WARMING

It is just past 11:30 in the morning here at Storm Central and the sun is shining and the temperature is 56 degrees.

If I were a wee tad younger I might try this.

MELT UPDATE

For those of you concerned about the humongous snowfall that we Arizonans suffered through last week, let me give you an update from Storm Central: i.e. my backyard.

The temperature has risen since the weekend and will soar into the 50's today.

With the rising temperatures an emergence has occurred.

With a little help from me, our grumpy looking rock turtle is out, seemingly not amused by being buried for half a week in snow.

Across the yard you can see where I tromped through the drifts the other day to brush off the birdbath, only to find it still frozen.

And today it looks as if the Blue Cat will finally come out of her hibernation.

The other day I had decided to clear a narrow path down the front driveway to where the dumpster was stuck waiting for a driver who finally arrived yesterday.

My cross-the-street neighbor saw me and insisted on sending her teenage daughter over with their snow shovel to clear the driveway.

Thank you, Caitlin.  Or Kaitlin.  Or Katelyn.

Whichever it is I am eternally in your debt.

Even with the warmer weather it is still a Winter Wonderland here.

SPEAKING OF TEE SHIRTS

LET IT THAW!

I am very happy to say our storm has passed and the sun is shining brightly over fields of white.

I don't know if you noticed but my neighbor, Bill, was out there shoveling out his driveway.

Let me zoom in.

Not me.  I'll let the sun do the work.

A cousin who lives in Minot, North Dakota called last night to rib me a little about "being back in North Dakota!"

And Bill, who hails from New York state, said back there people wouldn't even notice a snowfall like this.

At any rate, a few days of sun and temperatures in the 50's and we'll be back to normal here in Arizona.

And as I told Bill, in a couple of months we'll be saying "Sure wish we could have some of that cool weather!"

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It is still snowing here this morning.

Just outside my window is SWMBO's famous Fence Mural, now draped with snow.

To the left, the birdbath and La Monja are covered in the white stuff.

Take a look in front of our home.

The tall tree in front of our neighbor's house across the street.

And the view toward Glassford Hill, invisible in the mist.

I just measured the snow depth at 14 inches in our driveway.

This is no joke, Gentle Readers!

But the BRD still had her sense of humor yesterday at her home in Prescott a few miles away.

She sent Miss Piggy out to shovel!

Which brings me to the real business of the day - the Friday Funnies!

Yeah, I can hear the groans from here.

As the snow continues (it's just very light now and is supposed to be done by late this morning) I will bid you a fond adieu and wish you all a great weekend.

Snow-free, if you have to go out.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Awwwwwww)

SNOWFALL UPDATE

A few hours later . . .

It's been snowing steadily for hours now.

The temperature is in the low 30's so the snow is wet and sticky (which means the satellite dish is covered right now so no television reception).

La Monja and the Totem get coated and then it falls off and starts over.

And the birds are out of luck and appearing confused.

THE SNOW HAS ARRIVED

It's not as bad as all that.

That's just a photo taken of my driveway this morning with only an inch or two of snow on it.

Here are some early morning views around my neighborhood.

Glassford Hill is out there, hidden in the snow.

As you can see the snow is piling up in our back yard.

The bird bath, the blue cat, La Monja and the totem are all shrouded in white.

And the sun faces, seen through the continuing flurries, are sporting some fancy new chapeaux.

To be continued.

LET IT SNOW

All right, bring it on!

We have been to the ophthalmologist to have Judy's glaucoma pressure checked (not so good); she has been proposed for a drug trial for some new eye drops which would guarantee her the medicine for life; we traded some apparatus for my C-PAP machine for the new stuff they SHOULD have sent me; we made an extensive payday visit to a grocery store; we came home and stored the perishables; we went out again to pick up a couple of books for Judy at the library; we had lunch at a local restaurant; we stopped at a pharmacy for some L-Lysine for Judy; we went to a laboratory where I had a finger stick for my monthly test that controls the regulation of my blood thinner medicine; and finally we are at home.

(The number of medical references in the above paragraph proves out my frequent quote: If we didn't have all these doctor visits we wouldn't have any social life at all!)

The larder AND the liquor closet are both stocked and we are holing up for the near future.

The snow is forecast to begin falling here at around 8 o'clock tonight and continue pretty much non-stop until sometime Friday night.

The Weather Gods are saying we could get between one and two FEET of snow.

The towns in the quad cities area are all geared up to keep the streets as clean as possible but people are being advised not to travel if they don't have a good reason.

Schools and city governments are planning on shutting down for the duration.

This photo was actually taken a couple of days ago but it reflects the general mood hereabouts.

Except for the young nurse who did my finger-stick-test.

She laughed when I told her of the snow prediction and said she didn't believe it.

These millenials!

We have decided to err, if she's right and everyone else is wrong, on the side of one who has seen snow storms before.

Plenty in North Dakota and several even here in paradise.

Better to be safe than sorry.

(Gadfrey!  I'm starting to sound like an old man.)

ARIZONA WEATHER

You know it's too cold in Arizona when . . .

. . . your birdbath turns into a skating rink!

MONDAY, MONDAY

This is not a good way to start off a week.

SPEAKING OF T-SHIRTS

"KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF!"

Yes, it's an "oldie" but it's still a "goodie".

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Ah yes, Gentle Readers, it is Friday once again.

Hooray!

And the rain has stopped.

At least here.

So let us get on with the business at hand, shall we?

And with that woeful wisdom, I shall take this opportunity to warmheartedly wish you all a wild (but with no warmongering) weekend full of whigmaleeries (bet you have to look that one up 😀) and wisecracks and weightless winter wonderlands.

In short, have a great weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(ohhhhhhhhhhhh)