After being snowed in for most of two weeks, I was encouraged by a brief bout of warmer weather that at least turned the snow-covered road to something more like icy slush. I had gotten my car down to the bottom of the driveway, and I had found one of my sets of car keys. I had lost my “regular” set of car keys and then my spare car key while snowed in. (No. Really. I lost BOTH.) One tends to forget about things like car keys when you can’t go anywhere. I’m sure the cats were involved as I tend to leave my keys on tabletops and they like to knock things off and throw them around until they disappear. I threatened to line all eight cats up and question them, but I could never get them together.
But, one car key found, I set off a couple of days ago TO VISIT THE WORLD. And see if it was still there. First, I had to pick up the children from the old farmhouse where they had gotten off the bus because school was finally back in session after a week’s wintry hiatus. There was no way I was going to traverse our still somewhat snow-covered road, two and a half miles over the hill and through the woods, which would be the shortest route. The 4WD on my car had decided to mysteriously give out IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. So, instead, I forded the river (which is the long way around to the old farmhouse). First, I walked down there to look at the river because the road was still kinda icy and if the river was too high, I didn’t want to have to back up to our farm. The Ornery Angel‘s husband has a set of rocks he goes by to tell if the river is okay and he had told us about them. I could see his rocks. All right! World, here I come!
Morgan had a basketball game and I was determined to sneak out to Wal-Mart during her game, but I came home first to drop off Weston. And change my clothes because I had forgotten to PUT REAL CLOTHES ON since I had not visited the world in so long and I was wearing long johns, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt.
Seriously.
Anyway, by the time I came back home and forded the river again, the rush of snow melt in the day’s briefly balmy 50 degrees had caused the river to rise. I forged ahead and made it across, but no sooner did I come up out of the ford than my car died. After a few seconds of panic, I managed to restart the car and get it to the driveway, where it died again. I must have gotten some water in the engine when I went back across the river. I told Morgan, “We can’t go back out for your game.” The balmy temps were predicted to quickly pass and more snow was on the way. My car was going to be all right, but I didn’t want to risk the river again. If I went back across the river and it killed my car, we’d be stuck, across an icy river, with no way to get back to our farm. And it was about to start snowing.
The drama! She was letting down her team! (It was Walton, the little town in the county, playing Spencer, the big town in the county. It was Very Important! If you’re 13 and you live in Walton and you have to DEFEND YOUR TINY TOWN.) I said, “I WAS GOING TO GO TO WAL-MART! YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE IN PAIN!” In the end, we walked up the driveway and called my cousin. He agreed to come as far as he could get his (non-4WD) car down the road (which isn’t far) and take her to her game. She ran two miles in the snow to meet him.
That’s devotion to basketball if I ever saw it. (Walton won!)
The next day, the river down again, I was hopeful to try to get out–only my car was stuck. Without 4WD, it would not move from the driveway. Then yesterday, it snowed. All day. I am snowed in, stuck in, flooded in, iced in. I have heat. I have food. I have internet connection. I have water. I’m a little concerned I might run out of wine.
But don’t be worryin’. There’s a lot of vodka in that homemade vanilla and don’t think I haven’t been thinking about it.
Luckily, I like staying home and I love living on a farm.
P.S. The boys can get to school because The High School Senior has 4WD. If he cared about his mother, really cared, he’d take her to Wal-Mart, but he has a girlfriend and a job, so don’t be expecting to see him between the hours of 7 am and Never.
P.P.S. The basketball fanatic moves in with Georgia whenever she needs to so she can get to school and basketball.
P.P.P.S. I’ll try to stay out of the homemade vanilla. But I’m not making any promises.
Sheila Z says:
The cats are conspiring to keep you home. Better get a hook to hang those keys. Maybe a few hooks inside a kitchen cabinet.
Yeah for Morgan and the team!
I’m loving your homemade vanilla. I made some back in Dec. Haven’t bought vanilla since. It’s wonderful.
On February 5, 2009 at 4:10 am
Snapper says:
Oh my!
On February 5, 2009 at 4:41 am
Heidi says:
Winter will be over soon, thankfully. :snowman:
On February 5, 2009 at 5:25 am
Heidi says:
YEA FOR WALTON!!!! I love to root for the under dogs and see them win! As for the long johns…that comes from living on a farm in the middle of the country – this proves you are a REAL country girl!!! wait, to be a REAL country girl you have to hang cloths out on the line in your undies and bra….seriously.. 🙂 BUT you are SO SO SO close that I consider you a REAL COUNTRY GIRL!!!
Does 52 have 4WD? He could throw on a helmet and be your night in shineing car….
