Blizzard of '09

Yep, it's official. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for my county and surrounding jurisdictions. It really IS snowing out there. By 9am when my partner and I first went out to see what was going on, we had over 8" (20cm) of snow, with more than twice that still expected to fall. For this time of year and for the area where we live, this amount of snow is quite unusual.

Concerned that my elderly aunt would be alone and worried about potential power outages, I picked her up and brought her to our house last night to stay for the weekend. My partner was going to leave today to drive to Pittsburgh to pick up his mother and bring her back to stay with us for Christmas, but he postponed his trip. My aunt can stay in the room where his Mom was going to stay until we know that things are safe and she can return to her own home where she lives by herself.

In order to stay on top of things, I began to use the snowblower to remove snow before it got too deep and beyond the capacity of the intake of the machine. In no time, I removed snow from our drive and walks, as well as the drives and walks of three elderly neighbors. It's just what we do -- they take care of us and we take care of them. That's what being a neighbor means.

BTW, in this photo, I am wearing 18" Wesco Harness Boots that I bought from my buddy Bamaboy. These boots have seen a lot of abuse, and seem to enjoy it. They kept my feet warm and dry.

Life is short: exercise your responsibilities, exercise your body (such as by blowing snow), and enjoy!