How to Deal When Mother Nature Takes a Snow Dump All Over Your City

Newfoundlanders all across the province share one significant, defining link: we all love to discuss the weather. My gawd! The apocalypse is coming and Premier Williams is in the USA recovering from heart surgery but none of those things even rival the storm of the year which tore through the east coast on Friday.

I stayed home from work on Friday to wait out the blizzard. The wind howled. Fishing sheds in Quidi Vidi village got battered by the waves. Everything shut down, which I found a little odd because the past two winters have been nothing compared to my first two here. I remember spending five hours carving out paths from the door to the road, or having the driveway freeze over before we could shovel and having to hire a plough to dig us out.

You just gotta deal with it. Roll with the punches. Face adversity from Mother Nature. And damn did she ever unleash her fury on our little island in the form of a massive snow dump.

A little game I like to call find that car. I later watched the girl dig it out with a tiny shovel. Youd think Id offer to help, but I didnt.

A little game I like to call “find that car.” I later watched the girl dig it out with a tiny shovel. You’d think I’d offer to help, but I didn’t.

Fortunately, having a boy around the house often leads him to take on the more “manly” roles of the household, like shovelling. But since we have a strong aversion to maturity around here, doing so usually ends up with some creative displays of self expression.

I really enjoy the sensuality with which he moulds those breasts.

I really enjoy the sensuality with which he moulds those breasts.

We had planned the entire day to dig out that wall to make a snow fort and drink beer in it, but in the end my roommate felt too great a need to protect his ice dong.

Trying to reinvent summer

So we did what any other rational folk would do: we had a post-blizzard BBQ, invited over dozens of people, lit up the fireplace and had a blast. And trust me, nothing smells better than walking home from the beer store and inhaling the sweet, sweet aroma of barbecued meat in dead winter.

My favourite story from the storm was the footage caught of people taking advantage of the empty streets in downtown St. John’s to bust out the snowmobiles. Seriously, they went with the traffic. Why haven’t I thought of this?

  • February 07 2010

    This reminds me of when I was in grade school in Winnipeg and we had THE snowstorm. Everything was shut down, buses in the middle of the streets, and people using snow shoes and skidoos to go to the store. My little brothers and I spent hours digging our friends out of their homes. Then went to school. Not because it was open, but because the snow had drifted so that it was like 1ft away from the roof. We had so much fun roof jumping…
    We walked home via the alley and didn’t even think that the snow was really high until I slid down someone’s windshield. All the cars were completely covered. They had to mark their cars with hockey sticks so the plows wouldn’t hit them!
    Best winter EVER!!

    • February 11 2010

      Man, I LOVED those days! Winter was so kickass as a kid. We need to relive that. I remember one year the snow hardened into ice…so we could walk everywhere without falling through…best tobogganing adventures ever.

  • February 07 2010

    I guess this is kind of like when we got flooded in the town when I was younger. People had boats they rode around on.

    Oh and I love the icy bbq :)

  • February 07 2010

    That snow fort/bar would have been cool. Although, I agree there is nothing better than the smell of barbecue in a snow storm.

  • February 07 2010

    I’ll be in the East Coast (US) a week from now. For someone who hasn’t seen snow before (and is used to temperatures of 20 deg C to be called as winter), I am so screwed! :D

    • February 11 2010

      Oh you most definitely are! Although i don’t think they’re getting hit nearly as bad as the west coast.

  • February 07 2010

    ha ha! the ice dong is genius! and a Friday off work for a snow day?! sounds pretty good to me!

    • February 11 2010

      Our poor ice dong is leaning to the left a little now! It’s gone quite soft.

  • February 08 2010

    Lol love the snow sculptures. And really living in Canada you’ve got to expect snow to be a part of life (and often for 6-8months of the year). So there’s always two choices; complain and mope or go with it and have fun. Obviously you chose the latter and wise choice.

    • February 11 2010

      Agreed! :) Although, secretly, I’m a huge whiner too.

      • February 12 2010

        Yeah – personally I whine too. Winter is nice, but around the middle a February I start getting pretty antsy for spring. I think the trick is to whine to your friends and family. But when you meet someone new to the area and they complain about the weather offer them a “You think this is bad? You should’ve seen it last year, when it was -50 and the snow was 6 feet high. We still went to work and had BBQ outside.” :D

        • February 15 2010

          Hahahaha, SO true! It’s all we talk about here. Bitch about it for months but then boast about it to anyone who will listen.

