Ugghh.... I'm flying to Boston on Tuesday, to pick up my mom in NH and driver her to Cleveland. Haven't driven in the snow in 30 years.... great timing.

Best, by Tuesday the driving conditions will be fine, I'm sure. Though I haven't looked at the forecast beyond Sat...

We are in the Boston area and the last forecast is showing up to 33". That would be crazy. Of course this is a weekend when we have lots of fun plans. Supposed to go out w/ 4 other couples tomorrow night, we have theater tix with our DD for her birthday on Sat., etc.

Much better to have it this weekend, as far as I'm concerned, because next weekend is the beginning of vacation week for all schools in our area and imagine all the screwed up flights! Ick.

Best Years, up here in NH, they are currently predicting 8-12 inches. But a lot depends on where the main part of the storm goes. We could get more (however, we're hoping we don't).

But the main part of the storm is supposed to hit Friday night, so by Tuesday, the main roads and nearly all the side roads will be clear and the airport should be fine.

I have to admit....I'm jealous! These storms always manage to just barely miss us in MD. While I don't want snow all winter, it would be nice to have at least one big storm each winter! Not necessarily 2-4 feet, but a 8-12 inches would be nice!

We are supposed to get freezing rain and rain. Nothing worse than cold rain!

I'm from the snowy center of the country. When we moved to Boston I had to laugh every time I observed the run on milk before the storm. Hah! I figured they needed all that milk because everybody stayed home from work and drank milk all day when it snowed.

'Course my Chicago-style bravado pales next to DHs stories -- he's from the land of Faron and 40 below.

Got my Boston comuppance in the early nineties when everything flooded -- remember that? We had a geyser in the basement.

Sending my condolences to all of you about to get clobbered by snowzilla. I used to enjoy the occasional whopper of a snowstorm but I hate it now. Two years ago we had a winter of one big storm after another and it was total misery. I have a choice of shoveling myself which is hard on my old bod, or hiring someone, which is hard on my old pocketbook. Thankfully, a neighbor with a snowblower has saved me on several occasions.

I just hope this storm does as predicted and does not decide to move a bit farther south to me.

I'm in the South also and glad of it! I like a pretty snow - maybe once a year - if even that often. But mostly I would like winter to last a few weeks around the holidays and then I am over it. We usually have very mild winters but this year we have had two snows and an ice storm. We had snow last Sunday that was actually really nice because the roads were warm enough that it melted right off - but because it was fluffy, heavy flakes, the trees, etc. were beautiful. It was gone by night! We had been in the 60's before that. Supposed to be 60's again this weekend, then cold weather later next week.

Stay safe all those in the storm's path! We are supposed to get some rain from that system.

This is my idea of perfect timing for a storm, though. The forecast is now saying the worst of it will be Friday night into Saturday, so it's mainly a weekend storm. Plenty of time to shovel out, the neighborhood kids can play, etc.

However, even though one report I just heard says we will only have a few inches by 7 pm tomorrow, they have already cancelled school!

Our area is now expecting 18-24". Yuck.

Saw that on the weather. Wow. Thinking of you as I sit here in the middle of Illinois with my window open because I'm hot. Up to 50 today.

I'm actually a little jealous.

I love, love snow. I'm so excited! We will have at least a foot! No school tomorrow!

I'm south of Boston on the ocean and it's going to be a doozy if it hits us. Between the high tides and the winds, we're in for a ride. Our town got shattered in the blizzard of 78 and they say this is a similar storm. They've even shut down public transportation. Oh well, we have a wood stove so we can eat and be warm even if we lose power. Good luck all my New England buddies.

Oh how I love a good storm. Good luck to you all! Please be smart and live to tell the story.

Keep us updated...

All of you folks who are jealous...feel free to stop by and help us shovel any time...I'll even provide the pizza and beer!

Except for the dangerous winds, I'm also jealous! And nothing is more perfect than for snow to arrive on Friday to cuddle up with family all weekend, knowing everyone is safe. Pig out time! lol.

I expect a lot of pictures though, and also check in if you still have power.

