Snowed In

I don't know how northerners do it. It's quite obvious that I am a dyed-in-the-wool southerner, because I just can't handle the snow.  I just can't.  I've tried...believe me.  But I wimp out every time.

Last Saturday, the weather turned really super-cold, and (due to our own stupidity) our pipes froze.  We tried to thaw them out, but gave it up on Sunday as a bad job, and realized we'd just have to tough it out for a week with bottled/jugged water, as the temps weren't supposed to go above freezing for days.  Monday was a holiday, and we made a run into town for a few supplies and to fill up the propane tanks.  Thank God we did, because it started snowing Monday afternoon, and hasn't really stopped since.

Needless to say, we got snowed in, and the house is currently surrounded by more than a foot of snow.  And by house, I mean driveway.

For most folks, getting down their driveway is no big deal.  But when you live on a mountain, and your driveway is a quarter mile long with a super-steep drop, it becomes a very different story.  Unless you want to go skiing the hard way...with no skis...in your car...you don't move when it snows. Tuesday, we only had about six inches, so Keith fired up the bobcat and tried to clear what he could off the driveway so he could bring his truck up after running into town.  Since it has tracks, the bobcat is really our best shot at navigating the steep slope.  Keith made it down, but couldn't get back up in his truck (which was the object), and actually got stuck, so he told me I had to come get him.

Terrified is not the word.  But I made it.  Trouble is, I couldn't get my car back up, either...even in 4wd.  So the only options we had were to hoof it (as it was getting dark) in the by-now super slick ice/snow, or to bring the bobcat back up.  Even though it meant me having to ride in the bucket, I voted for option #2.  And thankfully, we made it back up in one piece.

Wednesday, it snowed again...another six inches.  And not only were we stuck with no water in below zero temps, but the bobcat wouldn't even crank, because it was so cold. So we huddled in until Friday morning, when we ran out of water. The weather broke enough to get the car cranked (the bobcat is still frozen up, as we speak), and we headed down to where my car was parked.  I was even MORE terrified on the way down the driveway, but we made it in one piece with all our empty water jugs and dirty clothes, and were able to get back into town. 

The weather is still horrible, but at least I'm in town now, staying with a friend, so I can get into work next week, with any luck.  I sure can't afford to take any more time off!  Right now, I'm putting in a few hours of overtime to get caught back up before Monday.  This week, looks like a lot more bad weather headed our way, but maybe it won't be AS bad.  All I know is that Spring can't get here soon enough!!

Through it all, though, even though I haven't been able to really exercise at all, and have had to fudge a LOT on my eating plan (due to lack of supplies and an abundance of drinking water), I still managed to drop another 3 lbs, AND hit my first 25 lb. goal.  I'm very encouraged by that, but am also very concerned that my metabolism will either slow or stop again if this keeps up for too much longer.  I can go maybe another week like this, but after that, I just don't know.  So it's really important for me to get back on track as soon as humanly possible.  I'm really praying for this horrible weather to break for more reasons than one!