SNOW-MAGEDDON!!

Winter in Northern Virginia is usually rather mild. Sometimes we get ice storms, which are hard to deal with mainly because it makes the roads perilous to traverse. Once in a while, we get some snow. Small amounts. Manageable amounts. Well, THIS YEAR, we were OVERWHELMED. The FIRST storm hit around Christmas time and brought around 24" to my area. We all thought, "Wow. This is unusual, but we got a white Christmas, right?" Then came the second storm. Another 6" or so. Mind you, the area hadn't gotten around to completely dealing with the first storm, so this SECOND storm did not help things at all. Not even a week later, we were hit with a THIRD storm, this one bringing ANOTHER 20 INCHES. Holy CRAP! Now what? Well, the federal government closed, is one thing. Most stores were closed except for tiny mom-and-pop things like 7-Eleven. Metrorail was SHUT DOWN. Amtrak was SHUT DOWN. My car was BURIED in snow--snow up to the door handles, snow up to my thighs on the places near it. No one in the area could go ANYWHERE...except by ski, I guess. Then again, WHERE would one ski to? A friend's house, maybe. Dunno. All I know is that, between storms, I had to call upon my brother R to rescue me. He parks in an underground garage and has an SUV. I explained that I had run out of stuff and desperately needed to get to the store. Among other things, I was about to run out of my allergy medicine. Mind you, there were no SIDEWALKS on which to walk: you took your life in your hands because you could only walk in the street -- what there was of it - which was mainly populated by large trucks!

Being the kind indivdual he is, he and P showed up in P's SUV. They had to park at the restaurant nearby because my parking lot was largely moguls where it wasn't sheer ice. We made it up to a grocery store and back in one piece, but it was dicey in places. I was so grateful to them for this HUGE favor! I spent a lot of time either cooking/baking, reading or sleeping or watching movies.

Finally, after the THIRD STORM had finished and a couple days of sunshine had occurred, I ventured out with tools to try to dig out my car. Holy cow. Between the major storms there had been just enough thawing/re-freezing that there was ICE under the newer snow. Fortunately, I found a young lad helping another lady out and paid him to help me shovel my vehicle out. This took 2 hours. NOT kidding.

As I write this, it is now the middle of March and we STILL have large, ugly piles of snow in shopping centers. I predict it will be the 3rd week of April before all of what's left finally melts.

I have never been MORE ready for Charleston, SC!!

M's Birthday

My friend M had a birthday on March 1st. She's the one in red at the center of the pic. Her friend "I" decided that he would surprise her with a birthday dinner with a few friends the following Saturday night. He chose Chez Andree, a little French restaurant that has been in business for more than 40 years in the same location. I was excited about going there because I'd never been to it before and had heard only good things about it (courtesy of R of course).

I was the first to arrive (SHOCKING!!), and was seated by (I later learned) one of the owners. A waitress arrived almost immediatly to take my drink order. I decided to go with the flow and ordered a cocktail. A few minutes later, A arrived. I had heard about her but was meeting her for the first time. She's a lovely, lively, intelligent and gorgeous young lady. We conversed quietly while we awaited the rest of the party. M and "I" showed up and the look of surprise on M's face was genuine. A success in the surprise department -- YAY! They got refreshments and we talked while, shortly thereafter, G arrived full of apologies. We forgave her instantly: she had just moved into her new home that day and must have been exhausted.

Much good conversation ensued, and in the midst, we managed to order our appetizers and entrees. Kathy, our waitress, was wry, sweet and well-versed in the kitchen's offerings that evening. The food was superb -- everyone was delighted with what they'd ordered. The clientelle is such that we completely forgot there's a bar in the place -- until we retired there after stuffing ourselves with dinner and dessert. While we were chatting with Kathy and a bartender, the chef himself came out and we were introduced to him amid our high praise for his culinary talents that evening. After a while, we left. M and "I" would certainly grab a nightcap elsewhere while I headed home. What a lovely evening!