The weather guessers got it right this time. Snow was predicted for around lunchtime and it started right on cue. Big flakes. Lots of them. Supposed to continue off and on until early tomorrow morning.
I have been listening to the scanner this afternoon. Normally on a weekday it is pretty quiet. Today the chatter is constant. Crashes everywhere. Vehicles sliding off the roads. Not long ago one of the police officers requested a plow to make a couple of swipes at their parking lot so they could get the police cars in and out.
Oldest son stopped in a few minutes ago. His workplace had sent their employees home early. Son said that not much was being accomplished anyway. He said whenever he stopped his forklift, the tires would just spin when trying to move again.
His drive between home and work normally takes a half hour. This afternoon it took him an hour and 15 minutes. There was maybe 5 inches of snow on the ground then, but it is heavy and wet, and where vehicle tires have packed it down it is just like ice. He said there were very few places where there were no cars in the ditch and one point there was a car in the median and another across the road laying on its top. At another point on the freeway the entire road was blocked by cars stuck in the snow.
Son said he roared through the next town over at a whopping 15 mph. Said he just slid through a couple of intersections here in town. Said he was glad to be home.
Methinks it is about time for a nice cup of cocoa.
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Glad he made it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gorges...I know my kids are all grown up and are all responsible adults, but Mom still worries when they are out in a storm. :)
ReplyDeleteHow stressful! This is one reason I dislike winter!
ReplyDeleteLisa...I don't care how old your kids are, you still worry about them when they have to be out and about in this kind of weather. One reason I keep prepping is so that I don't have to ask one of my kids to go out in bad weather because I need something. I am grateful I can choose to stay in where it is warm. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you are staying warm and that you are feeling better. A few days ago, the forecast said snow tonight. I've seen a few sanding trucks but so far the weather isn't cold enough. I love the snow mostly because I have no need to drive. But I don't like walking in the ice.
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you about keeping a well stocked pantry. I, too, use more convenience foods then I used to though. I justify it by saying it's cheaper then take-out or delivery food. My pattern right now is to bake 3 servings of chicken or pork at a time. I also cook the meat portion mid-day after I've made lunch. If I wait until dinner time, then I'm too hungry and it's too easy to not eat as well. Doing it this way, I only have to worry about my side dishes on two of the nights.
I haven't made bread since living on my own. I, too, used to make it by double-double batches and then keep my fingers crossed it would last a few days. But we were the magnet house for teens and I liked it that way. And, really, homemade bread and jam was a great afternoon snack back then. Thanks for taking me down memory lane!! Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC
SJ...Yep - toasty warm here. Temps have stayed in the 20's. We wound up with maybe 8 inches of snow. I like the snow to look at. Makes even a city look pretty. But I'm not all that steady on my pegs any more, so walking on icy surfaces is not among my favorite things to do either.
ReplyDeleteI think I feel a bit guilty (that's common to our generation, isn't it!) about buying convenience foods when I already stock the ingredients to make them myself. That and I'm really trying hard to put cash away for a couple of bigger ticket items that I would like to add to my household. One being a good treadle sewing machine, if I can find one. So the less I spend on convenience, the more I can save.
I like your idea about cooking meat for meals ahead. I'm going to give that a go. I get all wrapped up in whatever project I'm working on at the moment, whether it is sewing or quilting or whatever, and I just hate to stop and take the time to cook a real meal, so I grab something quick and easy. Taking a day every two weeks or so to make meals ahead and freeze them might work too. As you can see, I'm not the most organized person in the world, but I can try. :)
Mother would time it so there was a pan of buns or cinnamon rolls coming out of the oven when we got home from school. The smell and taste of homemade bread is a wonderful memory for me as well. I have no excuse for getting away from baking bread. It is not like I have to leave the house to work 8 hours a day elsewhere! Now that I'm getting back into the routine of bread baking, I think I am happier. I know my stomach is!!
How much did you end up with?
ReplyDeleteMary...Last I heard we ended up with around 8 inches of snow. Not enough to shut things down, but just enough to annoy folks who had to drive in it. Especially those who went sliding off into the ditches.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that we are supposed to get more over the weekend, but I think it is just snow showers and not really any accumulation to speak of. Me...I'm ready for sunshine and daffodils!
Hi again. We ended up not getting any snow. Yipee.
ReplyDeleteI tried the freezer meals when I was first living by myself. They ended up getting freezer burn. It didn't work for me. I do freeze my homemade broth, however.
Cooking up a pan of chicken or pork before I make my lunch has really worked well. I've taken a break from whatever I've been doing in the morning and am in the kitchen already. I too get focused on what I'm doing. That's why I can't wait until dinner time to do the main cooking most days. Bottom line, everyone just has to figure out what works for them I suppose.
Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC
SJ...Good for you! I'll share. :) Actually, it isn't bad here at all. The snow has been removed from the streets and the highways are clear again. It is supposed to snow the next 4 days out of 6, but just lightly.
ReplyDeleteI have a ton of meat canned. I buy two weeks worth at a time for fresh meat and freeze that in individual portions. Thinking back, I recall having freezer burn issues in times past. I think I would be better off to adopt your methods and combine those with using my home canned food. Today, for instance, I made scalloped potatoes, opened a jar of ham and mixed that in and added a small green side salad. There is enough left over for supper tomorrow, so I can sew to my hearts content and only have to stop long enough to heat the leftovers. Works for me. :) I just don't seem to be organized enough to do the make ahead freezer meals.
I use my freezer mostly for holding produce until I get ready to can it. Son will bring me lots of tomatoes from the Farmers Market and I will freeze some of them so I don't have to process them all at once. Same with the cranberries. And it is handy for days when I go nuts and bake lots of bread, buns and rolls all at once. I'm working on sorting it all out now because Oldest Son and I have been talking seriously about ordering a half a beef come fall. Youngest Son did that last fall and even after it was cut up and packaged and frozen, it was still about the same price per pound as store bought cheaper hamburger. If he buys a small freezer before then, I think we may share half a hog as well. Just makes sense to me.
Thank God I don't have to deal with other people on the roads up here. Most people in my part of the county can't get out to the paved road because they live on old county dirt roads, or private "possum trails." Nobody drives on those til the snow melts off.
ReplyDeleteI never worry about sliding off the road when I drive in snow, because I'm properly equipped. But I sweat bullets about the people who go out in big rear wheel drive passenger cars, two wheel drive, and slide right into people coming the other way.
'
More snow coming into North Georgia starting Monday.
Harry...I don't worry as much about my kids driving in snowy weather because I know they are good drivers and still, for the most part, have some common sense when it comes to ice and snow. They grew up mostly in the country before cell phones came on the scene, and they knew if they did something dumb that sent them off the road and into the ditch, there was a long, cold walk ahead of them to get help.
ReplyDeleteAround here there seem to be a lot of folks with 4-wheel drive SUVs and pickups who seem to think that because they have 4-wheel drive they don't need to slow down on icy roads. Those are the ones that go sailing on by the slower moving vehicles whose drivers know they are less likely to go off the road at a slower speed where they have more control. The 4-wheel drive crowd are the ones we see further on down the road, sitting down in the ditch waiting for the tow truck to arrive. We wave at them as we slowly go on by. :)
The weather just doesn't want to let up at all in your neck of the woods, does it! Here they are talking about the possibility of more blizzard conditions Sunday and Monday, but so far that is predicted both north and south of us, but that could change. Me...I'll be watching from my rocking chair. I'm stocked up on coffee, so all is well.
Glad you are feeling better. Brenda from tn
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brenda...Mostly a case of Winter Blahs, I think. I am so ready for Spring!
ReplyDelete