We didn’t know we were trapped until early afternoon when we tried to get out. We bundled up and locked the door, turning to face the wind and chill of the winter afternoon, and promptly slid, all 3 of us, barely maintaining our balance on the ice sheet that had covered our driveway, street, and indeed, the entire world around us. So much for driving to Malmö for an afternoon get-together with friends. So much for meeting Carolyn (Marilyn’s co-worker, grandmother of Taylor Parker and mother of my friend and fellow AWC member Katie).
I looked down the street and saw nothing but a solid sheet of ice, so we turned around and trooped back inside and I called Katie to give her the bad news. The power went out several times during the course of the afternoon, mostly short blips and sputterings, with one long enough to wreck the PC game I was in the middle of. Anders came home from his all-night hockey-bockey tournament and said he crawled home at a slow speed, afraid to touch the brakes. He’d heard on the radio that there was a pile-up on E22, the highway that leads to Lund…cars couldn’t get up the hill and were sliding back down.
The windows on the front of the house look frosted, completely glazed over with ice. So much for going walking today. 🙁 Around dinner time the icy rain finally turned to snow. Yay! Finally! Now the whole world is white with the icing UNDERNEATH.
I hope it lets up long enough for me to drive to Copenhagen airport tomorrow night to fetch my mom, who will be here for 2 days before heading back home.
Yesterday I motored around the house and removed all of the Christmas decorations, piling them on the dining room table. They completely covered it, with not an inch to spare. And that wasn’t including the tree ornaments. Anders brought the boxes down from the attic so I could begin to pack things up, though I didn’t actually start until today. There are 4 huge boxes and 1 small one, plus the wreath box and 5 advent light boxes. That’s a hella lot of decorations. I know it’s less than what my sister and mom have though. How many boxes house YOUR decorations? Do I need an intervention?
Updated to add: Karin came home at 10 p.m. after spending the evening with a friend, so excited about the snow that she could hardly breathe. “It’s KRAM-SNOW*” she yelled and then pulled on her snow pants and went back outside to play. Anders and I looked at each other and laughed. Martin went out about half an hour later and they are still out there, at 11:00 p.m., happy as clams, having snowball fights and making angels and stomping around in the great expanse of white.
Worth Taking the Time to Watch: The Story of Stuff (thanks to sweet|salty for the link)
*packing snow (literally “hug-snow”)