Snow, Shopping, Soup... and a Sore Tooth

Woke up to a white world, covered in a thick blanket of snow. It was the kind of snow that I always associate with Christmas. When I was a kid, one of the most memorable storms was at Christmas, and the snow so wet and heavy that it literally stacked on the wire fence two and three inches high. This morning, driving around, seeing it lay higher and higher on branches, cars, and very horizontal or angled space it could, each flake stacked on another the way that buckyballs of carbon make their strength. It was a sight to behold... and one rarely seen here.

This morning, I decided to travel out since I knew so few would. I stopped by Wal-Mart to get some soup supplies -- wanted to try out the new slow cooker and the weather seemed perfect for a turkey vegetable soup. There was very few cars there -- not like yesterday's welcome vacuum in nearly every parking lot I passed -- but a few brave souls out to try their luck. The most interesting phenomenon was the disproportionally high percentage of men, mostly walking around the grocery section, with lists and cell phones in hand, walking around lost and seemingly confused. Most had that nervous look of not wanting to buy the wrong thing, but being unable to find the brand, or the size, or the exact product they understood they were SUPPOSED to buy. It was nice to just be there, and not stressed about what I came home with.

Came home to start the soup, and then went to go rescue Gene and Mary Kaitland from being homebound by the snow and we all went to the mall. I needed to exchange a gift for my MK, and it was good to be with friends for a while. We enjoyed our walk, and talk, and seeing the unhuddled masses around the mostly open stores of Crabtree.

This evening, I have enjoyed soup, and fought the pain associated with my newly-cracked tooth. After months of managing it -- by which I mean, ignore it -- it broke first thing yesterday morning on a bit of bacon. And I cannot do anything about it until tomorrow at the earliest. Today.... I will stay away from popcorn, foods that are too hot, or eating on the left side of my mouth.

A White Boxing Day indeed.