The Blizzard of 2010...Back Online

 (Taken outside my back door at 5:35 pm.  Notice how enormous these flakes were)

Whew!!!!  Didn't see this one coming.  On Thursday they said the blizzard was going to pretty much miss us; then, the next thing I hear, it is heading straight towards us.  Well, I have heard this one before...and usually, the storm from hell turns out to be only half of what they projected it to be.  Boy, was I taken by surprise.  

When I fell asleep on the sofa on Sunday eve, the storm was already going strong, but I was feeling quite cozy as I snuggled under my blanket and watched the last of the Christmas movies for the year.  Somewhere along the line, I dozed off and didn't awaken until 6 am in the morning....to a blank television.  Oh, someone must have come by and turned it off.  I thought to myself.  Reached for the remote...screen still stayed black.  Uh oh!!!  The house phone had already gone the night before; I expected that. Hence the need for a cell phone.  But the cable, too?  Oh my goodness.  Well, at least I still have the internet...or so I thought.  But, it  I was wrong on all counts.  Internet was down as well.  Needless to say, I find the whole thing pretty darned frustrating.  Where is all my money going to?  Heck, I understand that things happen that are beyond our control, but, I am sorry, Cablevision gets enough money from its customers that it should be able to do a better job of weather-proofing.  Last month, November, my bill for Cable and Internet was $168.  This month it has risen to $173.  A five dollar increase in one month?  And, just think about how many other customers pay the same thing and more...

...but I am not here to rant.  I'm just so happy to be back...and show off my new skills...which, I agree, need some work.  And despite it all, I feel blessed that we still had our power and plenty of food in the fridge.  And with no trains running, I had two extra days to mend my cold.  Alas, though, as I sit here typing, I here the trains beginning to run, so it's back to work tomorrow.  For now, though, I'm just happy to be here. I've missed you all so.

 (Backyard and front of the house at the beginning of the storm.  2:50 and 2:51 pm)

 (Backyard at 4:35 pm.)

(Front of house at 6:30 pm)

 (Front of house at 7:35 am.  Where did the cars across the street go?)

  

(Backyard at 7:40 am.  No more picnic table.)

 (10:30 am.  Finally the sky turning blue.  The blurriness is not my focus.  It's the heavy winds blowing the snow)

I thank you all for your concern.