Hmmm..

The National Weather Service said, "This Afternoon: Widespread blowing snow and a chance of snow before 3pm, then widespread blowing snow after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 26. Wind chill values between -4 and 1. Windy, with a north northwest wind between 29 and 31 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%."

Huh.  I see your 30% and raise you 70%.   See the snow that's blown onto the sunporch floor?  Yeah.  There's high winds.

FH's business trip was canceled.  The planes are all grounded.

But we have power, water, heat, the Packers game, plenty of food, and each other.  Life is good.

A Breath of Spring

It's absolutely beautiful outside today. So fantastic that I've been unable to concentrate on anything but the weather. So here's Tempie in the sunshine being a happy bunny!

Open arms

On this holy day we reminded friends that if their power and water was still off once they got home they are more than welcome to pack up the 3-year old and come back for another night. Their front yard is a skating rink after a pipe burst under the yard. Fortunately it was on the water company's side of the meter and not theirs. High winds and ice took out branches, which in turn removed the power lines from the house. The power company wouldn't do anything until the tree trimmers came. The water company turned off service to repair the pipe.

Tree trimmers were working there late last evening. No clue if the water company has started repairs. As of 10pm last night there was still no power and no heat. It was cozy here last night with the five of us here. Munchkin played with the bunnies and two of the cats. The third kept her distance. Everything was great until she got herself so tired that she couldn't see straight and was so upset about not being in her own bed for the second night in a row. For her sake, and her parents' sanity, I hope they have power and heat today. Water would be a bonus.

If not, our arms are open and the spare bed has flannel sheets.

It's -25 F with the windchill.

Iceman cameth

Not the correct grammar, but I felt like trying to be clever. ;-)

The ice came and covered everything in a sparkling shell. I couldn't get pictures before the temperature rose to 34 degrees F though. Everything started melting by the time FH and I emerged from our cozy den.

He made it to work around noon. His boss and at least one other co-worker are without power. The office holiday party has been canceled for tonight. No word if we're rescheduling. It's supposed to be down to 7 degrees in the next 24 hours and the low on Sunday is projected at 1. Yes, 1. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and the temperature be below zero. I am sure with the windchill it will be there soon.

Off to stitch. And perhaps crochet.

Weather and Memes

I spent this morning shoveling our driveway and walk and my girl-friend's. her hubby is out of town for a funeral and I figured since she's working and has back problems I'd do something nice for her.

We're expecting about half an inch of ice here, starting at any moment. FH and I are hunkered down with the critters and hoping the power doesn't go out. Supplies are stocked, blankets are plentiful. Bring it on.

The shoveling left muscles swearing at me. They haven't been used like that since last winter. Given the greater frequency of fluffy white stuff here, they had better get used to it.

When I came in I read a meme over at Boulderneigh. It's the "Eight Things" meme and as I was reading along my mind starting answering the questions myself. So here are my answers:

My 8 favorite foods:
1. Hot, fresh bread... with or without real butter
2. Chocolate
3. Rare prime rib
4. Cakes
5. Boo-berry cereal
6. Garlic cheese bread
7. Cookies
8. Pies/tarts... same basic thing, different size ;-)

Things I did today:
1. Took my morning meds
2. Dug my Carhart coveralls out of the closet
3. Took my friend's dog out for a potty break
4. Shoveled 2 driveways and front walks
5. Mailed 56 holiday cards and one extra envelope to my mother
6. Bought embroidery floss
7. Framed a family picture taken on Thanksgiving
8. Braved a the grocery store

8 Favorite Stores:
1. Uniquely Yours, Rolla, MO
2. Kirkwood Hobby, Kirkwood, MO
3. Primitive at Heart, Pekin, IL
4. Hobby Lobby
5. Hobby Builders Supply
6. Tandy Leather Factory
7. Ewe-Nique Yarns, Morton, IL
8. The gift shop at the Field Museum in Chicago

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Balducci's, St.Louis, MO
2. The Scottish Arms, St. Louis, MO
3. Fogo de Chao, it's a chain, but it's oh-so good
4. The Busy Corner, Pekin, IL
5. Lion's Choice, all over parts of MO
6. La Posada, Rolla, MO
7. Erine's Family Restaurant, Pekin, IL
8. Fiesta Ranchero, Pekin, IL

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Watching FH's headlights pull in the driveway after work
2. Seeing my mini-friends back in St. Louis
3. Spending time with the Rendesvouzers
4. Time to meditate with a hot cup of Chai
5. Taking walks with FH on beautiful evenings
6. Visiting any of the above restaurants
7. Our first wedding anniversary
8. Day trips to Chicago

8 Things I like to do with family:

1. Play Spades
2. Work puzzles
3. Eat at any of the above restaurants
4. Fishing trips
5. Dune surfing back home at the White Sands
6. Barbeques
7. Go to museums
8. Watch football

8 Things on my wish list:

1. That FH and I have many, many happy and healthy years together
2. Being able to buy a home in the country
3. Getting a puppy
4. Having horses
5. Space to actually organize the fiber crafts and doll house things in two separate spaces
6. Room for FH to have his forge set up again
7. Our pets to get healthy and stay healthy
8. An outdoor, predator-proof, escape-proof play area for the bunnies

8 People I'm tagging:
If I did that I would be pelted with real and virtual snowballs. I think I will pass on that. Although I would love to see what FH and Sheep Geek have to say.

