Andy became concerned!

“It’s nearly sunup and you haven’t posted a blog post for today!” OK, Andrew! Here it is! Satisfied??? “No! My fans will be upset if I’m not there when they scan the new posts for the day. And they already are upset with my new haircut. (So am I!)”

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The “White Christmas” crowd gets their wish this year. Here’s the weather predictions for the next few days through Christmas. Ugh! I can do without the white stuff, especially when the previous storm’s dump hasn’t melted yet. 

Wednesday: Snow likely, mainly after 11am. Widespread blowing snow, mainly between 10am and 5pm. Increasing clouds, with a temperature falling to around -12 by 5pm. Wind chill values between -30 and -40. Blustery, with a west wind 15 to 25 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Wednesday Night: Widespread blowing snow, mainly after 2am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around -29. Wind chill values between -50 and -60. Blustery, with a north northwest wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.

Thursday: Widespread blowing snow. Sunny and cold, with a high near -14. Wind chill values between -50 and -60. Windy, with a northwest wind around 30 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph.

Thursday Night: Widespread blowing snow, mainly before 9pm. Mostly clear, with a low around -23. Windy, with a northwest wind 25 to 30 mph decreasing to 15 to 20 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 0. Breezy.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -12.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 27.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 14.

Christmas Day: A slight chance of rain and snow before 11am, then a slight chance of rain between 11am and 4pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 38. Breezy.

Andy got a lion cut this time. I don’t know if I am happy with it and I know Andy – tail proud Andy! – is not thrilled. I think he looks cute, better than most cats that get this cut, though the main thing is he has till next 10th April to grow everything out again. When his groomer suggested that cut this time, I agreed to it, so Andy and his fans everywhere can get mad at me!

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Whew! Wind chill temperatures down to -65 degrees F/ -54 C are predicted for tonight here in my county. The whole week looks like that, if not quite that extreme. As for my kitty boy, I prepared for his favorite places to be heated more than usual. I will make sure I’m comfortable, too, with blankets, a heavy Turkish bathrobe, whatever it takes. As for having to get out in that miserable weather, I’ll make sure I wear my heavy winter coat instead of the lighter one I usually wear.

Andy was out in plain view, cowering because he knew I was there for…

…”medicate the kitty” time.

His “sad kitty” face.

I still had to put the eye drops in!

Andy is so predictable.

This still is his favorite thing!

So I humor him!

Andy is really “floofy” just now. 

Little does he know he’s getting groomed on the 19th!

“Have you forgotten it’s ‘kitty food time’?!”

Oops!

“That’s much better. Fat and fed, I’ll sleep now.”

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The blizzard eventually hit here 14 December later in the day.

The frog across the lane isn’t smiling now!

It doesn’t look too bad…

Maybe it does! I hope there is clearance on the passenger side. If so, I may be able to drive over the “drift” caused by clearing the lane, then I can finish clearing snow off my car after getting onto the lane. We’ll see.

Andy waited outside my bedroom. Blizzardy outside, I decided to keep warm under the covers and went back to bed.

When I got up (finally!) I gave Andy the anticipated and much welcomed “scritch”!

“Wanna see how much snow we got while I coccooned in my bed, Andrew?” Deep enough to drift a little in front of my door.

Not much out this way. Whew!

Andy licked snow that got inside the door. 

Yep! The yard frog’s still smiling across the lane!

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This post was put together on 13 December, roughly midday. Just when and if the big bad blizzard will strike where I live is a big question. Here’s what the official word is on that at midday yesterday:

 BREAKING WEATHER:  AIRPORT DELAYS

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Your CURRENT Local Weather Forecast Here

Weather Alert
Blizzard Warning issued December 13 at 1:04AM CST until December 15 at 12:00AM CST by NWS Cheyenne

…BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST WEDNESDAY… * WHAT…Blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of 10 to 20 inches. with locally higher amounts possible. Winds gusting as high as 60 mph. * WHERE…Portions of panhandle Nebraska and east central and southeast Wyoming. * WHEN…Until 11 PM MST Wednesday. * IMPACTS…Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. The cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

“It’s almost midnight and you haven’t done your post for tomorrow!” Andy is anxious because I’m running behind. I had to remind him that dialysis ended at 14:15 today because our schedules were all clumped into Monday in advance of the blizzard. After a late lunch, I conked out and slept till 21:08 or so. Things are a bit thin for tomorrow, Tuesday, I agree, but I seriously considered skipping a blog day. Incidentally, the latest prediction is that the area an hour drive north of here and Western South Dakota will get buried in drifting snow and where I live (maybe, if I read it correctly) may miss the worst of it. 

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I got out of dialysis so late in my day I decided to treat myself to a sit-down restaurant meal, something I almost stopped doing because of COVID-19. I had a semi-fancy hamburger and fries and a draft Blue Moon, much tastier than what I had in mind for lunch at home!

The hamburger was a Swiss cheese/American cheese hamburger with two crunchy slices of smoked bacon. It came with shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and dill pickle chips. I chose the brioche bun from the three choices that included pretzel and Kaiser buns. I kept it simple: a bit of catsup on the hamburger and fries and I ate the “fixings” separately as an undressed salad. All of those extras, while tasty on a burger, make eating problematic and needlessly messy in my mind!

The hamburger was the juiciest, beefiest, most perfectly seasoned hamburger I’ve had in a long time. This was no fast food hocky puck with too much salt and a soggy bun! I don’t quite “get” the point of the American cheese on this particular variation, but it actually blended inobtrusively with the Swiss cheese. The draft Blue Moon worked well with this perfect hamburger though had I guessed what a great burger I was about to be served, I would have looked a bit closer at the red wine selection instead of the beers.

The fries…! Chunky spears with crisp exteriors and interiors of perfectly cooked and potato-y goodness! I nearly prayed to the potato gods asking forgiveness for polluting these fries with a little catsup, they were so tasty in those sections without this condiment!

I paid my bill and added a 25% tip. I know most people who read this blog outside of the USA will question that gratuity and the size of it, but there comes a time when a restaurant meal is so well prepared and served – did I mention the exceptional service by the wait staff?! – that a sizable tip seems reasonable. I respond well to excellence no matter how it is manifested. I guess it’s a carryover from my days as a quality assurance guy.