Wednesday, January 24, 2024 Cloudy Cool Humid 51 Degrees 3:46 p.m.

Rain is on the way. there has been a lot of melting so we now have some snow, wet sidewalks, slushy driveway, and everything is wet and dripping. It is supposed to rain from tonight into tomorrow morning, then a brief dry spell and rain again on Saturday, all day. I believe we are turning our ice skating rinks into swimming pools.

Last evening Tina and I went to dinner at the Cantina, then grocery shopping at Walmart. The rest of the world was either there or had been there as the shelves were mostly empty and all messed up. We managed to get what we needed, with the exception of cat food. Sierra still had a couple of cans so that isn’t to bad. Tina is stopping at Pet Smart after work to see if she can get some there. i think every cat in Oak Ridge was out of the “good” kind. Sierra doesn’t like fish and apparently neither do a lot of other cats. She likes the chicken and rice combo.

We talked to Mark, who said that they had hired a contractor to get the driveway to the warehouse cleared so that they could get the flooring and carpets out. No one had been to work for over a week as they couldn’t get to the warehouse and for last week they couldn’t get to the store. There are many who have had that problem. Schools were closed again today because of the icy and slushy roads. So many live in rural areas and even those i cities and towns have roads that still haven’t been cleared. I believe most parents and kids are tired of the “Snow Days”, ready to go back to school and work. Now they are preparing for flooding and evacuations so I believe it will be a while longer for some places.

Quote of the day: “God is bigger than any disability. Love Him, appreciate His blessings, and trust Him for the rest of the journey. He puts the rainbow at the end of the hardest trail.” Dale Evans Rogers, 1912 – 2001, American Actor. M. Roy Rogers.

Have a great rest of your day. Make it a pleasant, sunny, enjoyable, and fun day.

Blessings

Tuesday, January 23, 2023 Cloudy Cool Dreary 48 Degrees 4:26 p.m.

Good Tuesday Afternoon. It is nice to be above freezing, but it is still cold, damp and occasionally sprinkling a bit. The snow is melting, slowly, but there is still a lot of ice around. Tina’s butterfly chair still has ice cycles on one side. The rest have melted from the eves and roof. Cars are still creeping along the street and I am not sure we can get up the driveway yet, but I believe we can. I hope we can. A trip to the grocery would be nice. Sierra has one more day of cat food left. A loaf of bread would be nice.

Well, Mark didn’t show up to take out the carpet yesterday evening so we shall see what happens tonight. He didn’t call either. Hmmmmmm! I know there is a ton of ice in their drive and parking area so I shouldn’t of expected him to walk over here, but I did think he would of called. We shall see how it goes tonight.

I am going through a box of things I have kept, papers, cards, etc, etc. and it is quite interesting. There is no rhyme or reason as to how and when I put this box together so it is like a treasure hunt looking through everything and being surprised. I found a menu from The Monterey House, Pasadena, Texas. We loved going there to eat, or to pick up and take home. And the prices were very good, even back then, 1n the ’70’s. Example: 3 beef taco’s $.95, Monterey Dinner: Guacamole Salad, chalupa, Chili con Queso, Beef Taco, two enchiladas, Tamale, Chili, Beans, rice, Hot sauce and candy, $2.00. That is the most expensive item on the menu. I wonder what the price is today, and if they are still in business.????

I am waiting for a delivery from Amazon. It should be here this afternoon, and I don’t want to miss it as I want to be at the door so the delivery person can bring it inside. It is very wet outside. they usually set their deliveries right by the door, and that area is still very wet as the ice is dripping there from the “porch” overhang. Also, unless it is the USPS driver, the delivery person neither knocks or rings the doorbell. They just leave it. I think it is called customer UN-satisfaction.

Quote of the day: “Some people give time, some money, some their skills and connections; some give their hair, some literally give their blood…..but everyone has something to give.” Barbara Bush, 1925…..American First Lady

Have a fantastic rest of your day. Make it a cheerful, interesting, adventurous and fun day.