Ice, confessions

I'm sitting on the couch with two of the three cats. We're listening to the ice fall outside and the gusts of wind that hammer the house every few minutes. Ears change directions almost constantly and the older of the two is staying very close to me. It's been a long time since they've experienced weather like this. They have taken turns stalking the noises at the base of the front door.

My wonderful FH pulled my snowman wreath inside this morning so it wouldn't get blown away. I need to thank him again in the morning. I don't think it would still be in one piece if it was still on the door outside.

Today was mostly a lazy day. We watched the Steelers-Ravens game and had a pizza for dinner. Then FH played some old-school Tribes 2 on the desktop PC while I watched the Cowboys-Giants game. Both were pretty good games to watch. Turnovers abounded and made things interesting. I don't like shutouts unless the Packers are winning or the Jets are loosing.

I confess. I'm a rabid Packers fan and I absolutely detest Farve for going to the Jets after he played his Perot-style game of "I'm retiring. Wait! No I'm not." What really makes me want to spit nails is knowing that when he makes it to the Hall of Fame it will be with a Jets jersey. The whole issue is an illustration of bad form.

I'm also the football fan of the house. We have a great system. I watch the games and he does a good chunk of the cooking. Especially since he loves to cook. Sometimes he even brings me meals on the couch! Of course I bring him treats while he plays computer games. It all evens out. ;-)

I hate folding laundry alone and I depise dealing with hanging clothes. I have no idea why. I will happily deal with whatever disgusting laundry issue life throws at me. I don't mind sorting and schlepping dirty clothes to the machines. But clean clothes? Nope. Odd , isn't it?

Give me rabbit cages over catboxes any day. They're actually the source of the most disgusting laundry issues. I still prefer their dwellings when it comes time to scoop and change.

I'm still unsure how I became the one in charge of writing checks for the bills and balancing the checkbook. But it gets done and we've never bounced a check so I'm rolling with it.

A little bit of clutter is something that I don't mind. I grew up in a house with a depressed mother that cleaned in spurts around the holidays when she cleaned. I hate filth. Clutter I can deal with. Filth is something else. Clutter means a house is lived in. It's real and not a setting on television. Filth means vermin and disgusting smells.

I believe I have discerned the point at which men and women can define themselves as "beginning to feel old." For men it's when the high school girls sports team that comes into the restuarant is less attractive than their coaches and mothers. For women it's when we begin to fantascise about getting new major appliances. For the record, I'm beginning to feel old. I'm dreaming about a new washer and dryer. I also have been lusting after a new gas range and a double decker oven. Those have to wait until we own a house.

Speaking of houses, I really hope that when we own one it is no where close to the St. Louis area. We have family there. We have friends there. But there are just too many people there. I lived for eight beautiful years in Rolla, Missouri and the town was just right for me. I would attempt to go back except the USGS office there was going to be closed. Not that I could work as a geologist anyway.

I'm a pathetic geologist when compared to my gradating classmates. I spent too much time studying biology and counting types of fossilized pollen in slides. Give me sediment that can contain bones and I'm happy. Give me rock that I can dissolve away to reveal microfossils and I'm good. Ask me to identify a specific variety of clay, then I'm off to the lab and my library to test it and look things up. Beyond being able to tell you, "it's clay," by sticking my tounge on it you won't get anything else unless I have a chance to look something up or dump bits of it into chemicals. My classmates however were brilliant with geology. All but one of them were clueless by choice in the realm of "ancient life." There was another gal who did a lot of time in the paleo classes with me. But at night she wasn't there counting microfossils and eating meals brought by someone else. Nope. That was me. The glutton for punishment.

As much as I love all things miniture I'm getting very little joy out of it right now. It's become something that makes me lonely for the friends I had before I moved. The ones who could inspire me to create. The people here are nice, but we don't really "play" together.

I'm avoiding my sewing machine like the plague. I'm supposed to be making bassinet sheets for a friend who could pop any day. I really, really don't want to sew right now. I also need to make FH a new shirt for Rendezvous. I should make some moccasins too. But right now I would rather just stitch, knit, and crochet.

There are days I wish FH had an accent different than my own. Mine's a mixture of the basic Midwestern with some Mississippi thrown in. It usually doesn't come out unless I'm yelling though. Sometimes he slips into a drawl just to tease me. It's fun. He's teased me right out of being angry before. That's a happy thing.

I avoid going to sleep when FH heads to bed becase I know it's hard for him to get to sleep if I'm there. He needs complete quiet some nights. He even wears earplugs, which bothers me. Some noises at night should be heard...smoke and CO alarms, breaking glass, etc. This way I'm not distracting on a couple of levels and my natural tendancy to be more nocturnal gets to be free. I'm only diurnal on a daily basis if someone needs my help or is paying me.

I think that's enough for one night. The wind is dying down for the moment and I can't hear the ice anymore. The cats are calm again. All is right with their world. I think it's time to let them back into the room with the "big, soft place" and them them asume their usual places around us. I know after these three are gone I shouldn't let pets sleep with us anymore. They wake him up alot. But these three are geeting older and their whole lives have been spent sleeping with their "mom" at night. FH is an understanding man.