I'm OK....but for sure house bound......the snow has stopped and the sun is out the the wind is howling. They say we got 12 to 16 inches. Interstate 80 is closed East of Des Moines and Interstate 35 north to Minneapolis is impassible they say ( but not closed...go figure!)
Business are closed, schools, churches.
Chabby still hasn't had a morning pee. She won't go in the small space I cleared just outside the door....and she won't go in the piddle pad I put down....but I know she would go in a minute if I let her out of the kitchen onto the rugs!
This was to be a tree trimming day....but I think it'll be a biscotti day....and maybe some sugar cookies...and....
Is it April yet?
Linda C

Wow, Linda! You really did get hammered, didn't you. (Snow-wise, I mean! LOL)

We only got about 4 inches, although they had predicted 5-6". Not sure what they got in Minneapolis, but I guess I'll find out in a couple of hours as I have to head down I-35 for my interview!

Stay safe and warm all of the rest of my fellow midwesterners!

Linda

Oh Linda...poor Clabby!

It's downright nasty here in NW Lower Michigan. We got about 6" of heavy snow overnight and they are calling for another 17" today and tonight....more of the same tomorrow.
They haven't called a snow emergency.....yet. But they have asked that people stay home unless they have an emergency. Temps to keep dropping and lake effect to kick in later which means....lightweight snow that blows and drifts. Blizzard conditions along the shoreline...yikes!! that's me! Glad today was a scheduled day off.

Nancy

Linda, I thought of you yesterday when I saw our weather was heading your direction. I cleaned the office out the day before so DH could stay and work from home. He's home again today as the roads are slick with ice. We're finally having winter weather, oh boy. I'm making your Blue Cheese Cocktail Cookies today, so it's a kitchen day for me too.

Keeping all of you in my thoughts... here in the Philly area it has been all rain with street and creek flooding. YUCK! I gues the only upside is we dont have to shovel it!

Stay warm and safe everyone!

Alexa

We were very lucky in Chcicago. They called for 12 inches and we only got about 2. North of me, in Wisc., they did get 7 inches. Now we will get the cold, down to 3 tonight and a high of 13 on Thursday.

Is it April yet?

In SW Milwaukee CCounty we got about 6 inches of wet, heavy stuff, but my poor daughter in Madison has 17"! She says it's unbelievable and I think she's right!

We were supposed to get 8-16" from that storm here in Fort Collins and only got about 3-4 inches. But, it left some really cold temps behind. When I drove my kids to school this morning it was -22 degrees outside. The sun has been shining brightly all day and it has only warmed up to -1. Denver had some wind to go along with their cold temps. The morning news said the wind chill there was something like -35.

Seriously crappy up here at the cottage. Windy, snowy, rainy, snowy, rainy......make up your mind Mother Nature!

We were thinking about going home today but the road conditions are all over the map. So I guess I'm stuck for another day in winter wonderland, with a lovely fire in the fireplace and my sweetie beside me....drat!

We are OK also....down the road 1/2 hr from Linda.

Hubby home from work, country road is difted over. First time ever he hasnt made it into work because of snow drifts. He was about ready to go stir crazy already this morning, so he decorated the tree by himself...first also!
Kitchen day for me, pumpkin scones and two batches of party mix.
It looks like the snow has finally stopped but the wind is still howling. We probably have 12 inches of snow, with drifts up to 5 ft in places. Now the temp is dropping alos. At least the hosta seedlings have some nice insulation!
We are just glad the power didnt go out. Last year during a storm like this we lost power for 3 days.

It's still blowing in Montreal, started at 6 a.m. today, we must have had at least 10 inches already and it's predicted to snow all night. It's walkable downtown,
the city caterpillars were doing the sidewalks.

I'm debating whether I'll go out and get a hamburger later.
I might order in some chicken instead.

We've been emailing back and forth about the snow in Iowa but I couldn't visualize the intensity and the degree of seriousness until watching on the news. WOW! I hope all remain safe and Chabby, be a good girl and go on the puppy pad!

Trudy....you must be drifted solid down in that hollow!
The neighbor kid and his grand father and the grandfather's snow blower came this afternoon and dug and blew the drifts away...I have known them for years and years.
My drive is about 50 feet long and had a serious crosswise 4 foot drift...and he shoveled a small potty spot for Chabby. I gave Kyle $50...the grandpa called and asked me how he did and was I satisfied with the work Kyle did....and I said for sure....and I hope the $50 I gave him was enough...Grandpa about choked....thought that was very very generous....but the old dude with the cigarette hanging from his mouth charges me $40 for a lighter snow....so I thought that was a good deal! Did I pay him too much?
Anyhow it's one helluva lot of snow...I would be fine but for trying to keep the critters happy...Chabby and the hungry birds and bushy tailed tree rats...

Linda C....for Cold!

Aaawwww, poor Chabby. I bet all four of her legs were really crossed by the time she was able to go outside. I have no idea how much shoveling snow is worth, but it sounds like that young man earned every penny.

Wow, Dlynn, -35 makes our predicted low of 22 sound downright balmy.

