An unwelcome, long-term visitor, Old Man Winter is here. And I’m sad to say he’ll be here for a quite some time. Sigh.

But I am a very lucky lady! Although our original plan to have a garage built behind the house before the snow arrived obviously isn’t coming to fruition, Ben constructed what I think is the next-best thing.

He set up an “instant garage” for me to park in! Although it is obviously not keeping in the heat, it will at least keep the snow off and save me from shoveling my car on those mornings when the white stuff is coming down fast.

We bought the tent from The Sportsman’s Guide. We were disappointed that there was no mention on the website listing about the frame not being rated for snow load—we discovered that nugget on the last page of the instruction manual after it was assembled. But we’re hoping that with frequent sweeping, we can keep the roof aloft.

I think it’s a brilliant idea to use the tent as a pseudo-garage all winter and, in the spring, use it to store barnwood out of the rain or even as a place for the buffet during a big backyard party!

Until party time, the girls and I will be hibernating, wearing multiple layers (“I can’t put my arms down!”) and shivering for warmth.