Our patio thermometer read -20 this morning.  According to the weather reports that was just about in the middle of the temps being reported around the area.  The reporters listed several areas with wind chill readings between -30 and -40.  They thought, yesterday, that one area might have set a new record low but the Weather Service checked the thermometer and found it was off by 13 degrees.  So no new record.  We do know that this is the coldest reading we have seen since we moved in.

As promised, here are some photos from front and back of our house.  That pile on the right of the first photo is the snow on top or our garbage tote.  A bit less than the levels in front.

      We have no intention of shoveling until Sunday, after the next round of snowfall.  We are expecting another 2-3 inches between now and then.  

The mail carrier had a very hard time of it both getting in close enough to the boxes to put the mail in and getting away after.  I heard his/her wheels spinning at several stops.  I say 'his/her' because s/he was so bundled up I couldn't tell.

As you can see, we had nice bright sun and blue skies.  Not that it helped the temps any which stayed at -7 all afternoon.

I did watch Bush's 'farewell' last night.  Not much choice really.  It wasn't even worth sniping at.  Just 15 minutes of irritation.  Thankfully, most stations did not spend much time on commentary and went straight back to programming.  

While visiting my usual round of blogs this morning I read this post by Kate Winner who is today's guest blogger for Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By.  She makes some very good comments on how we got into the current social/political/economic mess and some interesting thoughts on actions we can take to break out of our cycles of hope and fear.  I would never have thought to link the two in the way she does.  And she makes a good case for ridding ourselves of both.  I can also relate to her comments on growing up with a bottom line mentality, or learning to value things by the dollar.  As a result we now have a society that rarely values anything without putting a monetary value on it.  We used to have circles of friends.  Now we have 'networks.'  I read an account recently of a job hunter who e-mailed all his friends and family his resume and offered a cash reward to which ever one provided the contact that would get him a new job.  Also take a look at her discussion of 'obsolescence' and aging.  Very meaty stuff.

Well, nothing else has peaked my interest.  All of the comments I saw concerning the Bush speech mirrored my own.  Light weight, self-serving, not worth the comment.  On that note, talk to you later.