Snow

In New Jersey this time. The last time I posted about NJ snow was December 2nd. A snow that early meant a snowy winter, right? Well, this is the second snow, in late February, and it won't stay around long. We think we have the perfect mix. Snow-free NJ for most of the winter; head to camp whenever we want to play in the snow.

Back in NJ

We're back in NJ earlier than expected. There was another big storm coming so we decided yesterday morning to leave camp before it hit. We didn't make it all the way to NJ, however. It started snowing while we were on the NY Thruway. Then S called as we were approaching NJ and told us the Garden State Parkway was closed due to many accidents. So we asked our Garmin Nuvi (affectionately known as GyPSy) to find us a hotel and we spent the night in the Holiday Inn in Suffern, NY. Now W has to drive to Connecticut this evening for a meeting tomorrow.

A Slight Miscalculation

We've always loved our driveway in the Adirondacks. We took out the minimum number of trees to make a narrow tree-lined lane and designed it so it goes between two massive erratics (for the uninitiated, these are huge boulders deposited by a glacier). The miscalculation is that we did not take snowfall into account. There was very little snow the last couple of years so we didn't see the problem. This season we've already had about 7 feet of snow, with potentially lots more to come. The guy who plows the drive is saying there is no more place to pile the snow and soon he won't even be able to get his truck in. Our caretaker pointed out that emergency vehicles also could not get in, so our insurance company might have something to say about keeping the camp open when a firetruck couldn't get down the drive. And I'd been worried about how we could get a fuel delivery with the driveway so narrowed by piles of snow. So today we reluctantly instructed the caretaker to go ahead and drain the pipes and turn off the heat. We won't be able to go back until some of that snow melts. That could be a while.

Ice Palace

The sun was finally out today, making it the perfect time to drive to Saranac Lake to see the ice palace, even though the high temperature was in the single digits.

At Camp

And on line!!! When I plugged in the modem yesterday after we arrived, only the power light came on. Since the "system" light was not even on, I assumed I had a real problem. But this morning we snowshoed down to the lake and discovered the antenna completely covered with snow. Cleaning it off (and reconnecting a ground wire that had come undone) fixed the problem. Whew. For a while there I thought I'd be off-line for the duration of our stay. I kept telling myself I had plenty of other things to do and that it didn't matter - but I didn't really believe it. Am I pathetic, or what?

We have LOTS of snow again. We shoveled a couple feet off the deck. And it is obvious that the earlier snow did not all melt in the thaw that was happening as we left last month. There are huge piles by the driveway that may still be there in June. And we are due to get up to 8 inches more today and tomorrow.

But that is what we are here for. We hope to snowshoe on the trails around the museum this afternoon.

Weather

Why do I ever believe weather forecasts? We are trying to go to the Adirondacks for our monthly visit. We had planned to leave today, but the weather didn't look good so we were going to go tomorrow. The main issue was a chance of sleet or freezing rain, which we definitely would not choose to drive through. Plus, I have a virus of some sort (sore throat and achy but hasn't progressed to anything more) and waiting another day seemed like a good idea. For a week now the forecast for camp has been sunny and cold for Thursday. It seemed like a good day for the drive. We would come home on Tuesday, in time for me to go to chorus rehearsal.

But..... Our wonderful caretaker just emailed me that we might want to rethink our plans. The forecast has completely changed. Now they are supposed to get up to 10 inches of snow between today and tomorrow.

I'll do another post once we actually get there, so folks know where we are. Right now, we're looking at going up Friday or Saturday (I'll skip chorus rehearsal next week) and staying about a week. There is a quilting class on the 17th that I'd really like to go to. But W has some plans for next week that would have to be changed. So not sure yet what we are doing. At least there should be plenty of snow for skiing once we do get there.

Diet Watch -- On Hold

AG has convinced me that trying to lose weight in the winter, especially since I have a touch of SAD, is a losing proposition, so to speak. I should feel good that I haven't gained weight over the winter. So the "diet watch" is on hold until spring. No more filling up this blog with diet entries that don't go anywhere. I'll still work hard to keep my weight down and will be back in the spring with more weight-loss posts. Wish me luck. I still need to fit into my new palazzo pants for the chorus concert at the end of March, so that is my next goal.