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Posted on Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 4:31 p.m.

Hoard the bananas and grind your coffee — it's the Great Snowmageddon

By Jessica Webster

blizzard-of-1978.jpg

I still have fond childhood memories of the blizzard of '78.

Photo courtesy of Jill Tewsley.

Ok, I will admit it. I am fully invested in this whole Snowpocalypse thing. I am excited. I am stocked up. I've got my snow game face on.

Step one in my blizzard preparedness routine came via this blog post from Ann Arbor coffee guru John Roos this morning: "Pre grind alert for all of southern Michigan and rustbelt coffee drinkers!" That's right — if heavy snow and wind take down power lines, you'll find it difficult to grind your coffee beans. I ground enough for a few days worth of coffee this morning.

Of course, grinding your coffee beans in advance doesn't help much if you depend on an electric coffee maker to brew your joe. Which I do. So my next stop was Plum Market, where I finally picked up a replacement Chemex coffee carafe after years of procrastination. So now, as long as I have matches to light my gas stove and water to boil, I will not be lacking in the coffee department. Phew!

My friends and I have all been laughing about the random run on bananas at local supermarkets, but the truth is that my frenzied blizzard-inspired shopping trip resulted in items that could be considered equally unnecessary. Like everyone else, I stocked up on bread and milk. But I inexplicably also ended up with a fridge full of lunch meats. I never buy lunch meats. Somehow though, with a storm front rushing toward us and weather channel anchors rubbing their hands together with gleeful anticipation, thinly-sliced turkey, ham and salami seemed crucial to my survival.

But I didn't stop there. In the grips of blizzard fever, I tore through the grocery store and REI, grabbing snow day "essentials." I've now also got enough organic raspberries to last a week, several six packs of Michigan microbrews, a pound of nine-month Boerenkaas, a half pound of Callebaut dark chocolate, light bulbs (light bulbs?) and a brand new rechargeable Coleman camping lantern. Ok, that last item could prove to be necessary, but while I was picking it up it took every ounce of my willpower not to buy a pack of 10 hand warmers and a four-person tent (it was on clearance!).

All kidding and self-deprecation aside, do be careful out there. Jen Eyer has tips on staying safe through the blizzard, and you can find more information on how to prepare for it here. Charge up your cell phone, gather some firewood and let it snow!

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Drink section for AnnArbor.com. She grew up near Syracuse, NY and isn't afraid of a little - or even a lot of - snow. You can reach her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com.

Comments

Sandy Castle

Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 10:24 p.m.

Thank you, Jessica! I love your articles and while I don't remember the blizzard of '78 specifically, I do remember having tons of snow here in Ann Arbor when I was a kid in the 70's. We could build igloos and snow tunnels all day long, only going inside from the cold when forced to by mom ;o)

Jessica Webster

Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 3:25 p.m.

@DFSmith - I suppose John could have told us all to go out an buy a hand grinder for the storm. I'm enough of a coffee geek to always grind my coffee just before brewing with my burr grinder, but apparently a step down from the "always have a hand grinder available in case of power outage" coffee geek level.

DFSmith

Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 2:35 p.m.

I know Mr Roos is the self-appointed coffee-guru of Ann Arbor, but, in this case, his advice is so WRONG!!!!!! A true coffee-geek knows that you dont pre-grind your coffee. One gets a quality hand grinder, say, one with a ceramic burr grinding mechanism ( say, a Hario Skereton grinder), and grinds one's coffee beans just before brewing.

Edward Vielmetti

Tue, Feb 1, 2011 : 11:31 p.m.

I loved the photo on Damn Arbor: &quot;Meijer and Kroger were out of milk so we bought Bells Winter White&quot;. <a href="http://damnarbor.blogspot.com/2011/02/guide-to-ann-arbor-snowstorm-edition.html" rel='nofollow'>http://damnarbor.blogspot.com/2011/02/guide-to-ann-arbor-snowstorm-edition.html</a>

Damn Arbor

Wed, Feb 2, 2011 : 5:39 p.m.

Thanks for the link, Ed!