This was the site that greeted me this morning on the front porch. I was up at 4am, as Pat was preparing to leave for Silver City (New Mexico) for a scouting trip. He shoveled the driveway and sidewalk before leaving, but a couple of hours later before I left for work (how odd that still sounds) I had to shovel again - then again after I returned home.

When I got to my car in the Big IT Company parking lot after class today, it was like someone had dumped a barrel of oatmeal mixed with white glue on it. With the day-long snowfall continuing after I parked there warm enough for it to melt and refreeze, it took about twenty minutes to chip, brush, scrape, and thaw enough to commence the slippery ride home. Yesterday on my way from the building exit to the car in the lot the sidewalks and parking asphalt were covered with a uniform glaze of slick ice - walking was trecherous.

Oddly, as much as I have resented being in the winter climate here I found myself in good humor over the past two days of arctic weather. I actually appreciated the shoveling when I returned home tonight, as I need the exercise and the cold didn't seem bad with still air and the exertion. Mdog's walk had to be kept short, though, lest her little feet get frostbitten in the 14 degree air and snow.



Pat called from Silver City tonight, and it sounded like he was not very impressed with what he has encountered so far. In any event, I am slowly growing accustomed to the work schedule and warming up to the opportunity to work with the intricate technology of networking again. There were many gaps previously in my knowledge, which are now being filled with the excellent instruction that is now wrapping up week three of seven.



It seems like just a few weeks ago there was excellent fall weather as we visited the ranch before Mona's trip to Japan. Today's snowfall and hard freeze were a reminder that winter is bearing down on us. A good time to work, I suppose - except for the not-napping thing.

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