A New Record

Just four days after our last snowstorm the region was hit with an even bigger storm last night and all day today. According to the National Weather Service, this is the most snow to fall in Philadelphia in the 126 winters for which the weather service has maintained records. Major highways were closed today, including the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) and the Blue Route (476), and even the postal service ceased operations. It's a good thing Ken was home today because he spent three hours shoveling snow, and it was still coming down when he called it quits. The snow is wet and heavy, and at this point, a terrific nuisance given the sheer quantity. The only upshot from the kids' perspective is that the snow is good packing snow -- perfect for snowballs...
...and for building a snowman.
Inside most of the day, we experimented with making chocolate truffles, but the unsweetened cocoa powder in which they were rolled proved too bitter for the kids. Bryn and Luke also worked diligently on homemade Valentine's Day cards. Schools are closed again tomorrow. I have ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. Perhaps we'll make a snow fort, too, as I doubt we'll be able to make it over to Haverford College to go sledding.