Winter storm approaching

It looks like we're going to get some snow next week, as well as super cold temperatures lasting from Tuesday through Thursday. Some longer range forecasts are also predicting an ice storm next Friday night.

Thursday night weather update

 Ways to call in snow, according to my 8-year-old buddy, Little P.:

*Wear your pajamas inside out for a couple of nights.

*Flush ice cubes down the toilet the day before.

*Sleep with a spoon under your bed.

It may be working, because he reported to me this afternoon that he's been doing all of these things, and now the forecast is calling for the possibility of an inch of snow after the ice does its thing. I hope we get a little snow, for his sake. 

In any event, there's a very good chance we could lose power and/or internet access for a couple of days. Not only are we expecting ice and snow, but the nighttime low temperatures are expected to be around 19 degrees (-7.22C) and the highs will struggle to get much above freezing. Whatever cold precipitation we get, won't be going away very fast!

My little family will be just fine. We have gas logs for heat, a gas range for cooking, plenty of food (people and pet), and no need to leave home. If it wasn't so dangerous for the essential workers, I'd even say I'm looking forward to it. Real winter weather is such a rarity in eastern South Carolina! I'm hoping to finally see snow here at our "new" house and "new" neighborhood.

Maybe I should flush some ice down the toilet......or sleep with my pjs inside-out. Little P. is convinced it will work!

Red sky in the morning

 A winter storm is headed our way. From late tonight all the way through Saturday afternoon, our area is supposed to get up to half an inch of ice, followed by a little snow and very, very cold temperatures. It's going to be very dangerous, and school is already canceled for tomorrow. 

This is the sunrise I woke up to today:

We have been warned!

Work week recap

A winter storm is headed this way, bringing with it the chance of ice late tonight and early tomorrow morning. As much as I long for a good snow, ice is a different matter altogether. Ice is beautiful, but so dangerous. Thank goodness it's a holiday weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday) and I have no real need to leave the house before Tuesday. Following on the heels of this storm is another weather system that the long-range forecast says might bring us some snow next weekend. Fingers crossed for that! I'm anxious to see the "new" house and neighborhood with a blanket of white.

I've continued to feel a bit under the weather for the last couple of days. Although I got a negative result on my rapid Covid test, I remain unconvinced that I don't have a (very, very) mild case. Yesterday my throat felt kind of weird and sore, and I've been a bit short of breath for a few days now, off and on. That sounds bad, but it's not that unusual for me. I have mild asthma that can be triggered by allergies, a cold, or even just a drastic change in temperature.  A puff or two on an inhaler and I'm totally fine. So who knows?

I'd go to one of the DHEC testing sites for a more accurate PCR test, but they've all been so overwhelmed that it's taking up to a week to get results back (and that's when we're not having a state holiday and a winter storm) so I don't think I'll bother. I feel almost 100% back to normal today, anyway. If it is Covid, thank goodness for vaccines and boosters! I was careful at work yesterday to keep my N-95 mask on and to avoid other people as much as possible, just in case. 

Speaking of work, I meant to tell you about something nice that happened to me at the beginning of the week. My little buddy Clarence (the boy who kept coming to my desk for Christmas candy in exchange for not getting in trouble last month) stopped by my desk to see me on Monday. (Since I was already feeling a little weird, I gave him a fist bump instead of a hug). He said, "Mrs. Barlow, I'm going to bring you a present tomorrow!  I told my mama I wanted to get my favorite teacher a present!" I told him that that was a sweet thing to say, but that his good behavior and good attitude was all the present I needed. Of course, I forgot about it immediately. Well. The next day he showed up at my desk and presented me with this:

"Viva Las Vegas Night" perfume! :)  

Clarence was so proud of himself when he gave it to me. He said, "It smells REAL good!" (It smells about like you expect). What a sweet, kind thing for that little boy to do! I wrote  him a nice thank you note on some of my personalized office stationery. I showed the gift to the basketball coach, who happens to be one of the behavior interventionists, and he quipped, "I hope that's not missing off his mama's dresser!" Haha! We both got a good laugh at that. All joking aside, though, this little bottle of dollar store perfume made me cry a little bit. 

I'll sign off today with a few pictures of the aquariums at work, taken by some of our Art students who are studying photography at the moment. Aquariums are notoriously hard to photograph, but the teacher sent me four of what she judged to be the best ones. The first two are from the goldfish tank in the lobby, and the last are from the planted community tank in the library.

Frigid

Tonight is set to be the coldest night of this winter so far, with a forecast low of 21F. There is also a strong wind blowing, which will drop the wind chill down to around 0. The Northeast is having a terrible winter storm right now, with really really low temperatures as well as heavy snow and ice. I wouldn't mind seeing some snow, but the amount of it expected up north is scary.

I realised today I've been making do for years now without a proper winter coat. How ridiculous is that? I don't know what I was thinking to put off buying one for so long, but today on my way to work I stopped at a department store and bought myself a big, soft, warm winter coat. It's a warm camel color with large dark buttons. I love it! I wore it home from work tonight and was as warm as toast. Just in time for the icy winter weather expected all weekend.