Winter Wonderland

Yes folks, I am currently home in Michigan. Thankfully there was a day break in the winter storm for my travels. The roads were fairly clear- just a bit of ice between Fort Wayne and the IN/MI border. Fort Wayne had received at least a half inch of ice and approximately 85% of the city was still without power as I drove through. Thank you Lord that it didn't hit me nearly as bad. Marion was essentially clear of all signs of winter when I left this morning. By the time I reached Ft. Wayne, all the trees on the west side of the interstate were completely cased in ice. Those on the eastern side had none. And then by the time I arrived at the border all visible signs of winter appeared. There was snow. Much snow. And as I continued driving the amount only increased. When I got off the highway the snow was at least a foot deep. The snow on our deck is up past the patio chairs. The snow plowed off the driveway is nearly half as tall as the pine trees (which is much taller than myself). It was incredible to experience the winter transformation in just a few hours. :)

I spent the afternoon doing multiple loads of laundry and packing for our grand excursion to the east coast. Rachel, my apologies for neglecting to mention you in my last post. For those of you curious, I spent part of yesterday morning (during my ice day) pestering my [former] roommate while she was stuck working at the office. (See, it pays to be in education...) We've set plans for the 26th. Since I'll be in her home area of PA we'll be going out to Panera to cram about 5 months of conversation and absurdity into a few short hours. It's a good thing we're awesome enough to be able to pull off such a feat. ;)

On a sad note, Abendago died this morning. I woke up and he was stuck to the intake tube for the aquarium filter. He was near his end and no longer had the strength to swim against its pull. Although I enjoyed his presence, he was quite the bully and I suspect the cause of the demise of my two latest guppies. So while I mourn his loss, I also rejoice at the prospect of adding a new little guy and having him survive.

Tomorrow brings the first leg of travel in our journey. We leave DTW in the early afternoon, layover in Baltimore, and end up in Raleigh by early evening. As I'm not promised internet access, you may have to wait for updates until my return. I'm sure you'll survive. It's Christmas. You have much better things to do than be checking up on me. :)

Merry Christmas!