Ice and Rain

Just when I started hoping that we were done with the winter weather, we were hit with a mini ice storm of sorts. It started late Wednesday night with rain and then turned to sleet early Thursday morning. I smartly elected to stay home because it wasn't long before the roads were a solid sheet of ice and I didn't want to wreck, get injured, die or get stuck at my work place for the night. Thankfully, I had the good sense to bring my computer home with me on Wednesday and was able to get some work done while I was at home. 

It sleeted for most of the morning, followed by rain which quickly turned to ice once it hit the ground because of the low temps. When it was all over, I easily had and and come back  inch or more of ice in the yard. Thankfully I didn't lose electricity and I had food on hand so I didn't go hungry either. Truth be told, I actually enjoyed the day at home and was able to get quite a bit of work done, even with Pippa staring at the computer screen. 

Friday my workplace didn't open until 10:00 a.m. and I had already planned to leave at 2:00 p.m. to go on the senior high fall retreat with my church youth group. I went out around 9:15 to warm up the car and remove the ice from the windshield, etc. Being the graceful person I am, I fell and landed on my knee (yes, the one that was operated on just a couple of months ago). Then about 9:40 a.m. I headed out and after slipping and sliding all over the road and seeing three wrecks within a mile of my house, I made the decision to turn around and go back home. I wasn't willing to take the risk to go to work for just four hours. 

Now, after a beautiful weekend, we are stuck with at least five straight days of rain. My yard is already so muddy and I fear there is no end in sight. I am so ready for some sunny days and dry land and nice evenings that are prime for taking a walk. Between all the snow and the continuous rain I can hardly remember what a dry day looks like. Fingers crossed, we'll have some nice spring days and evenings before too long!

The Long Drive Home

Whew, what a weekend. It was all kinds of messy as far as the weather was concerned and it all started on Friday afternoon. 

It was predicted that we would get snow and ice on Friday, but the actual times it was supposed to start were varied. I met my dad for lunch at Surin at 11:30 a.m. and it was just starting to snow when I left work to go meet him. By the time we left the restaurant, it was snowing a little harder and there was a ton of traffic on the road. It was already bumper to bumper heading back to work and I assumed correctly that the arsenal and other business had let out early and folks were trying to get home. 

Within an hour of getting back to work, the roads were starting to ice over and people were abandoning ship so they could get home safely. I might have left as well, but I had to make up the extra time I had taken to meet my dad for lunch and I was waiting on some information from our corporate group so I could roll up a quote for my customer. As a result, it was almost 4:00 p.m. before I was able to leave for the day. I think my car and maybe five others was all that remained in the parking lot by the time I ventured outside. 

I had to wait a few minutes for my car to warm up and defrost and deice before I could get on the roads. I had put a blanket in the car that morning and I grabbed some snacks from my stash at work before leaving in case I ended up getting stuck some where. Thankfully, I had the mindset that morning to fill up with gas so at least I had a full tank and I would be able to keep warm if I had to sleep in the car. 

The overpasses on the Parkway were already closed and had been for hours by the time I left so I decided to take Whitesburg home instead of all the access roads along the Parkway. The traffic headed towards home wasn't too bad at all. In fact, I was surprised at home few people were on my route, but it was bumper to bumper headed the other direction and there is no telling how long it took those people to reach their destinations. 

I saw a few cars slip sliding across the roads but thankfully I didn't. There was one point when my brakes locked up over a big patch of ice, but other than that, all was good. I drove about 15 miles per hour the whole way home and stayed far behind the cars that were in front of me. A few times cars would get too close behind me, but they would eventually realize I wasn't going to speed up and so they would pass and I would be more at ease. 

It took me almost an hour to reach home but I made it safe and sound and was thankful to be in for the night. Lots of folks were stranded and I was glad to not spend the night in my car. This morning (Monday) we had some more icy roads, but I took Whitesburg once again and made it in to work just fine. The winter weather isn't over yet. We are expected to get more snow and ice on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll be as lucky getting home then as I was this past Friday. 

The Return of the Rodent and More Coldness

So, I broke down and called the HVAC man. Thursday morning I got up and it felt like the whole house was vibrating from the loudness of the unit. When I went out to warm up my car, the unit was about the only thing you could hear in the whole neighborhood. I figured I had better go ahead and have him come out now before the situation worsened.

About an hour after I called him, my neighbor Jeff called me to see if I knew how loud my unit was sounding which gave me a bit of a chuckle. Jeff is seriously the best neighbor, y'all. I know I say it a lot, but he kills bugs, opens jars, helps crank the lawn mower, shares new recipes, let's Pippa out and watches my house while I'm away during the day among other things. He is a rockstar neighbor!

