these houses are. they really just have snow. in many cases well up to the windows. the blowing wind is really complicating things out here. it has been complicated, too, in all of the region's airports, closed after it proved impossible to keep up with the steadily falling and drifting snow. everywhere, from the city to the suburbs, the warning is the same. park the car, stay inside, sit tight until the storm passes. pretty much everything is closed. you still see very few people out. i'm almost to the metro. the metro trains prove one of the few operable life lines, but even they are running with long delays and only on the underground sections of track. still, if you want to commute in d.c. these days, it's the only game in town. finally, here i am. about three hours later, skiing up to the cnn offices.