Snow is so much better when you have  children at home.  I remember a couple of past Snowmageddons. One, in particular, was when we were living in New York City.  It was tons of fun because when you live in a major city, you don’t have to worry about shoveling. The super does it for you.  Alternate side-of-the-street is suspended which means you have a beaut of a parking spot that nobody can take and you cannot get a ticket for at least a week.  By the time the rule goes back in place, the snow has melted and you are free to bitch and complain about NOT getting a space and how much better it is when it snows.

Roman. Snowmageddon 1991.  NYC.  Isn’t that snow suit adorable?  It was a hand-me-down from one of Jake’s wealthy St. Ignatius friends.  Roman had the best hand-me-down clothes that I would otherwise never have been able to afford!

The other thing is the neighborhoodness of snow in the city.  Everyone is out and about having a great time.  The parks are crowded with kids and parents and everyone is noisy and sliding down little city hills. It’s greatness!

When we lived in New Jersey, it seemed that whenever the heavy snow hit, my ex-husband was always conveniently away on a business trip.  No worries though because I had my shoveling strategy put into place.  I would go out and start shoveling the driveway, alternating with Jake and Roman.  We would take turns on the hour so the snow in the driveway never got really deep.

Oona enjoying the big snow of ’96!

Jake and Roman enjoying the hill in the backyard. Ever the New Yorker, shortly after this snow storm,  we had a fence built.  So many kids were sliding down the hill that I feared one would get hurt and some asshole would sue!

It was fun sliding down the hill in the back yard, building  snowmen and forts and achieving near frostbite.  That feeling you get when your face is so cold that you cannot even laugh or smile, and then coming into the warmth of the house and savoring that first sip of steaming hot chocolate was winter heaven!

It’s so different when you are an empty nester!  While it’s fun to be all cozy and warm inside, it isn’t fun when you have to shovel. And shovel. And shovel.  There aren’t any kids around to do the dirty work for you! Snow is just a four-letter word these days!

I’m worried that as the snow on the deck melts, it’ll creep underneath the door that leads outside and it’ll be a wet mess onto my beautiful hardwood floors.

This is the door that leads out to the deck.  The snow is up to my hips. No shit.  I’m petrified that I’ll have some sort of flooding as the snow melts!

My clumsiness is another concern.  What if I fall on the snow that has gotten all compacted and I break a leg?  Worse than that, what if I fracture my skull and all the marbles fall out?

Forget about all that—here’s how we spent our Snowmageddon 2016.

Saturday morning when we awoke. Bonaparte’s car is buried! And it snowed all day!

Friday evening when the snow started falling, we went upstairs and watched a movie.  French Cancan by Jean Renoir.

Snowmageddon Film Number One:  French Cancan.  OMG. This was great!  Jean Renoir, the son of the painter, directed this. I swear there were scenes straight out of a Renoir painting!  The costumes. The dancing.  Edith Piaf had a cameo and the incredibly rugged Jean Gabin almost sang.  It was a fun fictional account about how the Moulin Rouge came to be!

Saturday, it snowed all day.  I explained my shoveling strategy to Bonaparte. I thought it would be a good idea if we took turns on the hour to go out and shovel the snow.  Bonaparte, ever the dictator and emperor, said “Non”.   I wrote a post about my Paleo diet and organized MY part of our home office.  In between writing and organizing, I played Candy Crush, looked out the window and cursed the snow.

My car Saturday. Guess Bonaparte was happy I couldn’t go to the Mall and spend his money!

My car late Saturday afternoon.   This would be a bitch to dig out!

Whew!  Snowmageddon is a great temporary relief for menopausal hotflashes!

My delightful view from the kitchen window onto the deck. 

Still snowing as the sun went down..

No aperitifs on the deck tonight!

I watched the snow fall harder and higher.  I wished Oona was home so we could snuggle on the sofa and watch chick flicks with each other.  Bonaparte is not a fan of chick flickdom!

We had our aperitifs while watching the news. It was so ridiculous.  All the news reported about was the damned snow storm. I shouldn’t complain though, because at least for one night, the crime rate in Philly was at an all-time low!

I wish I could have put my hand magically through the TV and given Adam Joseph a nice Kir Royale.  He could have used one from all that snow reporting he had to do yesterday!

I made a nice Paleo-friendly dinner of organic chicken breasts smothered in Roma tomatoes, black olives and garlic!

Last night’s dinner.  The tomatoes, olives and garlic smothered on top of organic chicken breasts and topped with fresh basil was so healthy. I’ll bet Bonaparte didn’t even realize he was eating Paleo style!

We went upstairs and watched another movie.  “Elevator to the Gallows”  Wow! This movie was so great.  The ever sexy Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet play lovers.  Moreau is nasty and naughty—she’s married.  I’m not into spoilers but this was a murder mystery with a few twists and turns.  Very French New Wave. Very Film Noir.

