staying warm, winter of 15-16

So is it winter yet? We had our first flurries Saturday and just a light sprinkle of white on the ground. I had company this weekend, which motivated me to clean up the piles of papers and the boxes of books. I still have a box of books sitting out from the Trinity book sale last month, and my guest gladly sorted through it and took a short pile home with her. I cleared the piles away from the fireplace so that I can safely turn the gas flames on.

I even managed to disappear the papers that had been stacking up on the couch near where I sit. And then when I was alone again, pulled them out and diligently attempted to file or dispose of them.

Has anyone ever tried to put audio books on the DVD player? I might try that so that I can listen while I do some hand sewing.

I have a Walmart cheapie DVD and can listen to music CD's on it...I'd say give it a whirl!

My standard way of listening to music CDs is through the DVD player and the TV.

Good. Because my laptop cannot keep the tracks in order.

Perhaps there's a problem with the filenames? windows 'helps' you with displaying 1,2,3 before 10,20,30, but other programs will sort 1,10,2,20 etc.

Either try a different player (VLC, MPC-HC) or try renaming?

My cousin and I went for a walk today. We stopped because we got too hot....

We've got torrential rains here in West Virginia.

My other daughter and her new husband and the granddogs finally arrived. The grandkids climb all over Uncle Nate and strike financial deals. We're all wearing paper crowns or weird plastic antennae. Conversation ranges all over the map. Lots of laughter. It's a very good holiday.

Spring here, this morning...temps in the 60's.

Winter is arriving later, should go below freezing later today...a 30 degree drop. Ugh.

>9 fuzzi: mixed feelings. Supposed to go skiing for the first time next weekend, so colder should be better. I think. Not at all sure skiing is a good idea.

The winds here in WV are so strong today that I'm finding strips of paint in the yard. It's scouring my siding.

>11 2wonderY: that's crazy. It's headed this way...

>11 2wonderY: It's snowy and windy here, but it's not that bad!

>10 MDGentleReader: I hope you enjoy your skiing experience! I've never tried it—I prefer to stay warm.

Admittedly, the paint had begun to peel on it's own in a couple of places.

I can still remember a winter day in childhood after sledding. My clothing was completely soaked, and the half block walk home was a misery. I don't think I got completely warm again until college when I discovered down jackets.

Here in the south of England winter definitely hasn't arrived yet. We can count on one hand the number of frosty days so far. Cherry blossom and daffodils are blooming and the birds are singing. If we do get a long cold spell then nature is going to have a nasty shock. Meanwhile, the north of England and Scotland have had severe flooding, absolutely devastating some communities. It's a very strange year ...

Our snow is gone, mostly anyway, but I'd better get my winter tyres on. At least I can drive to school tomorrow. Normally I don't drive anyway when there's snow, but still better to have them on.

We have a winter tyre requirement from Nov 1 to Easter. Fines can be quite high if you are out in wintery roads during that period in summer tyres. It's an easy way of punishing those who block traffic. So if you are planning to drive through Austria in the winter time, be sure to have winter tyres. It's amazing the number of people who ignore the fact that crossing Austria, even by super highway, involves crossing the Alps. And even one car (not to mention trucks) that gets stuck on a slope means the snow plows can't get through.

It's very windy and nippy in my little new jersey town, and I cannot feel my toes. Time for a hot bath, methinks.

The kids have had two days off school, and some roads were closed, but things are clearing up now. It finally feels like winter is here!

It's finally turned cold here in the southeast of England - not by North American standards, or even by comparison with our usual winter temps, but because until now it's been so mild it feels much colder than it really is. I used my hot water bottle the other night for the first time since last winter.

>10 MDGentleReader: be safe. I never tried downhill, though cross-country skiing interested me at one time.

>14 2wonderY: :chuckling: Been there, done that!

