Snow day...

Some days are just meant for staying inside and sipping hot chocolate. Too bad I would have to go to the store to get some... I could really go for some of that warm, chocolatey goodness right now.

This is supposed to be our big winter storm. We'll see. So far it hasn't been too bad, but the road crews have been pretty lame. I went out to the store last night when we got our first three or four inches and the roads weren't too great. The second round of snow is here now and the roads are going to be a lot worse than they would have been if the plows had been working it hard last night. I mean, c'mon guys, this is Wisconsin...snow isn't a big surprise.

That said, I love/hate the snow.

I'm glad it's coming down. It makes for a nice change. It also makes the Winter Olympics seem more fun. It's a bit easier to get into the whole winter scene when there's snow outside.

It also gives our crazy cool neighbor a chance to fire up his snow blower and blow the snow caked sidewalks of neighborehood. How nice is that?

He's about 180 years old and is one of the last old school Wisconsin-style homeowners that I remember from my yute. He's out there every day doing something in the yard or around the house. And he's always picking up any trash - big or small - that blows his way.

That's how the Milwaukee area used to be. Everyone kept their places up and there was never an uncut lawn on the block. That ethic seems to have disappeared with the first- and second-generation Germans, Poles and Greeks that made up the fabric of this area.

I really miss that cool cultural mix. Nobody's Grandma speaks German anymore. And not many people's Grandpas are out blowing the snow off the neighbor's sidewalks.

And in a weird weather update...there was just a flash of lightning and some thunder. What the heck! Will someone please man the controls up there? There's not supposed to be thunder and lightning in a snow storm.

If frogs start falling from the sky, I'm going to run and repent. Thank goodness the Catlick church is only a block away.

Anyway, I think I'll brew some coffee, just sit around, and maybe bust open a book. Oh yeah...and do my best to resist the urge to make 400 blog entries...