Another lovely day in Oklahoma. . .

Jumping in to say hello! When I saw the posts with the pics of space heaters I thought about dragging mine out for down here in the mancave. Fortunately I have a laptop that runs a little too hot and I use it literally on my lap, so I'm pretty cozy down here.:)

I was pleased to hear about @Kitty 34 getting back into her house. I was thinking you still had some months to go, are you all settled back in?

Mackenzie sorry to hear about your uncle, let's hope he's better real soon.

Why does everyone go for the milk and bread? I want dark chocolate, prosecco, fancy cheese, fruit, and toasted walnuts. Okay and maybe a baguette to go with the cheese, so I guess I understand the bread. Oh, and I'll take some yummy smelling bath bombs, a good book, and lots of candles. If I'm going to be trapped by a dusting of snow, I want to do so in style!
I like where you're head's at Twilight;) Hibernation can be a terrific experience, ya gotta be prepared:teeth:
 
@Mackenzie Click-Mickelson , what a beautiful snow photo! Dealing with 7 inches of snow wouldn't be fun, but it is definitely pretty. So sorry to hear about your uncle's health but thankful everything seems to be heading in the right direction now.
It really was pretty! And thank you regarding my uncle

By then, we'd have a bit longer daylight hours and the valentine's chocolate would provide a temporary mood boost. If we had a big enough box of chocolates and only ate one a day, it might get us through until spring.
I so like where you're going with this ::yes::

Only thing I seem to have harder issue finding is dark chocolate during Valentine's Day (speaking towards your post Ron commented on). I mean I'll def. eat milk chocolate but I much more prefer dark chocolate. Have you tried spicy dark chocolate? Like ones with cayenne pepper in it? I kinda like the extra kick from time to time.

Mackenzie sorry to hear about your uncle, let's hope he's better real soon.
Thank you Ron!
 


It's 1:25am Saturday and we've been home for about an hour. My husband and I flew out to OH to drive my MIL's car back home- we are buying it from her estate. We were visiting with my SILs, supposed to stay until Saturday morning (I went out on Tues, Karl joined me on Wed evening, figured it'd take 2 days to drive home casually), but of course we had to come back early due to the snow we are expecting. I drove 17 hours today (about 960 miles) to stay ahead of the storm! It's good to be home, although I feel a little fried (I do all the driving as I get SO motion sick when I ride). At least we are here ahead of the snow. I guess we are in the 2-feet-plus prediction zone, and maybe some ice, too. Yay...NOT. We'll see. Snow is expected here early Saturday evening, snowing through until Monday morning. Yay... NOT. I'm beginning to wonder if school will open on Tuesday; it's still semester break, dorms open on Sunday for spring semester! I can't imagine anyone will be driving back up on Sunday or Monday, IF UMaine can get all the parking lots and such cleared. Could be interesting...
 
It's 1:25am Saturday and we've been home for about an hour. My husband and I flew out to OH to drive my MIL's car back home- we are buying it from her estate. We were visiting with my SILs, supposed to stay until Saturday morning (I went out on Tues, Karl joined me on Wed evening, figured it'd take 2 days to drive home casually), but of course we had to come back early due to the snow we are expecting. I drove 17 hours today (about 960 miles) to stay ahead of the storm! It's good to be home, although I feel a little fried (I do all the driving as I get SO motion sick when I ride). At least we are here ahead of the snow. I guess we are in the 2-feet-plus prediction zone, and maybe some ice, too. Yay...NOT. We'll see. Snow is expected here early Saturday evening, snowing through until Monday morning. Yay... NOT. I'm beginning to wonder if school will open on Tuesday; it's still semester break, dorms open on Sunday for spring semester! I can't imagine anyone will be driving back up on Sunday or Monday, IF UMaine can get all the parking lots and such cleared. Could be interesting...

Good you got home ahead of the storm. Stay warm, and safe.
 


What a day you had, @leebee ! Glad you two are home. Hope the forecast is wrong and you get 2 inches of snow rather than 2 feet! : )

We've had almost constant heavy rain since last night, though, so if that's heading to the coast and changing to snow, I think it's going to be bad. We're getting a small break in precipitation right now and temps are starting to drop quickly. I'll head to the barn in a few to switch sheets out for blankets before the next round of precip arrives - supposed to be snow this time.

