it snowed 6-8" today. because the temperature was so cold, it was the powdery variety which was easy to clean. i shoveled twice, once early in the morning when there was about 3" worth of snow already, and once around 4pm, when the snowfall was beginning to taper off.

i'm so jaded about the snow that i didn't even bother going out in the afternoon to get some photos. what's the point? wait a few more days, it'll snow again (actually, wait a few more hours, a second snowstorm is supposed to arrive in the middle of the night). instead, i spent most of the day actually working on client E's project.

in the evening i went down to the cafe for an early chinese new year dinner. my parents decided to have it there instead of at home because most of my relatives were down there anyway. and with the snow there was no customers anyway so they managed to close early. originally the dinner was scheduled for tomorrow but monday night's weather forecast got them spooked so they decided to have it a day earlier in order to avoid the most intense part of the 2-day snowstorm. there was offers to pick me up but i decided to walk it (about 25 minutes) just so i could witness this snowy landscape.

everyone was already there, including the dog, which i told my sister not to bring but she did it anyway (i think she even said something about not coming if she couldn't bring her comfort animal). binbin - who originally wasn't going to make it until much later - was there too after her class got cancelled due to the weather. the main course were these homemade meat buns that my parents where in the process of pan-frying when i arrived.

i didn't think i ate a lot but i still felt stuffed afterwards. for dessert we had red bean soup with gluten balls and my sister made a peach and coconut cake. the cake was to celebrate my aunt lili's 50th birthday, but my mother miscalculated (it's her 49th instead).

my father also showed me his bambook which arrived today, that chinese kindle-knockoff. i'll write more about it this weekend, when i have a chance to compare the two devices.

instead of getting a ride home, i decided to walk home instead, which would give me a chance to get some more photos. the weather was cold with temperature in the lower 20's, but the snow covered landscape was peaceful and its beauty made me forget about the chill.