Feb
10

In Case You Were Wondering…

Posted in snow | 4 Comments
…*THIS* is what the tattered remains of a canvas-topped gazebo look like after getting three feet of snow dumped on it. *cough* The metal struts broke quite nicely on their own, but mr myn and I went out with a knife and a shovel and cut out a lot of the canvas ourselves. Aside from the fact that it was making some really weird creaking, we were afraid that it would either 1) collapse explosively and something metal would smash through the sliding glass door or, more importantly, 2) a person would walk under it just as it collapsed and get slammed with 2 feet thick blocks of sn-ice. (The bottom was completely frozen solid). And here, my neighbors decided to throw some bread out onto the snow and attracted a nice flock of gulls from the nearby pond. I’ve been tossing out left over birdseed every few hours. I’ve… Read more
Feb
7

Snowed In.

Posted in snow, updates | 4 Comments
I’m not entirely sure how much snow we got, but let’s just say over 30 inches and then some. However, I’d like to give a nice shout out to my neighbors for taking pity and digging me out this afternoon. Much obliged and there’s a gift card to a very nice restaurant coming your way shortly. 🙂 And no, I’m not a lazy sod who won’t shovel snow, but given the amount and the back issues, there’s not a chance I’m going to try it unless it’s a real emergency.  Mr Myn was gone all weekend as the police force put the shifts up in a nearby hotel so as to minimize travel, but finally came back late this afternoon (and helped out the neighbors as well). We did lose power for about 8 hours yesterday, so I debated trying to dig out and head out to grandma’s, but in… Read more
Feb
6

Snowpocalypse Now!

Posted in snow | 3 Comments
Okay, I’m wearing out the snow jokes like no-one’s business, yes. However – the picture there on the left was from Wednesday. We got maybe 5 inches of snow on top of what was left from the last snowfall. So, just enough to make things fun as you can see by the happy little snowman there. (Fruitsnacks for eyes and mouth, whee.)  I’m only posting it for perspective, you understand. After the weather people got everyone all riled up on Thursday about the snow coming, almost all the schools in the area closed preemptively, before anything even started falling out of the sky. But that’s the DC area for you. It’s like people forget what snow looks like from year to year. There’s always all these stupid news reports on “How to Keep Warm” and “Where to Buy a Snow Shovel”. And there’s always a run on shovels too. Like what… Read more
Dec
20

On Meringues

Posted in baking, snow | 3 Comments
I almost ended up not making these yesterday, and it’s a good thing I hadn’t gotten very far – if the power had gone out when I was mixing, the entire batch would have had to be tossed. As it stands though, I decided to document a bit of the baking process as I’ve had a lot of questions over the years on how to make them. (And it’s not that it’s overly tricky, but it doesn’t take much to screw it up. Given the amount of time it takes to make them, that can be a bit heartbreaking. LOL.)  Last time I made these I was in Canada and they turned out like ass – though I think part of that was because I had a hand beater and a shallow bowl, which really doesn’t work. You need a fast mixer. (It could also have been that the elevation… Read more
Dec
19

Snow and Anklets and Busted Gazebos

Posted in snow | 5 Comments
Yeah, so we got snow last night. A lot of snow (for DC, anyway). In fact, it’s *still* snowing. Which would be fine for the most part. After all, I have nowhere to go and I’d pretty much decided I wasn’t going to do anything but bake today, anyway. (I’m eating my 3rd homemade corn muffin as we speak and the eggs are setting to make meringues, which I’ll blog about tomorrow.) However. Apparently my gazebo wasn’t meant for having 20 inches of snow packed on top of it, and if I’d had half a brain I would have pulled the canvas roof off last night, but there it is. So after a little bit of time this morning I heard this nice thud and came downstairs to find the entire top end completely inside out, metal struts bent all to hell. Hmmmph. I’m a little pissy about it, honestly.… Read more