What I’m Wearing…
* Vintage pink and white striped 3/4″ sleeve t-shirt was my mom’s from the late 70s/early 80s… I’m not sure I’ve ever worn it on the blog actually, which is surprising… I asked my mom if she had a photo of herself wearing it but couldn’t find one… only found one of me in my 20s wearing it, lol. I was just looking for a pink long-sleeve to wear and match my snow shoes and this was my only option and I’m glad because it ended up looking super cute IMO š I added somewhat similar options to the shopping widget below
* Arctix Women’s Essential Insulated Bib Overalls… I bought a Medium thinking I’d wear them over all of my other layers of clothes, but really, they’re so warm I could have ordered my regular size, small, because you don’t really need more than one set of thermals underneath. So they’re a bit bulky… but that will probably come in handy in actual snow-shoveling situations vs just trying to look cute for photos āŗļø These are the standard length as well (I’m 5’7″) … I kind of want to get these in silver metallic and camo (though it’s a different brand – I’ve added a bunch to the shopping widget below) they’re so comfortable to wear, like my Lee coveralls but in the snow. I don’t ski or snowboard (though I did a bit in my 20s, not well enough to continue though) and am really just hoping it warms up soon so I can go roller skating. I’m just itching to get out and feel the warm sun and do something fun and freeing other than shoveling snow š – I have snowboard pants and an old jacket/vest combo but they were at Chad’s, so I didn’t have them during the storm, but I have to say that overalls are just easier to pull over all the layers and not worry about getting wet… though sweating from shoveling is major.
* Army green (super soft) coat from Hollister (gift from Chad) a few years ago. I swear, Hollister has the softest fabrics. I love their sweats and pajamas and jackets. My main snow jacket is by Burton, because it’s the best. I’ve had it since 2015 I think and still love it. Also, having a longer jacket in the winter to cover your thighs, is very helpful in keeping you warm. Makes such a difference when you’re out in the snow for long periods of time.
* Vintage black sunglasses
* Black furry beanie
* Sorel Tivoli snow boots (from years ago, still my faves, although this is the first year I needed tall snow boots, so I might invest in a pair – like this cute grey pair – I swear by Sorel, don’t skimp on snow-boots, you want them waterproof and warm and mine have been both – the short version is my fave for normal snow, but when you’re falling into deep snow, it gets into the backs and top of the tongue and then gets you wet around the ankles, so I need a tall pair for deep snow – even though I hope we never get the amount of snow we got ever again or I’m moving – and now that I’m looking, I want these too, for venturing out in real clothes and looking cute but also having boots that are waterproof that don’t look like snow boots – Also, I like a chunky sole because I DO NOT LIKE SLIPPING and will usually wear boot chains over the bottoms in icy weather to prevent any kind of slippage. It’s like chains for your tires, but on your feet to prevent slipping. Actually, I want every pair of Sorel’s right now, shoes and boots and all of them. I feel like I need to stock up for every possible apocalypse that might ever happen. Just saying. I am shooketh.
See those little prints in the snow next to me in the photo above? They’re from the local geese that live here and are seriously cute in person. I have shared them a few times recently on my IG stories. I love them. š
* Carryown 3 in 1 Light Weight Snowshoes Set in pink… originally I was just going to get a super neutral black or white pair but the pink were considerably less expensive at the time and they’re so cute so I’m glad I went with pink. I know people spend a lot more on snowshoes, but I’ve never owned a pair and just wanted to try them out before really investing in an expensive pair and hoping that I only need them in the future for fun (as seen here in these photos) vs life-threatening snow-storms in which I found myself shoveling paths to nowhere – when if I just had snowshoes, life would have been much easier. Now I just need a solution for getting the dogs out safely in 9feet of snow as well… like a sled maybe… ALSO, you buy snow shoes by weight. I ordered a 25, which was for 120-200lbs but I could have gone down a size but I thought maybe these would be a bit sturdier, but honestly I have no idea.
I’ll say that wearing them and walking on TOP of the snow was a dream compared to regular boots where you could take a few steps and stay pretty close to the top of the snow, depending on how frozen or packed it is, or catch an air pocket and fall in knee or thigh-deep and get stuck or hurt yourself. So, the snowshoes really do make walking on the snow and staying ON TOP of it, a dream. The poles weren’t entirely necessary, but in more icy conditions or at night, they would have come in very handy. This little set came in a bag with the poles and leg covers as well, which I haven’t tried yet.