If you guys get those high winds and a lot of snow, keep a shovel INSIDE the front or back door to shovel your way out of the house. I've had to do that! :)

We left MA last night to get to NH before it all hits. DS was more than happy to miss school today (they'd already made it a half day). So today I get to just BE. We already have a couple of inches here. I'm going to shovel a bit, shower, and bust out some yarn and hopefully figure out how to crochet.

DH had to head south a bit to do a little work. Once he gets here and my sister and her family arrive I will feel much better.

Beth P.

Getting my kids moving right now. They haven't had a snow day in 2 years. Bizarre for central il.

Not so jealous of you after watching the weather this morning. Looks like a record storm. A little worried actually. Stay safe all.

Annie, I'll be up this afternoon before it gets too bad. ;)

Cold, cold, steady rain here. Temp is 35 degrees! YUCK! At least if it were snow we could hunker down with a good book but alas, now I have no excuse not to run some necessary errands today. I was holding out some hope that we might get a bit of snow as we are just a bit too south and east from where the snow line is.

The snow is one thing, but the wind is the problem. I hope that not too many lose power with the windy conditions that will make this storm a real blizzard! Take care my northern friends!

I'm in southwestern NH. The snow has been coming down steadily all afternoon -- it looks like we've had 4 inches so far, not bad. I went out to sweep the front walk this afternoon. By the time I got to the end, everything I'd already swept was white again, so I just swept my way back to the house, went in, and made cocoa. It's a good night for a fire, a book, and a cat.

Of course, around here they say if you can't measure it in feet, it isn't snow, it's frost!

Wow! I am on the Ct shoreline and I have 30plus inches this am:( The fence in the pic is a pool fence which is at it's lowest point is four feet and at the post 5 1/2ft. I am so thankful to have our power for it is meant to get to the negatives tonight. I hope everyone is safe and warm.

We were very fortunate in that we still have power. The power outages in our area have been slight as it was cold enough to keep the snow powdery and the wind has kept it from building up on tree limbs. The ground was frozen so it helps support tree roots so few trees have come down, and the last 3 storms were Mother Nature's pruning and the utilities did a lot more "primary" pruning to eliminate limbs that put the wires at risk.

But in MA, RI and eastern CT they were not so lucky. Not only are they out of power, but tonight it's supposed to get down to the single digits....not a good combo. And clean up is a challenge as the high winds and drifting continue.

We opened the garage door and the snow has drifted up to 5' against the corner where the hot water heater vent is, so we'll have to shovel that out before we can use hot water.

I'm anxious to hear from a friend of mine ...at 4:30 this am, they had 34" of snow and another 5 hours of snow yet to go...he has 2 basset hounds so they're going to have to shovel just for them to go potty!

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Sat, Feb 9, 13 at 9:02

Here's DH shoveling out from the back door so our dogs can get out!

My neighbor's driveway this morning.

It sure is pretty tho:) And Thank goodness light and fluffy! My DH is stuck in Taiwan so I am stuck with the cleanup:(

We woke up to at least 2 feet -- so now it's officially snow! Normally it takes our plow guy about 15 minutes to clear our drive. This morning it took him nearly 45.

It's a wonderful day to stay inside and ponder the beauty and power of nature!

I'm in Eastern Ct., we never lost power here, thankfully, though we did get buried with about 2 feet of snow, lol !

The people who lost power were mainly in Stonington, Mystic, and East Lyme....I feel sorry for them tonight.

We are loving the snow! Too bad it will warm up next week!

On frozen pond.
From the far side of our pond at the back of the house (umm, clearly we have power ... sheeesh kids does every single room need to be lit simultaneously.

Walking around the pond was like hiking through wet cement --- hard work

The itty bitty stonehouse pressed into service as a hot chocolate station...
(far left, just out of the range of the photo above)

Oh your stone house came out so lovely...it defines cozy!

