The winter storm that wasn’t, road repairs, busy weekend, not well

There was a good deal of chatter yesterday about an approaching storm. It was coming from the northwest and was reported to be bringing cold temperatures, high winds and a lot of moisture. There was even talk of snow flurries. In our area, trucks were out putting down brine solution in case the combination of the rain, cool temperatures and high winds caused overpassed and bridges to freeze. Though the effort was appreciated, it proved unnecessary. We did get a little rain. We certainly got a lot of wind. Gusts were up to 50 mph. The temperature this morning was 40°F. So, overnight the roads did not get cold enough to freeze. Tomorrow morning, we will reconnect hoses we use to water the animals. We disconnect them when temperatures are forecast to be low enough to cause freezing. After tonight, we should have a lengthy stretch of nights above the freezing. It’s all a little disappointing. I was actually looking forward to seeing some snow flurries. That will happen this winter, I am sure. Just not this weekend.

There was some unexpected good news for those of us living on our farm. The County road crew has been working on our road. This time they went to the extra effort of repairing where our humble county road joins the more traveled thoroughfare. That turn has always been rough. Every time we exited onto our county road, we had to make the turn slowly and navigate the drop carefully. When making the turn from our road onto the better maintained road, we had to do the same – going uphill onto the road. When the junction was icy, it was a very difficult turn to make. After the repairs, the intersection in now greatly smoothed out. It is still a decent rise to go up onto the larger county road, but it is so much easier to do since the huge pothole (more like a large sunken area) has been repaired. With the number of trucks that make that turn, I am not sure how long the repair will last, but we will enjoy it while we can. Mama called the precinct chief to thank him. He was surprised and delighted by the call.

We will be busy with church related functions this weekend. Tonight, if we feel up to going, we have a Sunday School Class Christmas Party. It is always Mexican food with a Chinese Christmas gift exchange. At work they call it a White Elephant gift exchange; where a person draws a number to open a gift and then can either open a new gift or steal one from someone who has already opened one. I participate at the class party, but it is not something I relish. Some of the people in our church really enjoy it. Mama has the gifts ready for tonight. Victoria’s class is always combined with ours for the party, so it is usually a group of forty or so. Because of that, it typically takes us over an hour – sometimes close to two hours -  to open all the gifts and settle the thievery. Saturday morning is bus calling. I hope to go since I have not been able to go for a couple weekends. So few participate. Later Saturday afternoon, we have a final group practice for the Cantata and Play we are presenting Sunday night. As far as the choir goes, I believe we are ready. We, as a choir, have not heard or seen the play, so Saturday will be our first look. I do not know if I will be able to lead the choir for wither the practice or the cantata. I still cough when I try to take a deep enough breath to sing.

Mama is very concerned right now. Her cold has gotten worse over the past day or so. For some reason, both of us got scratchy throats last night as we were rearranging the living room to accommodate the Christmas tree. She is scheduled for her surgery Tuesday at 6:30pm. If she is sick, we will not be able to get the surgery done. That is understandable. Hopefully, as she and Victoria spend the day at the house today, Victoria can talk Mama into taking the necessary remedies we have available to shut down the illness.

Getting Mama to comply is not necessarily a straightforward issue.