Monday, February 11, 2008

Only 35 days until spring . . .

I bet you think I can't count! I know March 20 is 38 days from today, but spring this year for me begins on St. Patrick's Day. Besides, March 20 never ever brings spring to Michigan anyway, and I do not care one little bit about what Punxsutawney Phil has said about the matter ...
... his shadow doesn't count for much here in Grand Rapids. Spring will begin for me on Saint Pat's Day this year because that is the very day that Grandpa Jones and I will pull out from the north pole and head south and west to El Paso, Texas! We usually travel a pretty good distance that first day on the road, so I figure by about dinner time on the 17th, we should be far enough south to breathe some spring air ...unless, of course, we have to drive through a blizzard that first day on the road. But surely by the 18th of March we should be in the clear.
It's not that I mind the snow so much. I actually love it, as long as I don't have to drive through it. It's the COLD that gets me! And has it ever been COLD! I think our high temperature all day yesterday was 7 degrees. I'm sure it was colder than that over at Adam and Emily's! We had a very scary drive to church, probably the worst road conditions we have seen so far this season. The wind was whipping the snow around, and roads were completely ice-covered. If we had known the roads were that bad, we would not have gone to church at all! Evening services were cancelled all over Grand Rapids last night. And there was a 50-car pile-up on the I-96 over by Coopersville!
Today began at minus 1 degree. All schools are closed (again!). Tonight, we're supposed to get another 1-3 inches and then another 2-4 inches of snow during the day tomorrow. Look at the Grand River today from the WOTV skycam ...
It sure is nice to have started the countdown to spring! We hope to arrive at Fort Bliss late afternoon March 20. We haven't seen Diana and the children since September 25, so it will be a great day of joy for us, no matter what the weather!

P.S. I just noticed something about the shadows in the pictures. Look at Punxsutawney Phil, then Mr. Jones and then me! Isn't that funny? I think we ought to get Phil a shovel and ask him to help out ... (2/12/08).

4 comments:

Emily said...

I was wondering if we could drop in the on the weekend of the 14th to the 16th? There's a surprise party (30) for my brother that weekend and we don't want to blow our cover by staying at my parent's house. If not we'll just find a hotel.

Sabrina said...

What fun to look forward to- the beginning of the trek south again! Jackson will be so excited that you are coming! He sees a few of the pictures that I have out of you two on a ledge everyday and has begun showing you two to Karis too. Very sweet! See ya after El Paso!

Mom Jones said...

Emily - Are you wondering about February or March (the weekend of the 14th to the 16th). Both would work out fine, but if it's February that would be THIS weekend and I would want to do some quick preparation for your arrival! Let me know, OK?

Sabrina - Yes! That is very sweet of Jackson! Give him some extra kisses today from me, OK?

Emily said...

I guess we're not coming the party fell through. Sorry. We might not be back till April (a lot of April b-days in my family).