Random Tuesday Thoughts: Winter Winter Everywhere

Keely  is the host for Random Tuesday Thoughts.  Go check her out at The Un Mom for lots more fun Randomness!! 




One week later and I still have hot water!  Woo hoo!!  Only I could buy the one water heater at Lowe's  that was defective.  


We're expecting an ice storm today.  Got a bit of snow overnight.  I still have to go to work today (where no one will come in to eat because duh!  it's icy outside!)  If I wreck my car, my boss is paying the deductible to get it fixed.


For the record, I got to work just fine.  I waited on a grand total of 2 tables and made $12.50.  Luckily, tomorrow, when it REALLY gets bad, it's my normal day off.


Speaking of this bad weather, Mother Nature and Old Man Winter are wreaking havoc on my sex life and I don't like that one. little. bit.  Knock it off, you two!

Why do people with trucks and SUVs think because they have 4 wheel drive, they can drive as fast as they want and not be a danger to everyone around them when there is snow on the roads?  I will admit to a little chuckle when I see them stuck in a ditch.  I don't want them to be hurt.  I just want them majorly inconvenienced when they're stuck and can't get their vehicle out.


My niece is on a 9-night Caribbean cruise right now.  Lucky bitch.


How did it get to be February already?

(swiped from Candy's blog)

OK, that's it for me.  


Got random?

Snow, it won't be long before we'll all be there with snow

As I was watching the snow fall and fall and fall, I couldn't help but think of the scene in the movie, White Christmas, when  Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney are all in the dining car of the train heading to Vermont.  Give a listen...




The weather man told us on Monday that we were getting a snow storm that was coming in from the Midwest.  Our area (Pottstown, PA) could expect 4 to maybe 8 inches of snow.  Whenever he has said that this year, we were usually on the lower end of the scale, and often even less than he predicted.  Predicted.  Now there is the optimum word!


The snow started on Tuesday evening, after midnight, like they said.  When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I was surprised how much had fallen overnight!  There was already about 4 inches of snow on the ground.  Wednesday is my day off.  YAY!!!


My son was home since Monday.  He kept procrastinating about going to the gym.  No gym on Monday.  No gym on Tuesday.  He decided he'd go first thing Wednesday morning.  Boy, was he surprised when he saw how much snow we had!  No gym for Tim on Wednesday morning!


We had a break in the snow storm for a few hours in the middle of the day, and the plows came though and the nice boys across the street came over and did their shoveling thing. (we have a deal.  when the snow stops, they shovel, I pay them. they don't even need to wait for me to call them.  just come over and do it. easy peasy.)  So Max and Alex did the shoveling thing and Tim high-tailed it to the gym before the next wave of snow started.  He got back just in time.


When the snow started again, it started in earnest!!  We were getting an inch or two an hour!   I took a few shots of my front yard during the evening.  I nearly forgot to add that we thunder and lightning for a short while during the night time storm!  That was really odd!  I think they call it Thundersnow. 

The snow finally stopped some time after midnight Wednesday night, going into Thursday morning.  I wish I had grabbed my camera to take photos of the digging out.  


My neighbor woke his sons up around 9 am to come over and get my driveway cleared because I had to go to work!   Tim went out and cleared off our cars and as soon as the driveway was clear enough he moved the cars to the street so they could get the driveway as snow free as possible.  


My neighbor, Dominic must have gotten a new toy this winter because the next thing I knew he was there with his snow blower!  He got rid of that snow in no time!  Even my walkway got done!  (the cats were happy!  they could finally go outside.)


The official number for snowfall for our town was 16.9 inches.  4 to 8 inches my ass!!!


I had to pick up a couple of gals on the way to work because they don't drive and/or have cars.   I wasn't too happy about that, but it was either that, or I'd be hosting, bussing and serving by myself today and that wasn't going to happen!  Two other servers had already called out (wimps). 


The thing that really surprised me was, when I left for work, at approximately 10:30 am, the roads were clear!  And I mean down to wet asphalt clear!  Pottstown is not known for the great snow plowing abilities.  They must have improved in the past few years, because my drive to work was easy!!!  My township, which usually does a really good job plowing (my development looked great!) didn't do such a great job on the the main roads.  They plowed but there was still a decent layer of snow on the road.  I guess they were concentrating on getting the developments cleared and figured the cars would take care of the main roads.  They did, for the most part, but even this evening, as I was driving home, there were places that were still snow covered and feeling like they were getting slippery.


We weren't real busy today, but with just 2 servers and a very hung over bartender (yesterday was his birthday and he partied hearty and apparently fell down about 5 times and injured his back)  I made some fairly decent money (would have done better if 3 tables had given me more than the less than 10% they did leave me ... cheapskates)


I just hope Old Man Winter, along with that mean lady, Mother Nature don't stop by here too often with more of that white stuff (although I think we're getting 2 more hits in the next week.)  We shall see.

