Moni, It was one of those on-and-off warnings. One day they thought it would hit us hard, and then another day they said it would go farther south and then they came back and said we 'might' get 1" to 4" but they were leaning more toward the 1". So, here we sit with over 6" on the ground (I haven't measured it lately) and more falling. The problem is that the forecast models were all over the place, and the meteorologists had to decide which model or models they had the most confidence in. A lot of them chose the wrong one! LOL It is a wet snow and our temps have hovered between 29 and 32 degrees all afternoon, so some of it has melted even as more has fallen. It is quite lovely but I hope it goes away soon. My Dixondale onions ship next week. All the birds in southern OK are currently eating out in the yard.....we're having a wild bird convention with everything from goldfinches (several dozen of them at three finch feeders) to cardinals, blue jays, blue birds, starlings, black-capped chickadees, doves, sparrows, crows, grackles, etc. There are birds everywhere. I need to go outside and let the 'garage dogs' out to run and play. I've been letting them out for about 15 minutes every couple of hours all day long. They like the snow, but they don't like it for long. I'll measure the snow while I'm out. Down in the D-FW area, I believe today's snowfall makes this the snowiest year since sometime in the 1970s. I know sleet and snow flurries have fallen in the College Station, TX, area and than across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into northern Florida. They should have real snow in some of those places tonight and tomorrow. Every day it seems like someone in the USA is having snow, and I guess this is the southern states' turn. Dawn

Ezzirah, RATZ is right! lol Think about how challenging the weather here is....we have to fight late freezes and frosts long after the soil temperatures and air temperatures are in the right range for planting. Then, we have to worry about the chances of late snow or sleet. Add to that the chances of severe T-storms with hard rains that can wash away seeds, heavy rainfall that can drown plants (I had 12.87" in one day last April and I already had most of my garden planted) and hail that can smash your plants to smithereens. Throw in the chances of wildfire during the March through May wildfire season and in dry summers. Then, there's the drought years when rain hardly ever falls. Drought also brings plagues of grasshoppers. You have to be tough and flexible to garden here. Either that or crazy. Dawn

The first time we were at the Radisson Aruba, I had a case of hives that were seriously exacerbated by eating fresh fish. I woke up with swollen lips & hands and had to go to an Island doctor for a shot of Prednisone. The cab driver drove us over to the doctor's office, he waited for us to come out instead of making us call for another cab, drove us to a Pharmacy, and then back to the hotel. Talk about tourist friendly, that was a very nice way to deal with that fare. On that same trip, my husband strained his back and could barely walk. We were quite the sight - me covered in hives, him bent over and limping along. To make up for that less than perfect trip, 2 years later we went back (to the Radisson again) and managed to stay healthy for the week. A big snow storm hit the east coast and we were worried about getting back into Philly late and then having to shovel out the car. Luckily, days later when we returned to the States, most of the snow had melted and slid off the car and we were able to just drive over the snow plowed behind the car. This year the only thing we have planned is some time in Hilton Head.

I was there around this time of year. I was in parts of China where I didn't need a warm coat and then in Beijing where I did. So I brought many layers. Even with everything on it was very cold for activities like seeing the Great Wall. I could have used full outdoor winter clothing that I wear in the depths of winter in Minnesota. Worst case, you're cold and cut your outdoor time short which is what I did with my Great Wall outing. There were very few people out there so no big bodies to block the wind for me. As far as TP and such matters, you are probably also aware that if you get very far from western oriented areas you will not only not find TP, you will not find western style toilets. You will instead find a hole in the floor that you squat over.