They didn't go, deciding that the six inches of slush on the roads already was a fine reason not to try to drive to the south side of Chicago. Instead, they spent half a day working on decorations for the troop's Christmas tree.
I headed off to pick up coffee and soda, making stops at several local parks, a church, and the local fire station as I knocked down and built a bunch of fields while Cargressing in the snow. When I got home, our neighbor was clearing the slush off the driveway and I decided it would probably be wise to do the same. It was a mess.
The trip having been canceled, we needed to pick up Katie at noon, which meant that we would have time for lunch before Julie went to a friend's birthday party. This was about the time that the snow picked up again, no longer slush, but a much finer yet still heavy powder. So we ended up getting lunch at "The Bacon Place", the nearby pancake house which the girls like a lot. Then we dropped Julie off at the party and I ran to Sam's Club where Gretchen filled up her tank and I picked up several things that we needed, including ground beef for meatloaf for dinner.
By about three o'clock, the snow had wound down to the point where I went out and shoveled another six inches of snow off the driveway and sidewalk, now regretting the fact that I hadn't bought fresh gas for the snowblower. I figured I'd shovel under the van when Gretchen went to pick up Julie, but by the time she did, the shoveled driveway was starting to get slick, so I decided that patch of snow could stay there for a while.
It's supposed to melt later this week anyway...