March can keep marching! (Incidentally, the only marching bands we have in NS are Pipe and Drum bands – but this one is from Edinburgh (courtesy Wikipedia)
I’ve been on a forced blog break due to extreme weather! We had a whopper of a storm this week. Far more snow and drifting snow than our momentous 2004 storm that we all thought was the be-all and end-all! Work was shut down for 2 days. Rom and I did 9 hours of shovelling on the driveway. Then we had rain yesterday and fresh snow! March can just keep on marching.
I have to laugh; I met my target weight this week, undoubtedly from all the extra exercise. 10 lbs in 10 weeks – I had allowed myself 20 weeks in case I wasn’t motivated or I felt like being easier on myself. I am hoping I can blast off every 5 or 10 lbs I gain, and not let it creep up to 20 or 30 first, as I have done in the past. Plus, I already gave away all my larger sized clothes and I’ll be damned if I’m going to buy more! The gain was caused by back to-back vacations in Sept and Oct followed by an extended holiday season and a broken-down elliptical machine! Excuses, excuses. I am happy to be feeling fighting-fit again.
Spring is not feeling impossible. I’ve been seeing a cardinal in the birch trees for the past few weeks! They are not rare, but less common here.
I have been cooped up for so long that I have started Spring cleaning, which is funny:
Snow over the fence – 4 feet (back yard)
2 cars are under there!
One car out – the snow drifted back the next day and had to do it over!
Shovelling progress, Day 2
The street
In other happenings, Rom and I went to see one of those symphony concerts in which they play video game music. It was accompanied by videos of retro gaming. A fun night for us nerds! (My video game skills never progressed much beyond 8-bit, LOL!) We also attended a Pi Day Dinner with Pi for the meal and Pi for dessert!
All these snow days are perfect for reading. I read Tracey Thorn’s book, as you know, and Us Conductors (a fictionalized account of the theremin inventor’s life) and our latest book club selection, And the Mountains Echoed. Now I have a much lighter one on the go!
I also updated my Goodreads site to add as many classics as I could think of, that I read in the past, and other significant books from lists like “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die,” Cult Classics, Dystopian Fiction, Canadian Fiction, and the like.
Just a little update. I’ll be back soon.
PS – The parka is brilliant 🙂 Best clothing investment ever.
An Exacting Life 
While I’m sorry you had a massive storm, I’m glad it was a storm that kept you away. I was worried people were abandoning blogging left, right and centre, especially after your comment on Sarah’s blog that people are slowing down and the peak period of blogging is gone.
So if you dig so much snow, and everything and everywhere else is covered in snow, where do you put the stuff you dig? And I dread to think what happens when you have rain between two snow storms!
Is it exciting or scary to be stuck at home with so much snow coming down?
Well done on all that exercise!
Not that I’m needy or anything.
Bien sur, and you just getting back from London! Enjoying your posts.
Oww, not back yet. Still have three days here!
Excellent!
I found out that I can throw snow on top of a 10 foot snow bank. I have reserves of strength I never knew I had! (see my joke photo on Facebook) We did OK with the rain this morning. Snow plows came by and scraped slush off the roads, so they are actually quite good. We felt quite fortunate at home because there were no power outages, so we were safe, warm, dry, entertained and well-fed: ideal snow days, really!
So rain between snow storms doesn’t lead to lots of ice?!? Or is the rain warm enough to melt the snow?
The rain does melt the snow. It drains off the roads OK but leaves sidewalks and driveways icy. The temperatures are supposed to be above zero all week so the snowbanks should diminish!
Yes, that comment on Sarah’s blog made me take note, too! I think I’ve been through several blogging cycles over the years where people slow down, stop and move on…but then there are stalwarts who have been posting off and on for a decade. Hopefully everyone is just in a ‘busy’ phase!
We got snow too – but not nearly as much as you! I was thinking of you! Glad to hear you and Rom made it through 🙂 Thankfully we’ve had power all winter as well and it makes snow days about a million times better (and the season in general)!
Yeah, 3 hours shovelling is nothing when you have a whole day off work – lots of time to recuperate!
