Frigid Inversion & Freezing Rain, Independence Days Challenge

What an inversion looks like

Frigid Inversion & Freezing Rain-

We have been having the most god-awful weather here the last couple of weeks. With a smoggy inversion laying over the city (up to 700') the air quality sucks! Terrible for folks with breathing problems, colds, etc. It also keeps the temps way down: -1 yesterday morning, again. We had freezing rain last night, horrible roads and the local school district (mine) had the wisdom to make us go to work. Accidents everywhere, people getting hurt, the highway and airport closed. They sort of apologized on the noon news- "Gee, we didn't think it was that BAD at 5 a.m." Gee, it was bad two weeks ago at 6:45 a.m. when I got the "snow day" call. It's just not worth folks getting injured before they even make it into the building, or in a wreck. Many smart parents kept their kids home. There were a lot of ANGRY employees today. Ah well, we'll see what tomorrow brings... hopefully I'll be home. It's 31, with a low forecast in the teens again tonite. Luckily the inversion is supposed to get blown out by the next storm this weekend. Maybe more snow next week...

 Independence Days Challenge-
I haven't done one of these for a while, so here goes!

1. Plant Something- Nothing til spring.

2. Harvest Something- The girls are doing well with their egg production, I think the extra light this winter really helped. 2-3 per day.

3. Preserve/Store Something- Will be pickling hard boiled eggs this weekend, way too many eggs! I have 2+ dozen in the fridge, will make a fritatta this weekend.

4. Manage Reserves- Get A Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Found some good deals at the grocery outlet, found a couple of 1/2 off winter sweaters locally. A lot of the big names like LL Bean have their winter stuff marked down and free shipping. Their stuff lasts forever! I've worn their women's flannel shirts all winter and they're lasted for 6-7 years. Well made! We got a good rebate on our new Norton software, as our old was expiring. A little free fruit from work, and veggies for the girls. Got more Romano cheese at Costco, what a deal! Keeping the pantry stocked. I look back at how much I have used my old winter snow clogs, winter snow boots, heavy coats, mittens, etc. Many of these things  I have had for 12+ years, it really pays to spend a little extra, or buy off-season. It's good to have all those things on hand. The thin wool socks I got at Costco too are incredibly warm! What a deal- 3 for $9.99! Now we just need a wood stove. I love the idea of having some extra heating source here.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipes- We'll be eating eggs this week! Made some beer bread, and wonderful soup out of misc. veggies, & beans on hand. Working on the pantry foods. I bought some whole grain English muffins. I hadn't had those in years, yummy, with homemade jam!!!

6. Build Community Food Systems- Not selling eggs right now, but probably next month. Helps with the feed bill.

7. Recycle/Re-Use- I took in the waist of some slacks that were falling down, a little darting was all they needed! Fitting perfect now. Still giving scraps to the girls. We'll be adding more pine shavings this weekend, then the used go out in the garden. We don't compost in the pile this time of year, too cold.

8. Skill Up- Did some sewing, had to remember how to do darts. 

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Dave is bringing home some scrap PVC pipe to cover the cold frame soon. That should speed up the growing season.

Now I'm just ready for some BLUE SKY!