Prepared

It's 6am and 19 degrees outside. I'm drinking my second cup of coffee and preparing to don my heaviest sweater, coat, scarf, and hat and head out to work. Currently the only hazardous weather condition is the bitter cold, so we have school today. The winter storm warning doesn't take effect until early evening. I'm certain we won't have school tomorrow, and there's a chance we won't go back on Thursday, either. We'll see how it all shakes out.

We're well prepared for staying in and waiting out the weather. It's been a household goal of ours to keep the pantry, freezer, and household stores really well stocked up. The dogs and Marco have a month's worth of extra food on hand. We have several cases of bottled water on hand all the time. 

All that careful planning and preparing comes in handy when something like this winter weather is coming. I don't have to scramble and navigate crowds in stores. And in this circumstance, even if we lose power, we have gas logs to keep warm and a gas stove for cooking. We have plenty of flashlights and candles, too. I'm not worried.

I stayed away from social media and the news yesterday. I couldn't watch the travesty in DC and I don't have anything to say about it, really. Everyone knows how I feel and most of you feel the same way, I'm sure. We're just going to have to buckle in and get ready for the ride. 

So anyway, today I'm choosing to focus on the possibility of a rare winter snowfall. I have a feeling that the kids at school are going to be wild with excitement this morning at the prospect of snow. Good luck to my teacher friends trying to get anything done today!

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.

This weather!

This winter has brought nothing but nasty weather so far. When it's not terribly cold, with lows in the teens and wind chills hovering near zero, it's pouring rain. I'd rather have the cold, personally. Days and days of pouring rain make everything damp and nasty and dismal. Our carpet is beginning to look dingy no matter how much we try to clean our shoes. We'll have to shampoo it in the spring, which is one of my most despised household tasks. When we buy our own home (hopefully later this year) we are 100% anti-carpet. When we've had rentals with hardwood and/or tile floors, not only did the house stay cleaner, but my allergies were much better.

This rain also is putting a real damper (ha!) on my efforts to train George. He's coming along great on the days I can give him lots of exercise, but he gets bored and destructive when he can't go out. He's mischievous and will stand up to peer up onto shelves to find things to chew up. I think he might be smart, since he's curious about everything and learns commands easily. But he's also stubborn and will constantly test your boundaries. I've been reading up on Cesar Millan's methods (and watching his show, The Dog Whisperer) and using them to make me (and my husband) the pack leaders. So far, his formula for well behaved dogs (exercise, discipline, and affection in that order) has been working really well with George. Now that we're having days and days of rain, and it's impossible to go walk him, he's been getting in to more trouble. I love the big crazy mutt, but I can't wait for him to mature a bit.

Next week, back to cold weather again, but at least it should be drier. I'm beginning to dream of spring.

Snow!

For those of us that grew up this far south, even a tiny bit of snow is an exciting event. My area got a little over an inch last night, and everyone around here, young and old alike, are celebrating.

These were taken last night, from our front doorstep, while the snow was still coming down.



And these were taken this morning.....




Oak tree glazed with snow and ice.

 

 

Our front yard.

 

 



Backyard sunrise this morning.



 

 



Ice lantern.



 



A bird's nest from last year, hidden away in
a blueberry bush and covered with snow.






Blueberry flower buds.




Snow, buds and sky.



Nestbox on the north side of our house,
with red blooming camellias in the snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger likes snow!



 Cold hammock.