February: snow and other events

Boston data from NCDC (click for larger version).

I start this month's post with the dominating element: snow. It just kept piling on. As you can see in my chart (above), the storms in late January gave us a good start with 2.5 feet of snow. On February 2, the MBTA was barely working - you know you're in trouble when the head of the MBTA is suggesting that people consider other travel options. The boys' school was closed, and I had a stressful commute the day after:

MBTA lottery today! Forsake the 64 bus for the 66 bus to Harvard Square. Discover that the Red line is experiencing "major delays" after you have paid your fare, and hop onto a crawling 1 bus. Take a brisk walk from Central Square, and you will arrive just in time for your 10 am class - 100 minutes after leaving the house.

More snow - at least a foot at a time - arrived weekly, until we hit nearly 100 inches of snow by the middle of month. 7.5 feet of snow in 23 days resulted in an unprecedented number of school closings and MBTA suspensions - yay for underinvestment! Even school vacation week wasn't immune, as demonstrated by my friend's Facebook status:

Five things NOT being said in New England this [President's Day] weekend:
5. Sorry kids, no electronics today!
4. My back and shoulders feel great from all that shoveling!
3. That Netflix streaming sure was a waste of money!
2. Watch "Frozen" again? Why, sure!
And the Number One:
1. Can it be my turn to take the dog out? Please!

Although the snow was blessedly light and fluffy, Igor and I were running out of places to put it. So, I modified my shoveling technique: scoop, walk 20 yards, bend knees, pivot, throw. It was also getting difficult to differentiate between cars and snowpiles (photo below), and MIT was growing its own mountain. Thankfully, our utilities and roof held, but our water pipe froze the day after President's Day. Yay for wallpaper steamers!

February 9: third major snowstorm in two weeks

Fundamentally, I am surprised that Boston cannot cope with this amount of snow. Even now, three weeks after our last major storm, driving down my street is like a game of Duck-Duck-Goose, except I call it Car-Car-Snowpile - replace car with space saver during the day. I devoured articles on Montreal (which clears snowpiles on the streets AND sidewalks!), hoping that Boston officials were doing the same so that we will learn. But we still have a sense of humor: pairing photos paired Beckett quotes, setting Facebook statuses to fiddle music, and commuting by moose while urging our neighbors not to slash tires.

In between storms, the boys had a piano recital, and enjoyed a school ski trip in 17 F weather. Nikita spent nearly all of school vacation week on Minecraft, but also learned how to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Ivan got optional homework during snow days, but had cavities filled in during school vacation week. Sadly, except for a playdate at the beginning of the month, the boys barely played in the snow - it was too deep!

The weekly snowstorms posed a challenge for cooking - how many roasts can one do? - but we always had bread, milk, and butter. I did a lot of baking, trying out Nancy Drew Blondies and a better S'mores Pie; next time, I should use the Dove Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate recommended by Cook's Illustrated. We celebrated Valentine's Day with roast lamb and Red Velvet Cake (we didn't have to learn how to fall in love with anyone), and National Sticky Bun Day with these delectable carbs:

Thankfully, my classes weren't adversely affected by the snow because there weren't many meetings scheduled. But since the spring (hah!) semester only started this month, I spent lots of time with the written word. I fulfilled this year's Month of Letters Challenge (thanks to my new pens and Postcrossing) and distributed used books (50 cents at the library!) for Bookcrossing. Through social media, I enjoyed learning about allowances, hot dudes reading, Cookie Monster's thoughts on food, and why some folks don't vaccinate brake. My Goodreads account also saw a lot of action; my favorite books were The Children Act, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Roast Chicken and Other Stories, and My Brilliant Friend.

Just as I started this post with snow, I end with my winter-inspired haiku:

Ice melt on sidewalk.
Cinnamon sugar on toast.
Know the difference.