Remember folks, we moved here from Florida. 18 inches of snow is a big deal for us thin-blooded flatlanders. Back in December of 2010, I shoveled snow for what I thought was the last time. We were leaving to go live on a boat in never-ending warmth. I swore I’d never shovel snow again.

I was wrong.

Yup, we shoveled that driveway by hand. We put the car in the garage for the duration of the storm.

We lost power briefly on the first morning of the event. I dragged the generator out of the garage, ran an extension cord into the cabin and plugged in necessary items. Out space heater needs electricity, also the refrigerator, coffee pot, and some lights. It all worked fine. We even had cable TV. The power came back on and stayed on thereafter. At least we got a good trial run for future outages.

We stayed warm and enjoyed the beauty of winter that we hadn’t seen in a long time.

The creek in front of our house.

The view from the top of our driveway. We walked up to get this pic. Still haven’t tried to drive out two days later.

Those odd-looking lumps are stacks of firewood.

The first morning after it started we had 15 inches. Another 3 inches fell overnight.

We used to sing “Knee Deep in the Water Somewhere.” Welcome to the mountains, Kim.

It’s not even winter yet, but here in western North Carolina, we’ve gotten a good dose. We lived! There are still many days left before spring, but so far we’re enjoying the cabin life. Check back with us when winter is over.