Dear So and So

Dear Cold Weather,
Go back up to the Arctic regions where you belong!!  You aren't wanted here.  I don't care if it IS 2 weeks until Christmas (YIKES!!!).  I want warm weather and no heat bills! 


sh-sh-shivering,
Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Coffee,

I love you.  Especially on these cold mornings, but to be perfectly honest, I love you every morning.

getting caffeinated as I type,

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Christmas,

I hope I'm ready when you arrive in 2 weeks!

needs a little more time,

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Friday's Guests,

How about being a bit more generous now that the Christmas season has arrived?  I have gifts to buy, oil to get delivered, food shopping to do.  It would be nice to have some extra dough on hand for this stuff.

Your favorite server,

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Tony DiNozzo,

Sigh.  God, you're hot. 
  

 But then, so is your boss.

getting hot flashes,

Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Friends,
If you like Dear So and So, and want to give it a try, just pop over to Kat's Place on the other side of the pond, hook up with her Linky and add your own!  It's a great way to blow off steam, and you can read lots of other letters!

Six Word Saturday : Upside/Downside

Oy vey!  Do my feet hurt!

Upside:

Yesterday was Black Friday.  I'm a server at TGI Fridays, located in a mall.  Needless to say, we were quite busy!  

Downside:

There was no time for any of us to sit down and eat.  We never stopped from 11 am until after 3 pm, when it slowed down for a bit.  

Upside:

Thankfully, night shift comes on at 3:45 on the weekends.  I sure was happy to see them arrive!  

Downside:

Tomorrow I expect more of the same.   Boy do my feet hurt!

Upside:

I do get a 2 day break after tomorrow.

Downside:

That's because I have to drive my daughter back to school on Sunday ... a 520 miles round trip drive.  

Upside:

At least I don't have to do it all in one day.  My ex travels a lot for work and has tons and tons of points for free Marriott hotel rooms.  He got one for me, so I can break the trip up.    

Downside:

I'll miss work on Monday, so I'm not making any money that day!

Upside:

I have a date with John tonight, and by date I mean I go to his house and fall asleep on the sofa because I'll be too tired to move.   I bet I can get him to rub my feet for a while!

I just hope there's no snow in the mountains when I drive Dani back to school on Sunday!  I hate driving in snow!

Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Road Trip

Yesterday I had to drive Dani back to school, 2 weeks early.  The play she was in in October was chosen to be performed at a Winter Festival her school is having at some point in the near future.  So the cast had to be back early.  I think Dani is the only one in her whole building right now.

The reason I had to drive Dani back to school is because, on her way home for Christmas break, she had car trouble on the PA Turnpike.  Luckily, we have AAA.  Turned out, she ran out of oil and her engine seized.  She had to leave her car at a garage, hitched a ride as far as Harrisburg with her roommate (who fortunately hadn't left school yet and was able to stop and get her).  I only had to drive as far as Harrisburg to get her, 90 minutes instead of 4.5 hours.  So her car is now dead in Breezewood because it'll cost $2300 for a new engine and her dad paid $1500 for the car.  The man really needs to stop buying the kids cars on e-bay.  For what he spends on the cars and repairs to get them running properly, he could have bought them newer, better used cars.  But I digress.

We got everything loaded up, with barely enough room for Dani's friend, Karie to fit in the back (she took the day off from school to go with us.  I was glad for  the company on the ride home)  Off we go!  A quick stop at Wawa (like Turkey Hill, Cumberland Farms, Sheetz, etc for those of you not in the NE part of our great country) to fill my gas tank and grab a 20 oz coffee and we were off!

We made pretty good time, except that I had to stop at nearly every rest stop on the turnpike.  Getting a large coffee after drinking a cuppa at home is NOT a good idea when you have a long drive ahead of you.  This old bladder ain't what it used to be!  I counted.... from the time we left the house,  I went 5 times by the time we got to Dani's dorm.  That probably accounts for why it takes me 4.5 hours to get to her school and it takes Dani 4 hours.  Either I stop with the beverages for the trip or I invest in Depends.

Half the trip was on the PA turnpike, which was very light, traffic-wise and the other half was driving up into the mountains.  We got off the turnpike at Bedford, drive to Altoona and headed on up to Indiana (PA, not the state).  No sooner had we gotten off the turnpike and I saw a sign that warns to use caution, weather is changing.  SHIT!!!  I checked the weather for Pottstown (dry, clear, partly cloudy) and I checked the weather for Indiana, PA ( snow showers).  They LIED!!!!!  By the time we got to Altoona, it was snowing.  By Ebensburg, the snow was beginning to lay and by Indiana, we were having accumulation.  Now those of you in the northern parts of the Northeastern US and the Midwest and Canada, stop laughing at me!   I know I'm a wimp!  I really hate driving in snow.  By winter's end, I'm OK with it, but the first few snowfalls, I'm driving with clenched hands on the wheel and a dry mouth.

