"where are the snows of yesteryear??"

when was the superbowl? yesterday? i was snowbound at cathy's, and we listened to classical music while she baked cookies (yes, SHE did all the baking--i worked the crossword puzzle in NY Magazine--there was no sunday paper anywhere). i took some photos of the courtyard during the middle of the day....before it got worse and also before it got shoveled.

there is no bus service yet at all for prince george's county. it breaks my heart to see people walking or riding their bicycles to work in DC from out here. one young man yesterday said nothing was plowed except for RI ave, and that not very well. every time the firetrucks or the ambulance went by, he had to dive into the snowbank to get out of the way.

on the positive side: i met two neighbors today: robin and her boy, terrel. i should have asked her what on earth she fed the kid...he's HUGE--and no longer a boy but a very sweet young man. he will help us with the downed tree branch tomorrow.

and two little girls from down the block, approximately 6 and 10, came and asked to shovel the driveway for $10. nobody but nobody could shovel all of that for any price, but i told them to get started. they both shoveled for a bit, then the youngest one helped by playing with cathy's dog. after about half an hour, i went out, paid them off, told them to go rest, and gave them a bag of homemade cookies. sweet little kids.

the federal gummint will be closed TOMORROW, too!! wow. it's really bad. i should go outside in the dark and shovel a path to the garbage cans before there's another foot of snow to deal with. but the snow won't start till tmw morning around 9, they say, so there'll be time after sunup....