10 inches isn't much...

To all my Utah friends and families, 10 inches of snow is a good storm, but not particularly newsworthy.  Plows will be out, salt will be spread, life will continue on as usual.

I was outside shoveling snow away from the front of my house (tricky when you live in a townhouse with no barrier garden, let me tell you.  Where do you put the snow once you've shoveled it?) when a woman walking by told me that the Met office were predicting 10 inches of snow for our region.  Let me just tell you, this IS a big deal when you live in England and there are NO SNOW PLOWS WHATSOEVER! 

Salt is spread on the main roads, but small towns (like ours) and villages don't get much salt on their tiny roads.  Plus, it doesn't move the slush.  Which freezes, and becomes the most treacherous ice you've ever seen.  And when it is a proper cold snap, that slush/ice can stick around for weeks.

Trucks can't get to grocery stores, people can't get to work, schools close, etc. 

It is really coming down tonight, and I am feeling very grateful for my breadmaker and the fact that I had enough foresight to purchase some UHT milk and tins of beans and tomatoes when I did my grocery shopping this morning!

In other news, Dylan is being a real trooper.  He woke up badly this morning, because we had let his pain medication lapse.  He was sound asleep and we didn't want to wake him!  Let me tell you, we'll be waking him up to take it tonight!  He lounged around with no trousers or pants on for most of the morning, and he was in hog heaven because we let him watch cartoons nearly all day long.  But he is perking right up and his "region" looks good.  We were carrying him to the toilet all morning because he was struggling to walk, but by afternoon he was walking there himself.  He even walked up the stairs by himself to go to bed.  And he has developed a cute little hunch for when he coughs.  I recognize it--I had the same hunch after my c-sections!

Anyway, he's getting better all the time.  Edith is loving it, because he doesn't have the energy to be mean to her.  They are playing really well together.  But I am looking forward to his complete recovery.  With Martin back at work today, it was a pretty tricky night.  I'm glad the procedure is done and we won't have to worry about it any more.