It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

But it's almost April - funny thing about spring in Kansas. Rarely do you leave March without the biggest snowstorm of the year. We got a whopper yesterday and today.

It quit snowing about mid-afternoon, much to my chagrin. We didn't quite get the accumulation they predicted, partly because of the back-and-forth between ice and snow. Ended up with more ice than snow, but boy it would have been a mountainous drift if it'd all been snow.

It's something I rarely tire of - snow, that is.

Snow makes me feel like a kid, the rapturous fascination with watching it fall and cover the grass until there's nothing but white. Then when the sunshine comes back out, it's almost like a covering of diamonds.

Hurts the eyes, but oh so pretty.

Shortly after it stopped, I went out to my car to start the process of unburying the encased vehicle. Needed to see if I could eventually get it out and check the main roads. Since it's been two days since I've seen human habitation, I really wanted to try to go to church tomorrow.

A couple of hours later, I was thrilled to see the road crews out and about clearing the mass of ice and snow. They'd already done a great job on the main highways. KUDOS to our road crews. They are always standing by during bad weather for the moment the storm stops. Then they are in their trucks and out on the highways regardless of the day or time.

Give those guys a raise!

So even though Christmas is still several months away, I'm thankful to be getting out of my ice-encased home to head to church tomorrow morning.

Just not looking forward to the freezing temperatures. Be a good morning to wear a pantsuit.

Then give it a couple of days and we'll be back into the sixties. Hello - Kansas!

Smooth Sailing

In a couple of hours we'll be heading down to Oklahoma to visit the family. I'll probably be out of commission for a few days, unless I'm actually able to commandeer the computer from the kids.

Doubtful.

So our Christmas continues with (thankfully) clear skies and clear roads. Just the wind is present today to tickle our ears and noses.

It's Kansas - what can you expect?

So here's once again wishing you continued blessings with your families and friends as the Christmas season winds down and the New Year approaches.

Hopefully we won't have anymore strange roadway episodes with four new tires. Smooth sailing, you here?

Riding Out The Storms

The storms tonight have been crazy!

We've had an outbreak of thunderstorms across Kansas this week. Tonight my area is getting pounded. Reports were out of a couple of tornados just to the south. Our critique group met tonight (minus our crazy storm-chaser dude - you know who you are), and just as we were wrapping things up an employee came rushing over to us to say that the tornado sirens were going off.

I'm so glad my son likes to go to the bookstore with me to hang out.

They gathered everyone in the alcove near the bathrooms, their official "storm shelter". I guess it's better than nothing. There were insane people driving around, pulling up to the store and trying to get in. The sympathetic employees ran and unlocked the doors several times to let in the soaked travelers.

For about forty-five minutes we received updates of the storm, the locations of the funnels, track directions, etc. Finally the warnings expired and they released us from the store into the pouring rain. What fun! Well my son and I tried to make it fun to see who could get to the car fastest without becoming drenched. I'm not sure either of us could claim a win.

Even though I've lived in Kansas all my life, I never take the warnings lightly. I do keep my head about me though and try to balance a healthy dose of respect of the storms with a bit of logic too. That's what any good Kansan should do this time of the year.

Spring-Sprung

Spring has come back to earth today, and of course this being Kansas that also means wind!

My cats are once again sitting up on my computer desk watching out the window (don't they always??). There doesn't have to be a single creature in the tree, but the whipping of leaves and branches makes their heads dart back and forth almost constantly. I know inside their heads they're both thinking: What was that? Did you see that movement? There's just got to be something there! I'm trying very hard to avoid laughing. Okay, not very hard.

I don't know why I even bother to do my hair of a morning on such a day. The moment I walk out the door it will end up sitting on top of my head like an updo or comb-over. Little children will stare and wonder what I was on when styling my hair that morning, and they'll imagine unicorns or bunnies in the image as if watching cloud formations pass by.

Even so, most days I still enjoy the wind. It's like a breath of fresh air after the storms of winter, carrying a promise of good things to come. When my neighbors aren't looking I love to stand in the path and just let the zephyr plough over me. One can't help but smile with such G-forces tugging at the mouth.

Then again, my neighbors might be smiling as they imagine bunnies in my updo.