Snowpocalypse, Part 3

This morning I woke up early to meet a former colleague of mine from the St. Pete Times, Bill Duryea, for breakfast at a restaurant about a 10-minute drive away. Bill was a Knight-Wallace Fellow I reconnected with last week at a K-W event, and we said we wanted to catch up more, so I seized the moment and set up a meeting. We went to a lovely place that Drew and I really should go to more often -- it has great breakfast pastries and omelets. I had such a great omelet and half a chocolate croissant that I was filled up for the entire day; the only other thing I had was homemade hot chocolate at 5:30 p.m.

I stopped home briefly to find Rachel and Ivy squabbling a bit and Drew being very cranky with them; turns out they had been sniping back and forth from practically the time they'd gotten up, so I couldn't be angry. He put them downstairs to watch a movie and began working from home, while I went out and ran every errand possible: I got some earrings made into clips; dropped off Rachel's Girl Scout sash with a tailor to sew on a patch (it has to be done by machine, I discovered); went to the bank (twice), picked up some framed photos for Drew to hang this weekend; dropped of clothes at Goodwill; went to Target to look for a new napkin holder (Drew dropped ours this morning and it shattered, which is a shame because it looked very artsy and I got it in Portland and I don't know to replace it and we really need one), picked up some shampoo and other items; then went to Safeway for extra milk, bacon and other things.

The whole day I saw cleared-out shelves and long lines of people (the line at Safeway extended half the length of the store, and there was no flour or sugar to be had, and just a few varieties of chocolate chips. On the other hand, I found uncured, chemical-free bacon, which we will badly need), and there were plenty of diapers and grapefruit, plus milk. I couldn't find a cart, so a kind employee gave me a cardboard box, which I carried through the store and put in front of me while I was on the checkout line, pushing it forward with my foot. If there ever is an Apocalypse, Washingtonians certainly are prepared!

It had started snowing by then, and when I got home, one of our neighbors kindly moved his car so I could have his space at the top of our hill, pointing in the direction of 10th Street ("in the right direction" for getting out, he noted). So, I am now parked up there instead of in our driveway, right behind Drew, so we should be able to get out fairly easily when the snow gets plowed, whenever that may be.

School, of course, was canceled. So, I showered when I got back (mindful that electricity and hot water are not at all guaranteed), and took a quick nap because I was tired (although the soreness from yesterday is gone). When I woke up, I offered to make hot chocolate for Ivy and Rachel, who had been sledding. Rachel was upset because Ivy was trying to boss her around, and when I suggested we all play Monopoly or Apples to Apples, Ivy said she had never played a board game before (that house is mostly movies and video games).

I had just finished making them hot chocolate with fabulous cocoa from Trader Joe's (we have quite a bit of it, thanks to Drew!) and fresh marshmallows when Jenny, Ivy's mom, came by and insisted they go home. So, they went home, Rachel and I finished our hot chocolate and then Drew went to lie down for a nap (Rachel had joined him in the study to read). So, as of 7:47 p.m., it is STILL snowing, Rachel is at my feet reading next to the heater, and I am getting ready to eat some cheese and crackers and perhaps fruit because no one is hungry. The roast beef and Yorkshire pudding I planned to make for Shabbat dinner will wait until Sunday -- since I am working from home because METRO SHUT DOWN FROM 11 P.M. FRIDAY UNTIL  MONDAY MORNING (although I bet they won't open until later Monday, just like I bet school will be closed again), which is apparently an UNPRECEDENTED MOVE BY THE RAIL SYSTEM. They announced this on Thursday, that they were shutting down and moving all the trains into the tunnels to protect them from the elements.

Drew says he will probably work from home Monday, too. I'm glad we're both set up to do that when something extraordinary happens, like the Blizzard of the Century. I told Rachel yesterday that she is living through a historic snowstorm, one that she will remember and talk about for years. She didn't seem impressed. But can just picture her saying to someone when she's 30 or 40, "Yeah, I was 7 when the biggest snowstorm ever blew through D.C. and we were housebound for three days."