Snow in the South

cp2 There’s nothing quite as maddening as waiting on snow….. in the South. I have too many things on my to do list…. for this to happen today.

I have book club tonight up in Ellijay where my cabin is. I was to head N around noon — it’s only about an hour and some change from the city. The perfect getaway. N. Ga has become a Little Napa of sorts — with winerys and vineyards welcoming guests to come sit sip and stay a while. Tonight was to be the first meeting of the Ellijay Literary Society. We were set to meet at Ellijay Coffee House which is my nest when I’m up at the cabin. I sit, sip a latte write read work dream rewrite my to do lists…etc etc etc (said in a very King and I sort of way). This is my 3rd book club. I’m sort of a cat lady but with book clubs. I think 3 is my limit. Just like dogs. 3 dogs. 3 book clubs. That’s the limit she said. Friends will say ‘how do you have time to do all that you do?’. I look at them…. blinking… thinking ‘what all do I do?’ I suppose to some I am fairly active (ok..maybe a lot). But there’s so many things to do go and see. Also…being single (again) I CAN do anything basically…that I want to do. And THAT…. my friends…… makes me a very happy girl. ::::wiggling my toes merrily::::: Anywho…… we’ve rescheduled book club for Thursday evening (note to self to change that!).

Back to the impending snow……

If you’ll recall the big one in 2014 —

And the really big one which I do not recall at all. I was 12ish. Blizzard of 1977.

I do remember walking up to Stroups the little store at the corner of the entrance to our street where I grew up in Morrow, Ga. My sister and I walked up to the store…there were no cars because of all the snow. It didn’t seem overwhelming or anything… but then again…. I was 12. So. I just remembered being in awe that we were allowed to walk up to the store by ourselves. Of course we also went through the woods to get there which my parents would have completely put my older sister on major restriction for doing that. I mean… HELLO…. creepy woods!!!

A quick recap of the snow in 2014 – I was intown meeting Di for a quick lunch…. snow flurries began to sprinkle down while I made my way to Buckhead… ‘Its not going to stick’ I remember clearly thinking. It’s just snow. Good grief. By the time we ate..chatting away as mother nature plotted and planned… I left thinking I could scoot over to Goodwill on Roswell Rd one of my favorites. I turned to look up as I got into my car… for the first time realizing the parking lot was now white. I still had doubts… but instead of heading to Goodwill, I got onto 400 headed S back to Historic College Park (only about a 25 / 30 minute drive no traffic). As traffic almost completely stopped on 75 downtown I prayed feverishly to the Gods that be please please just let me make it home. I just want to GO HOME…. THANKFULLY I did make it home about an hour later. But many thousands were stranded on the roads left to the kindness of strangers. Thankfully there were many kind strangers around that day. And what to my wondering eye should appear? A text from my neighbor to come have Snowapacolypse cocktails which I did. I braved the frigid dangerous snow to walk next door carrying a bottle of wine as we sat and giggled and cheered to the weather. Cocktail hour in the South has come upon us indeed.

So far no snow. Schools have closed. I have errands to run. I’m still going to run them. Another snow experience……I remember my trip to Maine – Kennebunkport to be exact. Years ago with Di. It snowed the day we were to leave. We awoke to a complete white out. It was so deep the cars were almost buried. We were set to fly home later that day. All I could think is we’ve GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS FROZEN HELL AND TO THE AIRPORT. Everyone at the hotel we were staying in didn’t seem to be too worried. It was the last day of the season because they closed due to this kind of weather. They reopened in the Spring. I remembered the movie The Shining…. and all that snow. That’s the curse of an over active imagination in situations such as this. So many images begin to swirl through your head. Snow plows came… we skidded all the way to the airport. My hands were clenched in a claw around the handles by the door. It was maddening. Fun trip though in hindsight. Snow and all. :::smiling sheepishly::::

Well….. today is Tuesday…. so on the ‘to do list’ for the house is cleaning the living room and sunroom. Maybe I will…maybe I won’t…. it’s all up in the air because of the snow of course. It’s now 10:13 – no snow still.

I’m off to run errands….. toodles. Snowballs and all.

I’ve taken pics of my nest here in Atlanta to share……. I would take pics of the snow….but I digress. You’ll see where I sit in the mornings to sip my coffee and go through emails etc…. covered in quilts in the sunroom overlooking a bamboo forest in the back. There’s a massacre of defluffed stuffed toys from Bumble the newest of the Scotties. Cricket is shy and chose to sit poised at the end window watching for snow. Amazing to think I live 5 minutes from the airport… I rarely hear planes… unless they are diverted. The historic district here is quite lovely. One of the oldest in Atlanta. Home of prestigious women’s Cox College back in the 1800s (it burned). Now we have Woodard Academy previously Georgia Military Academy. Lovely old homes and some cool new ones. And then there’s my wee chalet. You can see Cricket the Scottie gazing out the window …. waiting for…. you guessed it. Snow.

**Make sure you follow Kimy’s world to see if in fact…. snow ever showed?**

We live in the South for gosh sakes. Not Maine or NYC or Ohio or Michigan or Canada — where they are accustomed to this kind of snow. I mean my lordy, I just stopped wearing flip-flops not too long ago. And then of course we do the appropriate thing that we do in the South – we panic, wiping out all milk, bread and wine (if you’re smart — always wine and now creamer because I’m just about out – YIKES!). But we ARE resourceful. In my case, I walked up to my neighbors house and we had ‘cocktail hour’ because just about the BEST thing we DO in the South is gracious hosting. And snow is a reason to celebrate. Actually we can pretty much celebrate practically anything.

I had ventured out yesterday for lunch with a friend at Souper Jenny in Buckhead. I knew we had the ‘snow alert’ on but it was not snowing at the time so out I tottled along not really thinking much about it. On a side note Souper Jennys is FANTASTIC. There was a line out the door. As I got closer to town a few flakes began swirling magically down from the pregnant sky but once again — it was just a few flakes. Snow is very magical to me. I suppose because we don’t really live in snowy conditions like many of our northern friends it’s a mystery. Thus we are in denial to a degree when it really starts to snow. We begin thinking that perhaps it won’t ‘stick’. Well it did. And created in a frigid icy snowy birth was SNOWPOCALYPSE 2014. And yes, it was celebrated with wine and white cheddar popcorn at my neighbors house at the appropriate cocktail hour after 5pm. I walked up the hill in a snowy whiter than white winter wonderland dressed in my furry snow boots, forgetting my gloves because I didn’t want to drop my newly purchased bottle of wine, cell phone to document my arctic journey, orange scarf and a parka. I was equipped for anything — even polar bears.

After seeing the news this morning and hearing of friends stranded all night in cars and thankfully businesses like Home Depot and many others, including homeowners opening their doors to people who would otherwise be popsicles this morning — the innate goodness of people I truly believe in. And it shown through wonderfully in this ‘not’ hot Atlanta mess we have found ourselves in. But do what we do best —- ‘What-ya’ll have to drink’ and ‘come on over — cocktail hour here in the South’.

For everyone who didn’t make it home — sending hope and that someone has helped you stay warm. xoxo