How's Your Driveway?

Living in Floyd in the winter, particularly after a storm, it's not uncommon to start a conversation with "How's your driveway?" Why it's practically the same thing as "How are you?" It may sound odd, but it's true. Today our driveway is looking good, it's warmed up to 60 degrees after a few rather chilly winter days and the last of the ice has melted. In other words, I can park the car at the bottom of the hill without fear of how we're going to make it back up.

Three years ago our driveway was covered with ice at least an inch thick, more in some places; we walked up and down the driveway hill using a sled to bring home groceries for four weeks—twice. During one of those endless stretches of life living in Floyd County, I fell and broke my arm. It happened in the morning on the way to the car to take my husband to the Dr. to get an x-ray on what turned out to be his severely sprained ankle—the result of falling on the ice the previous night. We were a mess. The boys were scared; they both had a deer-in-the-headlights-look on their face. Here were their parents--both on the ground, their father was in a sled wearing only one boot and had crutches by his side, while their mother was writhing and clutching her arm with an obvious protrusion at the wrist where nothing should be. I learned two lessons that day, I know that I am fallible and ice can take me down.

Not long after that thrilling experience, we learned of and purchased a pair of YakTrax for every family member. We wear this necessary piece of winter equipment as needed. Until that moment in mid-February, I looked at ice as I did in my younger days, it was fun to slide on and was used for ice skating. Since that winter I have had a slight paranoia of ice. Things change, people change, and circumstances change. Last year, for the first time, I found myself coveting a house on the edge of U.S. Highway 221, just so our driveway would be short, made of asphalt--and easily accessible. Winter is not over, not by a long shot, but today my driveway is ice-free and a cause for minor celebration. Yippee!

[Photo of the icy driveway taken two days ago here.]

Snow, rather, Ice Day

On Thursday the 11th we had an inch of snow. That's right, one whole inch. Whoopee. It wasn't enough to have a bonafide Snow Day the following day and Spencer had to go to school. We both felt cheated. I grew up in Minnesota and I have fond memories of snow days, so I was pulling for the Snow Day as much as he was. I let Emerson quickly go sledding that Friday morning--before it melted--since it was the first real snow of the season.

Last night southwestern Virginia got our share of the storm that had dumped ice on Texas. It finally made its way here. Before it arrived, we went through the usual prep that we do for any winter storm. I took a hot bath and left the water in the tub (in case we lost power and needed water to flush). We brought in more wood for the woodstove to have dry wood. We filled up a couple of stockpots with water, again in case we lost power (the well and spring both run on electricity). We double checked flashlights, and last but not least, we parked the cars at the top of the drive (when covered with ice the driveway is not usable). We experienced hail, sleet, rain and ice, but no snow! It precipitated all day long but didn't leave us with much--just a mess. What do we have to do to get some snow, for pete's sake? The administration finally cancelled school late last night. This morning, Emerson went zipping at top speed down the luge run. Don't have a luge run at your house? Our dirt and gravel driveway is long and fairly steep, when covered with ice it becomes what we half-affectionately and half-frustratingly refer to as the luge run. Just part of life living in the country...in the Appalachians of southwest Virginia.

How did we use our snow day? Well, we put away Christmas. We Perry's leave our tree up much longer than most people. I always tell my husband that I want to get my money's worth, which is true (and we do), but the real reason is that I love to look at the tree decorated and lit with white lights, especially at night. We took down the tree today and the sunroom looks empty as it always does for the first few days afterwards, but since it's nearly February it was time. This picture is our former Christmas tree relocated to an area we're filling in on the edge of the woods.