Monday

Well winter has arrived here in the mountains. We were awakened during the early morning hours with debris hitting the side of the cabin as well as the porch furniture being moved around by the strong wind gusts. My smoker was picked up and scattered over the porch and side deck as well an Adirondack chair was blown against the side railing snapping off a portion of the top. It was 35 degrees when I checked the gauge on the back porch after breakfast and the highest it reached was 38 around lunch time. After our quiet times and a left over buckwheat cake to start the day I ventured outside to move some plants into the warm basement.

The snow flurries started shortly after we got up and at times the snow really came down. The strong winds kept the white stuff from sticking and dropped the wind chill down to around 20 degrees. Yikes it was cold. I was in and out of the basement sorting out articles I'm planning on taking back to Florida next week plus moving some tools into the shed. I drained the garden hoses and it was so cold one of them split into. The wind was so strong it blew all of the leaves out of the yards down into the woods which saved me from that job.

After a hot bowl of soup and a chicken biscuit for lunch we got ready to walk out to the mailbox. It had warmed up to 38 but the snow flakes were falling fast. The wind was still blowing at hurricane gusts. We had on tons of warm clothing as well as hats and gloves. The nearly mile hike was wonderful and the added uphills helped with keeping you warm. I finally received my absentee ballot so after getting back to the cabin and warming up I headed back to the mailbox on the golf cart. Now that was one cold ride but at least it was quick.

I picked some beet greens, kale, nasturtium leaves and flowers as well as some peppers from the garden to add to a salad along with a chicken pot pie Nancy made from the left over roast chicken for tonight's supper. Yeow was that ever tasty and we licked the platter clean. The severe cold will probably due in the garden tonight as it's already down below the freezing mark and with the wind chill its down in the teens tonight and supposed to be even colder tomorrow night. This type weather is sure going to make it even easier to leave for Florida next week as its just plum cold.

Looks like this storm is really causing havoc in the Northeast cities as many are without electricity and being flooded. Our lights have flickered a time or two but remained on as well as the telephone service which gives us the Internet; so we are thankful for that despite the cold and the wind. The little gas heater is keeping the cabin toasty but we have shut off the stairwell with hanging blankets to keep the heat from escaping to the upstairs. The wind continues to howl and move the heavy rocking stairs around on both of the porches. This is a real change as just a couple days ago we were in shorts and t-shirts. The snow fore cast is for an inch or so in the next 24 hours with the Boone area fore casted for 10 inches which is around 60 miles to our south. Areas to our north in Va. and W.Va are fore casted for some really heavy snow fall.

Well its been an interesting day with most of it spent inside staying warm, LATER