I actually have this one on the wrong foot in the photo above, I realized this after this photo, but before actually walking in them š
* Title: P!NK, Willow Sage Hart – Cover Me In Sunshine
I have honestly been having such a difficult time trying to get back to “normal” in the aftermath of the blizzard, while also enduring another, albeit, much smaller storm last week. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a wee bit traumatized, or at the very least having some sort of PTSD symptoms, which yes, sounds dramatic, but are also very real. I know this because I was out driving a few days ago, the first day out after the last storm, and while I’m used to seeing mounds and MOUNDS of snow along the roads and highways and everywhere, I passed a mountain-sized berm (berms are basically ice walls left behind by plows after they clear the roads, in case you’re wondering. I had no idea what the word meant when I moved up here), anyway, I passed a ten foot high wall of snow and almost started crying, hearing there’s so much snow quietly pass through my brain as if I was outside of my body. With a lump in my throat, I gulp down a quiet terror as I walk on streets once covered in 5 feet of snow, flashbacks of what was my reality just a few weeks ago.
When I returned home a few hours later, a part-time vacationer who was up for the weekend had parked in my spot and I happened to be on the phone with Chad at the time I pulled in and just had a complete meltdown and realized that was my breaking point. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
It wasn’t so much that I had nowhere to park, though I didn’t, it was more that I had been here through the thick of it, through the dark days, surrounded by empty houses, without seeing or hearing one person or neighbor for 8 days – because no one was here, trapped daily by feet and feet of new snow after shoveling an emergency path out if I needed it, before bed the night before, running out of food, not being able to literally GET OUT, AND I shoveled my car out of the exact spot they had parked in more than once, multiple times… I shoveled half of it out, then a few days later had to re-shovel it out because it snowed 4 more feet overnight, then standing on two feet of snow ON TOP OF THE HOOD OF MY CAR, I shoveled out the rest of it on day 14 when the road was finally completely plowed and I could get out in said car.
Then after this last storm, I shoveled again, digging it out, clearing my path, and this doesn’t include all the times I had to shovel an ice berm left behind it by a plow OR the times that Chad had come and plowed or moved a berm or helped me shovel and created additional parking spot next to mine just in case.
To come home and have nowhere to park after all that work I had put in and all the darkness I survived only to have someone here on VACATION, just FOR FUN, ENJOYING THE SNOW that brought terror into my life, felt like a slap in the face. And on that day, it was all I had left I guess.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to get back to normal life a little bit every day and am still struggling with it. I went out for a walk yesterday and started crying when I saw a heaping mound of snow. As soon as the tears stopped, I turned a snow block corner and passed a woman on her walk and after saying hi, broke down into sniffling sobs again. It’s so strange. It’s so bizarre. I don’t know how else to describe it.
Chad helped me shoot these photos at the end of last week and we actually had fun. The flat snow by the lake, although still a few feet off the actual ground, didn’t trigger me into tears the same way seeing the streets did. It’s like I have instant flashbacks of the 12 days I couldn’t see the street and would just keep shoveling into the abyss to help cure my anxiety of being so trapped as well as creating some sort of emergency getaway in the event that my roof caved in or my gas leaked and my house exploded and caught fire (these things were happening all over the mountain), or the dogs had an emergency or whatever else was happening during those few weeks where we were trapped in a literal way I’ve never felt before.
The whole experience is so vivid yet a total blur at the same time, the kind where you just stare out into space wondering what the F actually happened… except I have all the photos and videos to document it as proof… and those make me cry too.
But on this day, I was happy and we had fun shooting these photos while I tried my new snowshoes… snowshoes that I hope I’ll never have to actually wear as a means of surviving (though that is the reason I bought them).
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t thinking about the possibility of moving off the mountain at least once a day. It’s just so beautiful, and I love it so much up here for so many reasons, but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to work through the trauma or if I’m going to cry every time it snows or be filled with panic and fear at the thought of it… like seeing the snowflakes pop up in the forecast for next Wednesday and Thursday š …but sunshine and palm trees are looking mighty fine as of late.
Happy Monday Lovecats!
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Surviving the Lake Arrowhead Blizzard Alone // The Beginning
