Last Wednesday, the snow was coming down thick and fast. It had been snowing for, what, three days in a row, and I think by that point it was drifting up to seven or eight feet, on top of the twelve or thirteen that we already had. West Chester was totally shut down — AGAIN — after the huge snowstorm over the weekend. I had cabin fever something fierce, and so needed to get out and work at the office.

I suited up and spent the day working at the Barcode Building, which was great. As the day progressed, things just got more and more snowy. Until finally it was like a comedy snowstorm out there. Good thing I was wearing comedy snowstorm clothes. I wrapped up in a scarf, jammed my pith helmet on my head (hey, a blizzard is sort of like a sandstorm, right?), and began the walk back.

New street (pictured above) was completely empty, except for fellows on quads and snowmobiles, careening up and down at fifty miles an hour, warlike hoots muffled by their Cabela’s balaclavas. Everything was closed downtown….

Everything, that is, except for Éclat Chocolate, the world’s finest truffle maker! The storefront was brightly lit, the case was full of freshly-made ginger caramels, whiskey truffles, and all sorts of great stuff that a fellow should bring home after Braving Nature’s Wrath. Dana even posed with a plate of valentine hearts, so I could tweet my luck:

Then, back out into the snow. Here’s Sharpless Street, heading west:

As I’m writing this, there is MORE snow coming down. Sheesh! But I’m delighted that West Chester’s local businesses are helping us through the season by providing the necessities of life.