Generally mild in Southwest Missouri (rumor has it that will change over the weekend), but it's bone-chilling cold in the creaky old 1917 building where I work. Old high school subdivided into offices with lots of character, but irregular and unpredictable heating and cooling. The AC may pop on when it's 30 degrees outside. Most of us have personal arsenals of fleece blankets, snugglies, and sweatshirts to accommodate the 15 layer changes a typical day may require!

Cold (43F) and raining in the piedmont of North Carolina!

Nice day for a book by the fire with a cat and a cup of tea.

It was blustery here this morning, but another patron reports it's up to 50F. Good. I just got my vehicle back from the body shop and I want to do a thorough interior cleaning before I load it up again with tools and other stuff. I live out of my car.

>22 nrmay: it's headed this way...

Apparently Emma is heading this way. The people who are involved with skiing will be pleased. It's been decades since I last tried downhill. About 15 years since I last put on cross country skis for 5 or 10 minutes. I don't need that white stuff.

Cold, rainy, and very windy here: the traffic lights were swinging beyond a 45 degree angle at an intersection close to home. The roads are also littered with branches and other debris...good night to stay home!

>26 fuzzi: Oh My! I've had a rather wet winter here in northern Florida

My husband informs me

a) That the amount of light coming in my roof window is due to the sun reflecting off roofs and lawns

b) That the birds in the garden are complaining that they are reduced to eating peanuts because SOMEONE has not refilled the suet ball holders



Somehow the combination does not sound like a good recipe for staying warm this morning. And, of course, if this keeps up there soon won't be any peanuts, either. Of course there is still the jar of peanut butter mixed with lard on the shed, but that doesn't seem to appeal. I think that is too close to the house. I wonder if there is a way to attatch it to the fence. It sits in a little house that has a hole in the back to go over a screw.

Oh, yes, I have refilled everything, and chased off the cat that was hiding under the bushes. Sorry, this bird buffet is meant to be a buffet for the birds and not a buffet of birds for cats.

(Got the picture problems sorted.)

>28 MarthaJeanne: wow, a new-to-me woodpecker!

This is our normal one. German is Buntspecht. English is Great Spotted Woodpecker. This is the male.

In the meantime the frosting is off the lawn, the sun is gone, and the birds are also elsewhere.

Everything is covered with ice this morning. There was a layer of snow, then freezing rain, and it is supposed to snow more in the next couple of days. Ice sandwiches!

57 degrees and sunny!
Time to get out for a walk on the greenway.

Raining and gray here, in the low 50's. Damp inside as well as outside. A good day for drinking tea, but not motivating for other things.

My Sweetie still isn't home from work. It is 10:20pm here. He pulled over. I am very, very glad to be safely home. Think I'll stay home Friday - that is when the blizzard is supposed to start.

Was 0F Monday morning and -2F Tuesday morning on the mountain where we stayed - south of here.

Survived my first skiing!!!

Stay safe everyone.

>32 SylviaC: ice sandwiches might be fun for children playing house - no good on the roads and areas where folks need to walk.

>35 MDGentleReader: Did you enjoy skiing enough to want to repeat the experience?

Hope it clears up enough soon for your Sweetie to drive safely home. Both of you batten down the hatches and cozy up together this weekend!

>37 SylviaC: my nieces enjoyed it enough that my brother wants to make it an annual thing. I flunked ski boot walking, my calves hurt before I left the lodge and did not ski the next day. We made much better progress learning to ski than our instructor expected.

Have I mentioned that I am afraid of heights? I thought (sometimes aloud) that it was a ridiculous thing I was doing each time I went down the hill. Only fell once, though.

>37 SylviaC: we live in different states and I'll need to stay here to keep the sidewalk clear - it's the law. He'll stay in his condo with his car nice and clear of snow in the garage.

>35 MDGentleReader: he's home! Maybe I can settle down now and get some sleep. I'll probably be able to catch up on threads this weekend. Wo't be going anywhere.

>37 SylviaC: just looked at the map - looks you won't be getting the blizzard! Very glad, you've had enough.

>39 MDGentleReader: Well, that's no fair! If you have to have a blizzard, you should at least be able to cuddle!

