top of page

My Snowmaggedon Story

authormargarite

Snow, snow everywhere! Combine that with negative temperatures, and the weather has been pretty tricky around here lately. Here’s how my last few days have gone.

I was off work on Monday for President’s Day and dreaded my return to work. The temperature was -13 degrees when I left my house on Tuesday morning. The roads were snow-packed and treacherous. My usual twenty minute drive was forty minutes. When I finally got to work (on time, by the way), I was informed the water lines had frozen.

No one had dripped the water on Thursday afternoon (I had taken a vacation day), and our power company had been doing rolling blackouts on Monday. There was no heat circulating for who knows how long in the building.

We are a resourceful bunch, so we melted snow on the stove for coffee and toilet flushing until the rolling blackout reached us an hour or so into business on Tuesday morning. Then we sat in the dark with no lights, phones, computers, heat, or water for what felt like weeks. Once power was restored and everything except water was back at our disposal, we resumed our snow melting project.

I learned something through those efforts. It takes a lot of snow to make a small amount of water. I was amazed. I scooped up enough snow to halfway fill a five gallon bucket. When it melted, there was only a few inches of water in the bottom of the bucket.

During our blackout, when no snow was melting for our practical purposes, nature was calling me with a powerful force. I got in my car and drove to our main office a few miles away, which had water but no heat. I used the cold facilities, grateful they were in working order.

Since I was there, I walked to the front of the building where we keep the department mailboxes to see if we had any correspondence that needed to go back to my office with me. I felt bad when I found the receptionist wearing a coat and gloves. My building was without power, but I knew when it came back on we’d at least have heat.

By the time I got back to my office, we had power, so I could get back to work. I worked a full day, leaving at 5:30 p.m. like normal. I stopped by my local Dollar General for a new coffee pot on the way home because our Keurig decided this would be a good time to stop accepting the little fill-it-yourself pods. I buy the regular bags of ground coffee for myself. My husband uses the prefilled pods, but my brew of choice is much less expensive.

I came home to my dog, Taco, who didn’t want to do his doggy business outside. I took him out multiple times and stayed with him each time, only to have him do his business in the house afterward. Of course, I stepped in it. My floors are hand-scraped maple, and certain things blend in with them.

I woke up Wednesday with my 5:00 a.m. alarm clock. I had a sore throat and a headache. When my night-working husband told me the roads were bad, I did the only logical thing and texted my bosses to let them know I was staying home. I was on the fence about calling in with my sore throat and headache, but when combined with bad roads again, I just didn’t have it in me. I went back to bed instead.

When I began my day a couple of hours later, my headache was gone. After eating the two leftover pancakes from Sunday morning and a couple fried eggs, I took my dog and snow shovel outside. I cleared Taco a spot in the grass for his job first. Then I tackled shoveling snow off the sidewalk from my porch to the driveway.

I wasn’t worried about him running off because the snow is taller than him, and he hates it with a passion. However, I sure didn’t expect what he did. I had just finished shoveling around the car and the truck and was heading back to the house when I saw Taco had followed me. He looked up at me with his soulful brown eyes, which were all innocence and love. It was when I looked toward the house that I saw what he’d done.

He had pooped on the sidewalk every few inches from my car to the porch. Not much at once, just enough to make a huge mess. It does beat him going on my hardwood floors, so I looked upon this little adventure as a blessing. Then I used my snow shovel on the sidewalk for a different type of removal.

After that was done, I busted out my brand new coffee pot. After cleaning it, I brewed a pot of the most aromatic French Vanilla coffee you’ve ever smelled. Warming up with a nice, rich cup of java is one of life’s simple pleasures. I even caught an episode of Rachel Ray, one of my favorite TV personalities.

I’m currently trying to locate large containers with lids in which I can haul water to work with me on Thursday. Yes, the pipes are still frozen. I believe in being prepared. I feel bad when I miss work, and my throat feels better. So, I plan on going to work with at least some water in tow.

How have you spent your snowmaggedon?

Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.

I am an Amazon Associate. As such, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through my affiliate links.


4 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


© 2023 by Margarite Stever

bottom of page