Who's this mysterious boy?

Who's this mysterious boy?

We see many of these 'mysterious' boys as we walk to school every morning. But on this particular morning, not only the boys have their faces covered, the adults too! 

A severe weather warning, from AccuWeather.com, was issued last night: 

Dangerous wind chill in effect till noon on Monday. Single digit temperature .. And gusty west wind .. Will combine to produce wind chills as low as 16F to 28F below zero ......

Indeed, bitter cold wind blew as we made our way to school this morning. As the children walked on the icy path, rosy cheeks peeked out from behind their scarves. My cheeks hurt as I made my way home. Gusty wind blew as water vapor condensed and turned into a tiny piece of ice on my eye lid as I breathed hard through the scarf covering my cheeks and nose. 

In the warning issued, we were advised to use hats and gloves. To keep ourselves warm. Frost bites can occur ten to fifteen minutes with this dangerous wind chill. 

And the temperature this morning?

17C under zero, sunny and windy.

Realfeel of 25C under zero. 

Grrhhh.....

A Cold but Sunny Winter Day

I look out of the window. The sky is a lovely shade of blue.

It is a bright and sunny day.

Ignoring the pile of snow outside, the lovely bright sunshine makes it feel like it is summer. But it's winter now. A sunny winter day. Is it cold?

If looks can be deceiving, so can the weather!

Take a look at the temperature rating on my laptop ... it says ... -13 Celsius! 

It's freezing cold outside! So looks can be deceiving, even when we talk about the weather! 

But I'm not complaining. 

I missed the sun back home.

I get depressed when the sky is gloomy. 

Take a look at the first photograph in the collage and you will know what I mean by gloomy grey sky. The sunny weather sets my mood for the day. I feel energetic and alert. Gloomy and cold? Sunny and cold? 

I choose the latter anytime.

The kids are still excited about the snow, even though it has been a while since it has started snowing. Here's what they love doing on a sunny cold day: Shovel the snow outside the house, on the path, go sledding, and make snow balls! 

What do they do when they are home then?

Homework? This word has been buried under the many inches of snow for weeks. Their favorite home-word for now ... LEGO!

Fun in the snow!

What do you do on a day when school is closed due to a snow storm?

Homework? Study?

No, you go sledding!!!

The kids just loved it! If not for the strong wind, more snow, and the biting cold on the face, we would have sled longer! The other two OLD kids (the papa and mama) had fun sledding too!

Winter Storm and School

AccuWeather.com, Dec 9 2008 :

The Winter Weather Center reports that as much as 6 inches will pile up from south-central Wisconsin into northern Michigan before tapering off early on Wednesday. Snow in the Upper Midwest and rain in the Southeast will sandwich a messy mix of sleet, freezing rain and rain in parts of Central Plains and Midwest. This mix of wintry precipitation today could create hazardous winter driving conditions as well as the possibility of flight delays at Midwest airports. 

I knew there would be a snowstorm from Monday night, through Tuesday. 

I was wondering how we were going to walk to school on Tuesday morning. 

I received email warning advisory from Accuweather too. 

I didn't expect the snow to pile up so much.

I didn't expect the visibility to be reduced so much.

I didn't expect school to be closed!

A call to the school office confirmed it all. 

"All schools in Madison are closed today."

The kids were happy. 

They wanted to go sledding. 

They watched as Mr. Big Brush came to plough the roads and walkways.

But this time round, instead of a big brush, he had a big shovel attached! 

Mr. Big Brush!

When it snows through the night, a thick layer of snow will form on the path the next morning, making it difficult to walk. The path needs to be cleared of snow. Who is going to shovel the snow? 

This is the job for ... Mr Big Brush!

The kids just love watching him clear the path!

They will run to the window to watch, whenever they hear him coming.

They love the way the snow 'splashed' onto our window as the brush clears the snow.

See you tomorrow morning, Mr Big Brush!

A Warm Sweet Drink in Winter

With the weather getting colder each day, it is really nice to have a warm drink when we get home. A warm before a meal, a warm drink between meals, or a warm drink after a meal. 

So I put together some dried figs, some dried longans and water.

Soak the dried figs and longans in warm water for 20 minutes.

Bring the pot of water with figs and longans to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook another 30 minutes, or till the ingredients softened.

Done! Simple and easy to prepare.

Pour the extra into a bottle and keep in the fridge. 

Need a drink? 

Pour into a cup and warm it up using the microwave!

Alberta Clipper

From AccuWeather.com, Dec 6 2008: 

An Alberta Clipper diving across the Midwest through the day with flurries and areas of steady snow will be followed by the coldest air of the season so far. Yet another blast next week will rival prior December outbreaks of the past decade.

We had been in the woods for half a year now.

This is the first time the kids experience such cold and snow. 

It is a headache for me, dressing the kids and keeping them warm.

Checking the website for weather changes hourly, has become a 'hobby' for me. When a frozen thermometer is displayed on the website, I freeze. Temperature shown may be -7C, but include in the wind chill, you get a realfeel of -14C. Tonight is going to be another cold night, with a frozen thermometer shown on the website. A cold freezing night with temperature of -16C. Are your teeth chattering as you read this?

It snowed all day, yesterday. 

We woke up this morning and this was what we saw:

At least 2 inches of snow covering the walkway. 

Strong wind had blown the snow into the covered walkway as well. 

We couldn't see the windows of our car .. and the colour of our car didn't help much... WHITE.

The one good thing is that : We need not shovel the snow on the walkway.

This guy will drive a machine and clear the path, covered with snow, with his huge rotating brush. Will try to take a video and post it next time. 

No wonder they call it .... a white christmas.