After the Snow and Ice

The day after the ice and snowstorm dawned bright, sunny, and cold. I opened the back door to let Pepper out to do her business and thick amounts of ice covered our patio.

Pepper skidded and slipped around, but she was able to do what she needed to do and then hustled back inside for warmth and breakfast. (Not necessarily in that order. She's a Lab.)

We'd gotten a layer of ice and then three inches of snow that then blew and drifted, but the roads, while slow going (and occasionally flooded so detours were in place) were passable if you drove slowly. We normally have Molly and Nash on Fridays and Lisa felt comfortable bringing them to us and then she went into school.

Molly next to the patio, debating if she wants to attempt walking on that ice and go in through the kitchen door or walk around the house and use the front door instead.

Craig and I took the dogs outside to play in the snow for a while. Molly was too shy to join in, but Nashie is a big puppy at heart and he and Pepper had fun bouncing around in the snow.

He nearly pulled me off my feet in this video, and he did actually pull the leash out of my hands later in his enthusiasm to play and run, but he came right back to me when I called him. (He doesn't always do that so we keep him leashed when he's not in a fenced area.)

The "pack" followed me around the house all day.

Pepper and Nashie slept on the bed behind me while I sewed. Molly prefers to stay downstairs, so Craig took work from his office downstairs and worked down there so she'd have some company. (Craig is a real softie when it comes to the dogs.)

There was a layer of ice under the snow and Molly was very cautious about walking on it. She is eight and has arthritis; sometimes normal everyday activities can hurt her.

Having said that, she ALWAYS comes running when I pull out the Skinny Pop. I lost almost 100 lbs three years ago, and Skinny Pop is my go-to treat now rather than M&Ms, Reeses, and potato chips. (Not that I wouldn't like to have those sometimes.)

I usually take a break from sewing late in the morning or early afternoon to read and have some popcorn, and the dogs know that I will share. (Nashie was with Craig upstairs and preferred to stay there.)

We were very lucky that the storm didn't drop as much snow and ice as predicted. As it was, though, I-65 which runs through Lafayette was closed for about 12 hours.

 And Liz Cory sent me these photos of a 100 car pile-up on I-39 near her.

Fortunately there were no reports of fatalities but Liz said that emergency personnel from as far away as St. Louis and Springfield came up to help sort the wreck out and get the interstate open again.

It was the right decision for me to stay home from the GLC show, no doubt about it although I will miss being there. If you are going to the show, good luck, have fun, and tell everyone "hello" from me!