Earlier today, I mentioned how much I wished we were at WDW. DH told me to go sit outside and pretend I'm on Splash Mountain. He's funny, that one.
 
We are still waiting for the snow. We had about 3" overnight (Saturday into Sunday) and it's bitterly cold with the wind (-18F at the moment). The snow is starting to come down seriously, so we'll see what happens. We have been downgraded to only "a foot-plus" but they are also starting to talk about the dreaded "wintry mix." My husband (Karl) is talking about going outside to shovel once we finish coffee and breakfast. Round 1, as he says. He'd rather do several shifts of lighter shoveling than one big snow removal at the end of the storm. It's usually my job to keep up with the front steps (5 of them) and the front porch, as well as keeping the coffee hot and making soup! I'm not too worried about losing power; it'll get cold in here, but we'll be OK. I worry about the pipes freezing, though. Right now the thermostat is turned up to 64F (we usually keep it at 58) but the house isn't very warm. House is 112 years old and the insulation isn't great, so it's never comfortably warm in here, and the wind makes it harder to keep the temp up. I am not too worried about the storm. Plenty of cheese & crackers, PB&J

The drive home from Ohio wasn't that bad; I was surprised. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to do the entire drive in one day, and we were fully prepared to stay overnight in a hotel somewhere along the way. I felt good when we got to central Mass (around 6-ish maybe) and when we crossed from NH into ME at 9pm, I still felt alert. When I still felt good as we passed through Portland I knew I'd be OK for the last 2 hours home. It really wasn't a bad trip; we stopped every 3 hours for gas and a potty break (and another big cup of coffee) and spent some time driving around Syracuse as we lived there for 5 years while Karl got his PhD. We used to do a lot of road trips in our younger days (including driving from ME to SanFrancisco), and I think managing this long trip this easily has made me feel like a kid again!

Today will be a shoveling and cooking day, as mentioned. I'm also starting to think about our summer plans. Originally we were hoping to go to France for a few weeks this summer, but now that DD is getting married in June, our dollars will go to that rather than vacation. However, we have beaucoup Southwest rapid rewards points so can fly someplace domestic, and maybe find an airbnb or something affordable for accommodations. My SIL thinks we should go to Las Vegas as they love it there, but I'm not sure what there is to do in the area. Neither of us is thrilled over the idea of gambling all the time. I know there are shows and such, but I'm not sure of what we can do outside in that area, things to go see, etc. I am going to give that some thought today, as well as other options for travel. NOT Disney again; I'd happily spend a week floating in the pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but DH is rather "over" Florida for awhile... although he has a dear friend in Cocoa Beach who is ailing (and is 75), and we love Kennedy Space Center, and we've never been to Universal (no real interest) but would LOVE to see the Harry Potter parks... we'll see. I am thinking NOT Florida, no matter how hard I try to justify it. I will also spend today writing out a "traditional" sequence of events for a wedding. DD has only been to one wedding that she remembers, and she keeps asking me how they should do things, can they do this or that, should they do something else, etc. I am going to outline a traditional ceremony so she knows what the over-40s in attendance will expect; if they vary from this, it's fine, but IME people like to be "told" what to do when things vary from the traditional. For example, they don't want guests to be seated by ushers, much less a "bride's side/groom's side" but that's still pretty standard here. I think they should post one of those cute signs if ushers aren't seating guests, something like "Pick a seat, not a side, we're all one family once the knot is tied" so people know it's OK to just find a place to sit. Stuff like that. It feels like we are on top of everything for this wedding, but I also know that June 16 is going to sneak up on us fast, so I'll spend today organizing my thoughts and making lists/timelines; the last thing I want to be doing on the morning of the wedding is finishing frosting cupcakes or something like that.

Well, as you can tell, I like to chat... if you've hung on this far through my post, more power to you! I hope everyone has weathered the storm so far, with less snow/ice than anticipated. I am just counting down the days until spring!
 
He'd rather do several shifts of lighter shoveling than one big snow removal at the end of the storm.

