On the 2nd day of Christmas Hannukah, the snow-days gave to me…

An utterly useless post box… since Royal Mail has sent out an email advisory that they’re taking back their overnight service and special delivery guarantees… Obviously, “neither rain nor sleet, nor heat nor gloom of night,” is not really part of any postal service’s charter, and hasn’t been since 500 B.C., when that little phrase was written in reference to mounted Persian postal carriers. Apparently, THEY were told to deliver or die. That probably would make a difference to the attitude of the Royal Mail Postal Union…

Well, day six of Snow in the City, and the city is still just eerily quiet. School was canceled at the last minute on Wednesday — the districts put out the word at EIGHT-THIRTY A.M., inconveniencing parents everywhere. There was not a cab to be had for two solid hours Wednesday morning as parents who were already dropping off their kids or halfway to work received frantic phone calls. Many had to make calls from the road and organize caretakers for their kids, while others had to turn their cabs around and go BACK. (And you can bet those people hung onto the cabs they had.) D. walked to work — and was scolded. Apparently the office has an executive service he could have been using all along. We’re not that far, though, but it IS tricky getting down the rather steep hill which separates our end of the West End from Finneston. Fortunately there are cobblestones to give a little bit of traction, and if one stays on the snow and avoids the “cleared” bits (badly salted), it’s not bad.

Met Office claims that this weather will last for two weeks solidly. We’re getting to the point where we’ve calmed down about it, and we are enjoying the beauty, even as we brace ourselves to go out in it. Fortunately, the ice we feared for the most part hasn’t really happened city-wide — the snow remains as fluffy and powdery, and kicks up nicely as people cut across playgrounds and vacant lots, as we do on the way to the gym. On the other hand, D. has a.) had to retire a pair of shoes already and b.) has fallen once, which lessens our overall enjoyment of the whole thing. (Although he has a gnarly awesome bruise on his hip.) What’s worrying is seeing people struggling along with strollers. You’d think the City could at least issue shovels if THEY don’t want to take care of the sidewalks. Last night we watched a neighbor attack the stairs in front of his flat with a dust pan.

…this is truly not a city ready for snow. And yet, it looks like this every-winter thing (in a city we were told never had snow) …is the new normal.

The Soup We’re Sipping during this cold snap (of which we forgot to take a picture) is sweet potato! Sautée 1 onion in a broad saucepan. Add 3 small sweet potatoes, chopped into chunks, and four cups of veggie or whatever broth. Boil the potatoes down until they’re soft. Then, add 1 brick of silken tofu, 1/2 a can of coconut milk, 1 Tbsp red curry paste, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 Tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste, and 1 tsp garlic paste. We used the stick blender, garnished with a few shakes of curry powder, and voila. Obviously, you can choose not to add the tofu — sweet potatoes match well with curry, and will remind you of Thai food!