Sharon, your weather sounds like my absolutely least favorite weather, very cold rain, but not quite cold enough to snow. We get that fairly frequently here in the winter in Texas and I hate it.

I'm thinking of all of you while you endure this storm.

Sally

Linda, $50 is dirt cheap compared to a strained back or a heart attack!

Well there is no freakin way I would have attempted it! I just don't want to spoil the young man....after he left my house he was meeting up with a friend and they were going to do a couple of other drives.
He works hard...no messing around no shortcuts....he just buckles down and does!...and he's a sharp kid and positively adorable...If I didn't already have 6 grandsons...I might keep him!

Hey, we're expecting below zero tonight, with a wind chill of -11...

226 schools in our tv viewing area are closed for Thursday already.
It is dern cold out now 1 degree, dont know the -19 wind chill.
Checked on a weather site, and quite a few different times today the wind was gusting at 43 mph.

Lindac I must of missed your earlier post.
Yes we certainly are drifted in 'Down in the Hollow'!
It took Bruce 1.5 hrs with the 4 wheeler with the blade. Cant imagine even hand shoveling our drive.

You were very kind to the boy, but it is great to have a good kid around who does good work. Wonder how much the other folks paid him later on in the day?

Havent heard a snow plow go by yet.

Sounds like the storm is moving into Eastern US...hang on to your hats folks!!!!

Linda, Glad you got plowed out, I think $50 was just right. And as Peppi said, much cheaper than the alternatives!

Thank goodness we have a snow plow truck (as old, ugly and rusty as it is...) We have a quarter-mile long driveway and there is no way we could hand-shovel.

A couple of years ago, however, we got a foot of snow overnight and it hadn't let up by the time Tim had to head to work. (And I'll be damned if I am going to climb into that old plow truck!LOL) So when it stopped mid-morning, I fired up the snowblower and got busy. It took me nearly four hours!

Geez, it's hard to believe less than two weeks ago we were walking outside in lightweight shirts or hoodies. Then, suddenly this week....BLAM! It is freakishly cold out there!

Linda

We got hit here too, 8 inches of very heavy wet stuff. I spent 2 hours shoveling the driveway, the deck, the backyard. Cooper is afraid of the snow and he pooped in the house twice. He's a Michigan dog, fer crying out loud. I finally just tossed him out. He got even by chewing up the cat's catnip mouse and throwing up.

We're supposed to get another foot, at least, and we have blizzard warnings. 50 MPH wind gusts, blowing and drifting, white out conditions.

Yup, it's winter and it's Michigan. The snowplow plowed me in this morning, Ashley never made it to work/school. There was a 3 foot wall of wet snow at the bottom of the driveway but I just put the Jeep in 4 wheel drive and went to work, not a hesitation.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE that Jeep? LOL.

We'll see what tomorrow brings, and I have to get out to the farm and check tanks and hay feeders too.

It's about 10F here now, but the windchill is way lower than that.

Annie

We got the blizzard that Peppi was supposed to get. 14 degrees here, very windy, but not as much snow. But like all midwesterners know, it's the wind that'll kill ya.ow. 25 miles north, in Kalamazoo, where I work, they got it. Luckily I left 2 hours early yesterday to get home, and my 42 minute drive took 1 hour and 20 minutes. This morning they closed the college, so I fortunately did not have to drive back into the blizzard. When they called me this morning at 5 am, they told me that even if the school hadn't closed, they were going to tell me not to attempt the drive back in. I guess it is treacherous. There is one spot along the drive where it is flat prairie land with no snow fences, and it is a complete whiteout in heavy wind when there is snow. Brrrrrrrr.
I just gained a much needed day to finish my holiday baking for my Christmas this Saturday.
How about everybody else?

Heading towards work soon and wishing I could stay home again. My driveway has been plowed, the road, while snow covered, has been plowed. All they are saying is that we could see another 12" or more of lake effect snow today. The winter storm warning continues until 7 pm here.

Glad I have all wheel drive!

Nancy

Wow. All I can say is Wow! Y'all are much, much tougher than I am.

Sally

Not tougher, Sally, it's all in what you're used to. I grew up driving in snow up to the windows and filling hay feeders at 20 below zero. It's just part of life here.

BUT, I took Dad through the Texas panhandle a few years ago and we spent the night in a place called Shamrock, Texas. We were there in July. It was somewhere over 100 degrees and the wind was blowing pretty much all the time. I remember stepping out of the air conditioned vehicle and turning around, saying to Dad "How the heck do people LIVE here?" So, you're actually probably tougher than me, because I HATE any heat over 80F. And don't even tell me about the humidity and dry heat, LOL, it's all HOT!

It's all in what you're used to, but this is exceptional even for us. the newscasters have been calling it "Snowpocalypse".

Annie

How funny.

The panhandle of Texas has got to have one of the most miserable climates there are. Horrible heat in the summer and bitter cold in the winter. No spring or fall to speak of, that I'm aware of. I would never want to live there. Dallas does get very hot, but our winters are usually pretty mild and short.

Sally