Snow!!

Yesterday I was due to go an visit my lovely friend Emilie in her new home but as we stepped out of the door to take Seb to school the snow had already started falling.

I dropped Seb at school and dashed to the Co-Op to buy food to stock up the freezer and cupboards in case we get snowed in for a few days.  Where we live we are on a steep hill so when the snow is bad we often can't get the car out for a few days.

Came home and called Emilie while I unpacked the shopping.  I was in two minds as to whether or not to go and see her as she now lives half an hour away and I was worried about how quickly the snow was falling.  In the end we decided it might be safer to take a rain check and reschedule for a couple of weeks time.

As it happens it was a wise decision as by 10am I had two texts one from Seb and one from his school telling me the school was closing and asking me to come and pick him up again.

I bundled Nat up in his wellies and coat and scarf and we drove very slowly down our road but as it bends aroundand down to the left I got into a long skid and could not stop the car.  There were cars parked either side of the road and a vehicle coming straight toward me.  I was convinced I was going to hit it as I couldn't stop the car.  Thankfully the other car must have realised I was in trouble and managed to pull over to the side of the road so I could swerve around it and skid past it.  By the time the car finally came to a stop I was feeling quite shaken but it is quite a strange feeling as at the time it all felt rather calmly inevitable too.

Went to the school via the main roads which were slightly clearer than the usual side roads that we tend to use.  Picked Seb up and went to turn down the hill we normally drive down.  When I saw a car struggling up the steep hill i thought better of it and reversed back out and took an alternative road.

I was then driving along slowly and braked to turn right but skidded again - this timeskidding right past the turning that I had wanted.  Reveresed back and then climbed the steep hill at less than 5 miles an hour, in first gear.  It was slow going and awkward trying to avoid the cars coming down the hill towards me.  Finally got home and parked the car with much relief!

The snow came down hard and fast for the rest of the day.  The boys and I did try braving it to go sledging but the wind and snow blowing in Nat's face made him cry so we only got as far as five or six houses up the road before we had to turn back.

I was a bit worried about David who had flown up to Newcastle for a meeting.  Apparently his flight was severely delayed while the airport cleared the run-way and de-iced the plane and he was ten minutes late for his pitch but fortunately the company before him had over-run so he arrived just as his team were called in.

He had a long day though and didn't get home until nearly nine o'clock.

This morning the snow had stopped so we all had great fun having snowball fights and building snowmen in the garden.  After a cup of tea and a slice of cake we all bundled up again to go for a long walk in the snow stopping halfway for mugs of hot chocolate at Nola.

It has been a good day.  More snow expected tomorrow!!