Snow in Dixie!

The "Sunny South" woke to a blanket of white yesterday morning! What a beautiful sight it was! On Wednesday, there were TV bulletins all afternoon of the forthcoming storm, so that created a panic, so to speak, in this area. At just the mention of the word snow, people rush to the supermarkets to stock up (heaven forbid we get snowed in!) on milk, bread, beer, toilet tissue and dog food! Some people had two carts full! Our first year (1984) in South Carolina, we experienced our first ice storm in the South. Those five items were the ones mentioned on the nightly news that people rushed out to purchase. On the news broadcast, bread racks were shown completely depleted and also the empty milk coolers. At that time, we had a good chuckle over it all.

Being former Pennsylvanians, we grew up being always prepared, but back then we never ever really got what you would call "snowed in." I can recall one time when our children were growing up when we received 27 inches of snow overnight, and, believe it or not, the schools were open at their regular times. Roads were all cleared, and people actually went to work that day. Here in the South, everything comes to a complete standstill...even the mall closes! Only medical and emergency workers report to work at their usual times, sometimes picked up by 4x4 vehicles.

Well, I was one of those nervous people out shopping for pet food, milk, bread, and some snacks to have on hand...just in case our area did get iced in. I was wheeling my "buggy" (shopping cart) out of the supermarket and heard someone holler "Hey!" I turned around to see a beautiful, familiar face....that of my daughter! She was also out getting last-minute milk, bread and goodies! We laughed together and hugged and chatted for about 10 minutes in the chilly air. Had we not run into each other, I doubt if we would have ever told each other that we were out there among the crowds of people buying last-minute groceries. Remember, we were the ones who chuckled during that first ice storm we experienced in ‘84, so we would never admit to anyone that we were among those out shopping "before the storm."

I arrived home just around 9pm, and it was snowing by then. It was really so pretty! I kept checking throughout the night, and the ground was white! It was a beautiful sight for everyone to wake up to in the morning. I heard the cats getting up on the window sills, rattling the blinds, all during the night. There is a halogen streetlight right across from my home, so they were watching the snow fall like a bunch of little children! They were just so tired all day yesterday, so tired from being up all night, that every one of them took an all-afternoon cat nap. Some chose my bed, and notice that they know they are to lay on their own "cat" towels, even though the bed is covered with a protective "cat" sheet. Toby stretched right out for his nap! He thinks he is human! What a life....eat and sleep!

Well, the big storm didn’t turn out as bad as they had predicted for our area, but there are some 2-hour delays this morning as some of the secondary roads froze over during the night. We were very fortunate that we didn't experience any power outages as we had in previous years. Of course, our street is all dry. So life is back to normal here. Today, the forecast is 57 degrees! Guess that is (or hopefully, was) our winter!

A Long Winter's Nap...Maybe

Okay....here goes! I have been wanting to start a blog ever since I read a former classmate's blog. I have really enjoyed reading hers so much each week.

Well, the holidays are over, the decorations are down and put away, and the goodies almost gone, so guess all that's left to do now is settle in for a long winter's nap! Well, maybe......

Every year after the holidays, I always get in high gear and start deep cleaning and sorting stuff. I work so hard to get everything neat and orderly for the new year. A few years ago I came to a realization. Why does one save everything? I save everything from old cards to newspaper clippings to soda can snap tops. A few years ago I gave my children, now grown, their precious school papers that I had saved over the years, and also their annual school pictures. But I still have way too much stuff to sort once again! It's time to pass some more stuff on to my children. I know they will be absolutely thrilled to receive more "stuff" from Mom! They already have their own collections of "stuff."

My mother passed away on March 1, 2004. I sold her home and went back to PA in June that year to empty her house. That is a very heart-wrenching thing to face. Everything she had saved over the years, that had meant so much to her, I had to decide how to dispose of it all. Most of it meant nothing to me, but to her it was important, important enough for her to save. A couple things that really touched me that I found were a little pocket off my son's corduroy pants when he was about 3 years old and locks of each of their hair that she had saved in her cedar chest. That's where all her important things went. She also had saved school papers they had given to her over the years. I found my baby shoes and baby bracelet, also, in her cedar chest.

After thinking back on that week "home," I came to the realization that everything we save is just "stuff." The only person it really means anything to is you. So I have been more objective as to what to keep and what to toss ever since, or have I? Where does all this new "stuff" come from every year??? I have more boxes again this year and full closets. And there are 3 more closets besides the ones pictured below! And I am ashamed to say that they are all full to capacity, also.

I have made up my mind this time, once and for all, that this "stuff" is going to go! Hopefully, by the time Spring arrives, I will be all neat and orderly for another year! Only then will I be able to take that long winter's nap, except it will be Spring by then!