Three hours seems like HEAPS – esp if you aren’t going to work and all.. but I gather the snow could damage the car if it was too heavy?
No, but we do shovel off our wood decks, so they won’t collapse under the weight. Cars are OK! Some public buildings were closed because of worries about the weight of snow on the roofs (rooves?)
Holy Cats!!! Nine hours of shoveling, and two days off of work in Canada and you know that is some serious weather! Here in the upper Midwest (US) we have cardinals all winter. Now I don’t feel so sorry for myself and our wintry weather!
Hang in there!
Jen
I will never be so happy to see a crocus 🙂
Holy. Cow. I’ve never seen so much snow in my life! I can’t even fathom shoveling snow for nine hours–you guys should definitely head to Vegas for a break (and 80 degree temps!). I’m guessing that’s why we have so many Canadians here in Las Vegas during the winter!
I’ve never seen this much snow either; definitely a record-breaker for drifting and shovelling! Wish we had planned a winter getaway but it’s always a worry because flights can be cancelled either going out or coming back – huge stress!
We still have a little snow on the ground, but nothing like that. Because of the time change it is starting to feel almost like spring, and we’ve had a couple of days where it was both sunny and above the freezing point.
I just want to feel warm and feel the sun on my face. And put away my gloves and hats.
It is forecast to be above freezing every day this week 🙂
Good. Grief! A serious question: do the cars just fire up as normal after being buried?! Are garages common to deal with such extreme weather? What do people do if they are too old or infirm to shovel? Do neighbours all cooperate and get friendly like it’s ’emergency’ conditions?
It looks so beautiful and so extreme. I love that Canadians live with such extremities and just get on with it! 9 hours of shovelling is like an Olympic record. I can’t believe you did that and then had more snow!
It’s great that you have trimmed up despite the enforced time away from work. If I was trapped by a snowstorm I know I would fill in time eating my body weight in chocolate!
Yes, the cars started right up! I think the snow is like a fluffy insulating blanket. I suppose that all homeowners have a strategy for dealing with the numerous heavy snowfalls during the winter. If they can’t shovel, they will contract a snow plow service, or make an agreement with a neighbour who has a snow blower. This one was more like an emergency situation and people did help each other out. In fact, I have never talked so much to my own neighbours! Did you know there is a hashtag #stormchips because everyone goes to the store for junk food as soon as they hear of an impending snow storm!
Nine hours of shoveling in two days. That is some major work and aerobic exercise. Then to see it come again, ow.
It’s much better now; sunny weather!
To echo Fiona. Good. Grief! I can’t even begin to imagine that amount of snow.
Well done on the weight loss. 🙂
Thanks. Nice to fit into all my clothes again 🙂 Happy to see snow melting this week.
Wow. That’s a lot of snow. =O
Yeah, you’d think I lived in New Brunswick!
Holy Moly! The most snow I’ve ever seen was when we got 3 feet about a dozen years ago. The entire city shut down, and since my garage opens onto the alley (which doesn’t get plowed) I was pretty much stuck for a week or so. This year, however, March (which is usually our snowiest month) has been a lot more like May with temps in the 60’s & 70’s and not a snowflake in sight! I’ve been lovin’ the warm weather, but it doesn’t bode well for fire season – we’re already having red flag warnings. Guess it’s feast or famine! Hope you get some spring soon! 🙂
Thanks; it was a balmy 5C today 🙂
Hi Dar – as I have been ‘away’ again I never notice when anyone else has a break as they always seem to be around when I get back to blogging again LOL! I love all that snow – good job it is not water. I am beginning to feel a bit fearful of the weather these days since our flood – it is so unpredictable. Are you off work then?
Work was closed down for 2 days, which was really needed to get the driveways, streets and parking lots cleared. Even the bus service was suspended – very rare.
Wow! That is some serious snow. It makes me feel cold just looking at the photos.
Well done on the weight loss, I managed to lose about 5 pounds from stress, but I’m sure I’ll end up putting it back on.
Sorry to hear all is not well – I hope you bounce back soon. Hugs!