Luckily, we arrive without incident.  Dani found out her key card wasn't activated.  So it's off to Housing to get it activated and back to the dorm.  The girls grabbed 2 cart thingies to load her crap on and we brought everything inside  This took about an hour.  The plan was to unload, go to the grocery store for perishable items (her dad took her shopping for other stuff)  The food hall won't be open for another 2 weeks, so Dani is on her own for meals.  I really wanted to get moving back down the mountain.  Plus, Karie was supposed to be home by 6 pm for dinner.  There was no way we were going to get home by 6.  It was already 3 pm and we had to drive slower until we got to a lower elevation and no snow.  She called her mom to let her know we were going to be later than planned.  So I gave Dani $40 to go to the grocery store, which is right behind her dorm and we headed out.

Luckily, my driving skills have improved and we got down the mountain fairly easily.  The downhills always scare the crap out of me because if I start sliding, I'm screwed!  But that didn't happen!  YAY!!!  Once we got to Altoona (which is about 100 miles from the school), the snow had stopped and after we got below Lancaster, we didn't even see snow on the grass.  When we got on the turnpike, we stopped at a rest stop to eat.  And that was the first and only time I used a restroom all the way home!  

We arrived home at 8 pm, 2 hours past our planned arrival time.  With the snow, it turned out to be a 5 hour drive each way.  I sure was tired when I got home!  I was glad for the company on the drive too.  I'm also very happy that I have today (Wednesday) off from work!  By spring, Dani should have another car, so I won't have to be making that trip too often. 

A Christmas Memory, 1966 (yes, it's rerun from last year)

OK boys and girls!  Let's go into the Way Back Machine with Sherman and Mr. Peabody and travel back to Christmas Eve, 1966 and the great blizzard (at least it was to my 11 year old eyes!)

The Christmas Blizzard... all my fault

It's was Christmas Eve 1966. My sister Jeanne and I had gone to the local 5 and 10 cent store to shop for Christmas gifts with the few dollars we had. We had enough left over to get a soda at the hoagie shop next door. We bought Fresca. At the time, the only flavor they had was grapefruit. Anyone who remembers the Fresca commercial is surely dating themsleves! Who remembers the Fresca commercial, where the woman drinks a Fresca and a blizzard ensues? Well, that's what Jeanne and I did! It had been snowing lightly when we were shopping. So, off we go to the Hoagie Shop and buy our Frescas. Not long after, it was snowing in earnest! We honestly thought drinking the Fresca caused the blizzard!

My father had a part-time job at the Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturdays, working the 3 to 11 shift. Christmas was on a Sunday that year, so Dad had to work on Christmas Eve. My sister, Peggy was a senior in high school and worked at St. Francis Country House, a nursing home.

Up to this year, we had a tradition in our house to set up the Christmas tree but have Santa do the decorating. That way, Christmas morning would seem the most magical! Peggy was finished at work at 7PM, Dad at 11PM. Snow was piling up everywhere. Dad was 20 miles away at his job, Peggy was about 6 or 7 miles away at hers.
 
Peggy had a ride home but got stuck partway home and they headed back to the nursing home. Dad had to drive to Clifton Heights from Philly. He made it as far as 69th street, found a pay phone and called home to check in and let my mom know where he was. Mom told him that Peggy was stuck somewhere between the nursing home and our house. Dad headed off towards Darby to look for her. Somehow he found out that Peggy was safely back at the nursing home and would stay the night. So he headed for home again and at some point got stuck, had to leave his car and walked 5 miles, in the blizzard, to get there!

In the meantime, Mom had a candle burning in the window and praying for everyone to get home safely. Oh! And the tree wasn't decorated yet! And the gifts are still hidden from the kiddies! She was waiting for Dad to get home to help her!!!! I'm a little fuzzy about whether my Mom finally decorated the tree and got the gifts out or if she really did wait for Dad to get home to help her. I'd like to think she took the initiative and did it but, knowing Mom, she just might have waited for Dad!
All I remember Mom telling me years later that they finally got to bed at 6 am and we were all up at 7 to open gifts!!

I remember we had to walk to church up the middle of a busy street because it had been plowed. Of course, there were no cars on the road because they were all snowed in. We had to go to 9 AM Children's Mass (mandatory for students at Holy Cross School... the nuns actually took roll at Mass and if you weren't there, you needed a written excuse note and it had better be a good excuse! We even had assigned seating! Wow! The things that are coming back as I type!)

Anyway, after that year, we helped Santa by decorating the tree for him. And I don't think Jeanne or I EVER drank Fresca again!

Back to the present!  I'd like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas! I'd also like to thank you all for good wishes and prayers as John battled Lymphoma.   Your support and prayers helped us more than you could ever know!