048 ~ Buried

Monday, December 6, 2010

(late, I know)  ;-)

These photos are the same area I took pictures of back

in September... (23-24) ...because of flooding then.

NOW, you can't see where the water should be

because it's now buried under several inches of snow!

It's looking like snow is here for the season now too!

I don't really mind the snow - to look at, and maybe to play in.

But when it's below zero outside, and there's lots of snow and ice

I'd much rather be indoors instead of out doing things that must be done!

My fibro flare is not so bad now... finally... 

Sunday was horrible...

Monday was awful...

Tuesday wasn't so bad...

and Today is OK.

On to Tuesday!

045 ~ First Snow

Friday, December 3, 2010

(catching up...)

First Snow 2010-11

Began a little after 8pm Friday

Continued thru the night

started out light...

but had lots of periods of heavy snow

covering everything before too long

giving us about 8" to play in Saturday

Lake Tomah is now frozen over w/8" of snow on it

About midday Saturday the clouds returned,

the sun tried to keep shining,

but more snow came.

The first snow is always something!

Many people forget what it's like to drive in it!

(which accounts for the many accidents

that happened Friday night and Saturday)

Most years it comes on gradually...

we'll get a dusting...

then a few days later, an inch or so...

a few days to a week later, maybe 3 inches...

and somewhere close to a month of 

gradually increasing snowfalls,

we'll get a good storm that will 

leave us with over 6 inches

to as much as a foot of snow!

This year, we got dusted a few days ago,

and then slammed hard Friday and Saturday!

I know, this is Friday's blog - so we'll stick to Friday

as much as possible.

Everyone must head to the store 

just before the storm

to get those things we always need

during a storm.

When I'm there I tell myself to be sure

to plan better in the future so

I don't have to go out like this!

Then another storm approaches and

I find myself

once again

heading to the store

for those "gotta have"

last-minute things!!!

The first snow was due near 6pm,

then 7pm,

then 8pm,

then 9!!!

It's so frustrating when these storms don't do

what the weathermen say they're going to do!

I had one of my daughter's coming quite a distance

to visit us...

and she had to cut short her visit

so she could get ahead of storm

on her way back home. :(

Another daughter was doing OPENING NIGHT for

her latest play at school; 

"Twelfth Night"

WXOW's Live @ 5 segment with my daughter about the play

I hope they had a great Opening Night!

And to finish out the night...

something (we're not sure what yet)

caused a power outage in our neighborhood

starting about 10:15pm!

It lasted until 1am Saturday morning!!!

To bad I couldn't sleep in...

I had to run my son to work @ 5am

~ in 8" of unplowed, snowy roads ~

and then stay up because my niece, Dany

would be getting dropped off early

because her mom had to work.

And so it goes...

On to Saturday!

043 ~ Winter

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

(deep sigh - it's late again)

Beautiful LAKE TOMAH 

from the clinic parking lot

looking west.

The ice on the lake is getting thicker!

We got a dusting of snow yesterday and

I snapped these two pics right before going

inside for a doctor's appointment!

I've lived in Tomah four and a half years now

and I've never really kept track of when the lake

is finally frozen over or how long it remains frozen.

This year I will track it in this 365 blog!

Shouldn't be too hard!

:o)

Winter is not my best season.

I do love watching the snow fall,

and I love the fresh snow, untouched.

But the cold... and here it's really, REALLY

*C*O*L*D*

The last time we were above freezing (32F - 0C)

was just yesterday ~ it got up to 43F.

And we'd had a few days at the end of

November with highs in the 40s.

Now, as December gets going we're set to have

the next 10 days with highs that won't

even make it to 30!!!

Most Decembers up here are like that.

We'll stay above zero most days, 

but the closer we get to January,

the closer the highs get to zero!

January & February seem to stay

mostly in the sub-zero range;

to the point where we'll think 

ANYTHING

ABOVE ZERO

is a HEAT WAVE!

LOL

Then, of course, it's still another month or two,

at least,

before we're back above 32 at all!!!

Each year I come to dread the winter more.

:-(

Why is that?

Every season has it's purpose.

Each one wonderful in it's own right.

Then again, I don't like summers that are too hot.

So I'm glad I'm not in Texas anymore!

Just find me a place that stays

like SPRING or FALL

all year 'round

and I'll be fine!

010 ~ What's Ahead

Reminders of what's to come...

This morning I woke to 22 degrees!  The coldest yet this season!  
Of course, being in Wisconsin, we know 22 is nothing when it comes to winter temps!  The time is coming when 22 will seem like a heat wave.  But not this morning!
Today, it is a reminder of what's to come, what's ahead in the coming weeks and months. 
This pic is from a few years ago, but clearly shows well over a foot of snow on the ground - probably from early 2007 or 2008.  I'm trying to recall when we added a window unit a/c to that last window - summer of 07 or 08 is the closest I'm getting. LOL


This is our typical winter!  Cold sets in by end of October... getting colder as the weeks pass.  By the end of December we're happy if we stay above zero for a little each day.  It's unusual to not have snow on the ground by then.  Maybe it's only a few inches but it's usually there, and there to stay.  As the new year begins the cold turns to subzero and the snow just keeps on building higher.  Nobody expects to see anything different until late March or early April.


Hmmm...


What's ahead?


Do I really want to go live out in the country, in a beautiful farmhouse, during this time of year when my one vehicle isn't so reliable?


Where will my Melaleuca business be in six months time?  Grown enough to replace all the household income lost in the last 3 months? enough to do away with the disability check? enough to afford us a newer vehicle? a better home?


Will my youngest girls have their own incomes? be able to afford their full-time ministry?


Only time will tell. :)