Is this unusual for your area, Beverly?

We got a good fall overnight, probably about six inches or so. Really the first good one this winter. Our young neighbour was out early with his snowblower and did about six houses. What a sweetheart! And yes, It is cold here too.

Theresa

Up here in Minnesota, we have managed to avoid all the big storms that have charged across the country. We have plenty of snow, but not the ice, sleet, snow and driving winds that the middle of the country and the east coast have had. That being said, the temperature when I woke up yesterday was minus 24 degrees with a wind chill factor of minus 40. Who lives in places like this?? I really feel sorry for those of you who live in areas where you are not prepared for weather like this because it happens so rarely. Take care.

Theresa, we will get this much snow about every other year. Once in a while we will get a couple of inches, but not often. We usually get rain followed by cold and resulting in very icy roads and falling trees. Our high today was 27.

We received 14" since yesterday with more as we speak, with about 25" on the ground, but we're used to big snows every once in a while. Anyone for a snow cone? Actually it is a bird bath. It was so pretty in the middle of the night - just sparkling like diamonds.

Enjoy your snow, Bev. I do love looking at it.

We got the brunt of it. The Weather Channel had a guy on our street all day yesterday! It was 1 degree at 7:30 this morning, with at least 6" of snow on the ground. We had to pull the pump from our fish pond.

With luck it will melt over the weekend, because I think I heard they have two snowplows for a million people in a spread out city. Happy we have electricity, and feeling bad for those who don't.

Y'all stay safe.

I don't ever remember snow in Alabama when I was a kid. I think we were about 100 miles south of you. But, I remember it being very cold at times. Looks like the lake isn't frozen over so you can still get some kyaking in if you get bored sewing. lol

Wow! it has been a mess here. I'm in Dallas. We were at 19 degrees this morning. It was below 0 yesterday morning and about 6 on Monday morning. We have about 6" of snow on the ground, which is not the problem. It's the extreme low temps. The wind turbines are frozen up as are the natural gas fired generators, so we're at about 50% capacity on electricity. Lots of people are out of power. It's going to be a plumbers nightmare when they get the power back on, but their pocketbooks will get fat, anyway.

My step-son is without power for the fourth day. They are staying warm with just the fireplace. My cousin thought they were going to cut her power, but luckily didn't. My sister's pool froze, so that will be a big bill. Many homes in their area were out of power. They finally figured out that they must be on the same circuit as the water tower behind them, which they won't cut the power to. They called the pool company yesterday and the earliest they could get out is March 6.

This is my first winter storm since my DH passed. He always took care of everything like that. So, this time it was on me. All of the garages were closed, so I had to check the antifreeze in the car. I'm sure we have an anti-freeze checker, but I had not idea where it was. I went to buy one, and the first two stores were sold out. I decided to use a heat lamp to keep the washer from freezing, but they were sold out everywhere. I finally called a little hardware store nearby, and they said they were on the truck which would be there in 30 minutes. People were standing there waiting for heaters, heat lamps, kerosene, etc. to be unpacked when I got there. All they had were 1 gallon containers of kerosene and they were $5.00. Thankfully, I didn't need that. I spent Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday trying to get everything winterized, wrapped, insulated, etc. before the worst of the storm hit.

Finally yesterday afternoon, I decided to finish that ugly Christmas throw I started instead of standing in the window looking out. All it needed was the final squaring up and the bias binding made and applied. So, I stopped whining for a while and worked on that.

What a week! Thanks for listening.

bkay

You guys all take care and stay warm. My area has been lucky in that it is very cold but no bad weather.

Sharon, we don't get a lot, usually just cold. Our little "lake" has frozen over many times.

Bkay, what an adventure. Prayers for only minor damage. It is so hard to think of everything that needes to be done when you don't have to do them regularly. As I find things that need to be at least checked, I add them to the appropriate list (hurricane, tornado, flood, cold ...) of things to be done. I think you did a good job.

