January 20th..there continues to be snow north of the Mason Dixon line

January is over half gone..

and I have been remiss

in mentioning

with warmest wishes

those who have and

those who do celebrate

Birthdays in this first month

of the new year!

A.V. Robertson

(Pap-paw)

January 8th 1893

Lawrence Goodman

January 7th

January 7th : Avery Robertson

January 8th: Steven Biddle

January 12th: Michael Goodman

January 15th : Barry Bowen

and January 19th: Matthew Fagen

Happy Birthday!

For January 20th:

Arthritis Index

Oh, this could get ugly!

Saturday , January 17th, Michael

woke up with a "hankering"

for Bar-B-Que...

and I needed to buy groceries...

the weather forecast

was calling for more snow

starting sometime in the middle of the night.

So we gathered up ,

got ready and went to town.

Sandwiches were had at

the "Muddy River"

then we procured the necessities

for the following week and headed

back..

Sometime in the middle of the night

quietly, like a sneaking thief,

the next round of snow crept in...

by the time we aroused

and headed down stairs

we were again being bombarded with

MORE

SNOW!!

It snowed all day long..

and into the night...

Sometimes harder than others...

but it continued to

snow...

We, as Southerners, have always

been under the impression

that if you live north of

the Mason Dixon line

you are use to all

the snow and ice

that comes your way each and every

year.

After all,

we as Southerners,

have been led to

believe that

All

northerners

are not only use to such

winter fiasco

as this..

but, were also born

with the natural ability to drive

on any kind of ice..

and were probably

also brought into this wonderful

world of snow and ice

sporting a minuscule set of skis

or snow shoes..

Now, let me help set my poor

misguided southern brothers and sisters

straight.

If you turn on the t.v.

back home and a hurricane

has been predicted to hit..

All the weathermen and women

are standing outside

for their

moment on camera

holding their hand out under the grey

skies saying

"We have begun to get a few drops now, Jim"

During the freakishly strong winds and rains ,

they will hold on to the closest

concrete structure

while their legs are whipped out from under them

to yell into the camera..

"Its starting to blow some here now, Jim"

Back home,

If it is going to snow..with possible slick ice spots

on the roads..

They will give us up dates and school closings..

running across the bottom of the screen

and the poor young

up and coming reporters will again stand out

in the elements..

just to get that big story back to us...
You would guess that year after year of

the white stuff falling from the skies

and all the professional ice drivers

it would not be a very big

deal..

heck, no story at all..

its all over the t.v...

all the time.

Everything ,schools, churches,

clubs..

everything closes down..

its "the" story

and they can not wait to get on camera

holding out that hand..

saying

"We are beginning to get some flakes now , Jim"

And , as for those professional

ice drivers...

56 car pile up on I-93

in New Hampshire.

Driving on the roads north of the

Mason Dixon line...

Heck,

it can be almost as scary

as

Texans on ice!

***

"You ever seen anything like that before, Sonny?"

"No, Pepper, can't say I have."

"Well, that just ain't right..ain't right at all..kinda scary."

Miss Bo-Bo has been enjoying the warmth

put off by the fireplace.

Monday, morning it continued to spit flurries

off and on all morning..

the skies remained grey and dull...

caused me to ponder our time in

southwest Texas..

there were times when I felt as if my

senses were being

STARVED

to death.

No color to be seen anywhere..

Most of the time only 97 different shades of brown,

and HOT...

hotter than the bad side of

the lower end of hades!

...and then a prickly pear cactus would bloom...

how beautiful ,

one small tender pale yellow flower

could actually be!

Yes, Monday was cold and grey...

I find myself looking out at a couple of the trees that

for some reason have not shed their

brown lifeless leaves...

for some unknown reason

they hold on to them with a determination

that would be hard to equal..

Some days these very trees are the only things that show me

a wee bit color...other than

the white, white and more white

to be topped off with all that grey outside my window..

Monday the icicle hangs down even longer..
as more are forming...

the snow ,
its past my knees...

And then...

as if in an answer to my prayers

the sun breaks through

just in time for a beatiful sunset!

it only last a few moments...

still its just long enough to

lift the spirits.

So..it has already out snowed all of last year..

and theres alot more winter left..

Michael, is doing well..

not near as bad as I feared he might

with this cold...

Tuesday dawned and the sun came out!!

it was a sweltering 13 degrees

when I first looked...

but, now

its all the way up to 28..

our predicted High..

I am thinking that

if we all got together and had one

BIG

sunny , happy thought

well, we just might

coax it

all the way

UP

to the freezing point!

ahh..come on let on old woman have

her dreams..

icicles continue to hang on and

grow

This one, just may get down and come

around to the door someday,

expecting to come in for supper..

Chloe does not care if its all white, grey & cold..

she has found her

Paradise!