Lesson 211: Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Happy weekend, Readers!  

Eloise has layered up in full winter gear.  

Winter has hit full force at the Lamp Post this week.  

Read all about the excitement it brought with it.

That's me donning my Dad's 1978 hunting vest.  I wear it when I trek through the woods on my jaunts running and snowshoeing.  I have to walk past my parents' house when I do, and they always make sure I am wearing sufficient flame orange.  They are convinced I will be mistaken for a deer with my hair, and will get shot.  Parental love and guidance extends into my adult life.  

On Tuesday, January 22nd, we had an old fashioned Snow Day.  We were informed early that morning, after a powdery dump from Mother Nature, a main artery of my town was at an impasse.

As a result, the school buses could not get out of the bus garage and the main entrance to the high school was blocked.  School was cancelled for the day!

Ellen was probably the most excited.  Puberty talks were to begin at school that day, and she got one more day to put off the dread.

 Sam was somewhat bummed.  It was his snack day and he didn't get to pass out his treat, but quickly got over it. 

Oh, sweet Natalie!  She's not the most easygoing girl with changes in routine, but she came around to the alteration of plans just fine.  By 9:00 she had repeated the phrase, "No school snowing too cold," at least 700 times.  I resisted the urge to go stuff my head in a snowbank and kept reassuring my daughter that things would be OK.

Knowing that the tractor trailer jam up was only a mile from the Lamp Post, I could not resist the urge to go check it out for myself.  I jumped in the car with my trusty camera and headed off to investigate.  This lovely township supervisor turned me around at the end of my road.  Even when I waved my camera out the window he shook his head no.  Bummer.

You can see from the photo it was snowing pretty heavily and the mercury only had reached 7 degrees.  Because this is an educational blog, let Eloise educate you.  Well, those of you living in warmer climates, at least.

You may have heard of "white out conditions." If you haven't lived in the north in January, this term may be unfamiliar to you.  This photo is actually of a large barn.  In between those trees is 6 Mile Cellars, the winery across the street from my house.  It was snowing so hard, you can't even make out the outline of it.

After being turned away from the accident scene, I experienced white out conditions on my road on the return trip to the Lamp Post.  I live in the country and my road was desolate, so I took the opportunity to take a few photos.

This is what a blizzard looks like over the vineyards.

This is a street shot in front of my friend Holly's house.  She lives three houses down from the Lamp Post.  I could see the white cloud coming, so I waited.........

This is what it looked like through my windshield as the whiteout hit.  You literally cannot see a thing.

The only thing you can do is pull your car to what you believe is the side of the road, wait for the snow to pass, and pray that no one rear ends you.  You should always leave your foot on the brake to allow for your red tail lights to stay on.  Usually you can see the lights from the car in front of you.  To Tracy Southern and Jay, this is a reminder of why you moved.

We had some time for outdoor sledding this week.  God bless neighbor Amy.  Any time she sees my kids on the hill, she suits up and comes out to play with them.  

She let Sam use her snowboard.

He caught on right away.

And got pissed when he wrecked.

 And stomped off saying he quit.  My boy has a temper and doesn't like to fail.

So the girls and I carried on without him and continued to play and have fun. 

He came back eventually.  Sam always does.

When we came inside to warm up, we played a silly game called Headbandz.  

It is a great game if you have kids.  You wear a word on your head and have to ask people yes/no questions which eventually lead you to the answer.  I love guessing games, but I got stumped on "light bulb" and "George Clooney."  We can even adapt the game for Natalie.  We give her clues and she has to do the guessing.  The clue for her word was, "What place in the world do you hate the most?"  She answered Doctor's Office within seconds.  

I vowed to make use of the day and decided to teach myself how to knit.  I know how to crochet some basic stitches.  How hard could it be?

This was my end product after three hours of on line tutorials and youtube videos.  It's supposed to be a scarf.  Eloise will not give up.  I'll post my progress as I come along with this project.  

I wouldn't be wearing that scarf this workout, though!

Team Adrenaline took up Doc Krauza's challenge and met at Iroquois High School football field for a workout.  Yes, the temperature was 7 degrees.  I named the photo The Brave & the Crazy.  I told them all that I was the brave.  I guess that made the rest of the group crazy.

Challenges are good for you, Readers.  They make you stronger.  Whether it is teaching yourself how to knit, or deciding to exercise in 7 degree temperature, challenges are strengthening to your body.  Yes, I felt frustration with trying to follow what seemed to be simple directions and ended up with a ball of yarn in knots.  My body did not want to perform in wind chills that were below zero either.  But I willed myself to do both.

It is amazing what the body will do when you will it to.  The mind is your most powerful asset.  Look what feats these people have done.  Check out this link on youtube.  It will amaze you.

People Are Awesome 2013

Are they brave or are they crazy?  I think there is some of both in all of them.  And in Eloise's book, that makes them quite admirable.

Stay warm this weekend.  Enjoy my snow day photos set to Lady Antebellum's version of Baby It's Cold Outside.

Warmly,
Eloise