On February 5, 2009 at 5:35 am
Amber says:
ha ha ha ha. You are so funny. Seriously tho, I am snowed in too. Our road was clearing up quite well, then we got it again. It sure is beautiful tho. :sun:
On February 5, 2009 at 6:28 am
Lisa says:
Lol, when you said you had to come home and put on real clothes I wondered if you had left off the pants!
On February 5, 2009 at 6:34 am
Eileen says:
I am so jealous! As hard as your travails sound, I would love to be snowed in, in the country, with my animals, and yeah–with wine. Your blog is charming–I’m so happy to have discovered it and to be in the country, if only vicariously, rather than stuck in the industrial northeast. Keep warm.
On February 5, 2009 at 6:36 am
Mel says:
Oh my, this winter has really been a doozey, hasn’t it? If it weren’t for living on a farm we probably would have to hit the vanilla!!! LOL
Way to Go Walton, Hurray!
On February 5, 2009 at 7:15 am
CindyP says:
1 more thing to add to the list in case of an emergency!!! ha, another thing to learn to make!! i’ve some very good homemade wine, better than some of the expensive stuff in the stores!
Yay, Princess!! Just think if she hadn’t made it, they might not have won!
On February 5, 2009 at 7:15 am
Becky says:
I would have been pleading with 52 to FIX MY 4 WHEEL DRIVE!!
On February 5, 2009 at 7:42 am
PattyMarie says:
You have the best take on living in West Virginia! And you share it beautifully.
For six years I’ve been trying to talk my dh into finding a place on a mountain top where I can get snowed in occasionally. I found one…just up the road. My top 5 reasons for liking it: 1) It is 5 miles from the main road to the driveway (we live ON Hwy 152 right now); 2) It is secluded, with 30 acres dropping away into ravines all around; 3) It has 20 acres of flat or nearly flat land (a total of 50+ acres with plenty of wood for the fireplace); 4) It is at the end of it’s road–just ridge from there to North Carolina!!; 5) It has great spots to put houses/barns/sheds/gardens.
My dh has 6 top reasons for disliking it: 1) It is 5 miles from the main road, at the turn up the mountian it is 15 miles from the big town (Wayne), hence too far from work (he’s a mail carrier–47 miles of snowy ridges 5 days a week); 2) The gas company has mineral rights…the gas well is capped off; 3) It has a private cemetary in the middle; 4) That 1/2 acre spot has to be available to the relatives of the residents; 5) No house/barns/sheds yet; & 6) Most important to him — I want goats to go with my flock of 8 hens and maybe a llama and a couple miniature donkeys (he thinks 8 hens, 3 cats, and a borrowed dog PLUS 3 adult children, 1 grandchild, and a couple significant ‘others’ are plenty of work already).
I may have to sneak a shot or two of that fabulous homemade vanilla into his cocoa to get him in a better negotiating frame of mind!
On February 5, 2009 at 7:48 am
MARY says:
:purpleflower: I feel for you; it’s about 10 degrees here, but no snow. The kids already got two days off for an eighth of an inch of snow, so I think we’re done for a while!!! Cheers to the vanilla!! LOL! Stay cozy! :devil2:
On February 5, 2009 at 8:11 am
Jill S. says:
Doesn’t The Boy know you’re friends with SEP? Susan Elizabeth Phillips!!! :yes:
On February 5, 2009 at 8:35 am
Nancy in Atlanta says:
And to think I was excited yesterday morning when I left in a shower of “snow dots”!!! Ah, well. I have been snowed in in Atlanta and it was fun – for a while. Love the fluffy duck butts – hope all the critters stay warm. :purpleflower:
On February 5, 2009 at 8:42 am
Traci Best says:
This kids are looking at me funny. They are calmly doing their spelling while Mommy is lauging at the thougt of you running out of wine! LOL Seriously I laughed OUT LOUD.
It is only so funny because we have been cooped up for two solid weeks. I feel your pain. Sadly if I *really* wanted to I could get to Wal-Mart…I did finally shovel out the driveway yesterday (!) but it is so cold outside this morning I just can’t make myself do it!!
*Hugs* Winter will soon be over!
Traci
On February 5, 2009 at 9:26 am
Traci Best says:
It disturbs me just a bit that you live on a mountain…near a town named Walton…in a state with Virginia in the name!
Do Olivia and John, Grandma and Grandpa and the seven kids live nearby?
Please forgive me…the kids and I have been pushing through several seasons of the Walton’s this winter! We love that show! LOL
:woof: Traci
On February 5, 2009 at 9:30 am
Amy says:
I had forgotten to PUT REAL CLOTHES ON
As a professional pajama wearer, I can TOTALLY relate. Yesterday, my sick-at-home son had to remind me to take off my Eeyore pj bottoms and put on jeans so we could go to the pharmacy.
