Waiting for the Snow

Middle Tennessee eagerly awaits the snow.


It’s only supposed to be a few inches, but 2 Tennessee inches equals one foot in Idaho or Maine inches. We aren’t used to driving in it, so the best thing to do, at least with the first real snow in several years, is to stay home.


Unless the storm bypasses us, that’s exactly what I plan to do. It is my hope that when it is time to go to work tomorrow, it is snowing steadily and sticking. Nobody wants to get stuck at work, and we’ve already been told coming in is at our discretion. Nobody is going to mind if we beg off because of snow, but I can’t really do that if it’s not snowing. Personally, I’d like to stay home.


This is a big difference between office work and retail or food. It’s not going affect anyone is a meaningful way if we all take off. In fact, I’m convinced that if a lot of office work never got done at all, nobody would miss it.

People in physical jobs never do things like shop on line or email friends from work. We actually work the whole time we are there. Not that you can go on line in the census office either, but I have seen how most people seem to work. I am convinced that our pay scale is seriously skewed, that the people who work the hardest are the ones without paid vacations or access to health care, but this is my own personal beef. It is not the subject of this post.


So we wait for the snow, ready to welcome it, toast it with warm drinks by a crackling fire, and take the time to tell stories.


Chai

6-8 cups

4 cups water

3 pods cardomon, cracked

5 cloves

1/2 cinnamon stick, broken

cut up ginger root (a large pinch. I've never measured.)

3 T sugar

2 qt tea bags


Bring the water, sugar and spices to a boil. Boil 10 minutes, covered. Turn off heat and drop in tea bags. Steep for about another 10-15 minutes. Squeeze out tea bags and pour chai through a strainer.


To serve, top with steamed milk, about equal amounts tea and milk. Extra chai can be refrigerated several days, and microwaved as desired.


Comments