Hunkering down

Hello, friends. It’s Tuesday night as I write this and my 3-day weekend has turned into a 5-day one. All the schools were closed today due to a massive snowstorm and we just got word that everything will be closed again tomorrow. I’m thankful that I work at a place where I don’t have to go in when it’s closed. It’s been a-snowing and a-blowing since 9 this morning and it’s slated to continue until nearly midnight. Temperatures are supposed to plummet tomorrow and they say the winds will pick up even more. I’m watching the national news and it looks like the whole mid-Atlantic area is being hit right now.

My son did the shoveling today and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that his efforts were futile. He’ll learn on his own. The wind blew all his work closed each time. But hey, he tried. I took him early today to orientation for a new job. I don’t like to talk too much about anything too personal in regards to my children, but he quit his job over the holidays and it kind of threw me for a loop. Shortly after that, he got into a wreck with our Honda Element on icy roads while going to care for a friend’s pets early one morning. He is fine and I don’t even know why I’m mentioning it because it’s something I’d rather not talk about. I think that losing the Element was like losing another link to my husband and our past. We took that car everywhere. One redeeming thing is that I can’t believe how much we’re getting for it from the insurance company. We took good very good care of that car and it’s paying off.

Another redeeming thing is that my son seems to understand how upsetting it was for me to lose the vehicle but a friend put it into perspective for me when he said that the old Element died saving my son’s life. And for that, I was grateful.

On to other things . . .

 

Leftover Roast Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables

This is the soup I was gushing about yesterday. I made another batch today because I still had leftover roast chicken. This is such a simple dish to make and paired with some rustic bread, is perfect for a winter meal.

I’ve had my nose in a book all day and can’t believe how many pages I’ve burned through. I think I told you I’m reading The Goldfinch. Loving it.

I also took a few shots out the windows. I didn’t go outside today and am feeling a little guilty about that, but I’ll get over it. These images are crazy bad because the snow was sticking to the windows and the wind was going nuts out there.

 

 

I made sure the feeders were filled and also sprinkled seed on the bird baths.

 

 

At times, the birds seemed to be hanging on for dear life.

 

 

 

 

I shot a quick video from the front door this afternoon:

Winter storm from Kate Young on Vimeo.

 

 

 

So how are things in your neck of the woods? Inquiring minds and all . . .