Lewis Black had a whole comic routine based on weather predictions by monkeys throwing darts a boards because he figured that wouldn't be any less accurate and would save money. Then everyone would be less unhappy because "The weather man is a monkey, so what are you going to do?" Sometimes it feels that way.

Oh, and the number one vehicle found in ditches in our area???? Pick up trucks. 4 wheel drive pick up trucks. This is because the "I have a big truck with 4 wheel drive" gives the drivers the bravado without the back up of skills. So they drive like bats out of you no where and end up stranded or wrecked. Meanwhile, we little Chevy Equinox/Ford Taurus/Dodge Dart/Sienna mini van kind of people putt putt, stay off the brakes and keep distance so we can simply get off the accelerator to react to people ahead of us, don't overdrive for the conditions, and stay home when it isn't fit for man nor beast, and are NOT in the ditch.

Insulation is such a big thing. Codes need to be updated, and there should be public assistance for getting homes insulated to much higher standards. In the end, it will be better for everyone. Heating and cooling costs and fossil fuel use to provide both of those go way down when insulation is done properly. Money is saved in the long term when people are safe in their own homes. We seem to be a country that prefers the reactionary, expensive post apocalypse response instead of "an ounce of prevention".

😂😂😂 Awesome! I woule.be tempted to order door dash, and then deliver it to his fort just for funsies.

I am always impressed with Huntsville. It just seems to be a city that has it's act together compared to so many places we have lived.

Oh boy, son in law is stuck in Fort Wayne. His flight to Detroit apparently had a fuel leak, and they had to emergency land because they were running out of fuel. The Fort Wayne airport is a puddle jumper kind of tiny airport, and not made for stranded travelers. He is in a very long line waiting for a chance to speak with the only person representing his airline that can possibly find him a flight to anywhere. We can't get to him, though it is only five hours away, because we would not make it back before the blizzard and white outs hit. We told him to demand they put him in a taxi, or shuttle van back to Indianapolis because that airport is much more robust, and should at least be able to get him home to Huntsville if they can get him to Albany. He was supposed to leave Tuesday, and we thought he had, but due to an emergency thing at work, he changed his flight to today. Not good. He may end up back home and alone for the holidays.

I am too. They have been there since the 9th (son in law flying in today), and frolicking like crazy. She says they come in to eat, use the bathroom, and bam, right back outside. Their are multiple zany snowmen in the yard, and grandpa D has been compelled numerous times to go heft around huge snowballs that N makes and can't pick up. Having spent the summer and fall caring for my grandboys while their mother recovered from covid, I can honestly say I sincerely hope they don't kill their grandfather! I swear if I could hook N and C up to the electrical system of their house, they would power everything!

It is definitely problematic. Our daughter was trying to find snow gear for our grandsons because they are spending Christmas with family in the Albany, NY region. Northern Alabama stores and thrift have none. I looked around here, and really what was available was junk, not worthy of anything below 30°, and most of it not waterproof. I got lucky and managed to find ski coats and pants on ebay, and we just cringed at the price and bought Columbia boots for them from the outlet center here then shipped them to their NY grandparents. They bought hats, scarves, socks, and mittens. I did manage to buy nice, warm pajamas at the thrift store here and shipped those as well. The grandsons normally sleep in t shirts and boxers, but grandma and grandpa's house is drafty, and the heat is set at 65 due to the cost of fuel so I figured their usual sleep garb was NOT going to cut it. Grandson wanted a sleeping bag so he could sleep outside in the snow! We said, nope. His mother said something along the lines of, "Son I was raised in the snow and ice and am NOT willing to sleep out in this. You for sure are not allowed to do it!" I love his sense of adventure, but she has her hands full with that one because he is a Bear Grylls wannabe.

Thank you! I get tired of the smug attitude that is, "We deal with worse, sucks to be you you pansy!" attitude. If nothing else, have some concern for the many kids who are going to get hit with this, and whose parents are too poor to buy them Carhart, REI, LLBean, Columbia, Lands End parkas. These kids have frostbite warnings on the west side of my state and no good gear. I just want people to be safe, and after two years of pandemic holidays and people constantly trying to weigh options and figure out what to do and how to do it safely, now the triple demic and insane weather, the country is weary. We need to remember to have mercy.

