Welcoming in the (Icy) New Year

 First Post of the Day

This meme fits us perfectly. We really did experience all these things across the state of Indiana two days ago.

(Apparently Illinois experienced them, too.)

The day was warm and humid and then a storm front came through.

With a cold front following it, high winds were screaming and soon tornado warnings were popping up, 

including one for us (the bottom red box on the map.) Nothing was confirmed; apparently it was a quick spin up that did not last. Grateful! (Unfortunately Illinois suffered some heavy tornado damage in a few towns.)

When the cold front blasted through, the temperatures dropped quickly causing wind gusts up to 50 mph. It howled around the house, and we kept the dogs on leashes when we took them out. (Although they declined several offers to leave the house - a rarity for Pepper and Tammo.)

When I got up at 5:00 the next morning, we had had an inch of snow and the wind chill was below zero.

That's Pepper you can barely see on the driveway - she came back inside quickly.

The snow was crunchy - we had had sleet before the precipitation turned all to snow. (That's why the snow is shiny.)

As the morning progressed, the winds died down but the temperature remained low with even lower wind chills for another day before it finally warmed up to the mid twenties.

I hibernated. With the ice that was under the snow coupled with the cold, I did not want to risk going outside. Craig didn't either, and neither dog complained about missing frisbee in the park. In fact, like us, they were reluctant to go out all day!

This morning isn't much better. After snow yesterday, then rain and sleet, I checked my weather app when I awoke and saw this:

They weren't kidding. When I stepped out onto the patio to let the dogs out, it was covered in ice. 

It's only January 1 and already I am so ready for winter to be over.

Having said all that, Happy New Year, ice and all! 

It's the Year of the Horse (beginning February 17) and I hope there is a horse for everyone in it, including me.

Today's Winter Doin's

Winter is dragging on, and it's only really been winter weather here for less than a week!

These are dangerously cold temperatures and schools all over central and western Indiana are either closed or on a two hour delay today. (And I would not be surprised if those on delay put out a second announcement that they will be closed after all.)

My horse fountain cum planter is situated over the crack of the patio where the two big slabs of concrete were poured and then joined.

The ground under one of the slabs has lifted up due to the cold weather and now my planter is leaning. That lifted edge is going to be a real tripping hazard if the ground does not settle down again, and as you might imagine, we don't want any more falls around here!

It took some work, but thanks to Sarah's suggestion on using the Ice Melt and hot water, I was able to get almost all of the blood off the front porch from Craig's fall.

No surprise since she is a nurse who lives in a place that gets snow like this:

Yes, that is her truck. She is on a road near Kent Park near her home in Iowa. Why is she out and about in this awful weather? 

Well, Sarah's hobby is wildlife photography and there are unique pictures of wildlife in the snow to be captured! So what if you have had two feet of snow and these extremely cold temperatures to deal with? (The model horse hobbyist in me sort of understands; the mom in me wants to tell her to forget the snowy owls, go home, and be safe!)

Meanwhile, the Tennessee branch of the family is in celebration mode.

Snow is rare in the Nashville area, but they have also been hit by this monster storm and got a few inches of the white stuff! (That's a very excited Susie.)

And with the cold air pushing in behind the snow,

it was announced yesterday that schools in their area would be closed until Thursday if not longer.

Meanwhile, back here in Indiana, Craig is doing better. Both eyes are now black and swollen, but he felt well enough to go to the eye doctor yesterday to get his glasses fixed. (They were badly scratched during his face plant.) Eating is still painful and the lump over his eye is very tender, but his headache is lessening and he has more energy than he did.

Life is resuming some normalcy despite the terrible cold outside, and I continue to sew and sort. 

Yesterday I finished the last of the 18th century chemises that I will be taking to Kalamazoo in March,

and I had to bring a table into my office to put all the models I am sorting out of my collection for selling or taking to swap meets. (I worked mostly on my sub-collection of Hartlands yesterday.)

Plans today are a bit in flux. Nashie and Molly will be here while Lisa is teaching. She has a doggy door in her home, but in this kind of weather she has concerns about leaving the back door open. It's just too cold.

So, we will have no privacy today,

will be asked to share anything and everything we eat,

and have more (very enthusiastic) help than we need in whatever we are doing.

But that's okay. Hibernating with dogs you love, who are great company and make you laugh, is just what Craig and I need today.