Jackie, I got a winter storm warning for your area this morning. You be careful.

Bkay, I hope things are improving for you and your family and friends.

I had to shovel a path to the birdfeeder this morning. The snow was up to my knees. And they are predicting another big one tomorrow.

Not until after I get my haircut please! It has been over four months and our shops just opened up again, so we grab the first appt. we can. I look in the mirror lately and wonder who that old lady is...and then I realize it is me. Maybe the haircut will take off a few years.

Theresa

Everyone be careful! We don't get huge amounts of snow in S. Illinois, but we have about a foot on the ground right now, and it is snowing this morning with a temp of 22*. My entire cove on the lake I live on is frozen with snow cover.

At least it is not 0* again! The county has yet to plow my road at all...thank goodness for my AWD CRV! I'm heading to the vet with my little doggie for her yearly visit, so I hope I don't get stuck! Bkay, hope things improve for you very soon. Texas looks like a nightmare!

Everything is closed here. The grocery stores are closed or out of food. They say there is no bread, milk, eggs and meat. Walmart closed 400+ stores in Texas. The gas stations are mostly out of fuel. Apparently, you have to do some searching to get gasoline. I'm sure my vet stayed home and it's a long way to the emergency vet, even if they are open. But my dogs are staying inside and warm so they will be ok.

But, so far I've been really lucky. "Blessed" is the word I used in a text to my cousin yesterday. I've been warm, no broken pipes so far (they are all flowing). I had plenty of food and I didn't need to go anywhere. My dogs still went out to do their business even if it was just to the porch and the deck.

We will have a chilly morning tomorrow, but after that it starts to warm up. By Sunday, we should be mostly thawed out. My only unknowns are the car and the outdoor faucets.

I was whining about the water bills to come as I've had to leave some faucets running on the really cold nights and my friend said that was cheaper than a plumber is going to be.

So, again, I'm blessed.

bkay

bkay, prayers the temps improve and things improve quickly.

Amen, what Beverly said.

Theresa

bkay, I glad you have made it through so far. I hope your outside issues are OK, too.

My DH measured again and we ended up with about 36". And that doesn't take into account the drifts and plowed piles you have a hard time seeing around while driving. My DD heard on the Chicago news that they mentioned our town and wondered where we were going to put all the snow that had to be moved.

Well, our snow and ice has all melted. We're back up to normal temperatures today.

I came through the storm mostly unscathed. Fortunately, I had a fixed rate electric contract, so even though it's going to be a big bill, it's not as bad as some. They are saying those who chose to have floating rate contracts have incredible bills coming - $7,000 to $10,000 for the month. I'm still going to have a high gas bill, as my furnace ran almost non-stop for days. I let the kitchen water faucet run on the coldest days and nights as it's on an outside wall. My water heater is on gas, so that won't help either.

But it doesn't look like I will have any repair bills. I had no nights in the car trying to stay warm, no outrageous hotel bills, don't have to boil water, or go try to find any and I had plenty of food in the freezer, so I didn't have to search for that either.

So, I was pretty much unscathed.

bkay

So glad to hear it, bkay. I can't imagine a utility bill that high.

Well, they were pretty dumb to sign up for that kind of service. We had some ungodly hot days a year or two ago. (When it get really hot, the wind doesn't blow.) They had some crazy electric bills for those on that kind of plan then, but not this bad. Apparently someone had a short memory.

bkay

Much of our snow and ice has melted, but we'll be boiling water for the foreseeable future. At least our pressure has improved. Anyone on a higher floor has really suffered.

Prior to the storms, we heavily mulched the garden with pine straw to protect all the daffodils and plants coming up. One patch of day lilies was missed and looks worse for it. Oh well. Now I need to remove the mulch and expose the blooms!

Hope everyone survived without major mishap.

bkay and latifolia, so glad you have only minor issues. In the grander scheme of things, boiling water isn't so bad.

So glad things are looking brighter for you all.

Theresa