Gotta Love the Midwest!!!!!

I have to think that I was born in the wrong territory, because, as yesterday was a very pleasant 62 degrees, today's high has regressed to a balmy 20 degrees ( Fahrenheit, that is). Along with the frigid temperature there is also the added sleet mixed with snow. And, the best part is the dangerously slippery roads that have been cause to numerous traffic accidents this morning. Although the roads weren't solely to blame as the people driving on them who totally forgot that you should slow down in hazardous driving conditions. So, anyway, I guess we are suppose to have 3 more days of this lovely precipitation and today was the better day of the 3. Since the kids and I are off Monday we will probably spend this weekend enjoying the warmth of our home, assuming the power lines don't ice over. We do, however, have our trusty generator that we purchased two years ago during our last big freeze when we lost electricity for 4 days. I will confess, that was not the best of times for our household.

I can clearly remember the setting: All of us sitting in the living room with our winter jackets, gloves and hats on while listening to the only source of entertainment we had...an old battery powered radio. Let me tell you that I am not someone who enjoys "roughing it" so that afternoon went on an adventure to find a generator. As it turns out, everyone else had that exact same idea! We had to stand in line to put our name on a list for the next available shipment of the priceless equipment. Finally, the neighbor told us that he had a connection for getting us both generators that were going to be coming in a shipment that night. At midnight that night our trusty new generator was all gassed up and ready to go! We were able to plug 2 ceramic heaters, the refrigerator and the t.v. up to it. We had very romantic lighting with various candles placed throughout the house, so reading at night was completely out of the question. The electric lines were repaired on a Friday night just in time for me to catch the latest episode to my favorite show, Stargate Atlantis.

So now I am hoping that this year won't be a repeat of that dreaded time. I did make a trip to Dillons to stock up on some groceries just in case. I am not planning to join the ranks of the "penguins" that feel the need to play kamikaze car derby on these icy roads. So my words to you are...play nice and be safe.

C