Woke Up To A Surprise

* This picture is from another snow.

I looked outside this morning and was surprised to see snow covering everything (remember, I don't watch weather forecasts). It wasn't a deep snow, but everything was covered in a soft, white blanket. Some snow even stayed on the roads. There were several slick spots on the road on the way to school.

Abbie's school hardly ever closes for snow. Since it is a private school, they don't have to follow the county or city school snow schedule. I'm glad Abbie gets more school time, but I wish they would at least do a snow schedule to give the roads time to melt or be cleared. My sister, who works for the county school system, says that the superintendent plans to take all their snow days this year to save money on their budget.

This evening, around 5:15 pm, we walked to a neighbor's house to drop off a CD. My ears felt frozen by the time we got back home. It's supposed to get down in the teens tonight.

Tomorrow, Abbie's cheerleading squad will be riding in the parade. Paul, Abbie, and I have our long johns, gloves, scarves, hats, and snow boots ready. Paul and I, who will sit in chairs tomorrow, will also take a blanket and a set of "hot hands." We may even pack a thermos of hot chocolate.

Earlier in the week, my friend and I were discussing skiing. I told her about when I started skiing in high school. I didn't own proper snow or ski clothes (do long johns count?) Back then, in order to stay dry, my friends and I would spray our jeans with Scotchguard. It didn't work! The only gloves I had were Isotoners (not even the lined ones). Those were the gloves I skied with. And we usually skied at night since lift tickets were cheaper (and temps were colder). My hands and legs and feet would get so cold. My gloves and jeans would be soaked. Even though I had the energy to keep going down the mountain over and over again, I'd usually get too cold to function. Ahhh, those were the days of being poor and ignorant! [Some day, I'll have to tell you about my first overnight school field trip. The packing list said to pack rain boots/galoshes. Since I didn't have any, guess what my mom sent instead?]

For the upcoming Utah trip, I have a pair of snow boots, snow pants, hat, scarf, and really warm coat. I do need to shop for new gloves. That's next on my shopping list.