I love the snow. Let’s not forget this point, as you read the rest of this lament about snow. I love the way our Springfield’s, and for that matter, our actual, real-life, towns look, when they are cloaked in a layer of beautiful, white, freshly fallen snow.
There is something magical about the quiet…the way snow insulates and dulls the sounds in the early morning when you first get up. It is peaceful, beautiful, and often times rewards children (and teachers) with a “snow day,” to frolic, relax, and have fun.
In short…snow is wonderful!
Until it isn’t…
In Eugene, here in the Willamette Valley where the REAL Springfield sits just across I-5, snow is a rarity. I joke about Eugene being in the “banana belt” of Oregon. On average, we usually get one or two days a year when the white stuff coats the trees, hills and forests around us. Usually one. Many years, none.
When we got Snow in TSTO at the beginning of the Winter Update (and no…we aren’t going to debate Christmas/Holiday/Winter again), my much better half, remarked, “Oh…your little town looks so nice. I hope we get some snow this year!”
She’s like that. Upbeat. Sweet. Positive (even if she knows it makes me nuts when she calls my TSTO Springfield my “little town”). She is a school teacher of the most extraordinary type, who still rewards her class for long periods of good behavior and scholastic achievement with a field trip to the movies, or the bowling ally, or the roller skating rink. Her kids work hard…play hard…and deserve the rewards.
The first wrinkle in “Mrs. Miller’s” perfect Winter Break, was that two days before the break was to start, we received a gigantic ice storm…as in the worst in 25 years. It destroyed thousands of trees…shut down power for more than 75% of the Eugene/Springfield area, and ended up keeping the kids and teachers home, for what was supposed to be their Holiday Party day.
Mrs. Miller was not pleased. But, she got through it…knowing that Christmas, and two of our girls (out of five) were coming for an extended holiday stay. However…the ice stuck around…and around…and around. Planes were delayed…travel plans made more dangerous…but we got through it with minor hitches.
“What do you do in your little town when there is an ice storm” I remember her asking one morning.
“We don’t have ice storms. But, look how pretty my town looks with the snow, and all of the Christmas lights on!” I offered. “Look! Homer is clearing the snow on his lawnmower!”
She did not seem enthused.
By week two of the ice, the neighborhood looked like a war zone…but the kids had come and gone…Christmas a success…in spite of reduced travel.
And then…just before everyone was to go back to school after “Winter Break,” Mrs. Miller got her wish…and it snowed. A lot. At least for us. Nearly 4″ of snow overnight. She went into full-blown “Winter Wonderland” kid mode.
We built a snowman (using a kit she got from one of her students for Christmas). We had “hot toddies” on the porch. We hunkered in…and enjoyed the rest of “winter break” together.
And then…when everyone was scheduled to go back to school…school was canceled again….and then again…
It was projected to warm up before the weekend…Nope. Another ice storm.
Another thick layer of ice…and to cap it all off, some varmint (most likely one of the “Christmas Raccoons” we have around here) made off with the nose, buttons, and glasses of our snowman!
So now…we had a “Winter Sandwich” of a thick layer of ice…4 inches of snow…and another thick layer of ice. But the power stayed on. Netflix binging…football…and creative foraging for recipes that worked with whatever was left in the cupboard ensued.
Today…after cancelling school for a record 6th day for the year (which need to be made up in June…argh!), Mrs. Miller was allowed to go back to school…and all is well. Mostly.
There is more snow predicted for tomorrow.
So…who do you blame for this?
Is it all Mrs. Miller’s fault, because she wished for snow, while belittling the size and scope of snow in my “little town?”
Is it because Homer actually had the audacity to give up his “Mr. Plow” jacket to “downsizing and simplifying” in the most recent Simpsons episode?
Is all of this because EA finally angered God (or the Gods if you prefer) with such a mishmash of religious blasphemy during the past few weeks??
Or…is it all simply because Eugene is so ill-equipped to deal with severe weather (we have a grand total of TWO snow plows…and refuse to use salt on our streets due to the environmental impact), that we are deserving of being a target of Mother Nature (like mobile homes in tornadoes) when the temperatures dip below 40 degrees?
The fact of the matter is…I still love the snow. It is rare…and gives us all a chance to whine about the SAME thing for once (after a year of whining about opposite outcomes).
But, I get it. Snow can be an inconvenience. I haven’t touched a golf club in more than 8 weeks. That has to change soon…
What do YOU Think about Snow…either in your “little towns” or in your REAL lives? Do you have stories or pictures to share about the Winter thus far (and yes…I realize we still have three more months of “official Winter”).
Let us know. Snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I’ll let you know how Mrs. Miller fares. The bigger question is this…if we get weather in the mid-to-upper-40s as is predicted…will EA come out with a “Flood Mode” for our towns?
We’ll see…
That type of weather is the norm here in Ohio. In fact, parents get riled up when school gets called off if less then a foot of snow falls. You will here the old timers recite the saying; ” you youngsters don’t know what it is to have to go to school in snow. In my day we HAD to walk miles to school……without boots, gloves etc”.
Glad you get to enjoy it, if only for a few days. Our winters last ( chance of snow) from Nov. to March….we have had snow as late as -April…by that time, I’m pretty fed up with it.
I lived in Eugene for 5 years and Cottage Grove for 10 years before moving to Eastern Washington 11/2 years ago. I so miss the “snow days” we would get (my husband and I both worked in the school system). Snow days are very rare up here, even though we have nearly 2 feet of snow that will only continue to grow for the next month.
And as a side note, I just have to say, Eugene is most certainly not in the “Banana Belt”… I grew up in the real Banana Belt of Oregon (Brookings), and winter temps are typically in the 50s.
