First snow today, putting my rear in gear to prep for winter

[simple life]

We have had pouring rain at least part of the day for the past few days but after a steady pouring rain all day it has now turned to snow.
We haven't had a hard frost and its snowing early here.
This morning my daughter called me from school and said it was snowing there ( New Hampshire) and I said well that stinks I am glad its not snowing here.

The weather had been crazy, yesterday it was freezing cold, to the point where it was too cold for the kids to finish out a soccer game.
I coach my daughter's team and it was so cold that the other team started running short on players because the kids on the team were to cold to keep playing.
One girl was crying because her hands hurt(they are 5 year olds), parents were wrapping themselves in blankets and I was trying to tie cleats when they came untied but my hands were so stiff they didn't want to work.

So anyway, we called the game due to cold but this has never happened before.
Very unusual.
October doesn't get this cold and I don't remembering it ever snowing in October before around here.
I doubt the snow will even add up to much but never say never, we had an unexpected, unpredicted blizzard on April fools day one year.
If this is any indication of what the winter is going to be like I am not looking forward to it.

 

[simple life]

The prediction this year has been for an extremely rough winter.
I have spent a good deal of time stocking up on things to get me through a bad winter but I am not ready yet.

I met someone at a birthday party today that can hook me up with firewood cheap.
It just so happens that the father of the child has a tree business and he is getting into chickens and asked me for some guidance on it, he offered to hook me up with firewood extremely cheap.
I feel good about that so I will stock up on more wood.

I have a chimney sweep coming out to cleaning the fireplaces/flues next week.

I stocked up on flashlights,batteries, oil lamps and candles.

I still have a bunch of young meatbirds that won't be ready to process for a few weeks yet. I should have started them earlier but the feedstore who ordered them for me didn't put the order through when they said they would, its sort of slipped through the cracks.
Its a good thing I called them again to see what was up, but what are you gonna do?

I am ordering my grains this week so I can grind my own grains and make bread.
Nothing like fresh hot bread and melted butter on a cold winter day.

My husband is looking at snow blowers, we need to purchase one for sure this year.
We both have bad backs and my only grown son has a badly messed up knee, had surgery and needs another so he can't do much.
It takes all day to shovel out the walkways,driveway and the paths to the coops and an area for the dogs, no thanks.

I am buying a new storage freezer next week to put them in and I am going to buy some beef, maybe a side of beef.
If I am going to get snowed in this year I don't want to be needing anything.

Getting snowed in isn't even the problem sometimes.
Ever since the blizzard of 78' people run to the supermarkets the minute snow is predicted and clean things out.
Most of the time we are plowed out the next day but people still get nervous and buy up all the basics so even if you normally needed to go grocery shopping at that time you are out of luck for some things or you have to drive around looking for it.
I don't want to have to deal with that.

I wish the garden had done better this year so I could put away lots of good storage veggies squash, carrots and potatoes, things like that.
If I come across any on special I will stock up.

This is really the first year I have gone out of my way to plan for winter, I usually just wing it but I have a different feeling about it this year, I hope I am prepared.

 

[injunjoe]

Ouch that game don't sound so fun at that temp.

Seems a lot of reports of weird weather this year.
Odd heat, late spring, cloudy summer, early freeze, the list is getting bigger and bigger.

Do you remember the first Bush telling us that Global Warming was BS? Now "We should all try to be more Green"

I feel the weather is changing every year more and more.

Joe

Edited to say; Wow you type very fast!

 

[simple life]

I split that post in half Joe so it wouldn't be so overwhelming.

 

[Greensage45]

According to the News this year will be a cheaper year due to dropping fuel prices.

So hopefully, for once, we won't get the yearly winter 'shaft' (putting it mildly). They say that propane should be the cheapest, then natural gas, and so on.

Simple life, I gotta tell ya, you guys sure raise some tough 5-year-olds LOL, your description was horrible, and then when you said they were 5.....

My gosh, they probably might trample a poor ole desert softy like me! LOL I would have cried once we dipped down past 50!

Ron

 

[simple life]

I usually love coaching the soccer games but this was bad, that field is in a low spot and its own little micro climate.
The wind makes everything worse.
Our last game is suppose to be Nov. 7 and then we have makeup games for the rained out ones but there is now way the girls could continue in this weather if it keeps up.
I hold practice on Tuesday evenings after school and when it started to get cooler I began bringing hot chocolate for everyone and then decided to treat the girls at the games but there was no amount of hot chocolate to make you comfortable at this game.
I am hoping we get through the last of the season without this happening again.
Its amazing how tough some of those girls are Ron.
Most of my team didn't want to quit playing, but their parents sure did.

My husband was so nice to me, after the game he said why didn't you wear a warmer jacket and I said I am wearing the warmest thing I own.
Which was not really a cold weather jacket but with all the kids I like most moms always put myself last.

He went out later to do an errand and came back with 2 new sweatshirts ( a pullover and a zip up)and a fleece lined weather proof jacket from American Eagle.
He also got me a bunch of thick new socks and some things from
Victoria's Secret, those won't exactly keep me warm but I'll take em
He does an excellent job of shopping for me and I really appreciate him doing that.
He worked an extra shift the night before and got a good tip and spent it on me.
I saw him looking at the tag on my jeans today to see what size they were and then he asked me what kind of boots I like so it looks like he is getting me ready for winter.

I had heard the fuel prices were going down this year, we have natural gas and usually the heat bill is too high so here is hoping for a decent fuel expense this year.

I don't know if its me but it seems like food prices are dropping more too.
The grocery bill has been cheaper lately and its not like I changed anything that I normally buy.
I shop once a month for most of the food and then just pick up fresh items during the month if needed but this month the bill was $200.00 less and I was shocked. Happy but shocked.
I do buy alot of sale items, it seems that everything is on sale lately.
If that trend continues a good idea would be to take half of that money and buy extra food that I can store and put the other half towards improvements towards self sufficiency such as meatbirds or the processing fee, freezer, a new grinder etc.

 

[injunjoe]

You sure sound like a lucky gal to have such a nice husband! Sorry us guys have to stick together! lol

Ron I know what you mean there, I don't want to do much once the temp goes below about 60. I have been down here way to long for cold weather.

Joe

 

[digitS']

Natalie, I think you should put a comforter on the bed and get a good night's sleep. You are having terrible weather right now. But, the weather service is predicting high pressure and sunshine by Wednesday.

The weather service is saying New England has an "equal chance" of above or below normal temperatures and precipitation for November and for December, January, and February. That's a "flip of the coin" kind of thing.

Where is this prediction of an "extremely rough winter" coming from?
Actually, what the government meteorologists are saying is that it's Joe's part of the country where there will be above normal precipitation and below normal temperatures.

Steve

 

[injunjoe]

Steve that is just what I wanted to hear.

After last year I will be much better prepared for a hard freeze.

Joe

 

[digitS']

I looked at March too, Joe.

. . . across the deep south and up thru the Carolinas early, then lingering in Florida.

Of course, it is partly what we are used to. Being prepared is never a bad thing. I remember a certain volcano hereabouts that once had a rather life-changing EXPLOSION,!!

Steve