Oh my but I was bemoaning going back to work today like a spoiled child at the end of Christmas vacation!Went to work anyway, had a good day, and was ready to get at it tomorrow with the kids! We had inservice today and our principal is a GREAT motivational speaker; he charged me up!
But the lead story on the local news all week has been the "arctic blast" heading our way. Tonight it's going all the way down to about 34. This is not all that uncommon in December and January in Louisiana. The forecast tonight is for "rain in the evening and may mix with freezing rain and sleet by morning."
They've had anchor-chicks standing out by the interstate talking about driving conditions in the cold and snow for days. We don't have any snow. Aren't really expecting anything.
The local news site has an entire page dedicated to how to protect yourself, your plants, and your pets and livestock from the freezing temperatures. There are pages of checklists - food you should stock up on, checkup for your car, and protecting pets, among others.
I mean, you'd think we're in for a southern blizzard of uncommon proportions.
They've already closed school for tomorrow.
Don't get me wrong -- I'll take the snow day! We'll have to make it up in May, but I'll take it. That means Friday I can go to school (in frigid temps), meet my new students for the new semester, line them out, and get going full blast on Monday.
So, tomorrow, another day of blogging (yay!) and I'll put a good pot of beef stew on to simmer all day.
Snow day!
Update: To put things in perspective, this just in from Steve's sister in Iowa:
"A winter poem. i'm sending this right after the weather man said the snow is falling at 1" an hour. i've heard we are getting all the way from 6-9". we are expected to have a high of -1 on friday w/ a low of -19. i don't know what the wind-chill will be."
WINTER Poem
It's winter in Iowa
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.
Oh, how I love Iowa
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave IowaI'm frozen to the ground!
Update 1/7/09, 8:21 AM: Current weather? 37 degrees, cloudy, and some light drizzle. Not raining. Not snowing. No ice. But cold is coming! I'm grateful for the day off, and grateful for the advance concern of my school district for everyone's safety. Both Shreveport and Bossier schools are closed as are many private schools, daycare centers, and the public libraries. But I just know those Yankees from up north are rolling on the floor laughing at us right now.
What the hell! I don't get it. Why are they closing schools?
ReplyDeleteI was raised in Iowa, where we had winter that lasted from November (some times late October) to mid March (some times early April). I'm not trying to minimize what can and some times does happen around here, but I find it amusing how a minor inconvenience such as a couple of sleet pellets or flakes of snow almost paralyzes civilization here and causes the local news media to give the locals hints on how to live on the Arctic Circle.
ReplyDeletei just took the dogs out and it is so quiet and beautiful tonight. i'm sure "silent night" was written on a night like this! it is still snowing so the mountains of snow have a fresh sparkly layer of new snow. but DANG!!! it's cold!
ReplyDeleteNebraska Trish here - thought you'd enjoy this little snippet from my Facebook page this morning. Lucy Chapman is a local radio personality here on one of our local talk radio stations and this was her entry into Facebook earlier:
ReplyDeleteLucy Chapman: Iowa state patrol says travel is not recommended. anywhere. Iowa is closed. (no official roads closed but treacherous conditions) Nebraska State Patrol says Hwy 34 in Plattsmouth closed, Hwy 1 Manly to Murray closed, Hwy 91 closed from the Colfax/Dodge county line and Nickerson to Blair
They're laughing on the outside but jealous on the inside because no matter how cold it gets here, it's a sight better than what they contend with up there!
ReplyDelete