The Ups and Downs of Snow

Written by Jaqui Lividini

There is no denying that the weather is kind of crazy right now. Recently, it has been literally snowing one day only to be nearing 70 degrees on the next. But how amazing it is to be in our beach cottage when it is snowing, and hopefully we will get some more of it before this "winter" is over.

During the most recent snowstorm, we were at the house and it was almost beyond words to see all of the beautiful white snow falling on the water. It's breathtaking really, but then, there are also issues. For instance, you can’t walk outside and then walk back into the house without creating a major mess. We hadn't thought about the fact that we would need some sort of mat, rug, or carpet to keep the messiness at bay. So, you wipe your feet—no big deal, right? But you must do it inside, because if you take your boots off outside you get soaking wet. We are learning. (Aren't we all??) So, the mat goes inside, problem solved.

The next lesson learned—make friends with the town snow removal patrol. When they so effortlessly and quickly cleared haycock point, I was so grateful—that is until I saw the wall of snow left at the top of my driveway…three feet awaiting my shovel.

My third big lesson: fashion has no place in a Connecticut snowstorm—specifically in shoveling snowy stairs. For this task, you need snow boots. And I don't mean NYC fashion snow boots; I mean boots made for the Tundra. There is a big difference, trust me.

Finally, snowdrifts count. Since we are on the water the wind is a factor in all things, especially the water facing side of the house.  Although our back porch is mostly covered the uncovered section not only got the full footage of snow, but it was also the recipient of a wind induced 4ft snowdrift. The wardrobe for that, a full-on snow suit.