Posted: January-04-2010 at 4:44pm | IP Logged	Tweet

I know it's the first of January and we're in the middle of winter, but I sure wish this COLD weather would let up. It's nutthin' but bone-chillin' COLD these past few days, and the weather forecast shows COLD all week long, too. Daytime highs in 20s and nighttime lows in lower teens to single digitis.

Here in Johnson City (and I suppose Bristol and Kingsport too) it didn't dip into single digits last night, but it looks like tonight will be right around 10 degrees.

Over in Southwest Virginia, did it drop into single digits last night?

It wasn't a lot, but it snowed and laid on ground here today ... maybe a half-inch of snow. With wind blowing, snow was flyin' around most of the day.

I love hot soup in winter when it's COLD, but I'm about to overdose on soup and chilli. HA HA HA ... I believe tomorrow I'll be letting Papa John's deliver supper.

Posted: January-04-2010 at 7:35pm | IP Logged	Tweet

Heck, a dang heatpump is about worthless in COLD weather.

Anytime temperature drops to around 24 degrees, I just go flip the switch over to auxiliary and use the electric heater inside the unit downstairs in my basement. Otherwise the heatpump just runs blowing out cool air and will freeze you to death. I know it runs cost up to flip over to auxiliary for heat, but I don't care. At least it's good and warm here in my home. When a few friends of mine will stop by, they burn up ... while others love how warm I have it. I set my thermostat on 75 degrees, then drop it to 70 degrees when I go to bed. And right now, even with the thermostat set at 75 degrees, I've got a hooded Tennessee Vols sweatshirt on. GO VOLS!!! I just had to get that in. HA HA HA 

If natural gas lines had been run down my street when I put my heatpump in, I would've had a unit put in for gas heat and electric air. I could've used a propane tank, but I didn't want to have look at the tank ... nor did I want my neighbors to have see it. I know nowadays they bury the tanks, but that doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Makes me think of a gas bomb buried just directly behind my house. HA HA HA HA ... My oldest sister has a gas unit in her home and I love the immediate warmth that comes out of the registers.

Everybody stay WARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: January-04-2010 at 8:18pm | IP Logged	Tweet

One of my friends from childhood, he has a farm and raises some cows and has a couple of horses and his wife has a few goats. Jimmy's told me I need to come help him bust ice on the ponds so the cows and horses have water to drink. I told him he'd lost his doggone mind, I wasn't busting any ice. I'd go to Food City and buy 'em some bottles of water. HA HA HA HA ... As "WOO-WOO" said, it is very important that outdoors animals have water to drink.

What's wild is outdoor dogs not wanting blankets to lay on. My next-door neighbor, his dog lot has one of those igloo doghouses and across one end of the lot it's got pieces of aluminum covering it so rain doesn't fall on that end. He told me over the weekend he put an old blanket in there, but Macy drug it out. I told him the dog had lost its mind from being outside in the COLD. HA HA HA ... I suppose bigger dogs with thick coats just don't get bothered by the COLD.

Hey Richard, I've got a couple buddies I grew up with who work as linemen for JC Power Board. I talked with Ricky the other night and he told me about the long hours he'd worked. I know working on downed power lines is a really dangerous job. I tremendously respect all you guys who work around high-power electric currents.

Richard, just tell Evon is she doesn't want you shining your racing wheels in the living room ... she can go down in the COLD garage and polish them herself. HA HA HA 

I was talkin' with Jon Cook earlier today, and guess what? He was down inside his garage working on the race car. I asked him if it wasn't cold in there, and he said "Kinda, not bad though." He said it was warmer inside the house. HA HA HA

Posted: January-05-2010 at 6:16am | IP Logged	Tweet

Well...... we have about 5 inches of new snow this morning. It was 12 dgrees when I got up this morning at about 6:45, and has now warmed up to a balmy 13 degrees at 9:15.

I am getting tired of shoveling snow.....

Posted: January-05-2010 at 6:18am | IP Logged	Tweet

...... but, on the positive side... I am thankful to be able to shovel snow.

