This has been a really good week! All weekend long there had been predictions of snow. Monday was a sunshiny day, and so was Tuesday, when the snows were to come. Of course, the papers here had said there would be snow gripping the region, expect heavy snowfalls, stockpile food and coal, etc. I even have friends I had been talking to the week before who had done just that! Extra coal had been ordered, extra food purchased, etc. I began to wonder if I was foolish? After all, I there had been no talk of blizzards, or the fact that we'd be cut off from everything! Anyway, I went home on Tuesday, and the weather was a bit chilly, but certainly had been a bright day. That night, as I was watching television, I glanced out the window. SNOW!! I kept looking out the windows every 15 minutes or so, and it was lovely to see how it was becoming a beautiful white blanket on the vacant field outside, and on the surrounding rooftops. When I went to bed about 11pm, it was truly white and lovely! The last weather report had said it would probably stop around midnight.

I awoke on Wednesday and grabbed my camera to take photos. Unfortunately, the bridge had been shoveled with a path and gritted, as had the sidewalk beside the river. The vacant field now had cars in it, as it is a carpark, and there were tracks there. So there went the lovely photos. I got to work, and granted, north of the city, there had been heavier snows, and on the country lanes, there had been no shoveling or gritting. Therefore, some people were late to work, some didn't show up, etc. But everyone in our group made it. It was wonderful to go out at lunch and see and hear people as they crunched through the snow. That evening I met Bruce for a quick one at the Red Lion, and then I went to the Northern Wall for the going away do of one of the people from the company. While there, it started snowing again, and when we left, there was new snow everywhere, and it was falling on us at the taxi stand across the street.

Thursday it was a bright, sunny day, and the snow began to melt. By lunch, a great deal was gone, and the sun stayed out the rest of the day, taking the majority of the snow with it. By Friday, there were very few places that had any ice or snow left, and by the end of the day, it was gone. However, I enjoyed it while it was here. After work on Friday, I went to Thormanby with Peter Gibson for a dinner with Gareth Dadd and him, and a friend of theirs from Middlesbrough. We had a great time, and Gareth prepared a delicious curry.

Saturday morning, Peter drove me back into the city. We met up with Liz Kirby at Louther's Bathroom Store, where we found what we were looking for for the remodeling of the bath here in the apartment. Then Liz took me back to the flat, and we had a nice visit. Around 2pm, Ian Tuite arrived from Birmingham. He'd gotten lost, and fortunately Liz and I were able to go rescue him and get him here to Roundtree safely! He was at Wetherspoons, which is very close to me. I fixed dinner for us (a delicious pasta putanesca and salad, recipes courtesy of Ken Carlile) that evening, and we just had a nice, relaxing time visiting.

Sunday he left, and I went in to do some washing. Wouldn't you know it, the washing machine went on the fritz with towels, etc. in it. So that means a repairman tomorrow. Ian called to say he'd made it home, but not without someone knicking his car just as he was going round the last roundabout! Fortunately, he wasn't hurt, and there is just minor damage to his car.

I know that today is the Super Bowl at Reliant Stadium in Houston. How proud I know everyone there is of that. We will get the game and festivities, but they start at 11:00 PM, and I doubt I will be able to stay up and see them. Good luck, Houston, I hope you are able to carry it off with grand style! Take care everyone.

Love,