That's my DH as well! Though right now it's just raining here, turning the snow we did get to slush. So we're in "wait and see" mode.

would LOVE to see the Harry Potter parks... we'll see. I am thinking NOT Florida, no matter how hard I try to justify it.

I'll help you either way. I love, love, love the Harry Potter areas at Universal, and will happily validate your decision if you cave and go to Florida again. They are so incredibly immersive! As a fan of the books and movies, I could just walk around that area and gawk and take photos for hours. And then there are right on top of that. :)

If, however, you want someplace new - my family finally made it to DC this past year, and we had a great time! If this shutdown mess is cleaned up by then and everything is open, I think you would love it. You can stay outside the city proper to save some money, yet still be near the metro, and the Smithsonian museums themselves are free. :)

...if they vary from this, it's fine, but IME people like to be "told" what to do when things vary from the traditional. For example, they don't want guests to be seated by ushers, much less a "bride's side/groom's side" but that's still pretty standard here. I think they should post one of those cute signs if ushers aren't seating guests, something like "Pick a seat, not a side, we're all one family once the knot is tied" so people know it's OK to just find a place to sit.

I love that idea!
 
It's a beautiful, sunny day here but so cold. We did get snow but none of it stuck. The ground was too wet from the earlier rain and too warm from the near 60 temps yesterday morning. The worst of the weather was wind, wind chill, and wet surfaces that iced overnight. Glad that's over. Hope the rest of you are doing okay.

Like PollyannaMom, we love the Harry Potter part of Universal. It still remains my DH's favorite over anything at WDW. It really feels like you're in the books or movies. I love that even adults can wear their house robes and carry wands and not feel ridiculous or out of place. DD and I were fully decked out in our Ravenclaw gear and had a great time!

I've been to Vegas a few times for conferences. It's definitely something to see. I decided to shop rather than gamble and probably had way more fun. My reasoning was at least I would definitely have something in return for my money. The hotels/casinos are gorgeous and immersive in their themes. The food and shopping are great. There are shows to suit pretty much any taste. You can find wonderful art or botanic exhibits at some of the hotels, too. I extended one trip to hang out with family in the area, and we saw Hoover Dam/Lake Mead and hiked at the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. I would like to return one day with no work on the agenda. I still won't gamble. I'm not morally opposed. I'd just rather do something else, and there's definitely plenty to do there that doesn't include gambling.

I, too, love the sign idea for the wedding, Leebee. I hope the wedding is everything your daughter and future son-in-law hope it will be.

And now I want soup after reading your post, Leebee! I made homemade hot chocolate last night to ward off the cold, but soup would have been a great idea.

Unfortunately my attention is needed elsewhere now, so I better sign off. I've enjoyed chatting with you all, though! Have a great rest of the weekend!
 
I've been to Vegas a few times for conferences. It's definitely something to see.
I'm not a huge Vegas guy but I've been several times and enjoyed it. My trips were tied to events going on--a biz trip, a concert, seeing a specific show. I'd gamble a little but after a short time, I'm over it. I'd like to try some of the world class restaurants on a future Vegas trip.:)
 
Glad to hear your heat is up & running Jane, the next few days are going to be tough.:)

We went through a whole month of horrible weather during our furnace shutdown.:cold:
Mid way our emergency furnace support went down. Then, all we had was wood stove heat, and the electric fireplace in our living room.

It was something I'd hope we do not ever experience again. I'm now feeling the onset of a cold, but relieved I was ok during the two waits (replacement of damaged first part) then for the eventual part to clear customs with the USA shutdown.

I'm also relieved the USA shutdown ended. God bless everyone that has been affected by it. :grouphug:
 
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Just warning you guys....the State of Michigan is shutting down tomorrow due to really cold temps. So not sure if that means they will cut all power and/or what not to us people!! Yes we will be colder than somewhere in Antarctica according to some news station around here but hey....it's their summer!!!

I am all bundled up and eating a bowl of chili right now so hopefully I will survive the frigid temps and the Michigan shut down. Kind of reminds me of another shutdown that just took place for the past few weeks but that was not because of a polar vortex situation!! :rolleyes1
 

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