2ND December Blizzard of 2009! Really????

Got snow?

This year I had it all planned out. My days off coincided with the holidays. I tacked on a couple of vacation days and managed to get 6 days off. I was going to ND for Christmas! Woo hoo!
Then the forecast showed snow coming up from the south, aiming directly for the Midwest. And not just for Nebraska. The Dakota's, Iowa and Minnesota too! It was a huge storm that was packing a big punch. The weather guys said we'd get roughly 10-14 inches. SD was supposed to get 14-18 inches. Really? Again? We still have a lot on the ground from the last blizzard just a couple of weeks ago.
My odds of getting to ND were getting worse with each day that passed. I awoke on Thursday the 24TH and knew I may not get to go. We were getting freezing rain that would eventually turn into snow. I went to work and only stayed until 10:30. My intent was to go home early and maybe get out of town before the brunt of the storm hit. But after hearing how bad the roads were in SD and ND, I had to relent and make the decision to stay home. The winds were also blowing the snow around and making visibility terrible. It would be taking too many chances on the interstate systems closing down and my having to stay somewhere I didn't want to if I did leave now!
I made phone calls to Kevin's and Dad's. They weren't having much better weather. And the worst of it hadn't even gotten there yet. We will post pone my trip a couple of weeks. I happen to be on vacation the first week of January. Hopefully Mother Nature will show a little compassion and keep the weather calm.
So I spent Christmas Eve at home, all cozy with a fire in the fireplace. I had been to the grocery store earlier and stocked up because I had let things run out being I was supposed to be gone! It was a good cold day for chili. It cooked most of the afternoon in my slow cooker. I ate lefse afterwards for dessert along with many other goodies I had made! I will freeze the rest so that I can take it with me to ND in a couple of weeks. But I will make more lefse and maybe more peanut butter fudge before then. My Christmas Eve was quiet for me. I caught up on some recorded programs on the DVR. And I was happy that I didn't have to try to go to work the next morning. As it turned out, all the flights for SWA here in Omaha were cancelled on Christmas day! Those that did work only had to plow and shovel snow around our gates and the equipment. Easy day for them!

Yesterday after the weather let up a bit, I went out and tackled the snow and shoveled my driveway. Note to self; BUY a snow blower! But before I did any shoveling I had to take photos.

Early in the morning I took this one looking out the front door.

Looking at the front door. All snowed in!



The garage had a huge drift in front of it. I stood next to it and it went over my knees.

My deck.

More snow was forecast to come down on Christmas night. So I knew I'd have to shovel again the next day. Now don't get me wrong. I do love the snow and also love having a white Christmas. But this is getting ridiculous!

I know many other people had to cancel travel plans because of this crazy weather. But I hope that everyone had a great Christmas despite the predicament it left us in. Happy new year!