@alwaysamom definitely it seems that schools have got more “whimpy” re: snow. But I have to say, in our town funds are low and snow removal is not very good. Plus our urban city schools know that many kids have to walk - and people sadly are terrible at shoveling so that is taken into account as far as safety goes.
I’m at work now and the city is at a level 2 emergency level - level 3 send us all home!
Our challenge has always been getting out of our driveway. We are on a busy street and when the city plows go by, our driveway gets a wall of heavy snow.
H called a plow service last night and scheduled a sweep for this morning. Luckily, he was able to get out and get to work this morning.
I’ve already been out to the street to shovel the wall of snow from the plows going by, hoping to keep it clear throughout the day.
I just shoveled most of the snow dam at the end of the driveway. Later, I’ll work on clearing the edges of the roof with the special shovel (usable from the ground) my mom gave us years ago.
I just finished shoveling our 3-car wide driveway - 6 - 8 inches came down overnight. Much harder than the 5 inches I shoveled yesterday. It’s still snowing.
We’ve never had a snowblower, and the past two winters it didn’t snow much. But looking ahead to continuing snow all weekend, this may be the year we decide to turn in our shovels. It might be worth it just to keep H from “power shoveling” and risking a heart attack.
In our area, they are closing schools sooner due to safety of the students. We’ve had cold days and ice days in addition to snow days in recent years.
Snowblowers = good investment. The idea of exercise being “good exercise”…well, it does work out your body and burns calories and can help you work up a sweat - but, “good exercise”? It’s a lot of unnatural strain on parts of your body - especially if you have lots to do.
We have a snowblower - and I’m not afraid to operate it! We have a double corner lot with sidewalks, a long straight driveway and a circular drive and a long deck that must be walked across to get down to the ground and then a path out to the garage for our cars…so, while we use the snowblower, a good ole shovel is used for the deck, paths and porches. Having the snowblower also allows us to quickly do the sidewalks all the way down the block two ways so that we can be assured that we have some clear walking paths to take the dog out on. It benefits us for our pup walks and no one is complaining that we do their sidewalk for them! (side note: I can never believe how many people don’t bother to clear their snow!)
^^ above I meant "the idea of shoveling being “good exercise”. Too late to edit!
I don’t enjoy shoveling but I can’t afford a snowblower. Teeth, dog, and clothes dryer are higher priorities right now.
Flight to Detroit cancelled. The one from Detroit home hasn’t cancelled yet but she won’t be on that. I assume they’ll figure things out for her and she’ll let us know. Hopefully she can fly home tomorrow!
The sun is out in Madison and no more snow is expected, so prospects for travel tomorrow should be good.
I grew up in northern Ohio and had enough lake effect snow to last a lifetime. Now I’m in the DC area, and we’ve only had 3.1 inches this winter, just cold rain and ice. While many are complaining, I’m grateful. Apparently we are number 2 on the list of most below average snowfall across the nation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/d-c-is-no-2-on-the-list-of-snow-losers-this-winter/
Metro Detroiter here - lots of snow, and it’s still falling. Gosh, it’s pretty. And bonus, I get to work from home without feeling bad about not “being there” for my students! ___
Stay warm, stay safe, everyone! And send some of that snow to the moisture-starved west…
@akmom124 I wouldn’t assume anything about the airlines or the company she is interviewing at.
Here are all the places that have nonstop flights from Madison. She needs to get to work on the phone or internet in order to reroute herself.
https://www.msnairport.com/flight_travel/where
We have lived in the Chicago area for many many years. We had a used snowblower for a few years, and I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. I much prefer shoveling and/or calling a plow service.
One of our neighbors has an ATV with a snowplow attachment, and that just looks FUN.
We need snow! at 20% of last years snow pack. Some snow expected tomorrow, finally.
Company rescheduled DD’s flight to this morning and she’s waiting to board now! I will say they were really on top of things for her and the others there. Rerouted those they could and rescheduled the others. The closest she could have flown direct was to NYC so waiting a day was the better choice for her.
@akmom124 , if your daughter ends up in Madison and you or she has questions about the area, please let me know. I’m glad the company took care of rescheduling the flights.
Redfield, NY passed the 300" snowfall mark for the season on Thursday. I guess the rest of us should stop complaining! 
My son is visiting Chicago for a 4-day weekend. Not especially good timing, but it is what it is.
He’s a freshman in college in the Los Angeles area. He got some experience adulting when his Thursday flight was cancelled and he had to rebook. He was lucky to find a seat on a plane from LAX (he was originally flying via Burbank). He was lucky again to get a speedy Uber driver who got him to LAX with about five minutes to spare before they started boarding.
From the photos he’s sent, it looks like he’s having a good time. He’s either borrowed or bought a scarf. This is his first time in snow without proximity to ski lifts.
@rosered55 - Thanks so much! If she ends up there I’m sure we will have questions about the area! The extra day in Madison gave her a chance to explore a little in the daylight and then go out with some of the other stuck people. They grabbed dinner and drinks somewhere and watched the Olympics. She liked what she saw of Madison and the people she met. So we’ll wait and see what happens now.
And she finally landed safely after delays in Detroit!