Old fashioned snow

Christmas came and went with very little evidence that Maine was four days into winter.  But the 27th blew in with snow and wind and falling temperatures. No one should have been caught off guard, it is after all, winter in Maine.   But the plows were late getting around and the careless car owners forgot about parking bans.   It's an expensive experience - leaving your car on the street costs around $270 to retrieve your car from the "storage lot".  Parking ticket, towing, and storage fee add up fast. Anyway, just about when the supermarket parking lot got cleared another storm is passing through, expecting to give us another four to eight inches, depending where in the state you are.    I am near the coast so may get extra, or not as much depending on the direction the storm comes from.

Nick isn't so crazy about the snow anymore.   Nor am I.   I went to the recycling "bullet" to leave old catalogs, news papers and lots of Christmas envelopes, wrapping and boxes.  The containers were overflowing, they had not been cleared of snow, and thoughtless creeps had piled trash bags, boxes, old clothes and toys up outside.  Since the trash collectors also took a holiday, and then could not operate in the storm, it was a disgusting mess.   But it brought to mind that the victims of Sandy were facing that multiplied a hundred fold.  

I put a live tree (well, truthfully a dead tree since it had been cut down) in my patio room, with the help of my son Tom.  I put a few ornaments and a string of white mini-lights on it.  My family came on Sunday before Christmas.  Some extended family joined us and I think everyone just likes being together.  I cannot do sit-down dinners and the roast beef was first not done, and then done too much.
I finally made a pot roast from the remainder.  We had the traditional lobster and shrimp.   Salad and deserts. Lord, give me one more chance to do it right.  NO more uncooked/overcooked roasts. No more  have done roast vegetables.  Next year lobster, shrimp, cold cuts and a veggie platter (home cut, of course),  

Tom came again to take the tree out.  Now the room is a little empty, but I'm sure I'll find a way to fill it.  It's in my nature:  an flat surface, and empty space - I'll find something to put on/in it.

Have a great New Year's weekend.  Have a great 2013.  
janice.major@iCloud.com