>42 SylviaC: true. If no one shows up at his place Sat for board gaming, we'll play Agricola on our iPads.

>35 MDGentleReader: Oh! I've always wanted to try skiing, but never enough to suffer the public embarrassment. Cross country skiing would be more my style.

Had to keep pulling off the road last evening on the way home from work to clear the frost build-up from the windshield. Inside air was blasting heat where it was supposed to, but the frigid wind froze it as fast as it defrosted. And yes, the road surface was similarly frosted.

>38 MDGentleReader: glad you survived skiing! Your fear was probably a good thing: it made you more careful.

Be warm, be safe!

We're supposed to get some freezing rain tomorrow morning, but then all rain, and lots of it. That works for me...not that we need more rain, but it's better than snow and ice. Everything shuts down when we get winter weather.

Interesting picture of ice formations above my pond. I took it without flash, but with Maglite.

Whoa! très cool!

>46 fuzzi:

I like it!

I hope all the blizzard people stay warm and safe!

>49 SylviaC: yes, stay inside and READ. ;)

Well, the snow just reached the mid-Ohio Valley, and it's coming down in a serious fashion. I'm going home now, stocked up with all that the library had to offer today.

>51 2wonderY: I wish I'd stocked up a bit more. Oh, well - plenty of puzzles. Neither of us made it home before the snow started, but we did get home before the roads got bad. Running the dishwasher, washing machine, charging Kindle, iPad, cell phone, external batteries. We are in an area "likely to lose power". Brought my outdoor pantry closer to the back door.

>51 2wonderY: >52 MDGentleReader: glad you made it home. Nowit's time to hunker down...and read...

>53 fuzzi: did you get ice? Are you expecting snow?

We got sleet and freezing rain, which turned to rain, and now heavy rain. We could get severe weather (thunderstorms)!! It's just above freezing, very cold, and we are supposed to get a couple inches of SNOW on the tail end, tomorrow.

How about you? You started twisting hay to burn for warmth, yet? (Literary reference) ;)

>55 fuzzi: Not twisting hay yet. Turned up the heat in case the power goes out. I have a very small supply of firewood. Laura got really good at hay twisting.

I am so very glad we did not get freezing rain, or even rain. Just snow, snow, snow. Hard to tell how much with all the blowing. If you add up each hour, the forecasts have consistently added up to 18 inches, but today I see another 3 hours of inch/hour snow has been added to the end. That and the really strong winds midday are what will cause the power outages I think.

The wind won't even die down enough to shovel until tomorrow morning. I might try for a walk around 6, before the heavy snow starts and after the really strong winds (up to 49mph!).

I slept for almost 12 hours last night. Worked really long hours earlier in the week and went for a walk in the snow yesterday.

>51 2wonderY: Still snowing where you are?

>56 MDGentleReader: I had a feeling you (and other lovers of TBSL books) would get the hay reference. The Long Winter is probably my favorite book of the series.

Let the wind do what it may, it could help with the eventual snow-removal process! Hopefully it won't leave you without power.

I'm so glad our part of the storm lacks the wind. That's when it gets even more treacherous.

I shoveled 5 inches yesterday and 8 more today. It's still snowing in a steady relentless way here and supposedly will until about 7 this evening. No one else on my street has been out with shovels yet, but I was able to walk in a tire track out to plowed streets. Walked to the nearby Wendy's restaurant for the chili fries and the WiFi. Only slipped and fell once. Landed on my mouse.

I like the slower pace of times like these and the fact that strangers will look at each other and even speak pleasantly.

>58 2wonderY: it is more peaceful isn't it? And everyone is so friendly. There is a sense that we are all in this together that is normally lacking. I am glad that there is no wind where you are.

My SIL said that this area may come out okay because most folks stayed home. NY and PA are in trouble, though. There is going to be much more snow up that way than originally predicted.

Be careful out there!

