The Day After

So, we ended up getting about 2 feet of snow here, maybe as much as 3 in some places. This morning, my deck looked like this:

And from another angle:

It has been a very mild winter--until now. But last night's blizzard made up for the snow we haven't gotten! And to think there are still two months left of winter!

Winter Storm 2015

I think they even gave it a name, like a hurricane! As of 10 pm, this is what it looks like out my back window:

It's hard to tell, but the snow is already several inches deep and the wind is crazy.

Real blizzard conditions are supposed to happen overnight, and we could get 30 inches of snow. They're predicting about 2 inches per hour. The railroads and roads will be shut down at 11 pm to all but emergency vehicles. I really don't know who'd want to be out in this at night!
I was so worried about Nick getting home today, but Amtrak was running on time and he made it home by about 6 p.m., not bad at all.
I kind of like this weather, as long as I know my family is safe and there's plenty of food and heat. We have a generator but I'm hoping we won't need it. Since it's impossible to go anywhere, I don't feel my usual guilt about sitting around doing my crafts. Not that I should anyway, but I do.
Will try to update tomorrow morning, if we don't lose power...

59 Today

Today is my 59th birthday. Hard to believe I've almost completed 6 decades of life. My sister posted a picture of me as a baby on Facebook:

I'm about a year old here, I think. I was cute up to about age 3, and it's all been downhill since.

Mike, Katherine and Michael took me to Catfish Annie's for dinner. James had to work and Nick is at a gaming convention somewhere in Maryland. He left Friday and should be back tomorrow. It is a worry because there is a blizzard headed our way that is supposed to be a 'record breaker.' It isn't supposed to get heavy until 5 pm tomorrow, so I hope Nick and his friends are safely home by then.

I had lobster tails and shrimp cocktail for dinner, plus some cookies and cream cake Katherine brought that said "Happy Birthday Mum" on top. The kids gave me a  new office chair that I'm using at the moment--so much nicer than my old, broken one! Plus Mike gave me a $50 Bed, Bath and Beyond card. And Katherine gave me Lindt chocolates.

A very enjoyable day!

Trying to lose weight again

I have been on the WII Fit faithfully for almost 2 weeks now and have also stuck with Weight Watchers. Haven't really lost anything yet but I'm hopeful. I have a physical next week, which I am NOT looking forward to, but I guess it is long overdue. I figure if I get it out of the way the doctor will stop bugging me about it for a while.

I have a new 'baby' in the house, a little dwarf hamster our friend Patty gave us. His name is either T-Bone or T-Bo. I have to ask when I go for my haircut later this week. He's very sweet-natured, unlike most hamsters, but super-shy. He hides in the loopy climbing thing on his cage.

Some Christmas Pics

We had a nice Christmas Eve party!

Katherine and a Long Island shaped cutting board I gave her.

Michael's new girlfriend, Megan, tries scungilli for the first time. She liked it!

Angelina, Nick and Jimmy.

Angelina, Theresa's boyfriend (forgot his name!) and Theresa.

Mike tries on a new leather jacket, a gift from the kids.

Me!
Of course there are more pictures. Some are still in my phone. Most will end up as digital scrapbook pages.

New Year Update

I'm happy to report that baby Patrick has come home! My brother Bill says Patrick's big brother, Liam, is a good big brother! (Picture to come of the two!)

Yesterday was my mother's 92nd birthday, and she spent it on the road to Georgia! I was surprised to find out that when I called her, Susan, Neal and mom had stopped at a motel in Chattanooga. Sue said the weather was terrible so it was safer to spend the night off the road. Mom will be in Georgia until March. I'm glad--it's much safer for her.

Mike and I went to our friends' house for dinner today--Patty and Mark. Our other friend, Jimmy, was also there. We exchanged Christmas gifts. Patty and Mark gave me a gift certificate for either a manicure or a pedicure. I've never had either one of these so I'm a little curious about it. They gave Mike a GC for a massage at the same place. Jimmy gave me a GC to Michael's crafts store! I'll have fun with that.

Nothing much else is new. I finally got some bridgework done, which cost us $750 out of pocket. But it's nice to have more teeth to chew with, LOL!