Good-Bye February!

2-28-10

We survived February. It looks like mild weather for the first part of this week so March appears to be coming in like a lamb; I hope it doesn't go out like a lion. Now comes the muddy part of the winter, when the snow turns to slush and gravel roads get soft. But, maybe we'll see some snow crocuses?

Blueness

2-27-10

We've nearly made it through February. Twenty days until spring. The forecast has no snow in it for the next week. Whew!

Not Losing Much

2-26-10

More bright sunshine today but very little melting of snow. One of these days all this snow is going to have to start disappearing so that spring can come!

A Taste of Things to Come?

2-25-10

It was a nice day for a drive to Des Moines, about 100 miles from here. Sunny but very cold to start the day, nicer later on.  Spring-like weather is finally on the horizon!

Deceptively Sunny

2-24-10

It's a sunny day but very cold - subzero temperatures. The roads are not good since the snow has been drifting across. More than one vehicle ended up in a ditch this morning.

On another note: Happy Birthday, Dad!

Still Winter and Colder

2-23-10

We had partial sun today but the wind picked up and blew the snow around. Driving was a bit hazardous this afternoon with the drifting snow and icy patches. It's still winter here! I think I may have mentioned that I'm getting really tired of the cold and snow!

The Wind is Sweeping...

 

2-22-10

...but not as much as in Oklahoma - which is where we'll be moving #2 daughter in June! She has an internship position there starting in July. Hooray and Hallelujah! It's been a long time coming.

Forecast: Snow

2-21-10

Tonight's forecast calls for snow and wind. I'm not liking that at all.

Today went nursed some sore muscles from yesterday's skiing but we really didn't feel too bad. I even used the treadmill this afternoon while Wayne went XC skiing at the lake.

Another Great Day

2-20-10

We woke up today to another 2" of fresh snow. It was not enough to stop us from making the trek north to Allamakee County for some XC skiing in the Yellow River Forest. We had a wonderful time!

It was very cool skiing through the pine trees.

There was a nice view of the Mississippi River:

I fell down only a few times. It was good!

Snow What Else is New?

 

2-19-10

I guess we must have been running a little low on snow because, GUESS WHAT? It's snowing again. The roads are slippery and a few cars have ended up in the ditches. 

It was match day today for our younger daughter in grad school. SHE MATCHED! We won't find out where her internship is going to be until Monday but as long as she matched, that's OK.

A Little Less February

 

2-18-10

I can't say exactly why - perhaps it's the little patches of snow melting on the sidewalk or lack of snow blowing through the air - but it's feeling a little less like February and a little more like March outside. Definitely not spring but not quite winter, either.

Happy Birthday! And More of the Same

2-17-10

Thirty-three years ago today daughter #1 was born. Happy Birthday!

We had another late start for school today due to icy roads. Drivers just need to slow down on the roads; the icy spots claimed numerous vehicles yesterday and today and kept the tow truck drivers busy. Spring, where are you?

Not a Cloud in the Sky

2-16-10

It's a perfectly cloudless day. The wind has been blowing, though, and drifting snow made roads icy enough this morning that school was delayed for two hours - again. I've been texturing a ceiling here at home and I'm ready for a break!

Doesn't Stop Us Now

2-15-10

We've had so many days of bad driving conditions this winter that now a little blowing and drifting snow is to be expected when we have to go places. Roads were icy but passable.  Icicles fell off the roof at various times this afternoon making big crashing sounds.

Sunshine for Sunday

2-14-10

Happy Valentine's Day! It was a sunny day for a change, although we had a little snow overnight and cold temperatures during the day. After a dinner at church, we took naps at home, then went XC skiing. A few more inches of snow will be added to our total overnight tonight. This is quite the snowy winter!

Gray and Foggy

2-13-10

Another foggy winter day. We need some sunshine to get rid of these winter blahs. Winter seems endless right now. Tonight we actually turned on the TV to watch the Olympics.

Hooray for Friday!

 

2-12-10

Yes! It's Friday and the whole weekend is ahead of us. Lots to do. I just hope we don't get any more of the white stuff.

"Buzzing" Along

 

 

2-11-10

I use Gmail for email and recently got Buzz as part of my email. This is Google's version of Facebook. As a result, every time I publish a blog post here, it ends up as part of my Buzz feed. If there is someone following me now on Buzz who doesn't have any idea why I'm posting what seems to be the SAME photo of SNOW, every day, here is the reason: I decided to take a photo every day this year, starting January 1, from the same location and pointing in the same direction. As the days go by, I hope to see winter turn into spring, summer, and fall. Each day, if I remember, I'll post the photo for that day. So far, January and the first eleven days of February have been pretty much the same - SNOW. I've missed posting only one day but I had taken the photo for the day and I posted it the next day.

Bright, Not Melting

2-10-10

The sunshine was almost blinding, reflecting off the snow. Definitely a day for sunglasses. It's very cold, the roads are icy, and everyone I've talked to is SICK OF SNOW. If we don't see another flake all winter, we would be very happy.

How Much This Time?

 

2-10-10

I'm not sure how much more snow we got yesterday and today. Let's just call it a lot, or too much, or dang, I'm tired of snow!  We got another day off from school to be made up in June. Dang, again! I did some painting, shoveling, puttering around. 

Here's the hungry squirrel:

I don't want to see what our gravel road will look like when all of this melts!

Another One

2-9-10

More snow coming. We're talking several inches of snow, then some wind. I suppose we might get three days of school in this week. That pushes back the last day of school well into June.

Skiing conditions weren't as good today as they were yesterday. Still, it's good exercise.

It's Coming.....!

2-6-10

The forecast is for snow, perhaps a lot, tomorrow night. But today is partly sunny and rather nice. The XC skiing conditions were pretty good. This morning I textured the walls and ceilings in a closet. I have to perfect my technique before I try it on a whole room.

Gray but mild

 

2-5-10

I believe it actually got above 32° today. We were supposed to get more snow but that didn't materialize. The drifts along the sides of our road are much taller than the van in places; we don't need more snow.

Milder, But Still Winter

2-4-10

Temperatures were milder today, though there was no snow melting. The snow plows are busy trying to push the drifts in the road ditches even farther back as more snow is in the forecast. I used the treadmill again today - four days in a row now! Older Daughter wants us to come up this weekend for some XC skiing.  Last year the snow was melting here on February 4 and that was the end of the skiing for the season. I don't think we'll have that problem this year.

Not a Lot to Say

 

 2-3-10

Wednesday, the middle of the work week. The road conditions are improving. but more snow is in the forecast. With school and bell choir, it was a busy day. A call from the younger daughter was a highlight.

Smells Good

2-2-10

We had about 3" of snow last night. It's drifting a little today and the roads are slick. I stayed in, mostly, and baked bread. I will use the treadmill this afternoon, I will, I will! But, oh, was the bread good.

Hello, February!

2-1-10

OK, this is not a good start to the new month. I had a HARD TIME getting this picture to post. I upload my photos to Picasa web albums and this one did not want to display, even after I uploaded it twice. So I tried the direct-to-blogger route and that didn't exactly go smoothly, either.

On top of the photo issues, it's SNOWING again, fairly heavily at the moment. I did do one good thing; I got on the treadmill today for the first time this winter. I've been doing a bit of XC skiing but I should be getting more exercise. I'm using C25K on my iPod for motivation.