Everything stops around here when we have snow, and today we had snow over a covering of very slippery ice. All schools were closed. My husband went to work, but was home by 11:00 as the university was closed.
This is what greeted me when I opened the back door this morning:
Yes, that is all of two inches of snow.
We were a little worried about poor Jack out in the cold, until I hit on a solution. I have a heated rubber foot mat that can go under a desk, but I haven’t used it recently because I do most of my work in my chair with my feet up. So the kids set up the mat next to the back door stairs, where there is an outlet. Once he realized the mat was warm, he was quite happy to stay on it!
The kids, of course, spent a fair amount of time outside playing in the snow. Ten years ago, I would have been up at dawn and outside taking photos before everyone else got up and ruined the pristine surface of the snow. Today, I was content to huddle in my chair underneath a blanket and admire the snow from afar! All the activities I had planned to participate in were canceled.
When the intrepid mailman delivered the mail, one of the things that arrived was a larger-than-normal hot water bottle I had ordered some time ago during a previous cold snap. What a fortuitous happenstance! Within minutes of receiving it, the hot water bottle was filled with the hottest tap water and warming my back. It stays hot for quite a few hours!
The temperature was in the teens this morning and never got out of the twenties all day. There were many, many accidents on the roads in our area. Several police departments issued warnings to stay off the roads.
Since nothing melted, and since tonight temperatures are supposed to approach single digits, most area schools have been closed for tomorrow as well, including the university. (In the case of the university, it’s because the faculty doesn’t want to drive in to the campus. Most of the students are already there.)
Although it is chilly even in the house, we will be fine as long as we don’t lose power—which is apparently a real threat when so many people are trying to stay warm at once.
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