Good news! The Moose Lodge announced they will be open as a warming center. The folks at the Moose Lodge are very civic minded people. When we had our rocket trqk, they would put on fundraising dinners for them and give a big donation. Very kind hearted folk. They made their announcement on the county community page and asked everyone to get the word out while they change their sign out front. They said they will have all their volunteers in place by 5 pm, and throughout the night will have hot cocoa, tea, coffee, soups, bread, and baked potatoes. Such wonderful people! The manager of the new Aldi is donating food supplies. We have some extra throw pillows that we do not use, and some wool blankets that are also just spares because I have made numerous quilts for the house. We are going to take them over there as soon as someone can meet us. I figure if other folks in the community will also pitch in then they will be able to bundle up anyone who is chilled as they arrive. Our county, square mileage wise, is large so there need to be more centers. My hope is that on the south side of the county which is quite remote, the Knights of Columbus Hall will open.

We planted a pomegranate tree at the Alabama house and have high hopes!

Yesterday: Breakfast burritos of scrambled eggs, grilled veggies, cheddar cheese in wraps. Lunch: tomato soup, left over potatoes and green beans from my mom who had entertained friends and cooked way too much. Dinner: I made a big chicken pot pie heavy on veggies, green beans, peas, celery, carrote, potatoes, and some finely shredded spinach but not a lot of that last one. I used one chicken breast, cooked and shredded, and made a milk gravy, homemade GF double pie crust, lots of herbs. It was very yummy, and big. I used my deep dish tart pan. So... Wednesday: we ate the chicken pot pie for lunch. Breakfast: oatmeal (not my favorite thing in the world by any stretch but Mark loves it) with a little maple syrup, and then fruit. Dinner: Spinach and parmesan stuffed jumbo portabella mushrooms with turkey bacon bits, leftover beef/vegetable stew which I had made for our mothers, and small salads. Aldi had nice greens so I picked up enough to get us through the storm. I was pleased. The new Aldi has produce that is world's better condition than the other grocery stores.

I am just glad ds graduated. He went to university in the U.P., and since we had three kids in college at one time on three different campuses, we just couldn't have cars for everyone. So I did four years of winter round trips, TDay, XMas, and S.Break. the number of times I ended up skating in on a wing and prayer, and then stuck in hotels with him due to blizzards was more than I care to think about. I love the U.P. so three season of the year, but NOT winter. So I can honestly say I am very, very thankful not to be driving back and forth from the "200 of snow" region! KungFu, that is amazing! You must be so tired. I hope tomorrow is just super quiet for you. We got all 20 face cord of wood in before Thanksgiving, and I am grateful for that. It hits here at 4 pm tomorrow or supposedly. It is so hard to tell on this side of the state because sometimes it stalls in the middle which makes it hard to predict. Is it going to get cold enough in North Florida to kill cities trees?

Theoretically we have an EMO. Their budget is, well, less than tiny shall we say.

No. Churches here are, well, not prone to community outreach or participation. 200 churches in the county. Not a single one open for warming.

He better not be out there practicing! The area he is in has warned folks that there will be zero visibility after 4 pm tomorrow, and no one is coming for anyone who is stranded. Roads are going to flashfreeze and the bomb cyclone of an inch or more per hour and 55 mph winds. The most experienced drivers will still be in accidents. He can practice some other time. Some roads are going to be closed, and the city is closing offices early. The road his company is on is outside of the city, rural, and low, and expected to flash freeze. Nope. He can get himself home early before that happens and stay inside! Mark is making bagels because I got the wood done, and he is thrilled. His bagels are yummy yummy! So I am patting myself on the back 😁

In our part of Michigan, most storms do not dump more than 6" at a time, and we do not often get white out conditions. Other parts of Michigan are more used to be absolutely hammered on a regular basis. In the U.P., snowmobile ownership is very high, and kids coming and going from school by snowmobile is a thing. 12" is really more than our county can handle in 48 hours because the road commission budget is so low. Due to the area dying economically, it isn't going up any time soon so if this becomes a regular occurrence with climate change, schools are going to have to make virtual school the norm for winter, and the pivot would be to in person instead of the opposite. We have no homeless shelters nor warming centers in the county either, and there are definitely homeless folks here.

