Holiday '08 or how the snow nearly stole Christmas

P-- and I babysat our handsome little grandson on December 13th. We drove up to my daughter and son-in-law's house just as the snow started to fall and, by the time we went home, the snow was a few inches thick and the drive home was slow and cautious.
The snow continued off and and on right over the Christmas holiday causing us to wonder if our traditional Christmas dinner would be cancelled or, if it was, would it be with a reduced number of family members. On Christmas Eve we traditionally hold a small informal party just for my family. This year my older brother was working, my little brother and his fiancee were doing something else and my mom was terrified by the snow. Undaunted we carried on with my husband, my daughter and her little family. It was actually fun spending time with a 5-week old baby.
The following morning we had our Christmas breakfast at my house. (This used to be my mom's thing but when a power outage caused the breakfast to be moved to my place a few years back, my mom agreed to keep it at my place). Everyone was here with the exception of my older brother and his wife. R--- was fighting a flu and L----- was house-sitting for some friends. If R--- hadn't been feeling crappy L----- would have found a way here.
My in-laws did call at one point to say that their power had gone out and I did invite them for breakfast but they declined. They did ask if I could cook a ham for them if their power didn't come back on. (There are certain advantages to living near a hospital!)

'08 snowfall
Their power did come back on in time for them to cook the ham and dinner was on as scheduled. The only problem was that my brother-in-law who was visiting from Toronto had managed to get my father-in-law's car stuck in the driveway which was unplowed and we'd have to walk up. No biggie, except that my daughter and son-in-law would have to carry the baby and associated paraphernalia up a long and snowy driveway.
All of the expected family was there along with my nephew's girlfriend from Taiwan. Unfortunately the crappy weather did cause the dinner to end a bit sooner than in previous years.

Grandson in his new gym

Our nephew who is 15 weeks older than our grandson
My son-in-law was supposed to start work at 6 a.m. on Boxing Day so the play was for him to spend the night with us and to get up bloody early. The threat of more snow and black ice made them decide to head directly home to Nanaimo instead.
Of course the snow also wreaked havoc with our plans for New Year Eve. Every year we visit my friend's family for a night of games, food, and fun with people I consider my "other" family. I got a call from my friend's mom to say that the driveway was a "mess" and we'd have to walk up. That in itself wouldn't have been a problem but the prediction of more snow to start after midnight and the fact that hubby was on the pager caused us to miss out.
Yesterday, after the weather office promised us rain for the next 4 days, it started snowing yet again. After about 6" of the damned cold stuff it stopped. Luckily the roads were clear between Nanaimo and here so my daughter and grandson were able to visit us.
He is just 6 weeks old and can already roll from his tummy to his back and has the most beautiful smile!

At least it appears that there isn't any more snow predicted for the next few days and what is on the ground seems to be melting. Yes!!