Snowpocalypse!

So as you all know, we have been experiencing a weather phenomenon here in DC known as Snowpocalypse. It is now Wednesday, February 10. It is my second snow day this week. This weather event has been going on since mid-morning on Friday, February 5. During this time I have taken up permanent residence on my couch, and have fully explored the wardrobe possibilities of pajamas. Here is a re-cap of the last 6 days.

Friday, February 5: I only had an hour left to work, so I stayed home and waited for the storm. I decided to go the library as a last foray into society to stock up on a few DVDs and books. Me and everyone else in Bethesda. Never have I seen a line more than 4 people in the library. There were about 20 people ahead of me. The only DVDs to be had were obscure foreign films about death and apocalypse. Although the latter topic seemed appropriate, I opted instead for a nice stack of books. As I left the library at 11am the flurries started.

The snow didn't start sticking until 3pm. I cooked a nice dinner, and Daniella and I cozied up on the couch for a movie. About every 20 minutes one of us got up from the couch, looked out the window and remarked, "wow! It's really coming down!" After the movie we stood by the window for about 30 minutes watching a couple dig out their car. It had already accumulated about a foot and showed no signs of slowing. We were glued to the window as they used a broom and an ice scraper to clear off their car, then trudged back to the apartment. Definitely a futile exercise.

Saturday, February 6: We woke up to this:
It looks like rain, but I think it was drops of ice on the window. It was still snowing. We had a relaxing day. At about 3pm, the snow stopped. At 4, we decided to go out and play. This is our street:
Daniella in front of our building
As we walked down the street, we saw a group of 3 people with sleds. "Where are you sledding?" we called. "By NIH," they answered, "want to come with us?" So we followed the 3 strangers halfway around NIH, tramping through the snow in tracks made by other prospective sledders.
It was really pretty, and the snow was pristine in between the tracks. And very deep.
We walked for what felt like several miles and found a gentle slope. We slid down on sleds, slowly, and got tips from a 10 year old. The strangers were really friendly--2 international post-docs at NIH and another woman from Europe (Germany, perhaps). There was much laughter. As it got dark, Daniella and I tramped back. This table outside the nursing home on our street shows the amount of snowfall.
Despite being sort of wet following sledding in jeans, we wanted hot chocolate, and so ventured into Bethesda proper.
In the park, this snowman had an evergreen shock of hair. In Bethesda, lots of people were out, walking in the street, which was empty of cars. Everyone was friendly and smiling, happy to be out of their house. The Tastee Diner was "the only game in town," as the owner reminded everyone who walked in. "We're understaffed and running really slow," was the rest of the greeting. Our waitress was relieved that we only ordered hot chocolate. Although the diner was hopping, it was almost silent inside. I think everyone had run out of things to say to eachother over the day trapped inside.

Sunday, February 7: The day dawned clear and sunny, so Rowan and I headed into DC to play on the Mall. On the walk, Rowan felt inspired to make a snow angel:

Lots of people were out and about, cross-country skiing, walking, and playing. An active game of tackle football was underway against the background of the Natural History Museum.
For the most part, we walked along paths tromped down by previous walkers, but we decided to cross at a less-defined path. Look how high the snow comes up on my leg!
Every once in a while, we would look up from our careful stepping, and realize, "wow! We're on the MALL!"

We came upon some people building an adult snowman...er...snowwoman. It reminds me of a mug I have that says "Equal Rights for Snowwomen!" and features a snowperson with boobs.
Walking back to town for chai and salty oat cookies at Teaism. Perfect way to end a snowy outing.
Monday, February 8: Snow Day! This fact definitely called for use of one of the names of this storm: Snowgasm. This quickly turned to SnOMG (either Snow My G-d or Snow-M-G) when I decided to shovel out my car. Check this out!!!
I had parked in this spot because the sun often hits it, and I thought it might help melt out my car. Indeed, it did clear off the car somewhat. But what I failed to take into consideration was the snow that fell off the roof, pinning my car to the parking lot. And look at how much snow was in front of the car, before we could even start properly digging. Luckily, a worker from the apartment helped us shovel to the car, which we thought would be half the battle. We were wrong.
In this picture I am standing on the snow next to my car. The car was so stuck, I cannot even tell you. After 2 hours of digging with borrowed shovels, we called it quits and went to Rock Bottom for soft pretzels. It was almost funny. It would have been funnier if we had gotten the car out.

Tuesday, February 9: Car still stuck. Office open. I worked from home, which was quite productive, though seriously boring. I missed the fun dynamic of the office. I don't think I would want to work from home long term. After work, I shoveled some more with the help of my neighbor LL. The car was almost out, but then it started snowing again. I walked down to the post office. Look how bad the roads still are.
This city has such poor snow removal.

Now it is snowing again. Blustering, big flakes. I can barely see out my window. Snoverkill? I think so.