What a Day!

In case you hadn't heard, a snowy/windy weather system has been moving through Minnesota the past couple of days.  When I went to bed last night, the snow hadn't really made it this far north, but the wind was gusting.  I was hopeful that the worst would stay south, but when I woke up this morning, the wind was still raging and the snow had started.  I usually go to the fitness center in town on Friday mornings, but I convinced myself to postpone until Saturday, and to stay in my cozy bed a little longer.  Then guilt set in, and I got up and went after all.  Every other Friday I've been doing a 5K walk/run on the treadmill so maybe by this summer I can take part in a real 5K run.  My time today was 51:03, so I have a little work to do.

Later in the morning, I went back out to a garage sale some parents of graduating seniors were having.  The bargain hunter in me was happy to get six shirts, seven books, a picture frame, a baggie of kids' sunglasses and two glass Minnesota Vikings steins for $10.25 total.  I left the garage sale site, hurrying  across the parking lot because a car was waiting to park, and wiped out.  Ice under snow for the win!

I bought the Vikings mugs to replace the one Jackson used to have that broke when I was doing dishes.  When I grabbed the bag out of the car to bring it inside, the bag ripped, and the mugs broke when they hit the ground.  Sigh.  I'll continue to look for Vikings glassware at garage sales and thrift shops.

After the garage sale, I drove to the lake to see how the storm was affecting the water.  Despite being pelted by blowing snow, I was in awe of the crashing waves.

The waves doused these branches, encasing them in ice

Did I mention the ice-covered trees are at on the top (and back) of a 15-20 foot tall rock?

This tree succumbed to the high winds

I finally headed home, made it through the drifts at the end of our driveway, only to be spinning my tires halfway up.  The slope of our driveway and the icy snow combined to leave me stuck.  Ice under snow for the win again!  So I got out of the van, shoveled all the drifts out of the way so I could back up to get momentum, sprinkled some ice melt on my path, and finally spun the van into its parking space.

I spent the rest of the day inside, making cookies and homemade pizza, watching the April snow continue to fall through the afternoon.