It snowed almost all day yesterday, but a very light snow with almost no accumulation all day. There was some small amount on grassy areas, but the sidewalks and roads were fine. It was __supposed to__ stop snowing last night. It didn't.
The forecast called for "snow showers" and accumulations under one inch.
I wake up this morning (Saturday) to about five inches of snow on the ground, including sidewalk and driveway. Well, I thought, apparently Mother Nature didn't get the weather forecast.
It was 24° when I got up. That turned out to be the HIGH temperature for the day!
My son and I cleared the front walkway and a path along the rear deck. We plowed the driveway and small parking area, and put down calcium chloride ice-melt to melt what was left, let it evaporate, and get a clear, dry, driveway.
The skies were overcast all day, but they cleared out as night came. The temperature plunged.
As I write, at 9:06 PM EST, it is now 13° going down to 10°. Tomorrow's high will be 18° with a low of 3°. Baby it's COLD outside!
Last week, I ordered a Christmas present for my son. It was due to arrive TODAY. It didn't come. I logged-in to the merchant and find the order is canceled. Turns out the Bank won't let them ship to any address other than the BILLING address. So me getting this particular item at my country home? No.
I was ticked-off. I call the merchant . . . . they're CLOSED on Saturdays. Whose bright idea was THAT at Christmas time? Gotta hand it to some of these Corporate Executives; hundreds of thousands a year they get paid and these nitwits couldn't figure out to have Customer Service open during the run-up to Christmas???? Real talent some of these Corporate guys have. /sarcasm.
I put some wood in the wood-burning stove and cranked-up a fire. It's throwing off major heat. All toasty warm inside.
I went out on the rear deck to smoke a cigarette . . . . . total silence. Not a sound. Unlike my home in New Jersey (three miles west of the Empire State Building in New York City), up here right now there are no cars. No trucks. No buses. No helicopters, no private Cessna or Piper Cherokee-sized planes. No commercial passenger or cargo jets heading into Newark, LaGuardia, or JFK. Just absolute silence.
The fresh snow is everywhere. Everything is crisp, and clear, and clean. For those few minutes on the rear deck, the world was simple and beautiful again.
What a wonderful change from the tumult, noise, traffic, crowds, and lately - danger - of New Jersey.
I love it up here in rural Pennsylvania. My wife hates it, but I love it.
So, we're just days away from Christmas. All the shopping is done. Most of the gifts are wrapped. Might have to head to the supermarket for some last minute stuff; not sure what, yet.
Tomorrow, I will put up our Christmas tree. We're always last-minute with that. It's almost a tradition in our family!
My son has to work tomorrow. Every year at his company, it's all-hands-on-deck through Christmas eve. Even though he could do it all remotely, they WANT the I.T. guys on-site "in case." They give them all a couple grand in bonus for this month, for doing it, so he's heading back to NJ as I write.
He has to work til 4:30 or so Christmas eve, then he'll head back up here. Should arrive around 7:30.
Now all we have to hope for is that the incompetent and corrupt Biden nitwits - and their Globalist nutcases - don't cause World War 3 and get us all blown up for Christmas, with their continued meddling in the Russia-Ukraine thing.
