Stuck at home...what now?

They're predicting ice/sleet/cold rain tomorrow here in Charlotte. The storm that's hammered the Midwest is heading here. My friend in Miami tweeted that it's too COLD down there. I think Mother Nature's thermostat is broken and she needs someone to come in and repair it. I've never been a fan of cold weather; we moved farther south to get AWAY from it.

My house sits on top of a hill in our neighborhood. We really didn't plan it that way; it just happened. On the good side, we don't have much of a flooding problem when it rains heavily, since water runs downhill. When that water freezes into ice, though, it's impossible to get down the street, much less the housing development. I've actually watched people slip-slide down the hill or try to make it up and fail miserably. During the winter storm of 2002, my husband jokingly called our house "The Fortress of Solitude".

He had a point. The first day of ice is beautiful. The second, third and fourth days aren't. Cabin fever sets in...and the millionth Christmas movie or rendition of "Let's Clap Hands for Santa Claus" drives me nuts. That's when you stock up on hot chocolate, board games, crayons and paper. Take your camera and shoot pictures that will never come again. Spend time with family, snuggled up under blankets and next to the space heater.

And hope that the Groundhog doesn't seen his shadow and spring comes early this year.



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