Antarctica Starts Here.

After my utter failure to get to the store to stock up for the winter storm that I didn't expect would actually happen (cynical cat screwed the pooch this time), Hasufin and Mika cleared some space for me at their place while I packed up enough kit to last me a day or two. Nothing major, you understand, but there's a good chance that I won't be able to get home until Sunday night so I figured that I'd better be prepared. Hasufin and Mika are more than ready for the blanket of snow that brought the DC metroplex to a halt, and he was kind enough to brave the weather in his four wheel drive to pick me up and drive me to his place. Lyssa's in Pennsylvania visiting her family while I wrap things up in preparation for the Yule holiday so she's okay, too.

It's a mess, outside. We saw a few people headed for the store on cross-country skis and there are a few cars that tried to go somewhere but got stuck in the snow. We even passed a snow plow that seemed to miss a turn and got stuck in a snow drift.

The Smithsonian is closed. Kennedy Center canceled everything going on tonight. The Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt is on red alert; no mission-noncritical staff are to drive in this weekend. College campuses are shutting down.

On the way here, Hasufin was nice enough to loan me his camera to photograph what I could from inside the truck.