Sorry you’ve been snowed in. REALLY sorry. Hope you get to Wal-Mart, soon.
On February 5, 2009 at 9:41 am
Shirley says:
We were part of the ice storm in Arkansas. I was without power for 5 days, but went to my son’s. He didn’t have power either, but has a generator and a big fireplace.
I understand your need for a Wal-Mart fix. Those of us in my office have decided we are victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It may fit your situation too.
We are thinking of filing for Disability as a result of ours. But in the meantime, we’re all having to come to work anyway. Most of our area’s power has been restored, but others aren’t so fortunate.
Stay warm–Go bake something yummy and share it with the rest of us.
On February 5, 2009 at 10:30 am
Amanda says:
Morgan is such a Trooper! :dancingmonster:
On February 5, 2009 at 10:34 am
trish says:
I love your comment Jill!!
I am going to Walmart this afternoon. What can I pick up for you?? Where would we be w/o Walmart?? Although I love Target as well.
I am going to buy my first Suzanne McMinn book today. I am very excited.
On February 5, 2009 at 11:46 am
Leah says:
I can picture 8 cats lined up being questioned…OK, which one of you took the car keys?…Not me..Not me..etc! The only way I can get my 3 cats together is to go in the kitchen at any time,for any reason and they’re there…they know where the cat treats are! 🙂 😀 😆
On February 5, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Donna says:
LOL That was funny…and I love fluffy Duck butts too, Suzanne. LOL
We are due to get to 60 today and be 70 all weekend and it’s so sunny out!!! But, come summertime, here, I will be wishing I had YOUR weather. I hate the humidity here – it’s HORRID.
On February 5, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Linda says:
So sorry you are still stuck at home. But if you hadn’t had to come home for clothes by the time you had came back you might have been stuck on the other side the river. Don’t drink the vanilla! Can we send you something?? I’m with CindyP learn to make the homemade stuff.LOL Hope you get to Walmart soon! Most Teenage sons are to busy for their Moms.
On February 5, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Susan says:
You have to get yourself a 4WD truck!! :yes:
On February 5, 2009 at 2:49 pm
catslady says:
Clover says, “just don’t run out of cookies!”
On February 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Dark says:
That post made me think of:
The Waltons and Spencer’s Mountain.
On February 5, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Estella says:
Does anyone besides me think the weather this winter has it in for us?
On February 5, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Brandy says:
I hear you on the “real” clothes. I wear sweats everywhere that I forget they’re not exactly right for EVERY occasion! *g*
On February 5, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Jodie says:
OOOO love the snow pix of Clover. Growing up in San Antonio I used to wish for snow. But I’m over that. A few ice days in Dallas cured me of longing for winter. If I want some, I’ll go visit it. Right now I’m job hunting. Please internet pray for me!
On February 5, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Dessa says:
Awww Bliss. Don’t drink too much of the vanilla, though. You may want to bake something and need it.
On February 5, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Ron says:
Wait, Walton beat Spencer? That would NEVER have happened back when I played for the Blue Devils, back in…wow, 1988. Still, though, I imagine that the feeling of those games hasn’t changed too much in 20 years, although didn’t they move Spencer Jr. High from the old building near the state hospital over to the old high school?
I think I visited the town once in the last 15 years. I really need to go back, if only to go to the Robey.
Glad you like my old stomping grounds!
On February 5, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Gert Bredenhann says:
Hi 🙂
I was searching the web yesterday for a bread recipe and stumbled across your website. I could not stop reading and looking around! I felt like i was there on the farm, such an amazing exsperince you have given to your readers and fellow bakers:) First of all you have an amzing farm, soemthing out of a childrens story book, very beutifull. I also grew up on the farm, in south of Namibia, southern Africa. wide open space, nooby around for miles and miles.Now we live in a city, i am the executive chef for a restaurant group called More. http://www.morecafe.biz, have a look.
I love your recipes, old style cooking. I myself is using a cookbook that use to belong to my Great Grand mother, its almost 3 times older than me!! amazing delights I still find hidden in its pages…lost treasures as always refer to them, braught back to life!! anyway i will keep on reading your blog, and congrats to your daughter for winning the game! greetings Chef Gert
On February 5, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Rita says:
Hi!
It is Friday Feb. 6th. I can not tell you how much I miss your post this morning. If I get up in the night I check for it. Love pictures of the goats and your stories about them. The recipes I’ve made several and they are always family favorites even the birds love the your suet. Thanks again for all that you do to add cheerfulness to our days.
On February 6, 2009 at 5:30 am