Plants, Pool & Golf

We started our golf lessons today. It was really fun. We found about the golf lessons through Parks & Rec and we are taking them at a public course in Potomac, Maryland, which is about half an hour from where we live. There are about 12 people in our class. The only problem was the gnats. There were millions and millions of gnats that buzzed around everyone's head. They were awful and we could not get them to go away. Next time we are all bringing bug spray. Other than the gnats, the weather was great today and we learned to putt.

We bought some more plants - the original ones we bought are...thriving, to say the least. The arugula and mint especially We had to transplant the arugula to a new, bigger planter. We replaced it in the box with basil. We also bought a tomato plant. We've been using the coriander and mint a lot. We don't know what to do with the thyme.

Also, the pool is scheduled to open on Memorial Day weekend. They have been working on it. It is full now but the pump is being repaired so there is a lot of debris. It should be cleaned up soon. We have a duck that has been visiting lately and swimming in the pool. I'll try to get a picture of him (her?) one of these days.

New Couch

We bought a new couch. We really needed it - it is a huge improvement over that little white couch we had. Plus, this new couch converts to a comfortable double bed.

Great Falls

We went for a hike in Great Falls today. We never realized hiking is so close to the city! It is a very nice area. We barely beat the crowd - the line of cars to go in when we left was miles long. The weather was perfect again today and we had a really nice time!

Great Falls

Pictures of our Spring Balcony

We are so happy it is spring! The weather is incredibly beautiful! The nice thing about a long, dreary winter is that it makes you appreciate the springtime so much more. We fixed up our balcony - we bought an umbrella for our table and some planters. I planted some herbs today - coriander, spearmint and thyme and some arugula.

Pictures from San Francisco

I was in in San Francisco last week for a conference. I went out on Wednesday (3/17/10) and Jason came out on Friday. We had fun.

Another Snow Day!

This has to be a record. I have yet another snow day today! The school is closed again. I've been off work since last Friday afternoon. This is going to mess up so many deadlines - but it sure has been nice having this time off. I've been able to get caught up on so many things.

I heard on the news this morning that some schools in Virginia and in other parts of Maryland are going to be OPEN on Monday - which is a school holiday (President's Day). Oh, how I hope they don't take our President's Day away from us!!

Get this - it is supposed to snow again on Monday !! They are promising on the news that it won't be bad - but they are predicting anywhere from 2-8 inches. 8 inches alone has proven to be worthy of a snow day in the past...8 inches on top of the 3 feet we already have sounds questionable to me. Wouldn't it be crazy if we got next Tuesday off too?! OK, that is pushing it.

Digging Out - Again!

We just finished digging out the car for the third time this winter. We are facing the same problem here as the rest of the DC-MD-VA area - where to put all the snow. There is a huge snow mountain behind our car and it was a real pain trying to hurl the shovelfuls of snow on top of it. There is so much snow out there. At least it is nice and sunny today!

Snow Over Snowmaggedon!

We made it through the night and we still have electricity! We feel very fortunate. There are still a lot of people in the area still without power. They are calling the aftermath "Snow Over It!". We blew all the previous records out of the water - or should I say - snow? DCA is reporting a total seasonal snowfall of 54.9 inches - this includes the storm we had in December too.

It is still REALLY windy out there right now. The sidewalks are not completely clear so we are waiting for the wind to die down and for the sidewalks to be cleared before we go down and deal with digging out the care - FOR THE THIRD TIME!

There is a lot of black ice on the freeways and the traffic report if full of people who skid out and are stuck in snow banks on the sides of the roads. Also, they are reporting up to 50 people still stuck out on the roads who apparently spent the night in their cars. Why in the world anyone tried to drive last night is beyond me. They are advising people to stay off the roads today - but a lot of places are open - including Jason's office! He is working from home again today.

I can't imagine we will have to go in to school tomorrow - but if the school is open, I'm going to work from home. The streets around us were not completely plowed on Wednesday morning - I doubt they are any better now.

I took a picture of the tennis court this morning to show how high the snow is. I'll take more pictures when we go dig out the car later.

How Much Snow?

Our place looks out over one of the tennis courts here and just to give you an idea of how much snow is out there, we can just barely see the top of the net. I just Googled it and the average tennis court net is 3 feet, 6 inches. There is a lot of snow out there. It is going to be a really long time before things are back to normal around here.

So Windy!

The snow seems to have died down a bit - it is very difficult to tell because it is SO windy. They called off the snow plows earlier this afternoon because of the white-out conditions. I am watching a press conference right now on the news with the governor of Maryland. Maryland, Virginia and DC all together declared a state of emergency.

There have been more roof collapses and an entire traffic light signal at a major intersection in Alexandria fell down. A lot of people are still without power - or it finally came back on and now it is off again. How we still have power is a mystery to me. According to the Pepco map, we are in the middle of power-outage city. I'm not complaining though - we are extremely grateful to have power.

They are talking about a huge problem they are facing right now - where to put all the snow as it is plowed. They have hired contractors to haul it out but they are running out of places to dump it.