I saw my lawn service outside with their snow blowers and shovels and wimped out. They'll dig me out. I told them no hurry, wait until the wind stops. I went out to the car for my snow goggles and snow was mid thigh at first, then down to over the knee - you cannot tell where I walked on my sidewalk now.

We seem to have dodged Jonas' bullet. Aside from a bunch of branches blown down all over the yard, this was the only damage I could find, so far...



Look at what the wind did to my reflectors!

>61 fuzzi: wow!

ETR: I'd reported on my sidewalk here already.

>60 MDGentleReader: I'm glad you have someone to dig you out! I'd been worrying about you having to do all that shovelling by yourself.

>63 SylviaC: it feels a bit like I am wimping out, but it is a LOT of snow and just me and a grain scoop. The snow is still coming down and the wind is still piling it in drifts.

>64 MDGentleReader: let the young, strong males do the shoveling and snow-blowing, after the wind dies down.

Do either you or >58 2wonderY: still have power?

>65 fuzzi: did not lose power. The snow was all of the light, fluffy variety. I am very, very grateful. Did you lose power?

>66 MDGentleReader: I am glad to hear it! No, we were fine, not even a flicker.

Anyone hear from Ruth? Walking to Wendy's for Wifi sounds like her power is out...

>67 fuzzi: I did not make that assumption, but I can't think of concrete evidence to back it up.

It just means I'm too cheap to pay for internet.

We've got dense cold today, but also sunshine. The few pavements that had been cleared are dry. So after the plow came through and packed snow back alongside my car, I went out and shoveled it back into the street to be smashed again and drain away. I cleared enough of an exit to pull out and drove to Wendy's today to give my parking spot time to dry.

I hiked to church this morning, mostly in the streets. I got a ride home. (2+ miles) We just got a new roof on the church, but this morning we had to mop and put a bucket down where the roof changes slope. Oops! Also noticed huge icicles, so the roof is not adequately insulated.

Even north GA had snow and wind gusts as Jonas flicked its tail at us. Pond froze, birdbath solid ice, and white powdery stuff accumulated and lasted 'til this morning. Icy cold last night; so glad to have a new kiva fireplace and Lime Spouse who knows how to keep a wood fire going.

Toasty, cosy, drowsy, and looking forward to a warm-up.

Be safe, warm, and well all good people of LT!

In theory I could drive somewhere. My street is a little slpipy though and the main neighborhood streets are one lane. If you meet someone, you'd have to back up. Uner normal conditions I meet folks all the time. Fortunately, I just foudn out that I do not have to go to work tomorrow. They called off midnight and day shift both at once. Often we have to wait until 4 am or so to find out. If I was really dedicated, I'd check my e-mail to see if I was approved for the alternate work site. Maybe tomorrow I'll check.

Sleepy now. Everyone on my street got things cleared off, so I felt that I needed to as well. Fortunately a couple of young men approached and were willing to shovel. At their direction I drove that snow covered car out into the street (completely blind) and got the snow off. Needed to rescue a large bush that was pretty much flattend, though. Hard work. The plow came by a bit later and plowed it away. That is the same plow that was stuck on our street overnight one night. They brought a small front loader today to move the snow. There is a lot of it. Outside of my back door behind the small overhand it is at least waist deep - a lot of blowing snow. At least it is all very light still. Yaawnnn.

Well, I got into work this morning and the building is vacant except for me. Perhaps I missed a text message. Where IS my phone?!

The roads are all clear today: I had no problems.

Yeah! Everyone's okay.

FYI: if any of you do use a public Wifi, be very careful, as hackers routinely gather information that way. I recently read an article about it, where the author sat in a Starbucks with a hacker, who showed him how easy it was...and said many do it all the time...ouch.

>72 2wonderY: That is annoying. Did you stay and get some work done? Glas that you had no trouble getting in.

>73 fuzzi: Yes, a very good thing.

Back to work for me today - delayed opening. My Sweetie and many other folks in the area are still off. The call is for freezing rain in the NW part of the area. Not good.