Boog Powell, 2002 Topps Archives Reserve #86

Did everyone survive that hellacious winter storm? Total snowfall in our neck of the woods was about 26 inches, making me think that the storm should have been named for Boog Powell. For our part, we came through the first blizzard in our new home no worse for the wear, aside from some minor aches and pains due to shoveling. I had a rare five-day weekend, as my office was uncharacteristically closed on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, but my days at home were much more labor-intensive than they would have been if I'd been cubicle-bound. I would estimate that my wife and I each spent at least seven hours clearing snow from our driveway; of course, it was preferable by far to clearing the steps, sidewalk, and street-side parking area at our old row house. Besides, I did listen to a big chunk of my current audiobook of choice (Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr) while I toiled. I do have to remember to order a new shovel or two online before the next snowfall. One of our two current shovels is a crummy, bent-up aluminum number, and the other is a sturdy plastic model that is nonetheless about to split in two along the handle. Better tools will make the next winter cleanup a bit easier.

I had intended to do more organizing and decorating inside the house as long as we were going to be confined there, but all of the yard work (driveway work, really) ate up a good chunk of time, energy, and motivation. I did manage to hang a few items next to my wet bar in the basement - a wooden cutout of the continental United States that functions as a bottle cap display (yes, my collector's impulses bleed over into pursuits even more ephemeral than baseball cards) and a pegboard featuring an Orioles logo. I found the latter at a craft fair in Wrightsville Beach, NC during our Thanksgiving getaway, and figured I could hang a couple early-1990s O's promotional giveaway steins from it. They are hand-me-downs from my grandma Boots, and I wanted them to have a prominent place in my makeshift lounge. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Though it would have been nice to cross a couple more items off of my to-do list during this unexpected January holiday, I was grateful to spend some extra leisure time with Janet. We watched some movies - Home, Frozen (of course), and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 take on the 1975 Joe Don Baker "action" flick Mitchell. We tried out Dominion, a deck-building strategy game that I'd received for Christmas; it would be unsportsmanlike for me to mention that I won. Whoops, ignore that. I enjoyed some of Janet's incredible cooking, including the best batch of beef stew she's ever made. And, though my plans to have some friends over on Sunday night to watch WWE's Royal Rumble pay-per-view event were scotched by the slick and snowy roads, I still had a blast watching it with my very patient and accommodating wife. (To be fair, I did brave the elements earlier in the evening, enduring a somewhat tricky six-mile round trip in order to bring home a Pizza Hut dinner.)

So, that's how I kept sane during Winter Storm Jonas. How about you?