Windy Tuesday

If you saw the national news, you probably saw mention of the area out here. The winds came up yesterday and then got really strong last night and this morning. Coupled with a smattering of snow and rain and temperatures below freezing with wind chills near 0, it made for an interesting day. We lost some trees around town and had signs and other such things blow down as well. I took this picture of the ice hanging off the eves of the house from inside the kitchen.

 

You can see the big one in the corner out of the breeze. Note that contrary to the dull dark look of this picture, it was taken at noon with the wind howling and the temperature up to the 30s. It's just that the day stayed gray, dull, and overcast. Yet another view of the surviving icicle is given by this close up shot.

It calmed down a bit by this evening for the city council meeting where we had a marathon session. In retail sales it is Thanksgiving through Christmas tat is the make or break. In municipal government in cold climes, it is the March - June time frame that is make or break. If projects don't get started in time, they don't get finished before the possible arrival of winter. So we had a two page agenda of items and contracts to go through tonight, along with several public hearings. Made for a fun time for all. {*grin*}

We did have a first at the meeting. A citizen actually came to speak at the unscheduled block reserved for people not on the agenda, and he was not there to complain! He came to tell us thanks for the hard work and good job we are doing. It rare to be hearing it from one of the people we serve, especially in public like that. The council and I were deeply appreciative.

Finally, amidst the wind and the breeze, Mom got to go home today. It was challenging when the van brought her in her wheel chair to the house and the wind was so strong that it took two of us to hold the door open for the wheel chair lift to deposit her on the side walk. It was likewise fun as I loaded and unloaded her stuff from my truck. But in spite of the ugly weather, Mom is really happy to be back in her house, able to do the things she wants, and eat the food she wants.

Time to head for the bed so I can get up and mosey down to the radio station tomorrow morning. I only got a few hours sleep last night with the wind and crashing and ... so 6am is going to come early. After the show I'll head over to Mom's to get her grocery list since she can't get out and about for a while yet. She's learning that wheel chairs on thick carpets are very hard to push compared to the tiled floor at the nursing home. {*grin*}