First Winter Snowfall …

… and it was a doozy! 

Folks are referring to it as a blizzard.  Snow accumulation wasn’t spectacular, but let me tell you – it was pretty darn wild Thursday afternoon and overnight into Friday.  I haven’t seen horizontal snowfall since our time in New Jersey a few years ago when we were still full-time RVers.  Winds here were absolutely howling; think snow hurricane!  A local used the term “blizzarding” to describe what was happening.  Didn’t know that was a verb … ha!

View from my home office Thursday afternoon before the winds really picked up.

Maggie on the left.  Baby on the right.  They’re waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

October 25 marked the first anniversary of the passing of our beloved Maggie.  You can read the post – Our Maggie - from last year about our Wee Widget.  I miss her every single day.  She and Baby both loved snow; Baby was with us when we lived in Hibbing.  I know they’d be having great frolics outside these days!

Although it was 28F out this afternoon, it wasn’t snowing and the winds had abated, so I ventured out for a walk. Layered clothing is “the thing” up here, so I was quite snug.

  Thirsty Moose cozy hoodie

We lived in Hibbing, MN (about 100 miles east of here) from 2005 to 2007, and enjoyed burgers and pizza at the Thirsty Moose.  During one of our visits, I picked up the hoodie in the photo.  It’s really, really warm.  I wore it a few times around campfires we’d have in NJ, but the only other place it’s been cold enough for it is … you guessed it … northern Minnesota!  Wore it during my walk today and I certainly was cozy.  My comfy hoodie has come full circle, being back in northern MN again.

We have snow of some degree and intensity the next couple of days, with a break on Tuesday, and then it kicks in again.  I also learned this past week that we are apparently living in Blizzard Alley.  You’ve heard of Tornado Alley?  Well … same thing, only blizzards instead of tornadoes.  I’m okay with that.  Lived in Tornado Alley for a while, and I’m content here, thank you!

“Pssst … Momma Nature … it’s October, not January!”  Another local mentioned that we’ve gone from October straight to January.  Hmmm … what happened to November and December?!  Well, I’ll still take the occasional snowstorm over December 90-degree days in Texas any day.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is looking pretty good right now, with sunny skies and a high around 31F.  Did major grocery shopping yesterday, so just have a couple of errands to run.  Today (Monday), we’re back to sideways-blowing snow!  I have to say, the management here did a fine job of clearing the parking lot and sidewalks.  Sweet.

Tuesday is also Halloween, and we’ll be off.  That hasn’t happened in a few years, and we’re looking forward to ordering pizza and watching some appropriate movies.

So it’s now our Friday – a couple of days have passed since I started this post – and we’re looking forward to our usual Tuesday/Wednesday weekend! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Stay safe out there, okay?

 

Another Month Flew By!

Evening view from my office

October is just about on its way out the door and the number of daylight hours are dwindling.  Before you know it, Christmas will be rolling in!  So will the snow!

With that in mind, I took our car in for a coolant flush and replacement with “the good stuff” for subzero temperatures.  In visiting with them about prep and maintenance of our Edge during the really cold weather, one of the techs at the dealership told me about a solar-powered trickle charger for the battery.  Newer cars don’t come equipped with block heaters, and the general thought is that the newer models don’t really need them.  Since it looks like we won’t have a garage any time soon, I’ll pick up one of the solar chargers.  Turns out my uncle in Hibbing used one, so that convinced me!

Dave has been taking advantage of the surprisingly mild weather lately to rack up the bike miles.  He doesn’t have to be at work until 2 PM, which allows time for shorter rides during the work week.  Days off see him getting in 40+ miles lately.  I’m tickled he’s enjoying the cycling up here.

A bit after 2 PM now, and it’s so gloomy out that the parking lot lights next door are on.  It’s in the mid 60’s, which is probably the last of the mild days we’ve been having lately.  Not that it’s going to plummet drastically starting tomorrow, but we’ll be getting more seasonable weather.  Cooler weather.

Went out to the lake last Wednesday while out running errands.  Looks gloomy that day, too, doesn’t it?

Looking back towards Bemidji State University.

Geese and gulls hanging out.  That building on the left is the old Carnegie Library.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and there’s a project in the works to restore it.

Inside the visitors center down at the lake.

Entrance to downtown Bemidji from the lake park.  That arch is a new addition this summer.

We have a new addition to our home …

Electric fireplace heater!

Our RV had a built-in fireplace/electric heater.  We used it a lot, especially those years in New Jersey.  It helped keep the rig warm, reduced the use of the propane furnace and, well, it just looked nice.  We enjoyed the ambiance of the simulated flames.  Although we have gas in-floor central heat here, the living room is a larger area with no carpeting.  This will help keep that area a bit cozier, reduce the use of the furnace (right, who am I kidding when it’s –30 F out?) or at least help us keep the furnace thermostat turned down a bit.  And, again, it gives a cozy feeling to the space.  Tested it on some chilly days.  It has a thermostat and timer, so running it for an hour 2 or 3 times during the day kept the living room cozy, indeed!

Halloween falls on our days off this year, so we may just have a scary movie marathon!  We haven’t been off on that holiday in years.

Speaking of being off from work, we will have 4 days off at Christmas this year!  Woot!  Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the 2 days following.  That hasn’t happened since 2013, while in Jersey.  I’m really, really looking forward to Christmas and decorating our new home.  We have some decorations we used in the RV, but this year we are talking about getting a slightly larger tree – going from 1 foot to about 4 feet.  Ha!  Although I’ve never gone overboard decorating my homes, we’ll probably add a few things here and there to supplement what decorations we already have from our full-timing days.  There’s a good chance we’ll have a white Christmas, too!  Yay!  We both love Christmas.  It’s such a magical time.  It’ll be nice to have a few days to relax and enjoy it.

Well, it is a work day, so I’d best wrap this up and earn some money!  Still enjoying my telecommuting job as an administrative assistant, and grateful for that opportunity. 

Until next time …

Thanks for stopping by!  Stay safe out there, okay?