Hype is not what it's hyped to be

Case in point, last Sunday's snowstorm I blogged about  prior to it's arrival. 18 – 24 inches in my region was the forecast. Ended up being maybe 8 inches. Not complaining I did snowblow the driveway twice and cleaned up other areas on that second pass. Happening on a Sunday worked out well also. Things stayed very cold with single digits early in the week afterwards until Thursday when the temps zoomed up to the 40 and 50s range and heavy rains dominated the day. Any fresh snow from earlier was washed completely away with some of the previously fallen snow. Since then temps have been rather seasonal in the teens. May get a dusting overnight with the possibility of snow-rain mid week. Waiting to see spring on the horizon.

Armageddon!?! the Apocalypse!?! could it be the Cataclysm!?!!?! No, just a snow storm

The most common meme running through FB the last day or so has been images of panicked shoppers stocking up on milk, bread and toilet paper because of a snow storm approaching. While there may be some truth to peoples behavior for such an event the weather forecasters and their news counterparts sure can ratchet folks up a few notches. Not that one should ignore preparing for the weather in these parts especially when you may be getting 18 - 24 inches of snow. Check your snowthrower, is there gas in it? Shovels handy, dressing warm when you go out... don't drive into a ditch if you need to be out and about. Now that the snow will be arriving in the next few hours certainly by midnight and projected to snow all day tomorrow then well into early Monday morning we are settled in. Though there will be plenty of clean up to do there is the aspect of watching snow falling and the wind blowing it around. The birds will arrive for quick bites at the feeders and I'll make a couple of forays into the storm to keep the end of the driveway cleared as the plow truck drivers will create one heck of a snow challenge to reach the roadway.

Better to be busy than bored

A busy day working on several proposals with a steady stream of edits, changes and such. I have at least five proposals I'm doing graphics for while some incoming projects lie in wait for the end of the week then into Monday. Did sneak out at lunch time for a walk around town, pretty brisk but nice to out and abouts. Huge storm on it's way from across the country to begen Saturday night run through most of Sunday. Snowthrowing in the dark. Gas up the beast before the storm arrives.

these things happen... too often

Woke at 3am, not a spec of light other than the stars that shine bright. The power is out. Little cool in the bedroom, not unusual as we keep the temperature upstairs set at 62 degrees year round. Set the alarm on my phone to 4:45 in lieu of the alarm clock not operating. Figured no sense in doing anything about the power until the usual time at which I got up, dressed, donned coat, boots, hat and gloves. Headed out to the garage and rolled the generator out to the deck, took a few tugs on the pull cord to wake it up, wired it up to the house electric system. Heat, fridge, toaster, running water. The wonders of modern tech using the cellphone to find outage resolution times from the power delivery company to be 6am, later it updated to 7am - ended up being 7:15. That's the routine - hope some day to have a standby generator installed, until then it's the old fashion way.

A happily at home weekend

The report of my cold's impending death was an exaggeration. It still lingers to this day and until further notice I'll have to live with it. In spite of that I made it to Saturday and Sunday where the forecasts of the weather people have been accurate, clear and cold. I'm good with that. Other than a shopping trip it has been a stay at home weekend capped off with NFL playoff football games, 2 each Sat. and Sun. Watched the most recent Mission Impossible movie, freed the ice encrusted truck and some other general to do tasks. Maybe try it again next weekend.

Two fur

OK, two crappy snow-rain storms in two days, doesn't sound like a bargain to me. Puts me in a similar situation as I had in mid December, more ice than I throw a case of Chivas Regal at. So today I celebrated a clear and cold day, the roads and highways are dry. Though icy the driveway is navigable and for the foreseeable week ahead more or less the same. For approaching mid-January I have no weather complaints. Even my cold seems to be receding but I won't hold my breath on that until I am 4 to 5 days cough and sniffle days free.

Good TV, don't bet on it.

The Prez followed by the loyal opposition are on tonight. After a good day's work and then clearing out the snow that fell earlier I think hitting the sack will win the day.

Go with the snow

Something to look forward to, now wondering how I'm going to manage it. Unfortunately it will be after it happens and then some. Starts in my location after midnight, should be 2  - 3 inches by the time I get up at 4:45am, add another inch or 2 before it changes over to rain then maybe a lull into the evening and then into Wednesday more snow. All told it may total 8 - 10 inches when all is said and done. As my sister in law Lois often says "just go with the flow".

Paperwork and football

A sausage breakfast Sunday to fuel up as I dug into information and other bits of stashed data. The real madness about it all is managing passwords that I thought were correct to find that websites didn't think they were on the money or the user was different and other goofy things. I thought I had a handle on it all but not the case. Definitely not fun. Moving on today was the second day of the NFL football playoffs. The games were kind of sloppy but entertaining none the less.

Crunched time

Glad it's Saturday. It might be a small consolation from the three days of work that felt like five days crammed into three. Not feeling good about one project that I promised a drafted version by Friday and all I had time for was a little doodling. A lot going on in the diagram my client wanted. Doesn't help that the client is in Australia which is 14 hours ahead of me. The things they want are very detailed and not that clear to me to be sorted out via email. I should look into arranging a Skype meeting if I could find a time that work for both parties. Otherwise beside this I have plenty of other projects that need to be advanced next week - a normal week.

More?

Yes, more snow, not much. Maybe 4 inches. The good thing, no rain and a freeze and it was light- fluffy snow. Still it was another long day at work so maybe a glass of wine and hit the sack. Oh, yeah, my cold has eased up some.

Waking dead

It wasn't pretty. My head was spinning and the rest of me felt like what the cat may have drug in and not a drink had been imbibed in the previous 48 hours. My cold had resurrected itself and that last thing I thought I should do was to go to work. Wasn't happening, too much committed that I'd be there to do. Fortunately after a bit of breakfast and an espresso, shave, shower and tooth maintenance I was able to dress properly, drive to the office and start reading and responding to emails then on to  getting as much work done as interruptions allowed. Looks like I have a couple more days of expectations to go. Hell of a way to start a year.

Over the threshold to 2019

No real intent to party in the New Year especially as Carol had been practically knocked out with a 24  hour flu bug and yours truly moving into the sore throat stage of a cold while continuing to toss in an occasional deep lung cough. We did venture to Lois and Jim's for a light late afternoon luncheon with a visit from their brother who was returning to his home in Texas. Hopefully there was no passing on our less then healthy state. Once returning home we collapsed into the couch for Carol and myself in a lounge chair for 2 hour naps. By then and after I could barely speak from the pain in my throat. Once awake and moving about we settled down to watch "Ocean's Eight"👍 and were in bed by 11:30pm. PARTY HARDY! Hardly is more like it. Overnight brought several inches of snow that as daylight arrived changed over to rain returning the yard to a potential ice impacted mess that I had recently cleared from a week or so ago. Now feeling better from the sore throat and still producing a deep cough now and then I disassembled the Christmas tree to be returned to the attic, a bite of lunch then out to at least clear the driveway and deck of heavy wet snow before a freeze hits overnight. Just the ticket for shaking a cold. All went well and a short nap I'm ready for supper, a little holiday bowl football before hitting the sack. Back to work and reality in the morning.