

Both schools have already announced their closures for tomorrow, which is good because if any medical office had been open, I would have taken Megan in today. She was coughing very badly in the night after having her robitussin, afrin, and tea, and then I remembered that I had bought some Vicks VapoRub when she came in asking what else she can take. So she put it on her throat and chest and actually did sleep throughout the night! She woke up with a clogged head and ear and a bad cough, but as the day has gone on it's been subsiding a little. She also started the Claritin D.

Kevin stayed home today but probably wishes he had not! He spent hours outside with the snowblower and shovel, clearing and reclearing the same trails all day long. He plans to go in tomorrow, but I don't know if the transit will cooperate. I'm sure the bus won't be a good idea, so it all depends on how well the trains are running.

I lounged around for most of the day. Did a couple of loads of laundry, sent out a resume for another (full-time!) job and emailed the other guy just to see if I can get some sort of response one way or the other. Of course, that school is closed, due to 'in-climate' weather, so he may not even see the mail before Friday, or later if they don't open then. I'm really hoping for school on Friday. Megan is off Monday and Tuesday, and of course, Brian was off last Friday and Monday, and will be off again this coming Monday. Too many days off!

And in other news, Megan has something to anticipate tomorrow: SAT scores will be posted! This is important for her. Although they were just the trial run and she is taking them again in May, the scores will be a barometer, and a determining factor in how well she has to prepare for the May test date. If she needs to come up a lot, we'll have to find her a class or a tutor. Otherwise, she may just need a bit of guidance in one area, or perhaps (dreamily written) not at all! Other than that, I am off to watch American Idol. I missed it last night, and my friend's friend who had made it to Hollywood was eliminated, and I can't find the footage online anywhere!

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