It's the snowstorm we'd been anticipating for the past few days.  The weather forecasters have been talking about how bad it was going to get; boy, they weren't kidding!!  Winds of over 30 miles an hour (sustained!) with fifty mile (or higher) wind gusts, plummeting wind chill values into the sub zero category.  It is not fit for man or beast; everyone's been urged to stay inside, as the weather is getting dangerous.

We're expecting maybe 2 feet of snow where we live here in Chicago.  We've already had a lot of snow this winter: I am more than ready for summer and sunshine!!

It's even thundering; just saw a bright flash of lightning, and now the thunder is booming as I write this on my laptop.  Wonder if the power is gonna hold??

Father is at work; there's no telling when or if he will even get home.  If not, he will be stranded at the hospital.  Ma, meanwhile, just got home from the store ... three hours later than planned.  The store isn't that far, but the roads are still nasty.  Ma is peeling off her snow-covered clothes; she looks like a human snow woman! LOL  She says she's gonna jump in the tub and soak in hot water until she unthaws.  Ma says it's brutal out there.

Ma got us some basic staples to hold us through the storm, including bread, milk, soda pop, lunch meat, snacks, and some veggies.  She is going to make chili con carne later; should be perfect on a nasty winter night like tonight!

School was cancelled yesterday when the blizzard warning went into effect.  I wasn't too happy about the news, but Coral and Sanjay were jumping up and down with joy.  Typical kids!  All they care about is pelting one another with snowballs or sleeping in!  LOL

Ma said there were cars spun out in ditches and parked at the side of the road on her way to (and from) Kroger's.  She said she drove at a snail's pace and prayed desperate prayers to God.  Well, God must have been listening because Ma got home in one piece without wrecking her car.  A huge miracle, considering how bad it is outside!!

Whoops! The power just died.  NOT good!  Hopefully it will click back on; at least my laptop has a backup battery so I can still use it in emergencies!  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Magenta Privkar signing off!  Pray we get through this blizzard in one piece!!  And pray our power comes back!!

~Love, your friend in (snowy) Illinois, Magenta.  :)