Jay, I don't know what's happening in the rest of Oklahoma, but here at our house, very light rain started falling around 3:45 a.m. when the temperature was 36 degrees. Then, as the temperature fell, the rain transitioned, first and briefly to freezing rain, then to sleet which fell for a while, and then to snow, which has been falling for about an hour-and-a-half. Within the last 5 minutes, the flakes have become huge but also have smaller ice pellets mixed in with them. Our temperatures have been hanging right around and just below freezing all morning. The thermometer on the front porch has dropped from 33 degrees, which is what it was when the snow started falling, to 30 degrees, where it has remained for the last 55 minutes. Tim drove home from work in it this morning, but the temps had stayed higher than initially expected in Dallas, so they were getting rain only and nothing frozen. Of course, the further north he drove the worse the weather became. Overall, our forecast is for slightly colder weather and a little more precip over the next couple of days than initially forecast. However, since the freezing rain was very brief, we don't seem to be in danger of having power outages, which is always my primary concern with weather like this. We are likely to lose internet service at some point. The deer are out there eating the deer corn and the wild birds are eating the seed I put out late yesterday evening. The fact that they came out to eat in the snow tells me they think it will last a while. Generally, they stay under cover and wait for the snow to end and then come to the feeding area to eat. I have coffee in the big thermos bottles and a pot of ham bean soup bubbling away on the stove, so I'm ready to feed the firefighters if we have calls today, except I still need to whip up a couple of batches of corn bread muffins to go with the soup. It is going to be a long, boring stretch of cold days, but it certainly won't be as bad as last year's winter weather that wouldn't end. And, as long as the internet and satellite TV are working, we can at least amuse ourselves with them. The snow is pretty, but after about 3 days without sunshine I start getting cabin fever. We had sunshine in great abundance yesterday, so I shouldn't start feeling sun-deprived for another couple of days. Dawn

Better late than never, I guess. I didn't eat tonight either. Harry ate a pear. Got up at 5 so we could be ready and get to VA in G-ville by 9. Finally got out of there about 12:30 and stopped on the way home at my favorite restaurant, the Horse and Hound, for a late lunch. It was 2:30 by the time we got home and then I took down the outside decorations and then took a nap. Didn't wake up until after 5. Lunch was a prime rib sub with lettuce, tomato, french fried onion rings and some kind of good sauce. Served with cole slaw and cold beer! Ahh! The meat was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Very filling. Have to say that even though I'm not hungry, all your dinners sure sound good.

I've been operating in the mini-kitchen mode for about 2 months now. The worst part is we don't have our normal fridge hooked up...it's in the garage unplugged right now. So, we are using a dorm size fridge, microwave, toaster oven, electric skillet to cook meals. The dorm size fridge drives me the most nuts because there is no room for leftovers at all. That being said, we have mostly managed to eat dinners at home. The electric skillet is very useful. We do chicken breasts, hamburgers etc. in it. We've also bought some of the Skillet Sensations type meals where you dump in a the packet and stir. Those are actually pretty decent when accompanied by a nice salad or another veggie. I bought a Breville toaster oven at the start of this and it's been helpful too. I can bake potatoes or cook pizza in it. The $200 price has more than been recouped in fewer meals out. The crock pot is good but as others have said, it's big which is a real pain to wash in the bathroom sink. I do use the electric skillet to boil water for pasta. It's kind of awkward since it's low and wide, but it still gets the job done. I miss prep space. We have used all our extra tables to put the small appliances on so I don't have any place to do basic things like chopping or even filling plates. Right now, I sit on the floor with a cutting board to dice an onion. I fend off the cat when I fill plates on the floor. I can't wait to get my sink, counter space and fridge back. I could live with the toaster oven, microwave, electric skillet set up for awhile if the other things were still there.

Mushroom Bourguignon from Hello Fresh, pre-selected meals sent to your door. It was pretty good. It was made with pancetta, which I had never heard of before. I just ordered my daughter some pizza and bread sticks since all her friends left for Fall break. She was wanting me to go up there this weekend but I'm sick and not wanting to drive 2 hours one way. I felt sorry for her when she said she wasn't leaving her dorm and had water and Ramen to survive on for the weekend. lol