Although I’ve only lived in Minnesota for my adult life, I’ve become accustomed to the chilly and sometimes brutal winters. I recall the first winter as an eye-opener. I had to change my car to a front wheel drive vehicle and invested in “winter” gloves, hat, scarf and boots… none of the “it looks pretty” accessories.
When I heard about this big winter storm over the weekend, I didn’t get too concerned. A true Minnesotan won’t change plans b/c of a snow storm! Besides, it was Shanna’s annual Christmas party- one NOT to miss. She has outrageously good food, white elephant, toys for tots and lots of games. I made a list and checked it twice before our drive down to Burnsville (long story but I do give her a hard time about living so far from me. List: Cheesecake, Toys for tots, White elephant, lots of libations, overnight bag, shovel, snow boots, “winter” accessories and sleeping bag (Bill’s boys scouts habit). The drive was uneventful, no snow in sight. As we partied into the night, the snow started coming down. I went to bed around 1am (what a party pooper) and heard the rest of the crew stumble in around 4am. At about 8-9am, I woke up and started to help with clean up, which I love to do and it’s much easier when you’re not hung over. The snow was still coming down and the winds were strong. No worries, we’ll wait until later to leave. Throughout the day, Bill went out to clean off the car and help a lady who got stuck... windy, snowy, not so good. We did need to get home b/c the cookie exchange was on Sunday and I haven’t picked up ingredients yet (I know, priorities). At around 4pm, we started the trek home. Roads were very slick and visibility was non-existent. But Bill’s a great winter driver. We had to skip a few exits since they were not plowed and took a long loop to get home.
Once off the highway, Mr. Berger was determined to stop at McDonald’s (needed greasy food for the queasy stomach). First stop – order food, second stop, pay for food, third stop… well, we were stuck. I got out of the car to pick up the food as Bill shoveled the Mc Donald’s drive-thru. We eventually rocked the car out and continued our .5 mile back home. Finally, we turned onto our street, which was completely unplowed. Very long story but I eventually walked up the block with the food (longest walk EVER) and 7 guys pushed the car back to the main street. Bill drove around and eventually parked at the strip mall that was already plowed. He walked back looked like he just swam across a frozen lake. And the story continues.
The next day, I woke up early and peeked out the window, “Bill, hurry up and get dressed, our neighbor with the snow blower is out there and if we head out now, he might help us!” Our neighbor helped me a few weeks back when he saw the manual shovel we always use. We geared up. I cleaned the car and Bill started shoveling. By this time, his hangover was gone but the hours of shoveling = sore everything. Luckily, our neighbor did help with half of our driveway. When he headed down the street with the blower, it felt like we saw a water dispenser after being stuck in the desert for days. After all was clean, we drove to the mall to pick up Bill’s car – clean lot but the city plow came through and buried the entrance. Another shovel session later, the car was free. I went and picked up my cookie ingredients, made 9 dozen cookies in record time and headed off to the cookie exchange. It was good to be pregnant this weekend since I always got the comfy chair and didn’t have to shovel!
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