LOL! You say banana I say potato. Or something like that. Brookings is always “temperate” but Eugene gets the warmer summers, with extended dry periods. Brookings…not so much.
But man…I’ve been to Eastern Washington in the winter…cooooooooooooold! Not North Dakota cold…but cold!
True, Brookings is pretty much always wet, and certainly milder summers. Spokane is quite cold right now. Currently 7 degrees. 🙁
For Patric – I don’t know if you have Facebook IRL, but I couldn’t seem to find the video on the main site, so hopefully you can follow this, or someone may have the skills to find the original. Caption reads: “WATCH: The Oregon Zoo in Portland was closed to the public today due to heavy snow — but the zoo’s residents had a blast.”
https://www.facebook.com/nbcnightlynews/videos/10155021583303689/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED
Too fun!
I was not frolicking in the snow…as Eugene has returned to its “banana belt of Oregon” status, with temps into the 40s while Portland got smacked with more than a foot of snow and temps in the 20s. What a difference 100 miles makes in the PNW!
Yes, I kind of figured that, but I thought you’d still get a kick out of it anyway. When I ran across it this morning, it just made me think of you. 🙂
I welcome the Winter in Southern Nevada
I don’t welcome the accidents caused by bad drivers
(I hope we don’t have the problems Northern Nevada is facing)
I look forward to an UPDATE in TSTO for February 😊
I miss tstofriends.com
Sorry to hear that…but Alissa has been pretty cool about allowing me to be more “friends-like” than many want…
Something had to give…and Addicts is far and away the most popular blog in the blogosphere. I am honored to play a role.
Ask Patric, he still holds it, but it isn’t active anymore.
“Patric” …uhm…me… made the decision to “reduce the digital clutter” in the TSTO Blogosphere over the summer…and gave all readers months worth of warnings about his intentions. And other than the fact that he has been forced into speaking about himself in third person, he is very happy with his choice. He has been warmly embraced by at least 1/3 of the readers at TSTOAddics, and endured by most of the rest of the readers (with .067% still wishing that he be cast into the ocean with rocks in his pockets), and by all accounts, will be part of the team for the foreseeable future (once his probationary period has been completed…the arm band and “rookie” hat are getting old).
Yes…Patric still owns the tstofriends domain. But, that will soon simply redirect to his “crankyoldguy.com” site…which has been languishing in semi-silence since the election.
Any connection with crankyoldhag.com ? 😂
Ehhh, we’re starting to warm up to you, I think we got so used to sweetness and youth that cranky old guy was culture shock 😂😂😂 (I’ve still got at least 3 small pebbles left though) 😳 Just kidding Patric😀
Too funny. Oh well…I get it. Trying on the “nice guy” hat after years of a cranky helmet is a transition for all of us. But, the fact is…it’s always good to know I have the helmet in the closet.
I definitely prefer the hat to the helmet 😊
At the moment I work in Munich, and we’ve been having lots of snow already. But since this is entirely normal, life just goes on. Streets are swept and/or scattered with little stones – rarely with salt. No ice storms or blizzards as a rule. It only gets annoying when the snow is melting during the day and freezing again at night, and the streets get really slippery.
You could put on your skates.
No snow in my real life. In fact, I’m melting in the 35-degree Summer…
I’m confused lol
35 Celsius not to be confused with 35 Fahrenheit. 35 C is roughly above 80F, maybe 90F to be honest. Cant remember the exact conversion but ya..
95ºF, yes. Fortunately we got some rain today so it’s not that hot right now.
Thank you, now it makes sense chez 😊
No problem!
Those of us living in the Portland metro area just got slammed with snow last night and this morning. We have about 8 inches of new snow on the ground at our house. Our dog seems to love it, but my wife and I are house bound now until this clears off the roads or gets plowed and sanded.
Most snow in one day here in the last 8 years. December, 2008 was the last really big snow event. We got 26 inches of snow in three days at our house back then. Most years we don’t get very much snow in the Portland area (as you know Patrick).
Two friends wrote their Free Verse odes to winter yesterday and I include them here. One lives in Massachusetts, the other is in South Dakota.
January
freezing snow
blistered butts from falling down
frozen puppy poops
and yellow snow
froze my brains
house is deadly dry
take a shower
then breath a sigh
Winter
Itchy skin, bloody nose
falling down, crunchy snow
dead batteries, messy windshields
Dirty snow, icy roadways, in the ditch
Where is Spring
It’d be nice if we could keep some squares snowy all year round. To go with the ice castle for example.
Here in the east of england we don’t get much snow, so when they say it’s due to snow this weekend I remain sceptical!
I grew up in NW MN (-46F Christmas of ’83), so snow is part of life there. Springfield is gonna be glad it had a longer winter when it begins noticing that the insect population is lower than after warmer winters.
It’s winter… there is supposed to be snow. : )
Therefore, let there be snow.
(It would be neat if we could keep the snow in the game at least until the ground hog told us otherwise)
If you live someplace where you do not get all 4 seasons that is kind of sad.
Now bring on them the leprechauns!
I live in Texas, hardly ever get snow here, which sucks but is probably good in the overall scheme of things. This city and the drivers here would be useless in snow.
What’s a “hot toddie”?
A hot beverage made with liquor (usually whiskey, rum, or brandy), water, and honey. Some places use sugar and spices such as clove, lemon slice, or cinnamon can be added. Some places also replace the water with ginger ale or tea. It’s nice to ward away the cold and damp, and some people feel it has medicinal properties to protect or heal from cold and flu.
I’m a Southerner. We just had a snow ice “storm” (I know, that’s relative). I still have to say, that looks cool. Probably a b***h to deal with, but it LOOKS cool.