Some snow, a fire, new book—oh my!

Yesterday I said this on Twitter:

Let's just say that it was an exciting day. Shall I explain?

Despite the fact that it's only the beginning of October and that it was 80ºF earlier this week, I woke up to something that looked like this:

This is my backyard . . . look at that poor hammock!

Actually, my entire day looked a little like that, but increasing amounts of snow. It was certifiable blizzard weather with whiteouts and slush and fender benders everywhere. Also, because none of our trees have changed color yet, a lot of broken branches. Driving downtown was a little like going through a warzone, with branches and leaves and destruction everywhere.

The part where this starts getting really memorable is up next though. Our power went out. This, in itself is not a big deal. Happens every winter. However, twenty minutes later our chimney got clogged somehow and smoke began billowing into our house.

How do you fix this? Well, you dump your fire (aka: flaming logs) into an ash bucket and throw them outside into snow. Then, when the fire is fully out, you open all of your windows in an attempt to air out the smoke. Then you freeze to death since, you know, there's no heater because the power's out.

Haha, kind of a ridiculous combination of events, yeah?

Well, things are better now. There is light and heat and internet (the important things). The upstairs is a bit of a smokey . . . but I supposed we'll get a better chance to air it out in two days when it's supposed to hit the 60ºFs. *rolls eyes* Oh, and the book I bought? Ilsa J. Bick's Ashes. :)

So, you guys have any particularly interesting weather stories? I've got another good one about a tornado on Valentine's Day, but we'll save that for another time. Anyway. Has it snowed yet where you live? Or have you ever bought a good book that somehow transformed your crazy day? Tell me in the comments.