What Annapolitans do on a snow day

My mom told me this morning that it had snowed so much in Annapolis that she would be stuck in the house for days.

I said, how much snow did you get? Seven inches?

She said, "Yes!"

I kind of couldn't believe it.

Now there are many things about Detroit I'm still adapting to - the cold being one of them and probably the widespread enthusiasm for automobiles would be another.

But I can confidently say that I have fully adapted to driving in winter weather. I'm not half-bad at it either!

Tonight Matt was asking me about today's snowfall in Annapolis, so I decided to check out www.hometownannapolis.com for more information. This video found on the site's "Snowstorm Blog" (yes, there is actually a blog for the snowstorm!) will fill you in on what most people were doing today. Note, the streets in the background of the video appear to be clear. As does the street in the photograph above.

Now as I write this post, I realize I am proably asking for some grief from my Annapolitan friends and family who will protest that they hardly ever get this much snow, don't have the resources to deal with it, and can't they just enjoy a good snow day or two? Or probably three?

And to that I say, this is all in good fun!

Winter projects

"That would be a good project for the winter."

This is a common statement, I think, one that's used to excuse away tasks like organizing photos and recipes, taking care of paint touchups around the house, and decluttering closests when there are far more compelling things to do outdoors.

I think many of us are waiting for that elusive snow day(s) that will leave us captive in the house, and suddenly these tasks will seem a lot more appealing and manageable.

The problem is, that even though winter is still a ways away from loosening its grip on Detroit, the days actually are getting longer, the temperatures aren't quite as brutal, and the majority of those "winter" projects haven't quite been tackled in our household. Furthermore, it would take a monumental amount of snow to keep anyone housebound in this city.

I did make some great traction this weekend by beginning to paint the basement stairwell and stairs. And Matt pitched in by assembling our new pantry system in the basement.

As for the rest of our "winter" projects ... well, maybe I'll just wear my pajamas inside-out for good luck tonight and hope for a blizzard.

Our weekend "Up North"

As I mentioned in my previous post, nearly all Michiganders, it seems, live to go "Up North." Many go nearly every weekend in the summer. And many brave souls venture north in the winter, too. Which is what Matt and I did this weekend, at the invitation of some of our good friends who invited us to their lakehouse.

And I'm beginning to understand why! The majority of the state isn't occupied by automotive plants, but by farmland, and there are lakes of all sizes scattered around. It seems to get better and better the further north you head. We were on Crystal Lake, which is situated on the northwest corner of the state.






And we did indeed enjoy the lake, despite the cold weather, as you can see from the pictures above. (Actually, it was surprisingly warm, about 30 degrees.) We snowshoed across the lake to get a good look at what the ice fishermen were up to, and to get a little exercise.


We also did our fair share of reading, resting, enjoying time with friends and eating well.

While I think I'll still do my fair share of traveling "Down South," I'm already looking forward to seeing more of our upstate treasures!

Finally!

I can't believe it took me a year and half to finally make it "Up North" in Michigan, a favorite pastime of nearly every Michigander. These photos from this past weekend are a bit of a teaser ... I'll blog more later!

We're nowhere close to spring

However, daffodils help. I remember my high school English teacher telling us how daffodils signify hope, since they are the first flowers of spring.

Well, I know spring is definitely NOT just around the corner here, as it was 6 degrees when I woke up this morning and never make it past the 20's.

But I saw these daffodils at Trader Joe's on Monday and I don't even think they cost more than $2.00. So I treated myself. Even though I had just returned from South Carolina and didn't really need one more treat, I sort of did, because our furnace had shut off while we were gone. So we walked into a, shall I say chilly, house when we returned, which took a solid six hours to reheat.

So I think I deserved the treat.

And if the weather stays this cold, well, I think I might keep buying them!

The good things about winter

I was having dinner with a friend last night and I mentioned I had gone to the store between work and meeting her for dinner. She said, "That's the one good thing about winter - you can go to the grocery store and not have to go straight home to put your groceries in the refrigerator/freezer."

I'd have to agree. I do love that about winter. But I hope that's not literally the one good thing about winter, because I need more than a handful of good things to counter this:

Wednesday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 1.

Did you see that? A low around 1.

I'd better get a list together fast! Here goes:

• You have a very good excuse to frequently drink hot chocolate, lattes, hot cider, etc.
• The snow makes it bright outside, even when it's cloudy, at night and on early morning runs in the dark.
• It's a perfect time to get caught up on projects inside the house that you don't feel like tackling when it's 70 degrees and sunny.
• It's easier to sleep in on the weekends because the sun rises later. (a lot later here)
• Winter accessorizing can be fun - hats, scarves and gloves are available in all kinds of colors and textures.
• Since you're wearing lots of sweaters, jeans, corduroys, there's less ironing to do.
  
• You can bring cans of soup to work for lunch for days on end - this is good because they are affordable and no prep or tupperware is involved.
• You don't have to mow the lawn. But you do have to shovel snow. Maybe these two cancel each other out.
  
• There's always summer to look forward to.