Snowed in!

Okay, I don't live in the backwoods of nowhere, and that means I'm technically not snowed in. I went to the grocery store for a few things and driving was as tolerable as ever (that is to say, not made horrible by the snow, but horrible because it is driving with other humans on the road). However, another storm is headed in my general direction, and apparently up to another eight inches of precipitation is supposed to fall. I say "precipitation" because while there will be snow, there are threats of freezing rain as well.

Normally a snowed-in weekend would be fabulous, but:

1. I was supposed to drive two miles west to my future sister-in-law's housewarming party (her roommates have kitties!). Obviously now we won't be able to go.
   
2. After watching a fireplace in action at a friends' place in Maine, I wish we could use the fireplace in the house -- but we have no firewood! And,
   
3. My knitting productivity has gone downhill considerably, because I cannot knit my mother's present anywhere except in my own room, where she will definitely not see it.

The latter is bumming me out a considerable amount. I know my mother knows I'm making her a scarf (I threatened everyone with Christmas Scarves when the family was over for Thanksgiving), but I would like there to be some sort of surprise. Knitting in my room is not a big deal, but Steve just bought Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, and it's fun to help him solve puzzles. And I love watching Wiki be cute.

In other news, I just baked up a batch of Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, substituting old fashioned oats for the steel cut oats. They needed about three fewer minutes on the bake time, but were otherwise delicious. They were intensely chocolately without being overly sweet (i.e.: a perfect "grown up" cookie). I managed to get fifteen cookies out of the small amount of dough and two days later, they're all gone.

So now I'm sitting in bed watching Thank You for Smoking (for a second time) and catching up on my knitting. I wish I had been smart enough to pick up ingredients for a test batch of Biscotti with Cranberries and Pistachios, but I suppose I will be content enough to peek out the window now and again to see if the snow has started.