Big White

The Parliament Buildings during the Snowstorm

According to The Ottawa Citizen, Sunday December 16th 2007:“People were being advised to stay indoors Sunday as a massive winter storm rolled its way into Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, creating havoc on the highways…Blustery winds in the nation's capital produced blizzard conditions Sunday morning. Heavy snow began falling there around 9 a.m. and the winds were blowing at a speed of 37 km/h ( 30mph for my American friends!)…Snow started falling early Saturday afternoon, beginning what the agency predicts could be a 40-centimetre(15 inch) snowfall across the region. Environment Canada says it could be the worst storm in the region in over 60 years.”

Last winter was very mild, and we almost had a green Christmas (I think there was a light dusting of snow the day before) but the snow that we have received this year has more than made up for it. We have had several bad winter storms but this one has to be one of the worst I have ever seen. I am so thankful to be holed up at home and not out driving like so many other people. I have had to shovel my driveway twice this afternoon and already it needs to be done again. I am keeping it clean in the hopes that Bee actually gets to come home tonight (more on that in a bit).

The problem with our street is that it does not belong to the city and therefore the Condo Corp. is responsible for hiring people to remove the snow. In the 3 years that I have lived here this has always been a problem. Mostly because the independent contractors take on too many contracts and when faced with bad weather like today, can’t get to everyone fast enough. The street has not yet been plowed and during my second round of shoveling I witnessed 3 cars get stuck in the middle of the street. I suppose it doesn’t help that people like me, who have no front lawn so to speak, have no choice but to shovel their snow onto the street. Normally this isn’t a problem since the plow just takes the snow and dumps it in a pile in the back but on days like today, it just adds to the snow that has already accumulated. The snowbanks are already taller than I am (I know, I know that’s not that tall!) but it’s the tallest I have seen in many years. In fact, they are so high that I cannot shovel the snow on them because the snow just falls right back onto my driveway.

So yes, I am hoping to keep the driveway clear in case Bee actually gets to come home tonight. He is one of those fortunate few(sarcasm much!) to work in a Department that needs to run 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. What that means is that on days like today, where staff will more than likely NOT be able to make it into work, the staff that IS there must stay and man the decks. This means that Bee, after having worked 12.5 hrs today, may have to stay and do the night shift as well until the roads have been cleared and people can make their way into work. This does not sit well with me, the mother of his two children who has been stuck at home with the kids for days now, but what can you do. Some are saying it’s probably best that he stay at work and not brave the drive home. At this rate I’m not even sure he would make it down our street.

So, the kids are warm and dry, watching TV (hey, I’m desperate!) I’m sipping on a Chai Tea and dreading my next shoveling session. My arms and back are sore already!