brrrrrrrrrr {december 23, 2022}

Yesterday, the second day of winter roared in like a lion. A perilous brew of winds, snow and ice, and plunging temperatures swept across the United States. On its own, an Arctic blast is not unusual, but this year it has combined with a “bomb cyclone," a rapidly intensifying storm. Forecasters have said that individually, the winds, snow and subzero temperatures from Winter Storm Elliott are not all that troubling but with the bomb cyclone, they have coalesced into something ferocious. 

I went to the grocery store to do some shopping for my contributions to the Christmas meal at my brother and sister-in-law's house. The parking lot was packed and no carts were available when I walked into the store. Luckily, my list wasn't long and I had my market basket and a couple shopping bags with me. Carrying my groceries made navigating the the store much easier to weave around those who had shopping carts. The lines to the registers snaked down the grocery aisles but people were patient and we chatted during our hour wait to check out. Extra store personnel were stationed at the check out lanes to maintain order, thanked the patrons for their patience, and gave everyone Happy Holidays and stay safe wishes.

The winds started picking up around 9:00 p.m. and at 10:45 we lost power, but just for half an hour. It gave us a chance to try out our new LED lanterns that we had purchased for an instance like this. I'm going to buy some for the kids to start their home emergency kit. 

Fixing the morning coffee was a little more special this morning. Grateful to the linemen who restored our power so quickly so that we didn't have to leave the house to buy a cup of coffee. That first sip tasted extra good. The constant howling wind is done, just gusts here and there. Today I'm wrapping gifts to take to Cincinnati on Sunday, finishing my new son-in-law's Christmas stocking, and working on my Christmas/New Year's letter to post in next week's mail. Perfect for this -6° day.

🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 

Another heart-warming family moment...my daughter and son-in-law have been married 8 months today.