  • February 08 2010
    maggie

    It was really amusing being at work Friday and gettign reports from radio/friends/etc. of the whole city slowly but surely shutting down… EXCEPT US. Newfoundland pet owners must be the most dedicated ever, because we were steady busy with routine stuff!
    (we did shut down early, but like 3pm. Hours after everywhere else ;) )

    I’m a big fan of snow, not gonna lie. I was a happy lil’ monkey this weekend :) This is my last winter without a car, so I’m savouring the fact that I have a narrow path to the road and nothing more to shovel ;)

    • February 11 2010

      BRUTAL! Nothing was going to make me go into that office! I can’t believe some of the guys did. Because they didn’t want to sit around all day…no joke.

  • February 08 2010
    meg

    i love snow forts! and snow sculptures! and just playing in the snow in general.
    we got nothing here in my part of Ontario. it was actually warm enough the other day that I didn’t have to wear a jacket. the hell? i want actual winter!!
    ahhh winter bbqing…so much fun.

    • February 11 2010

      What! That’s madness. Although this winter is really warmer than most too. Woo, global warming.

  • February 08 2010

    Haha. Loved the idea of a BBQ. The snow levels were insane. Yesterday while trekking to the grocery store, I saw a guy rocking a go-kart across the freshly ploughed yet snow-covered road.

    • February 11 2010

      LOL, hilarious. Gotta find some way to cope, I think!

  • February 08 2010

    *plowed* quick fingers!

  • February 08 2010

    Go-karts are the right idea. BBQs too. That sounds awesome! Having lived in NYC for so long, where the city plows everything so quickly (and where the hell would I have put a shovel anyway?), I had no real snow gear for the storm outside of DC. We dug out our car (which, mind you, looked much like the one above) with a friggin’ dust pan and recycling bin lid. Hardest part was the moat of snow surrounding it.

    I put up a few shots of the storm. Lola’s got some wild ones too!

    I grew up in SF, so I still marvel at the snow, but it was a bummer this time around — my flight to 70 degree weather, beach sun sets, and my best friend was canceled yesterday.I feel your 8 month-long winter pain, Candice. I don’t know how you do it, because just after a few months, I’m down for a resort vacation to Mexico too. Hell, I’m ready to move there. You Newfies are brave.

    • February 11 2010

      Oh GAWD I’m so ready for a resort vacation! AHH! Take me with you! Our winters actually aren’t that bad compared to a lot of other places in Canada. There’s just a lot of dampness here which kinda sucks. Currently we have freezing rain.

  • February 08 2010

    I have a burning question: Do Canadians, like US Southerners, rush to the store for bread and milk when heavy snow is forecast?

    • February 11 2010

      Hmmmmm, not so much bread and milk as beer and Doritos…just kidding. I have no idea! I tend to avoid going outside at all costs in the winter.

  • February 08 2010

    Great snowdick! Lol, I’m still blown away that we didn’t get any of that snow. Woulda been nice. We’ve been getting an inch or two here and there, but haven’t gotten a big dump like you guys. Mega jealous.

    • February 11 2010

      Shhhh, don’t be jealous! I’m glad there’s no snow there. I want to wear heels.

  • February 09 2010

    Brrr! That’s all I got.

  • February 09 2010

    LMAO! You should have warned me one of these photos were semi-NSFW.

    • February 11 2010

      Hahahaha, sorry! I’ll post a disclaimer next time.

  • February 10 2010

    That shit is crazy. CRAZY. I’ve never even experienced such snow. lol. I love the idea of barbecuing in the snow, though.

  • February 10 2010

    OMG, I am so sick of the snow. LOL. I feel your pain. And I enjoyed the grill picture by the way. We had 12″ night one and 6″ night two. They expected a lot worse, but I’m still pretty tired of shoveling and snow blowing.

    LOL. On another note, I apologize for contributing on here as much as I’d like to. I got totally bogged-down, but with that hopefully behind me, I should be back in regular style. Thanks for your support. I really enjoy your blog too.

    • February 11 2010

      Don’t worry, I totally understand about getting “blogged down”. Lol! Ugh, come on summer.

  • February 13 2010

    Funny as shit as always. I feel bad for the girl who had to dig her car out of the snow all on her lonesome, but at least it’s entertaining. I like your use of the term ‘beer store’. I think I’ll pick that one up.

    Blakesjourney / TBD

    • February 15 2010

      Hehehe, what would you call it? One thing about NL…we don’t actually have designated beer stores, we can pick it up at any convenience store.

  • February 27 2010
    OG

    It’s pictures like this that help me to not hate florida so much.

    • March 02 2010

      WHYYY would you hate Florida at all?! Let’s trade.

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