More Snow

This week started out with a prediction of more snow, or sleet, or ice or all of the above.

Tom took me out early Monday morning to check out the tractor he’d been pondering all weekend. He said it was a little bigger than he wanted, BUT it was a good price, it had been well taken care of, it was a John Deer. It had a good bucket…

So we went out in the snow and slush and took a look. Tom drove it. It actually turned in a very small radius and had power steering!  The bucket went up really high!  It was such a fun toy!  So money changed hands.

Tuesday bright and early, Tom went to pick up his new prized possession. The ground was thawing and too soft to put the tractor back by the barn, so it got a special place on the parking pad and a nice warm tarp to cover it from the coming snow.

Tuesday night we invited the missionaries and an investigator over for dinner. I had it all planned. My mouth watered for a baked pasta and chicken casserole. Then, about 3pm, I checked my planner. Argh!  She needed a gluten free meal. No problem. I could switch to Mexican Chicken casserole. I had the chicken, the corn tortillas, home-made salsa…. By now it’s closer to 5pm with dinner at 6. I read the label on the Cream of Mushroom soup. Gaaa! Wheat!

But I remembered Jonathan’s chicken enchiladas that didn’t use soup. It called for a rue of butter and flour, then chicken stock and sour cream to thicken it. It seemed like it would be a good substitute for the soups. So I winged it with that. The casserole was tasty and less “jucy” than I usually make it. And Tom pronounced it delicious. I also had beans, green salad, and applesauce for dinner.

And then as I was bringing out the Congo Squares Tom had made the day before, she asked, “Are these gluten free?” Rats! Forgot again. She seemed happy to make due with a Hershey’s chocolate bar.

We had a nice lesson after that on the Plan of Salvation.

Wednesday they predicted terrible weather. They’d been forecasting it all week. Sleet, freezing rain (is there a difference?) then snow with accumulations of 4-6 inches. Everything closed. All the schools… so that meant no church activities that night either.

Wednesday morning arrived… nothing. Tom ran errands in town… nothing. Then about 11 it started to rain. By 12 it was sleet. By 1 it was snow. And it kept snowing. It snowed up until 9pm or so. And we did get about 6 inches!

 Beginning snow.

 Advanced snow.  There is a driveway someplace in that picture.

 Evening snow.  You can see the footprints to feed the chickens.

 The day after.  Sunny and bright.

This was snuggle-in-front-of-the-fireplace week. We kept the fire going. I took the laptop downstairs and sat in the recliner and worked. I really enjoyed working down there. Tom would come down and visit and occasionally nap. It was nice to stay warm and cozy.  This is Tom's revenge.  Last week I took a photo of him snoozing. I'm really just in deep meditation...

Thursday Tom got to practice using the new tractor as his “snow shovel.”  He did a great job of cleaning off the circular drive. It also started warming up and some of the snow melted.  Notice our warped snow-thing in front.

I decided it was time to stop the creeping up of the scale. So I started the cabbage soup diet. I find if I can drop some weight, my body resets itself to that weight. If I keep eating sensibly it will maintain that weight. Alas, I seldom keep eating sensibly. But it takes a few years to pack the weight back on.

Friday Tom was able to put the tractor under the overhand of the barn (it won't fit in the barn because it is too tall). It has a cover over the driver’s seat and a rollbar. So it just squeaked under… after Tom made some modifications to the roof joist. Tom and I also made some snowmen to commemorate the snow. And we went walking—trying to avoid the snow—at Rossi road park.

Saturday we walked again and we also did a little more digging in the garden to put in our metal flashing weed/turtle barrier. By Saturday afternoon probably 95% of the snow had melted.  We also went to visit a friend in a rehab-nursing home who is making a slow recovery from surgery.  I took her some books and discovered she is a Georgette Heyer fan as well.

Saturday evening some friends, the Pfiefers, came over and we played Empire building Monopoly. They had invited us out for ice cream… and I withstood the temptation by inviting them over to our house instead. This variety of Monopoly was a fun game. Only 3 kinds of bills, no hotels or houses, but a lot of property exchanging (willing or not) and a great deal of luck. Frank went to jail probably 6 times and in every way possible—rolling doubles, Chance card- for fraud, and landing on “go to jail.”

It’s a game her 8 and 9 year olds enjoy and it doesn’t take forever to play it!  I recommend it for kids and adults.

Sunday I substituted as a Relief Society teacher. It was a nice easy lesson to teach and I think it went well. Tom had BYD here after church. He made great snacks for the kids. I think they have no idea how much he does for them.

This coming week, temperatures should stay above freezing day and night. It’s a “sucker hole” to make me think I can start planting your garden. We’re sure to get more freezing nights.