It is so incredibly windy - words can't explain how windy it is. I tried to get a picture of it but I can't quite capture it. There are these huge gusts that rattle the windows and make the place creak - and we are in a brick building! The trees are just whipping in the wind.

The car is completely covered with snow again. There is no way anyone is getting in to work tomorrow. Plowing and shoveling is futile until this wind dies down.

Jason is sick. He has a cold - don't know where he managed to pick that up - except for our short venture out yesterday, we've been cooped up in here since last Friday. I am confident we will be getting ANOTHER snow day tomorrow - and I seriously doubt the school will be open Friday either. Oh- just received my text message from the school - it is indeed closed tomorrow! I just realized Monday is a holiday - this has certainly been a unexpected house-arrest type of vacation.

White Out

Here we go again - but it is worse!

This is really a blizzard! The wind is howling, snow is blowing, all the hard work that people did over the past few days to clear the sidewalks and parking lots is ruined! I have another snow day and Jason's work is offering liberal leave day (does that place EVER close??). The wind is REALLY blowing - the whole place is creaking. We are not holding out hope that the electricity is going to stay on.

I'm quite certain I'll have the day off tomorrow as well. Pretty sure we'll all still be digging out Friday too.

I chatted with someone from work yesterday - she said this happened in 1996 and the whole area closed down for 7 full days!

DC Snow Time Lapse Video

I found this on the internet today - it really demonstrates how much snow we've received!

Snowlapse 2010

Gearing up for the Next Blizzard

Off work again today (Tuesday) and Jason is working at home again. We ventured out this morning. It took us about 2 hours to travel 2 miles up the street to Target and 2 miles down the street to the grocery store. Traffic is horrible because entire lanes on Georgia avenue are blocked by snow. The sidewalks are completely covered. There were a lot of people walking in the street - that also slowed down traffic. I was amazed at the Target parking lot. It is covered with snow and the clear areas are walled by 10-20 feet of plowed snow. It is supposed to snow again tonight. If we really do get 10-16 inches as they are predicting, I don't see how this area is going to be able to handle it! It is also supposed to be really windy tonight - so there is a blizzard warning. The wind was what caused us to lose power back in December. I really hope the power does not go out! We bought extra batteries and some candles and matches at the store just in case it does though.







The parking lot at the mall.

Really??

..WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST
WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY
TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN
EFFECT.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS...10 TO 20 INCHES.

* TIMING...MID-AFTERNOON TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* TEMPERATURES...TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING AT THE ONSET TUESDAY
AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE UPPER 20S TUESDAY
NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.

* WINDS...LIGHT SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS TUESDAY BECOMING
NORTHWESTERLY 15 TO 25 MPH WEDNESDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND STRONG WINDS
WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

Monday, February 8, 2010
We are still snowed in today. We thought we'd go see if the little grocery store down the street was open just so we could get out and maybe pick up some lunch. No luck. The sidewalk to get down there was not clear and there was a mountain of snow plowed from the road blocking where it should be.

We also took some mail but the mailbox was completely covered. We did find one at the metro station but who knows when it will be picked up.

The main street in front of our place (Georgia Ave) is fairly clear - but the side streets are not completely clear and the neighborhood streets are still not plowed. It is a real mess. I wonder if the school will be closed again tomorrow.

I don't even want to think about what is going to happen if we really do get another 5 inches of snow tomorrow night!

Monday, February 8, 2010
We are still snowed in! The entire area is still shut down. The federal government, all the Smithsonian museums, all schools and colleges and many businesses are closed today. I have a snow day - Jason's work is open but he is working from home and he said his email was full of stories of people still without power and/or in areas where the streets have not been plowed. It seems like most people without power have managed to find a hotel to stay in or are staying with friends and family. They do have emergency shelters open today for people who still don't have electricity though.

The Metro is still only running underground and only every half an hour. There is very limited bus service and it is also running on a reduced schedule. Most side streets are not plowed and according to the news this morning, there are piles of snow and black ice on the freeways. It was very cold last night and they said that if it dips below 20 degrees then the salt and other de-icing chemicals they use on the roads don't work.

On top of all of this - it is supposed to snow again tomorrow! The only hope is we are under a watch, not a warning yet - but if it happens they are predicting more than 5 more inches of snow!!! It was sunny yesterday but it never got above freezing so very little melting happened - and what did melt turned into ice last night. There are huge icicles hanging from our balcony. If we get another 5 inches of snow, I think we will be up to, if not over, 3 feet of snow on the ground.

This much snow is absolutely unheard of in this area!

I have plenty to do here. I am teaching 2 classes this semester and I am involved in a number of side projects and I am doing a training on military learners so, as long as we have electricity and internet then I can actually take this opportunity to get ahead a little bit. But still, I am also getting cabin fever. We have not been out since Friday morning. I think maybe this afternoon we'll venture out and walk around the neighborhood. I'll take some pictures if we do.

We still have lots of food. We even still have some beer and wine so, we're OK there. Just getting a little stir-crazy.

There is a car under there, somewhere...