More White Stuff!

This view out my front door about an hour ago.  Okay, Mom Nature, I think we have had enough now!

Peace and shovel,
JE

The next generation

Because of the bad weather, we finally were able to have our family Christmas celebration this past week.  It was a good time had by all.  I personally had a riot just watching the grandchildren.  So much so, that I needed to share them all with you.

They range in age from 20yrs old to 11 months.  How much more can a grandpa ask for?  My children assure me that this is all there will be.  My oldest grandson has decided after being here Tuesday evening, that though he enjoyed his small cousins, fatherhood probably isn't for him!  Maybe this will change.

Peace,
JE

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

After it quit snowing, and the plows had been out, I got out and did a little walk-about.  It was so cold, and treacherous underfoot that I didn't stray far, but I did grab a few pictures while I was out.

This is my house after the snowfall.  If it wasn't for the red door and chair, this would look like a black and white photo!

This was taken standing in the middle of the street in front of my house facing East.  My house is the smallest one on our block!!

This Huge stately home sit on Wabash Street, a main thoroughfare through town.  My street dead ends here.  I am not sure the owners live here full time yet, but they maintain it and spend weekends and vacations there.  I had friends that used to live in the upstairs.  The downstairs was a doctor's office for years before the doc passed, and the present owners took over.  The upstairs rooms were large with 12' ceilings.  There is a private drive on the left side and a portico, and a large brick carriage house in the rear.

North of that house are many more stately homes, all private residences.  The owners of this brick one are local business owners, and the green one belongs to a good friend, a fellow teacher/principal at one of our elementary schools.  He and his wife have 4 children and use every inch of that house.

I pivoted and shot this photo of Wabash Street heading South towards the downtown area.  As you can see, more big homes.  The brick structure on the left side of the photo is the garage end of a newer ranch style home that was built several years ago on an empty lot.  It looks so out-of-place compared to the rest of the neighborhood.

Yesterday and today it rained, temperatures are hovering around +45 degrees F, it's a slushy mess, but the sidewalks and streets are becoming passable again.  I actually went out yesterday, had lunch with my cohort in crafts, Curley, and went to the grocery store!

Peace, (and warmer)
JE

Did I mention snow?

Yesterday morning about 6:00 AM, it began snowing here in North Central Indiana.  When I went to bed last night it was still snowing.  We have approximately 20 inches of snow on the ground now.  This morning the sun is shining brightly, and the temperature is hovering at -15F.  Our city is almost completely shut down.  No factories or schools are open, and even Walmart is closed!  I am on a list to be plowed out by the same crew that take care of my lawn in the summer.  It's a long list, so I have no idea when they will get to me.  I am warm, have enough to eat, and am safe.  That's the most important thing.  Most of our state is under a "red" travel warning, so even if I get plowed out, I won't be going anywhere.  I'm keeping in contact with my kids and grands and friends via text, phone and computer!  Maybe by April this will all be a memory!  Until then, lots of TV, books, and crafts are in my future!

Peace,
JE

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful!

But inside it is delightful.  Yeah, it's once again snowing here in the middle of  Northern Indiana.  We had a big snow a couple weeks ago, (by big I mean about 6-8 inches) and it was all melted off and the temps went up.  We had mud!  Then the temps crashed down again, freezing the mud, and bringing on more snow.  It began snowing last night about 8:30 PM and hasn't stopped yet and it is now 10:30 AM.  I would guess that we have about 6 inches on the ground right now and more expected.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny with a high temp of 19F.  Then, the temps are going up and we can expect another bout of snow with accumulations of another 8-10 inches by Monday morning then temps dipping to a high of -4F and -3F on Monday and Tuesday.  Why am I telling you all of this.  Well, I know that readers like Terry and John are laughing!  They both live in regions of North America where they get snow by the foot, not by the inch.  I know that my "sister-of-the-spirit" Mellodee in Austin is probably doing a "happy dance" that she no longer lives in the Chicago area where they are getting even more snow than I am!
Maggie, (my daughter has decided that Prof is not an appropriate name for her on here since she has given up teaching college) had a job interview in Ohio this afternoon.  She was all ready, with all the stuff she needed for the interview.  She is ticked, to say the least, that this snow has caused her to miss the interview, though the interviewing people were very understanding when they talked a bit ago.  The place where she was to go is now having freezing rain and it is expected to change to snow later as the temps drop.  She had a 4 hour drive and in checking with INDOT and OHDOT, I don't think she would have even gotten two hours away from home before she would have had to turn back.  So, the interview is being rescheduled for either tomorrow or sometime next week.
I had an appointment at the lab for my semiannual bloodwork this morning.  I took one look outside, noticed that a snow plow has not been down our street yet, and called and rescheduled for tomorrow.  The appointment scheduler sorta laughed at me, but hey, she's about 5 years old (read here..much younger than me) and probably has a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and she said that it wasn't too bad out there.  Yeah, right.  I told her that someone my age has no business out in this, and she did agree with me and apologized for being glib.
So all in all, we're staying in today and hoping that tomorrow is at least clear enough for us to be out and about.  So to all of you in the north, keep on laughing, in the south, do your happy dance, and I will grab the shovel later on and start digging my way out!  Have a great day wherever you are!

Peace,
JE