Blessings

Monday, January 22, 2024 Sunny Snow melting Cool Still 43 Degrees 5:05 p.m.

Today started out in the 12 degrees and is not in the 40’s. The ice cycles are dropping, the snow is melting and the weather is improving. O course we are to get rain starting tomorrow night so that should make yards turn in to lakes instead of ice skating rinks. Feast or Famine.

Getting up and down the driveway has been a chore. Tina didn’t make it yesterday even though she tried 4 times. It was sort of fun watching her get close to the top, then slide back down. This morning it was worse. So Monica managed to get out of her neighborhood and driveway so came and picked her up for work. She will do the same tomorrow as the roads are still icy and slushy. I know the walkway out front is. I think I might buy a snow shovel for the next storm.???…

We had a good, but quiet weekend. Sunday after Charles Stanley, we watched NCIS marathon. It was fun as we now know that Gibbs didn’t die in the boat explosion, but happily retired in Alaska, fishing. Saturday Tina managed to get to work, so I straightened up around here and sat down and read a book. That was fun. The weather people kept asking people to lower their thermostats and not to use their heavy or major appliances, at least until afternoon, so ans not to cause a rolling black out. We complied. Our thermostat has been on 68 degrees since the 12th or 13th, and I haven’t done laundry for over a week. We have prepared most of our meals in the crockpot. Tonight I am using the oven.

Tomorrow I believe I will do laundry. I am sure it is time, and it will probably take me two days at least. I am ready. While I am at it I plan on cleaning out my closet and seeing what all is in there. Until the floors get done I am limited ad to what I can do down here.

Quote of the day: “As parents, we must be convinced of our beliefs. We must know where we stand, so that out children will know where they stand.” Kim Boyce 1968 — , American singer, writer.

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend, and are making your Monday a perfectly positive, productive, and fun day.

Blessings

Friday, January 19, 2024 Partly sunny, Windy Cold 29 Degrees 4:36 p.m.

Today has been interesting. We have had snow, rain, ice, clouds, sun, and more again and again. Now the temperature is dropping as they said it would, and the temperature will continue to drop the rest of the afternoon and evening. We are to expect a low of -1 in the morning with everything frozen solid. I think maybe a -6 either tomorrow morning or Sunday morning, After that it is supposed to start warming up. I know that everyone is looking forward to a warm up.

The grocery store shelves are mostly empty, and so many businesses are closed. A great many people are working from home, and many others are staying home as they can’t get out of their driveways or neighborhoods. Even here people can’t get up the street because of ice. I think by now the snow is secondary. Some are parked in front of our house because they can’t seem to get any farther. So they parked and walked.

Now, walking isn’t very safe either due to all the ice and snow, even on lawns. Everything has ice cycles hanging on , making a very pretty view, but also very dangerous. The news was warning people to be careful as ice cycles could fall and injure or worse. Even the leaves have ice cycles hanging on them. It is very interesting. Tina’s butterfly chair that sits out front is dripping ice cycles and looking very beautiful. I doubt I would want to sit in it at the moment. I just know that winter is very beautiful, but also challenging. It brings lots of fun activities, great memories, trials, tribulations and memories. I hope all your memories are good ones.

Since we won’t be getting the new floors for at least another week, Tina and I sort of moved things around in the living room to make it easier to get around. (Yes, Tina spent the day at home as did most of the ladies in her office). Even Sierra seems happier as she can lay on the couch or in her cat tree, or one of our laps with ease. She loves looking out the window at the birds and the dogs so now she has a better view of whatever is out there to entertain her. We do try to please the diva cat.

Quote of the day: “Each one of us is God’s special work of art. Through us, He teaches and inspires, delights and encourages, informs and uplifts all those who view our lives. God, the master artist, is most concerned about expressing Himself-His thoughts and his intentions-through what he paints in our character….[He] wants to paint a beautiful portrait of His Son in and through your life. A painting like no other in all of time.” Jone Eareckson Tada, 1949 -, American Writer, Speaker

Have a fantastic rest of your Friday, and a adventurous, exciting, positive, safe, healthy and fun weekend.

Blessings

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