The weather outside is frightful...

You may have heard that the midwest was hit by a nasty storm, so we wanted to assure you that we are all doing well. I remember the icestorms from the time I spent in Iowa with Brenda and Ron, but even with that memory, I forgot the 'joy' of driving in it. Yesterday, I headed out to a stamping get-together just as the snow was starting to fall. It didn't seem to bad, just a little slick because the skiff of snow was beginning to pack on the roads. I was extra cautious driving (as were most of the other drivers) but it was just snow....By the time we finished our activity 3 1/2 hours later, there was a beautiful, thick layer of ice covering the van. We were oblivious to the weather outside--We were STAMPING! I was grateful to have keyless entry 'cause the locks were frozen with ice. Thankfully, I could get the door open, but shook my head as I reallized that I didn't have an ice/snow scraper for the van. When we got it in the summer, we didn't need one! Anyway, I had a marvelous time sitting there, listening to Christmas music and looking at the fun Christmas cards we had made while I waited for the windows to defrost enough to remove the ice with the wipers. It only took about 1/2 hour. Of course the roads were covered in ice, just like the cars, but somehow I ended up driving home most of the way behind a crew of snow plows/salt trucks which made the roads not so slick. I was especially grateful when I got home to a warm house (wrecked as it was because Ben and the boys had been home with out a housekeeper) and could enjoy the sound of the freezing rain on the roof and windows, but not have to be out on the roads.
So I guess the bottom line is, I think we are finally welcoming (ha ha) winter. And we are doing so with a warm house and food to eat. I'm thankful we are not out on the plains like many pioneers got to spend their winter.