oh, the weather outside is frightful!

There's probably frost on the pumpkins, but we can't find them.

I'm guessing at least a foot of the white stuff fell last night. And it's still falling.

I'm ready, Mommy! Let's go sledding!

The 10th of October, folks, and the snow is a'flyin.' As I write this, it's 10 degrees, and with the wind chill it's -2. Our high today is 21. If you don't believe me, check out MSN weather and type in Cheyenne. The highways are shut down, and my dreams of moving before winter hit are dashed. I'm a little peeved, mostly because autumn is my favorite season and we had none of it. No jewel colored leaves to kick through. No apple or pumpkin picking. No cute, fashionable little jackets for us. Straight on through to the snow pants, wool caps, knee high water proof boots, and huge, poofy coats. We may as well enjoy being snowed in though, so the girls are out with the neighborhood kids, sledding, and I plan to spend the frosty weekend baking, watching movies, drinking hot buttered rum which I don't actually much care for but it's appropriate for the weather, snuggling with my hunky husband, and updating this. The killer is my new Diana Gabaldon novel is ready to be picked up at the library, and I'm too chicken to get in the car. We did get the snow tires put on Mike's car yesterday, just in the knick of time (or is it nick of time? I don't know what that expression means now that I think about it). One of our favorite winter pastimes from last year is sitting by the picture window and watching all the cars get stuck in front of my house. We're not completely cruel, if they can't get out after about 15 minutes or so, we will go help, but it isn't really all that helpful because my husband refuses to buy a snow shovel in protest of mother nature. So if you want to come visit (after the highways open back of course) you will have to kick your way through a whole lot of snow to get to my front door. But anyway, in spite of Scottish highlanders waiting for me in the hold section of the library, I'm not quite ready to venture out yet - maybe next week.

I don't how the settlers did it. I don't how they did it in California, much less Wyoming. I can't imagine being a woman back then, isolated, with no modern amenities. Small wonder some of them went crazy. I'm not very social at all, but a few days of no one to talk to and just your four walls to stare at, and gulp, no television! I should probably take up knitting or something constructive. Maybe you'll all receive scarves in the mail soon. Email me your favorite colors.

On the nightstand: Dean Koontz

Homeschooling Digest magazine

a nice cleared off spot, ready and waiting, for An Echo in the Bone

On the tv: football...sigh

So You Think You Can Dance

glee

Top Chef

In the dvd player: Burn After Reading

Henry Poole is Here

In the cd player (ya, ya, I know y'all have Ipods): Leann Rimes

Alison Krauss and Union Station

Shawn Mullins

Jack Johnson

In my favorites: http://www.theredneckdiva.com/

http://www.ataleof3kohlers.blogspot.com/

http://www.thehomeschoollounge.com/

http://www.4takashiges.blogspot.com/

http://www.thegremlinwrangler.com/ (doesn't write anymore, but you'll laugh all day reading the old posts)

http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/

In the oven, or soon to be: clam chowder

cinnamon raisin bread

oatmeal cookies

chicken pot pie

a test run of a dairy free chocolate cake

P.S.

Ok I have spent three times as much time trying to align margins and put in spaces and tabs on this dumb bunny post, and it just won't stick. The evil geniuses at blogger are laughing their sadistic heads off at my expense. I am sorry for the smashed together look of this blog, and if I were smarter, perhaps I could fix it. Unfortunately you'll just have to deal with it, and hopefully it won't annoy the living daylights out of you the way it does the author.