Darrell (the HVAC man) stopped by around 4:30 or so. He called and said that basically the Freon lines were hitting against the side panel of the unit. Then as he was leaving it started making a racket again and he put some Freon in it and said it was the compressor working overtime. I feel like I've had the compressor placed once before, but I could be delusional. Anyone, he said when he left it was not nearly as loud as it was when he arrived and to expect some noise since it was working so hard. When I got home, the unit sounds like normal and I was no longer concerned that it might die on my in the middle of the night.

When I was scooting around the kitchen on Thursday morning preparing my breakfast and packing my lunch, I moved something around on the large rolling table my dad made and noticed some pellets that looked like mouse or rat poo. Y'all, I cannot even begin to convey how distressing this is. I thought I heard something a few nights ago when we had freezing rain or sleet or whatever that was and even turned on the TV to keep from freaking out. So far, to my knowledge, Pippa hasn't seen the rodent but I feel certain there's one running around here somewhere so I'm gonna have to talk to my trust bug/rodent man about it.

We are expecting more snow and ice on Friday which is rather disappointing. Pippa and I are supposed to run in the Bow Wow Fun Run at the Huntsville Botanical Garden on Saturday and I'd rather not traipse through snow and ice. The Garden in closed on Friday (because of potential weather) and so now I can;t pick up my race packet until the morning of the race. They've already pushed the race back by an hour in hopes of a little warmer temps I guess. I'm sure if the race goes on, there will be lots to write about.

Keep bundling up y'all - stay safe and warm!

I Love The Winter Weather

Well, in case you missed it, the whole country has been under a massive freeze this week. Some of us are lucky enough to thaw out over the weekend and next week before the next round hits. Others of us, however, aren't so lucky. When I lived in Niagara Falls a long, long time ago, I saw my fair share of snow. I cannot even imagine the amount of snow they have right now. I wish I could see my old apartment building. I'd love to know how tall the snow was at my former home.

Here in Alabama w haven't had any snow, but we've had quite a chill. One day this week it was colder in Huntsville than it was in Alaska. That doesn't even remotely make sense. It's like we skipped fall all together. Admittedly I love the cooler weather. I'm a big fan of sweaters and coats and hats and gloves and scarves and all the other fun accessories that come this time of year.

The bad things about it being cold outside is that it is steaming hot at work. I'm tempted to buy a portable air conditioner it's so stinkin' hot! I (and others) have emailed the head maintenance man asking for him to turn down the heat; but alas, our pleas fall on deaf ears. Today, I wore a short sleeve shirt under my sweater and cost and early in the morning, I had already shed the sweater and despite the fact I was in short sleeves, I was still hot.

I don't know if it's the combination of cold outside and sweltering hot inside, but something had got a lot of folks at the office coughing and hacking and not feeling well, myself included. I stopped by the Quick Care after work on Wednesday because I had a sore throat and wanted to nip it before it got worse. I also want to make sure I'm 100% well before my surgery lest it be cancelled. As it stands now, it's scheduled at a perfect time and I want to do everything I can to make sure it happens when it's scheduled. I got a shot of antibiotics and oral antibiotics and hopefully I'm well on the way to feeling better.

Soon it will be December and I have not even had pictures taken for my Christmas card. My cousin (who usually takes our photos) has been busy getting married and setting up a new home and our schedules haven't meshed. So, this weekend, my friend Kristen is going to take photos for us. Fingers crossed we have at least one that's Christmas card worthy.

I've got a full weekend of random activities planned, including shopping for Thanksgiving and maybe even getting a head start on cooking. Speaking of which, we are having a little Thanksgiving potluck at work on Friday and I'm looking forward to enjoying some delicious food with my work family. It will be a great way to kick off the weekend and the holiday season!

Snow In Alabama!

It snowed this past Saturday! The weather folks predicted it, but I didn’t really think it would happen. That’s how things go around these parts. But, sure enough when I woke up at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, there was a blanket of snow on the ground. Can you call it blanket when it’s less than an inch?


There wasn’t much snow, but what little there was quite pretty. I love snow. When I lived in New York for a year, I got really excited for our first big snow of the season. One of the men in my department wrote a note on my farewell card months later “thanks for reminding us that snow can be fun.” I guess when you’ve been around snow your whole life it’s not as much fun as it is when you’re a Southerner who thinks snow is a novelty. I took some photos of the snow before it all melted away. Check them out below.

In other news, I’m headed to Nashville this afternoon to meet The Pioneer Woman. Say a prayer for my safe travels! It’s supposed to be raining and storming all afternoon and evening and I’m not too excited about taking this trip solo. I hope to be back with you tomorrow with a story of travel and adventure! Until then…