Puddle Jumping in DC

Snowmageddon 2010

Some mornings

can seem rather cold and uninviting.  But compared to

yesterday morning?

Not so much.

Snowmageddon, Snowpacolypse, snOMG!, pick-your-nickname-for-the-blizzard, hit Washington DC on Friday night and looks like it has shut us down at least through today and possibly tomorrow.  Somewhere north of 2 feet of snow fell in our yard between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening with 30 odd inches being reported in the suburbs just north of DC.

Heavy, wet snow took out trees and power lines around the region, leaving tens of thousands without electricity on Saturday.  All three regional airports had canceled all flights by mid-day Saturday; Amtrak shut down most trains in and out off DC, and Metro canceled bus service and above ground rail service.  For the first time in 30 years, the Post Office took a snow day. (more)

Harris Teeter stayed open . . . We watched a steady stream of people carrying groceries and beer past the house all day.  Unfortunately, they were completely out of chocolate chips and sugar (save a couple containers of organic, raw, or individual sugar packets) by Saturday afternoon when we checked.

Really, public safety officials did an impressive job during this round of snow.  Warnings started coming days in advance and local and federal government and DC schools all dismissed early on Friday. At 1:30 pm, Metro was standing room only.  By 5:30 when the snow was just starting to stick we decided to go for a walk and see if Blockbuster had stayed open (and/or had any movies left), DC was near ghost town. There were no people pouring out of the metro and nearly no cars on the road, except for emergency vehicles.

While many mocked Arlington County's warning to be prepared to "shelter in place for 3-5 days," the overall emergency response must be credited with how few fatalities have been reported so far.  After they emptied grocery stores of all potentially useful supplies, people went home and stayed there for nearly 24 hours.

Late afternoon Saturday, the streets were still the domain of kids on sleds and hardy folk heading out on foot, with only the occasional 4wd vehicle or snow plow.

More Snowmageddon photos on Flickr.

Happy Holidays

Two long drives, lots of kid-cousins, playing, laughing, eating, and merry-making, and many, many presents later, we're back in DC thinking we could probably use a week off to recover from our week off. Hope your holidays were/are happy.

Snow on Mom Mom's deck, originally uploaded by Studiojmm.

On small children and very small parrots

Bug loves, loves, loves peanuts.  The sound of the jar being opened elicits excited chirps and happy dances followed by frantic chirps and pacing if a peanut does not materialize quickly enough.  If Bug is out of her cage, do not expect to open a peanut jar in peace.

This is something she and Maya have in common.  Mac never read the increasingly common advice not to give children peanuts until they are three.  And since Daddy likes to snack on peanuts, Maya has been eating them since early in her 2nd year.

Consequently, both toddler and parrotlet answer the call of the peanut jar:

"chirp, chirp"

"Want some."

 
Maya solicits a cookie from Amanda during our trip to London. 

Saving money through green means: Enjoy the ride

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2.3 percent of commuter trips in Washington DC are by bicycle.  This whoops a truly pathetic national average of 0.55 percent, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

According to Bay Area Bikes bike to work calculator, I

• saved $8.28 by not driving and
  
• saved the earth 19.4 lbs of toxic emissions

over the course of my 20 mile round trip ride from the home to work and back.

Now, I wouldn't have driven if I hadn't biked because both my home and office are very Metro-accessible, but I definitely saved $5.70 in Metro fare.

One of the nice things about my new job is that it is very bike friendly with a secure bicycle room and a locker room with showers. I love that I get a good workout on the way to work and it's a very pretty commute, actually.

There are tons of resources full of ideas and tips on becoming a bike commuter: books, blogs, bulletin boards, and more blogs. Here are a few more tips:

Get your gear in working order. Riding a hand-me-down beater is fine (and smart if you park in unsecured places) but no it's good if the brake pads are worn, the chain is rusted, and the fit is going to leave you sore and uncomfortable.  A functional bike that fits you properly is key. 

Be comfortable.  Figure out a way to get as much stuff off your back as possible: buy bike racks, leave your shower gear at work, heck leave your dress shoes at work. If your shower solution is a gym near the office, see if they can rent you a locker. If you aren't commuting by bike every day, you could even leave spare clothes at work.

Dress for the weather. I've blogged many times about how I enjoy being out in the weather ... if I'm don't get cold and wet.  In the winter, that means a windproof layer over every bit of exposed skin and, if you are going to ride in the rain, a waterproof one as well.

Be visible. Light colored or reflective clothing is good. Lights are required. Lights are first and foremost about making you visible to others. If you are riding on trails or through dark neighborhoods, you will also want to be sure your headlight effectively lights up the pavement in front of you.

Plan ahead. Trying out your commute route on a weekend is an excellent idea.  If the weather turns ugly mid-day or you don't feel up to the return trip for any reason, know your backup plan. Is there a bus or subway route? Can you carpool with a co-worker? 

Enjoy the ride.  

This post is part of the November Green Moms Carnival on saving money through green means.

Musings on Time

Mac got home yesterday evening complaining about the unusual amount of traffic he had encountered on his way back from Towson. He asked what time I needed to leave to make it to my yoga class, I answered, 6:30 for a 6:45 class. By 6:25, I was running late, as usual, and at 6:35 tore out of the house for the brief ride over to the studio. Upon entering, I noticed two things: this was not the usual instructor and she had already started.

I pulled off my shoes and left them and my bike helmet on the shelf in the entryway, prepped my other things for easy stashing on the studio shelf, made some comment to the receptionist about someday being on time, and slipped into the studio. I rolled out my mat at the back of the class and took a few moments to settle before joining in. I was surprised to find that Stacy, the substitute instructor, was further into the warmup than I expected. Glancing at the clock in the studio I noted that it was just 6:45; what time has she started?

I must have looked puzzled and Stacy warmly informed me that we were doing the right side now. As I followed along into my second balancing table pose moments later, she made a comment about how the class was balancing so well that folks should consider staying for the second class. Second class? I take the second class. It starts at . . . 7:45.

I was an hour early for that class and 30 minutes late for this one. I had a bit of trouble balancing in single side balancing table because of the chuckling I was doing. I accidentally took half a core yoga class (in addition to my own) yesterday evening because I got tripped up over time.

Which brings me to my watch.

In the past few weeks both my athletic watch and my regular watch have stopped running. Honestly, I'm enjoying watchless life. I find not having a watch during my morning bike commute doesn't affect how quickly I get to the office but it does affect how often I check the time. Trains too go no faster because riders check their watches and worry about how late they might be. Fewer checks mean more relaxed ride.

It's been on my to do list to go to the Ballston Mall (now minutes from my office desk) to get the batteries replaced, but I keep not doing it. I think I'm going to finally do it tomorrow because I actually count on my athletic watch to time intervals when I run but I'm wondering about remaining watchless the rest of the time.

Between wall clocks, computers, and phones, it's not like I'm having trouble finding out the time. But it's nice to get away from it all (even if my cell phone is only a backpack pocket away).