Blizzard 2011

WOW is all I can say.  Here in the Midwest we have been officially upgraded to a Blizzard!  I can't say that I have ever been in a Blizzard before.  I have been at home snug and thankfully warm all day long so I only have a few snow pictures to show you.  There are all sorts of Blizzard pictures filtering in from friends and family from where they are at.  You have seen this view before from a previous storm.  It's really hard to capture the blowing snow at a straight horizontal in this picture but it's blowing... and the snow is still coming down.

...and it's drifting...

Covering the cars and landscape in a thick blanket of snow and drifts.

 

 We are glad to see him.  One of our local city guys doing a fantastic job getting the roads cleaned off!

 

As I peered into the washer I was rewarded with this view.  That is the sight of an empty washer from a snow day that allowed me a chance to catch back up around here.  I have recently enrolled in school again and am once again working toward my degree.  Since my schedule requires me to leave the house every day for classes I am finding I have a bit less time for things at home and blogging.  I am working on adjusting since I have only just returned this past week and starting to feel a bit of a routine toward the end of the week.  This blizzard has given me the luxury of catching up on some housework that was caught in the transition.

My daughter is preparing to make cookies for us to enjoy.  I am thankful beyond words that we are have our electricity and I consider it a luxury in these conditions.

I am also thankful that we are prepared for emergencies and have a well stocked pantry and supplies.  We do not live in a large city and have no supermarket or local grocery to go to so we are careful to keep a well stocked pantry so that we do not need to go to the store very often.  I try to keep shopping to a minimum for several reason.  I try very hard to make sure that all we need is purchased bi weekly and have my meals planned out ahead of time.  Its also hard to stay on a solid budget if you are constantly stopping at the market and picking up items.  I have found that if I make an effort to stay away from the market I don't tend to pick up extras that I wouldn't normally purchase if I was on my  bi weekly shopping trip.  We also have several staples that are stored in bakers containers in our pantry.  We keep sugar, flour, dried beans and rice on hand in large containers.  Along with many other ingredients. We have a back up Kerosene heater and a camp stove for basic cooking if we are ever to loose power.  It may not be as warm as the household heater but I know in an emergency we will not freeze and will have basic nourishing meals to eat until normality is restored for us.  If you are part of this storm system best wishes and stay warm.  Keep those without power and necessities in your thoughts and prayers. My heart goes out to them all.