blizzard conditions

From the Tribune:

A storm that moved into Minnesota this morning is bringing lots of snow and lots of wind -- a recipe for blizzard conditions that will make it dangerous to drive in the central part of the state.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation in Willmar is now asking residents in the southwestern part of the state to stay off the roads.

No problem. We did our shopping for groceries early this morning. Regis woke me up as soon as it started to snow about 6 and we hit the road. I'd been up late reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (highly recommend) so I was cranky.


Here I am explaining to Ella why her mama got a birthday present yesterday and she has to wait a week. Sad girl. Ella will be 3 on January 1st.

We read some books, though, and that made up for the lack of presents. Her favorite thing at our house is to take a pile of books into the bedroom and snuggle on the bed while we read. Her current favorite book is Knick Knack Paddywhack....a great pop-up book, in fact, a New York Times Best Illustrated Books Award winner.

I've stumbled onto another great book that I won't write about now because one of my blog readers might be receiving it for a Christmas present. But I will write about it later. Remind me.

I've been thinking about this. Sweet Emily asked me last night if Christmas was overwhelming me. She's been reading my blog, where you know if you are a regular reader, I've been grousing and complaining. Are they the same thing? Here's my disclaimer: Sometimes my mind works on a thing and when it comes to writing about it, I exaggerate for effect. Most of what I write is true, but a bigger version of the truth. My subtitle at the top says spellbound by our own imperfect lives but in truth, our imperfect lives are not all that interesting. So I embroider and magnify.

This is our Christmas tree. We love it and have it on from morning until we go to bed. I wrapped some presents today and it looks a little more festive underneath. The dog likes to snoop in the tissue so you have to be careful not to put edibles under the tree.

Regis watched a Clint Eastwood movie today. Honestly, I don't think there are movies I like less than his. Maybe John Wayne's movies. You could put all their movies in a rocket ship and send them to the moon and I would be very happy. All the gun fights and hangings are not my idea of entertainment.

Regis will be traveling with me to the Mayo Clinic on Monday. My first appointment is at 8:45 so we'll be leaving in the dark. I hate to drive (or ride) in the dark. The wind chill is supposed to be horrendous so we'll pack the back seat with warm clothes and blankets.

I don't think we're leaving the house again today. I see maybe a Manhattan and a homemade pizza in my future. Maybe another viewing of Scrooge...