I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to write. Sorry to those of you who check every once in a while to see what’s here. I’m going to do better.

I think the most interesting thing that has happened is that we had our first blizzard. Everything I thought I knew about blizzards came true and there was more! I believe it was last week early – maybe even Sunday. You see I have no idea of the day - because the blizzard just took over everything. It started with a snowfall and then the winds came – maybe 45 mile an hour winds. I don’t really know, Tom is the one to check out the weather online and find out that stuff. But Stan Atchak told me the winds were 45 mph. The thing is those winds didn’t stop for almost three days. Don’t think I am exaggerating here. The snow or ice particles, whatever, swirled around and around, fast, biting, non relenting. The house was shaking so Tom and I got up in the middle of the night just to watch out the window. The wind was blowing the snow into drifts. It was like the sands of the dessert – how they make new dunes – well, this was exactly like that – only snow. I wanted to open the window just a tad to listen – but no way was that window coming open – the moment we just started to crack it the wind caught it and it was all we could do to get it shut tight again. On the way to school on Monday, I could not see two feet in front of me. I had to keep my head pointing down and had to just hang on poor Tom’s arm. The drifts had come during the night – huge drifts. You couldn’t even tell where they were (remember it is pitch dark when we go to school in the morning). So we’d just step forward and then way down – my feet going at least a foot down and then the boot almost catching before I pulled it up. Then we had to change the direction to find a firmer place to walk – someplace the snow had blown away from and not to. We had to walk fast – fighting the wind and swirling snow at the same time. I remember thinking, “Where are we, how much further, what if we blow over and get lost in a snow bank and no one notices us till it is too late.” Tom is so strong, he just kept holding me and pulling me forward. When we got to school – of course things were crazy. So many people late, parents bringing in their kids on snow machines, people in large amounts of snowgear, goggles – they were prepared. The talk all day was of the weather. Of course, no planes could even think about landing and therefore no mail.

Tom brought me lunch and came in covered with ice particles – the fur on his parker was frozen solid with ice and snow – just from that short walk to school. That afternoon, Stewart came in to see if I wanted to ride home on his snowmobile. I said “Thanks but I want to do this.” What was I thinking? Maybe I thought I would be cheating if I road the snowmobile home – maybe I thought well this is what I came up here for – to experience something different. Who knows! After all other people were walking home. Tom and I wrapped up good and decided to go across the lake because of the huge snowdrifts on our regular path through housing. Of course it was almost dark and the snow and ice were still swirling with high winds – although somewhat slower than the morning winds. When we were about 100 feet from the school and about to step out onto the frozen lake to cross over, we realized we could not see the teacher housing much less our house. The snow drifts we had plowed through to get to the lake made us not want to return to go the other direction. Tom said, “Keep moving. Head toward that light.” So we kept moving heading toward this light – which was flickering on and off depending on how much snow was swirling. (Remember the lawyer who took the shortcut across the lake…) We kept moving and finally got to the other side of the lake where the light was (the light of course was a porch light on one of the teacher houses). We then had to plow through more drifts to get up on land – snow drifts very high – some so high we had to go around them. When we reached solid land, we realized we were at the first house in the row of teacher housing – our house is the last house. Tom wanted to go back out on the lake and traverse the rest of the journey home. I said no way – I was following porches and steps all the way home. And that’s what we did – go up and down steps and over porches all the way down to our house. The porches and steps were covered with mounds of fresh snow and ice too – but I could actually tell where I was – on steps, porch or ground. When we got in and got all our wet snow caked clothes off, I just fell on the couch exhausted. Tom said “That was fun!”

The next day on the way to school was similar experience – but by then we had “been there, done that”. Tom brought over a bag of sleeping stuff, a change of clothing and some toiletries. We decided the next blizzard we have we’ll just sleep at school. By that afternoon the winds were gone, the snow had stopped falling, and everything was absolutely white and beautiful. It all seems like a dream now.

Oh, Roxie’s bathroom trips lasted around 15 seconds during the storm. She did not like the swirling snow and ice at all.

I will have to admit – it was a truly exciting blizzard. Just glad Tom was there to help me through it.