Wrapping Up The Holidays

The doings of the past few days:

Wednesday, we met up with M+D at Museum of Indian Arts and Culture at Museum Hill.



Spent some time with the exhibits, had lunch at the café, and headed our separate ways for the afternoon. We headed off to Harry's Roadhouse for dinner and said our goodbyes. M+D were driving down to Albuquerque in the morning, would spend the day there, and catch a flight on Friday.

Thursday, I was back off to work for an abbreviated day. Snow was forecast for Thursday night into Friday, maybe an inch or two of wet snow was due to accumulate. Around noon, an impressive-looking snow shower blew in, but then passed, something that was repeated a couple times over the course of the day. By bedtime, it was steadily snowing, but lightly.

Getting up Friday for another abbreviated day, was greeted by about 8" on the ground (maybe you've seen the picture). Spent some time assembling an outfit to shovel out and then wear for the day, then the call came that the office was shut down. There were some calls to make, but was free for the day. M+D called to say that their flight had been cancelled, but they were booked on another the next day without a problem and staying at the airport hotel.

I decided to pull out the old cross-country skis and head to the Albertson's (we had enough supplies, but wanted to be snowed in in style). Found all the stuff, suited up, and headed out while Monica set about clearing off the cars.



I was hoping for some good packed snow under all the powder — like the plows came by a few hours ago and really smashed it down — but the road down out of our apartment complex was pretty much ice, and the road out was surprisingly well cleared and salted. Going on that was possible, but rough. And the unplowed edge of the road was just all powder, so I sank down way above the height of my boots. Plus the old skis are skinny, made for skiing in tracks, so it was slow going. After making it to the top of the hill, by the hotel, decided that this just wasn't fun. So I turned around and headed back to the apartment. This time, I took Monica's advice and went up the unpaved back road to the complex, which had some pretty good snow.

In the meantime, Monica had cleared our cars and our downstairs neighbors' and, unknown to me, gone up to the hill to try and find me. I found that out when, after waiting around the apartment for a few minutes, leaving a message, and switching to hiking gear, I set out again. I continued on, the walking was kind of slow, and stopped off at the National Cemetery before heading to the grocery store.

 

The grocery store was busy — maybe more busy than the usual Friday morning, but it was a holiday weekend, and there wasn't the panic that characterized trips in the snow to the store in Arlington. I had a list and assembled some foodstuffs to see us through the next few days. One of these, in addition to some other weighty foods, was a 5-pound bag of potatoes (nutritious! multipurpose!). Loading up my messenger bag and one more grocery bag, I set back out. And the novelty of it all quickly wore off. Weighed down, slogging, overheating, I became less enchanted with the snow with every step. Luckily, Monica was there to greet me with some Mexican hot chocolate, and we stayed in for the rest of the day.

Saturday morning came, and it was still snowing. I wanted to go out and tromp around some, take some pictures, maybe clear the car some more, but the snow was much, much higher than my boots — a problem I haven't had since, like, forever. Best we could do was pin some elastic to my pants to pull them over the boot tops. Helped, but the snow still poured down the back as I walked to photograph the arroyo.

 

Then we set about clearing the Golf:



What started off as brushing off and getting in to rescue my thermal mug soon turned into digging around it (with the management company's shovel), then to digging it out, then to pulling it out, turning it, and backing it back in. Took about an hour-and-a half and the added efforts of two passersby to push it back in, but the car was pretty freed up. Monica brushed off hers and the neighbors' again, creating piles around the cars just about as high as the hood. Our neighbor stuck her head out to thank us and to ask if we were going into town. Considered a drive, maybe a walk, but decided not today — but we'd let her know when we did go out. And that was pretty much the outdoor adventure for the day.

M+D left a message, their flight had been cancelled, and they were now on a flight on the second and back at their usual Albuquerque hotel.

The snow tapered off Saturday afternoon and had pretty much stopped by nighttime.

The Sunday paper arrived with the official report: an average of 23.5" of snow in Santa Fe, about 26" in the ski basin (odd, because they usually get much more than the town), and a record for Albuquerque for one-day snow of 15.6". But it was clear and getting sunny, and we were curious about what it was like out in the world, plus we wanted to pick up some stuff and our neighbor obviously needed something. Lottery tickets, as it turns out.

We made it out without too much effort and onto the ice-rutted streets to Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works to see about some gaiters, which had kind of become an obsession for me. Closed. Over to the comic shop. Closed. Over to another outdoor store, one that specializes more in downhill gear. Nothing. It was all ponderous driving, slick and unplowed, but there were no problems. To Albertsons for a few supplements and the Powerball tickets. Heading out, decided to take the longer, but more clear, way home. But it took us in the general direction of our earlier errands, so stopped to see if the stores were open. They were. But at SDCMW, I was told that they were sold out. "We've been open a half-hour and you're the fifth person to ask." There was more success at the comic shop, then home.

M+D called. They spent the day kicking around Abq, but wanted to come up to meet us for brunch on Monday.

After a nice salmon dinner, Caleb stopped by for a visit and to show some of the art for a project we're working on. We then headed over to Jett + Serena + Will's for a New Year's gathering. Had a good time visiting with some friends there, but headed home before midnight.

Today, brunch at Zia with M+D and a little stroll around the Plaza. We sent them on their way (again) and headed back home, where we found our neighbor with one car cleared but the other stuck halfway out of its spot. Sure, we could let it melt out, and it wasn't really blocking anything, but it was kind of a challenge to our New England upbringing. With Monica's driving and the assistance of a few other neighbors, we got it out and into a clear area. Now we're settling in for the evening and an end to the holiday whirlwind.