Elaine's Yogurt Butter and Snow
Last week I wrote a story about a record-setting snowstorm eighteen years ago. Today I will be writing a story to make us forget that wimpy little storm.
The storm had been predicted by forecasters the previous week. In typical fashion, the forecaster changed the predicted start of the storm several times daily. True Colorado natives began to think, “Yep, the weatherman missed it again”. (No disrespect to weatherwomen. I thought you were wrong also.) But the weatherman (and weatherwoman) remained persistent. “The storm is coming, get ready.”
Wednesday afternoon I stopped at the grocery store to stock up on staples we might need if we were to be “snowed in.” At this point, the storm was to start Thursday night. Pandemonium was happing at the grocery store. Non-natives were filling shopping carts like they were at a beervirus toilet paper festival. Milk shelves were empty. Bread? Forget it.
Elaine has this thing about butter. She prefers one brand only. (Thanks, Carol) The store was out of Elaine’s butter. Personally, butter is butter, and next to bacon, it's heaven. However, Elaine likes one kind of butter, (Thanks, Carol.).and it’s not really butter, it’s made from that yogurt stuff.
Thursday morning the forecast was revised. The storm would start sometime around noon, Friday. That gave me another chance to get Elaine’s butter at a different store. Postponing the storm also gave the non-native another chance to empty store shelves. I did not find Elaine’s butter in this store. At his point, I could have given up, after all, butter is butter, except to Elaine (and apparently, Carol.)
Friday morning, the sun is shining brightly as I left for work. Clouds were building on the horizon. It was a slow day at work, I decided to start my weekend a little early and left the jobsite before noon. I had time to hit a different grocery store for one more attempt at Elaine’s butter. In fairness, I planned on making chili (w/beans) at some point during the weekend and I needed some more stuff. This store had Elaine's butter, nothing else but, it had Elaine’s butter.
I was back home in the early afternoon. Girl Twin asked if she could have a friend (male) come up to the house. I like this kid (cowboy with good morals). We welcomed him up, to the house to watch movies.
Mid to late afternoon, the snow started. Soon it was snowing harder. I told the cowboy he might have a problem if he didn’t head home soon. I already made a mistake, It was too late. The snow might be already too deep.
I had Cowboy call his parents to see if they were comfortable with him driving in the snow, or should he stay until the storm was over. Hopefully, the next day. Wishful thinking. Cowboy’s parents were cool with him waiting out the storm and by this time I saw no choice.
The snow kept coming. Saturday morning, Saturday night. It doesn’t matter snowing or not, the livestock need to be fed. Cowboy and Girl Twin were a great help. I can’t say if they were reluctant participants or if they were happy, but they did help. Keep in mind, Cowboy, arrived at our house without a stitch of warm weather clothing. Girl Twin left her warm weather gear in the truck, even after repeated attempts by Elaine and I to get her outside to bring her gear in the house. The snow is deep, above our knees.
It just kept snowing, Sunday, and Sunday night. Cowboy has been here a long time. GRRRRRR. The kids are watching Harry Potter movies, all of them. (Proudly, I have never watched a Harry Potter movie. Kids saving the world riding brooms don’t interest me.)
Monday morning the snow finally stopped. The snow is almost waist deep. The road to our house is covered with snow that had drifted to four feet. Our driveway was in similar shape. It was time to dig out. All of a sudden, I realized how happy I was to have teenagers at home. Sadly, they were not finished with Harry Potter. Did you know, there is like eight of those movies? Huh, who knew?
The dogs tried to go out, to do what dogs do. They came right back in. I moved enough snow for the dogs to complete their business. My decades-old body was feeling every scoop, OK, maybe every other scoop.
Sometime in the late afternoon, I heard the snowplows coming up the road. The county had brought out the big stuff. A road grader followed by two large snowplows. They were shoving the snow along the side of the road. The snowdrifts were higher than car roofs.
It was time to get down our driveway. Not paying attention to details I found I had left my tractor behind where Cowboy and Girl Twin had parked their truck. I was boxed in. Trying to create a route out around the trucks was a decision I regret to this day. I got the tractor stuck in the deep snow. We needed to move the trucks to get the tractor out. The same trucks that were buried in the snow that the tractor was stuck in. Time to end the Harry Potter marathon.
Cowboy, Girl Twin, and I shoveled enough snow from around the trucks to move the trucks enough to get the tractor unstuck and a route to the driveway. (You had to be there.)
By the grace of God, I heard motor noises. A neighbor with a bulldozer (not the one from 18 years prior) and a neighbor with a snowblower on his tractor were working in unison clearing driveways down our road, including our driveway. By dark, Monday evening we had a path to town.
I thank Phil, (bulldozer) and Mike (snowblower). With our/my tractor it would have taken at least two days to get out. I thank Ivy for clearing a path to the storage containers. Yarn sales can’t be stopped for a snowstorm. I thank Cowboy and Girl Twin for eating everything but Elaine’s butter. Which coincidentally, we didn’t open. Along with devouring our food, they dug out their trucks. Elaine helped by staying inside and recovering from her knee injury. Thank God for the moisture which will bring spring flowers and I thank God for this decades old body that keeps on digging.
Buy Yarn! We will use Ivy’s path
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Our crazy lives!
Monner
