The snow is beautiful. The topmost flakes are diamonds glinting in the sun. The sunlight reflecting off the snow is blindingly bright. The sky is a gorgeous blue. We got less snow than predicted, but the snow is so heavy everything is covered, and the lowers branches of the oak trees sag under the weight. Bushes are laden and are bending to the ground. I saw one plow much earlier on the street beside mine but not on mine which still has a layer of snow. Two of my neighbors are out and about, their driveways shoveled. I will wait for Skip, my factotum. I did cancel an early dentist appointment tomorrow in case I am low on Skip’s list.

One of my neighbors is here shoveling my walk and car so if I need to go out, I can. I am thrilled for this kindness.

We all survived the storm, that is all except my cable. The box has stopped working, but I was fine last night. I watch a Hallmark movie on my computer. In the middle of a raging blizzard, nothing is more comforting than a Hallmark movie. They always have happy endings.

I read in bed for a while last night. Nala joined me. Henry stayed downstairs until early this morning when he wanted into the bedroom. I let him in and he joined Nala and me on the bed, on my double bed.

Nala loves the snow. She eats it. I watched her burrow her muzzle into the snow and start chomping. She comes back inside with her muzzle, nose and the top of her head covered in snow.

Henry was upset last night and this morning. The holly tree, overladen with heavy snow, covered the deck stairs. Nala got through the branches and Henry went through one way, down. He wouldn’t up through the branches. He tried both sets of stairs, no luck. Henry is weird in this way. He’ll go out the dog door but hates to come in through the dog door though he is getting better. He went down through the holly but wouldn’t go up. I grabbed a broom and used the stick to take as much snow as I could off the holly branches. They lifted enough for a clear passage underneath. I swear I saw Henry smile as he walked up the stairs to the door.

The wind is tremendous. The snow is heavy and wet. The bushes near the house are bent to the ground. The branches from the oak tree by the deck have bent so much under the weight of the snow the smallest branches at the ends tap the backdoor and sound like fingers scratching the glass. Every niow and then the dogs and I raise our heads and look. The dogs were out chasing each other in the snow. Nala comes inside with her nose and head covered in snow. Both are wet and exhausted and are lying asleep on the couch, one beside me, the other behind me. Running in snow takes energy. 

The snow started last night around 11. I don’t know exactly how much snow we have, but I’m guessing around 4 or 5 inches with much more yet to come as many as 18 inches here on the cape. Everything is ladened with snow. The wind gusts have been as high as 60 MPH. The snow is drifting. 

The internet is down for the third time, but the electricity stays on so the house is warm and cozy. I might have had a Globe but the snow, falling so quickly, a couple of inches an hour, probably covered it. Still, I do love my paper so I decided to go check. It was ugly out. The wind was howling. My face got whipped by the snowflakes blown sideways by the wind so I gave up and ran back inside the house. I figured I’d read the paper online. Nope, I’m not on-line quite yet, but I am hopeful. 

I miss Shelby Scott. She was the reporter from Channel 4 sent out in the worst weather to do live updates. She was famous for her snow reports while being blown and buffeted by the wind and weather. Storms like this need Shelby. 

The cow and the donkey are safely in the house. Both beasts are in the living room. I triaged the cow’s hanging leg. Last night I lit my Christmas lights. The snow seemed to demand it. The colored lights looked beautiful. I will light again in a while. 

The electricity flickers and sometimes goes off for a minute or two. The internet doesn’t easily recover. It had gone down went down for the fifth time. When the electricity comes back on, there are beeps from Hey Google. Tree branches, heavy with snow, scratch against the windows. It scares Henry. He starts to shake. I hold him for a while and Nala sits beside him. A biscuit make him feel better but then it happens again, the same sequence of events: electricity off, electricity on, cable and internet gone, Hey Google back on with beeps, branches scratching the window, the back window this time, Henry shaking and getting as close to me as he can, even to my lap. I tried a treat again, and it helped for a little while, but he is staying close. He is still nervous. 

The electricity has been blinking on and of. The internet is far away. I will post this when I am no longer chiseling on stone. 

The Internet is back, but the cable is not. I turned off the light. Henry is better.