Yesterday it snowed in the morning, maybe a couple of inches. Since it was such a big hit last time, I recreated the giant snowpile for Victoria. To do this, I dump all the snow I shovel in the corner of the yard near the house. Halfway down the driveway this starts to be a bit of a chore, since I have to walk each scoop of snow back to the house. I have a feeling that anyone driving by sees me trudging along the driveway with my shovelful of snow and thinks, "Hmm, the new neighbors are hella dopey." Since it takes at least twice as long to clear the driveway by this method, I have plenty of time to think about where the effort-result line might be. Honestly, I think my driveway would have to be longer--I want to see how big I can make that snowpile. Today (we had an extra bit of snow overnight so I got to do it again) it was looking like a baby Matterhorn.

My mom called last night. She was hoping I could give her some insight into how Obama would fare in Ohio. I wasn't much help. I get the impression that Columbus is different than most of Ohio. Then naturally we spent a half-hour talking about the weather. She suggested that my shoveling technique could use some tweaking: why didn't I start making the pile at the street end and slide the pile up the driveway, adding to it as I progress? I was flummoxed. What human could do something like that? It wasn't until later today that I realized she has had no opportunity to accumulate snow-shoveling experience. It's quite possible that her knowledge of the physical properties of snow comes exclusively from cartoons.