I hope all of you stay safe!

While Mark ran errands for the moms to make sure they would have everything they need if we can't get to them, I stacked four days of wood next to the boiler shed on pallets up off the ground so the bottom row won't freeze to the ground, and got it all secured under tarps so all Mark will need to do is snow blow a path from the back door, and wood will be at our fingertips. He was pretty happy when he saw that. We are cooking chicken breasts in the boiler tonight, and will have that with roast veggies done in there as well, and baked potatoes from the oven. He is doing extra so we can have it chopped up on salads tomorrow. Our plan for the next few days is to do a lot of grilling in the boiler. I am also going to make spinach artichoke dip for Christmas Eve. Since we have postponed festivities and probably won't be able to get to the moms on Christmas Eve, which is sad because they will be alone but it is not going to be fit to be out, we have them set up with some oldie Christmas movies like "The Bishop's Wife" on streaming, and instructions on how to find them with the remote. I took three quarts of different hearty soups/stews to them, fresh rolls, chopped fresh pineapple chunks, tangelos, and my cheesy broccoli casserole all in single servings in microwave worthy containers. This way they can have good food, not cook, and hunker down until we can get to them. Mark and I will have to snow blow and shovel two full country blocks and a long driveway to get to my mom, and the drifting is expected to be 2 ft deep on her street so though we could hike down there, it is going to be crazy (especially for my 28" inseam legs) and of course shoveling out the door. We are getting freezing rain first so the hope is we can just stay home. His mom isn't reachable until the county plows and her road is not a priority unless an ambulance needs to get down there. Once plowed, it will take 3 hours of snow blowing and shoveling to get to her door. If the road is passable by 4 wheel drive pick up truck, we do have an acquaintance from her church who lives about a mile away who would try to get to her in an emergency. Mostly, she is on her own unless the situation is bad enough to warrant EMS because she refused to come stay with us or my mom. Stubborn as a mule. Mark and his brother are not happy with her. Sigh. She has a fireplace and we stacked wood inside, all small logs. She is capable of keeping a fire going if she loses electricity/heat. All of the adult bachelors have purchased food, drinking water, dura flame logs for their apartment fireplaces, batteries for their flashlights, and candles. Youngest son who is the electrical engineer was informed by his manager that he is to leave at noon tomorrow and get back to the apartment before it gets bad out. He knows that ds doesn't have a ton of experience yet on bad roads because he didn't have a car on campus. I am glad he is looking out for him! Middle boy (roommate with youngest) is a research assistant, and the research team decided that no one is going in tomorrow or Friday. Eldest boy works remote as an editor. He is about an hour and half away, and the roads between here and there will be just awful. So he isn't going anywhere. I guess we have our ducks in a row.

We are expecting about 10" so when it stops and Mark can snowblow his mom's driveway (after the road is plowed), we are going to play with the sled on her little hill in the back yard. 54 and 58 years old, and sledding. Empty nesting might be causing us to regress! 😂😂😂

We called him and forgot that the cats are home, and the neighbor has the key and is feeding them. He had left that heat at 64, so everything should be okay! Thanks!!

I have trouble getting any kind of bulk slicing or canning/slicing tomato to produce more than just three or four tomatoes per plant, but the cherry tomatoes are absolutely prolific. I am trying again one last time, and besides compost, plan on using some tomato fertilizer in the raised beds for the San Marzanos in the hopes they flourish. But I know that there is a good chance I am off to the Mennonite farm store and orchard for two bushels of sauce tomatoes in the fall. I am also only willing to try by growing from seed myself because buying 15 tomato plants is now getting expensive, and don't want to spend that money when the probability of success is low. I will start them indoors in April, put them out the third weekend of May, and cover them at night if it is going to be too cool. Or, I might totally bomb the whole endeavor since I have never tried starting my own plants from seed!

Sounds like our house on the mount is going to see snow. Normally our grandsons would be excitee, but they are in Albany, NY currently and frolicking in majors snow!

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I am really nervous about this. Son in law just left for New York for Christmas with his parents. Dd and grandsons are already there. I don't know if he left the heat on. Pipes are in the basement.