Jeanne Moreau’s walk through the streets of Paris in the rain was one of the sexiest scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. 

It was director Louis Malle’s first feature and was beautifully shot in black and white. The soundtrack by Miles Davis is incredibly haunting. The only con was that there wasn’t enough of Charles Denner in it.  He’s one of my favorite actors!

I was so upset that Charles Denner had such a small role in this film.  He is one of my favorite French actors.  His face is so handsome and his voice is even better! 

The snow kept falling!

Still falling..will it ever stop?

Today the sun is shining brightly.  Bonaparte, much to my arguing, went out to clear the snow out by himself.

I decided to go out and help that stubborn Frenchman of mine.  I’ll tell you this. I cannot stand these Hunter boots as snow boots.  The socks make the fit way too snug..and my calves aren’t exactly thin.  They look cute though!

Got my cap, scarf and smile on.  Look how shiny my hair is.  I FINALLY washed it. I forgot just how shiny clean hair is! Oops!

I’m so pissed.  WTF happened to teenaged boys who want to make a quick twenty bucks?  I swear, when my boys were younger, they and their friends would be out, shovels in tow, to earn some fast cash by ridding the piles of snow for those who were either too lazy or too fragile.

Peter Wolfinger addresses the absence of kids with shovels trying to make a fast buck in this video.  Wolfinger speaks the truth about the craziness of snow storms in the funniest way.  It takes a New Yorker, especially a Long Islander, to speak the truth..in a most colorful way! BEST RANT EVER! WARNING: If you do not have a gutter mouth like I do, you may want to pass!

Chippy has been in hiding all weekend. He hates the snow so much that he refused to go out.  I finally had to practically kick him out of the house to do his business.   His idea of sitting in the snow is reclining on my snow-white loveseat!

This is how Chippy does Snowmageddon 2016.  Relaxing on my snow-white loveseat! Just don’t make it yellow Chippy! Just don’t make it yellow!

Come on Chippy. It’s time to go outside. Don’t think it over. Just do it!!!!

Bonaparte is such a prince an emperor! I went out to try to help him earlier and he demanded that I leave him alone.

“Plezze. Liv me alone.”  He asks, beggs, suggests,  demands!

Bonaparte is not happy that I am offering my assistance. But after much prodding and whining….

He allowed me to shovel one scoop just to keep me quiet.  Whew!  Now THAT was a serious workout. 

Bonaparte even dug a “PeePooPath” for Chippy to do his business. Can you spot the yellow snow?  Honestly, to Chippy this is a trench like the ones that were dug in WWI!

My car is dug out now! Thank you Bonaparte!

I’ve been banned from snow duty but not from kitchen duty!

I came in and made a big crock pot of chili for him!  Chili is the easiest dish on earth to make because there are no exact measurements. You add the seasonings to your personal taste.  Bonaparte likes it hot.  Here’s how I made it:

 I took one large white onion and diced it.  Then I took a yellow pepper, took out the seeds and chopped it.  Chopped a green pepper and sautéed all three in a pan. I sautéed in Chicken broth rather than oil. Using broth saves calories and fat points! Then I browned and drained two pounds of ground beef.  I drained two cans of kidney beans.  After the beef was drained, I put it in a bowl and added the seasonings. 

My little crew of seasonings. Cayenne pepper is also in the mix.

I also added some Harissa—which adds some smoky heat!

Harissa is a great source of smokey heat.  I usually buy many tubes when I’m in France because it’s dirt cheap over there.  Even so, this jar was pretty inexpensive. Might I suggest that you purchase a jar or tube if you come across it? It’s great stuff!

Added the drained beans, the onions and peppers and a can of diced tomatoes, mixed it all together and then poured everything into my crockpot.

I chopped one of these large hot peppers but decided to lay this on top of the chili.  Why? Well. I’ll tell you. I didn’t think this pepper was that hot. It really doesn’t LOOK hot. OK? Anyway, before I chopped the first pepper, I bit into it to see how hot it was.  Three hours later, my tongue is still feeling the heat.  I decided to just lay the second pepper on top of the chili to infuse the heat instead!

The chili is cooking.  Bonaparte is taking a well-needed nap. Jesus H. Christ—that man worked his ass off shoveling all that snow. I’m worried about his heart!  And Chippy is at my feet.  The sun is still shining, not a cloud in the sky and I can see spots of black tar on the road outside.

It’s a great end to a snowy weekend! Hope you stayed warm and cozy the past couple of days! XOXOXOXO!

Here’s some Miles Davis with the music from Elevator to the Gallows. It is haunting and sensual at the same time and you get to see Moreau’s sexy walk through Paris!