The snow is relentless.

Those brownies? OMG. They may be the best I have ever made. Even without the peppermint patties, just the chocolate brownie itself, is amazing. Use the *good* chocolate, semi-sweet, and use the unsweetened cocoa powder for sure. I held back a little on the sugar, and used a touch more flour. They are amazing. Thank you Claire, and thank you Martha, of course.

So with that done, we set to making a huge batch of tandoori chicken, for tonight and for tomorrow too, or Monday, or whatever. We have plenty of food for the next few days.

Now I am just worried about christmas, specifically how my mother-in-law is going to get from the airport to our house on Tuesday. The roads will surely be fucked; we don’t have tire chains and I will not allow Brian to drive on our icy roads with no chains. So what to do? Maybe borrow chains from one of our kindly neighbors? That could work. The way to and from the airport will nonetheless be slow and treacherous. But who knows… maybe everyone else will stay home.

Right on cue, I feel mittelschmerz tonight. It’s on the right this month (the left last month). Go ahead and wiki it if you like.

Another neighbor stopped by today to say merry christmas and drop off treats. This was as the snow was starting to really pile up quick. The flakes are teeny tiny, like ash, forming smooth even layers over all the old snow.

I am making treats for my neighbors too – a peppermint brownie recipe I got from Claire. I realized too late that I didn’t have unsweetened cocoa, so I walked next door and borrowed a cup from my neighbor Cindy. She said we shouldn’t hesitate to come over if the power goes out and we need anything. They have a generator.

Brian’s home and we are a happy family again. Little Kona’s waggy butt goes crazy when he comes home from a trip. He’s napping on the sofa and I am going to bake. But I really want to take the pup out for a walk and a play in the falling snow.

This morning before we went to get Brian I did my nails.

We stopped to get dog food on the way home, then the grocery store. The place was absolutely swamped. People are preparing for the worst I guess. We plan to stay close to home all weekend.

Decided to take care of body business tonight: removed bad manicure, slathered on Queen Helene Mint Julep mask, plucked and trimmed eyebrows, groomed nether regions, shaved legs and pits in the shower, put on different nail polish. Feel very smooth and clean. I even lit a nice candle in the bathroom and had water with a lemon wedge, as one does in a spa. Now enjoying a glass of wine and going to read a book.

Outside it’s 27 degrees. I will attempt to go to work tomorrow. But I’m not getting on the bus if it’s not wearing chains.

The snow is swirling and looping and spinning like swarms of tiny white flies. It’s going sideways. Today is not a day to watch “The Shining”. I’m alone here, as I have been all week, hanging out with the dog and the cats.

I worked at home yesterday under the threat of snow “any minute.” Weather.com is a liar. But it started last night finally and hasn’t stopped. And tomorrow it will all freeze. I will try to walk to the bus stop in the morning. My town, this whole area, is sadly ill-equipped for snow. Those of you in the midwest who are like, “boo hoo we don’t cancel anything for any less than a foot”, I would like to see how your city would handle three inches of snow on top of ice with a handful of snow plows, many very steep hills, and few people with snow tires. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Anyway, working at home today too. Though Kona needs a walk soon. I canceled the dog walker yesterday and today. I hope Kona doesn’t make me slip and fall. She LOVES snow, and wants to run in it.