Model Train Journal

I am seeing on TV terrible road conditions and very bad wrecks in the northern regions.

I hope that none of our forum friends or relatives are involved and all are safe.

By 11am the "rain" started looking more like rain and less like sleet, though the tree limbs and twigs all glistened, encased individually in an ice-coating. I debated right up to the last minute - 10 min.before 12pm - about driving the short trek to church for Mass yesterday, since a film of whitish ice clearly covered every road surface and sidewalks around our house. My new car is just a couple days old, so I was very, very loathe to bash it up even a little, but decided the 4-Matic would do the trick. Crept along at 20-30ish mph for the 2 mi. to my destination, mostly along a downhill slope. Not a single slip or wiggle the whole way, but the sidewalks around the church seemed to lurk. So, I had to hold onto the car as I traversed from the driver's side to the sidewalk and found it necessary to shuffle like an old-koot - never lifting a foot even the slightest off the pavement - but expected to go down anytime. No such bad-luck. After Mass, expecting the weatherman-predicted rise in temps to upper 30's by then wouldn't mean much, I assumed the underlying cold paved surfaces had kept their coating of rainy surfaces as ice. Several parishioners had gone down before Mass, we heard, so I did my koot-shuffle all the way back to the car, managing to reach out an arm under a lady's right arm to steady her just as she stepped off the curb into the glistening gutter, then leaped in my car, and vowed to delay grocery shopping until Monday. Stayed in the rest of the day.
Murph

You're a smart old "koot", Murph.

Just the very slightest hint of freezing rain here, not enough to make any difference whatsoever, so it would appear we were on the very southwest corner. No precip that could be recorded, just a hint of frozen then unfrozen damp first thing after dawn.

Kinda nice out now...

Sunny & closing on 50 here in No. VA just about 90 miles due south of Sarge.

Bright sunshine, 58f, fluffy clouds here along the Joint Line just south of Denver.

ChipR

Stay warm:

It was 40 degrees and dry here on XMAS day. There was bitching on the radio about no white stuff. They must be high on crack. Temperatures dropped down into the sub zeros the first week January. We had a couple snow storms and one ice storm.

I came down with major nasty flu the day after new years.

Really BAD year for the Flu!

Obviously weather causes a lot of ills, But much of the problem is folks just driving too fast for road conditions!

Stay safe Gang!

Rich

If I could afford an SD-40 with a plow and ditch lights, I'd drive that to work and not have to worry about snow.

Sleigh bells ring
Are you listening
In the lane
Snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland

Gone away, is the bluebird
Here to stay, is a new bird
He sings a love song,
As we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland

In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say are you married
We'll say No Man
But you can do the job
When you're in town

Later on
We'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid
The plans that we've made
Walking in a winter wonderland

Sleigh bells ring
Are you listening
In the lane
Snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland

Gone away, is the bluebird
Here to stay, is a new bird
He's singing a song
As we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland

In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he's a circus clown
We'll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman
Until the other kiddies knock him down

When it snows
Ain't it thrilling
Though your nose, is a chilling
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way
Walking in a winter wonderland






Woo-Hoo!!

6" of heavy wet snow. Our neighbor snow-blew and shoveled it all for us at his own volition. In fact, he did his sidewalk, which leads to ours, then ours, but his snow-blower died as he began ours. He actually did the remainder of our sidewalk and walkway to the front door AND the driveway BY HAND-shoveling !!!!! I called out the front window to thank him and to tell him I'd be joining him, but he told me to stay inside and that he'd finish the job!!!!

He saved my life, AGAIN, I am certain.
Murph

This thing just grazed us in northern Maryland...escaped with a couple inches of slush, and I'm not complaining.

Sorry fellas...you get the real deal.

Healey

Dirt, very fiitting. LOL....

It's been warm here in the 30's all week. A few snow dustings here and there. Unusual for this time of year. You would expect 20 below zero and a foot of white crap.

The Dirt wrote:

Woo-Hoo!!

Sometimes it's a bit exhilarating to get out with the shovel or the blower, but why is it that we older guys have to do it all the time when we have much younger and healthier kids at home? Keeriste! There's been times I've had to shovel the kids cars out or they wouldn't go to work.