Yes, the little stone house is so inviting. The perfect spot to come in and warm up. We used to be able to skate on a pond nearby but the most recent owners won't allow it. I can't say I blame them since if there were to be an injury, they would surely be sued. Another person with a huge hill (and deep pockets) allowed sledding on their property for generations. A kid broke his leg, the parents sued and up went a big fence after that.

Anyway, back to snow. We didn't get much, just a couple inches. I did manage to hurt my back while shoveling the sidewalk. How stupid. Here is my favorite snow pic so far:

Love the stone house, it is darling! How wonderful to have an outbuilding like that, just waiting for your magical touch.

We have a pole barn--- a nice big one, but utilitarian only and there's nothing cute or charming about it :-( In fact, our landscaper recently suggested a row of Little Gem magnolias to HIDE it. At least on GW I can live vicariously through other people's stone buildings and cute sheds....

Did your fireplace/wood burner keep it warm enough?

This post was edited by kswl on Sun, Feb 10, 13 at 10:02

Thanks, Annie.

OMG Dedtired, that must be a drift!? That's actually scary. We had a similar issue around here with a big sledding hill. PO let everyone sled, next owner said no way. I can't say I blame them, but we court liability all the time with tons of kids in and around our pond and pool. That's what they are for, kwim? We do hire lifeguards from the Y though. And cross our fingers a lot.

KSWL - too bad, i like the phrase "pole barn".

As for your question --- reality intrudes. No, it only gets to about 62 in there. We selected a Jotul based on the mfrs spec for room size but it doesn't do the job. Actually, the Jotul is supposed to heat quite a larger room than ours. I think all of that stone retains so much cold, plus the high ceiling. Doesn't help that most of the stove is recessed in the firebox, either. The good news is the vendor will switch it out and we have plenty of room for a bigger one.

Now, can we go back to fun talk? : )

I'm watching the news right now and they are talking about more snow on the way to the Northeast. Good luck to you!

(Mtrd, I keep wondering if your father lives in the Phila suburbs -- but if he does, don't answer here for privacy! My neighbor has shown me pics of his daughter's house in your area and it looks exactly like yours, right down to the pond.)

And here is a reminder that snow is a lot of fun for some.

Here is a link that might be useful: sledding

That snow pic, dedtired, is a real stunner! Even the dog is scratching his head saying, Now where do I go?!?

Just got in from blowing and shoveling....it's really hard to tell how much we got...I walked down to the generator to shovel it out and I was up to the top of my thighs in snow....I shoveled my way back to the house so if we have to get to the generator it'll only be about shin high. We still have the 5' drift in front of our garage to deal with, and DH wants to shovel so we can get the barn door open if we have to, but otherwise we are about done.

I am in love with my "magic snow machine". It's a little electric toro snow blower that's about 18" wide...it saves my back so much! I let DH wrangle the big gas-powered one on the tractor.

We had a fun weekend here in NH, we got about 16" or so. Today we worked at the ski mountain and there were tons of people around. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and very fun.

We just got power back at our house on the Cape this afternoon. Someone went and checked on the house and LaMichael the African Frog lived through the chilly weekend! I can't believe how worried I was about him.

Tomorrow we will head home and shovel the decks and walkways. We did have someone plow one driveway, which will make everything easier. No school tomorrow as a lot of people still don't have power.

Beth P.

Dedtired,

Well, I grew up in Bucks County and most of my family is there still. Alas, my father has passed away.

But my house has a doppelganger? There are a lot of ponds in Fairfield County, but somebody else has all the whacky shapes we have? LOL

Well I'm back, we lost our power Friday afternoon and got it back yesterday and , yes, we stuck it out. We have a wood stove in the den so I could cook on it and we stayed warm until bedtime. I tried to sleep on the couch but no luck. We looked like the grandparents in Willie Wonka, two feet of blankets on us lol. We got the power back yesterday. Living with no lights, t.v. computer could be disheartening but I had two good books and an Aladdin lamp to read by so I really didn't suffer. Even our cell phones didn't work. Glad it's over. Our town looks horrible.

Yow! That's a long time to be out especially in the cold. Isn't it wonderful when it comes back on? Makes you appreciate it all the more.