I have to admit, too, that it is good exercise.   HA HA

Posted: January-05-2010 at 7:53am | IP Logged	Tweet

Heck no, Al Gore isn't happy! 

Funniest thing... I was watching and listening to one of those global warming alarmists trying to explain, on a TV news program last week, the past 19-year trend of cooler average temperatures for planet Earth. His explanation was that global warming wouldn't necessarily bring about warmer temperatures, and could in fact lead to cooler and cooler temperatures... even to another ice age.  Well, duh, if he is right then do we need to refocus our concern away from the polar bears suffering from heat prostration and more toward the freezing tropical animals?

Do you ever get the feeling that some of those alarmists just grasp at any angle to promote their cause?

I did see a guy in one of those little bitty "green" cars up this way last week trying to navigate the snow.  Poor fellow wasn't having much luck. I thought about offering to put the thing in the back of my truck and take him across the street where he was trying to go..... then thought, NAAAA.... He was making a little progress with the Fred Flinstone approach.

Posted: January-05-2010 at 7:09pm | IP Logged	Tweet

Juneau's probably not as cold as one would think. Average summer days are in the 60's, with many days reaching into the high 70s and low 80s. Winter temperatures average about 29 degrees. Juneau's winters are warmer than cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, and Cleveland.

Posted: January-05-2010 at 8:32pm | IP Logged	Tweet

Fairbanks now is about the same as Pound, 16 today, 18 forcast for tomorrow.

Junea is on the coast, warmed by the Pacific currant , hasn't had a day, or night below freezing for about a week.

Posted: January-05-2010 at 10:37pm | IP Logged	Tweet

Just checked the temp her in Wonderful Weastern NC and it said 4 degree at 11:30 pm. and the snow keeps falling. Looks like it's going to be Aug before we will be able to dig out of this mess. However, the skiers coming to the local resort here are very happy. I don't ski but if I did it would have to get at least 50 degrees or above before I would get out in this mess to go skiing. JMO!!! HaHA

If I had it to do over again I would keep my big mouth shut and would have done less complained about all the mowing I had to get done back in the summer and enjoyed it. Cutting grass in the warm sunshine beats shoveling snow in subzero weather anytime. However, I'm glad that God is in control of it all and he sends us what we need. If he wasn't it would be sunny and 65 degrees here and a miles down the road it would be 32 dregrees and snowing.

I'm still working on this one, but my prayer is for God to help me to accept and endure the things I can't change and the wisdom to know that he will only send my way what is best for me.

God Bless, and I'll see you at the races in 2010!!

Posted: January-05-2010 at 11:09pm | IP Logged	Tweet

As RW said..... BrrrrRRR !!! 

And looks like we have several more days of this to look forward to.

Posted: January-06-2010 at 5:47am | IP Logged	Tweet

  I'm driving back Sunday, They're even having below 30 temps for a few hours a night here in Florida.

   It's probably going to take a few days for me to set a new pole and get my power hooked back up.  I cut off my water, and drained the pipes before I left ,so maybe i'll not have any burst pipes.

Posted: January-06-2010 at 7:08am | IP Logged	Tweet

Hey Bobby...gotta love those Bahrain winters eh?!!!

Josh was based in Northern Iraq during his first deployment (he deploys again this year to Afghanistan) and he was telling me how cold it got up there. I had no idea that Norther Iraq had more than one season and snow as well.

Posted: January-06-2010 at 11:36am | IP Logged	Tweet

We should hit the low 30's today around Knoxville, we're calling it a heat wave! I do hope that people are trying to make sure their pets stay warm. My cat stays inside when it's this cold but there is a stray that I've been feeding each evening for about 4 months or so, won't let me get close enough to it to pick it up or I'd at least let it stay in my garage or my basement to get it out of the wind. I put out fresh water for it daily but the water always freezes in the bowl so I don't know if it's doing any good or not. But, as Kenny Nix said, God has a plan for all his creatures so I'll just keep putting food out and trust that the cat has found shelter elsewhere and just comes to my place to eat.

The month of May sounds good right now doesn't it?

Posted: January-06-2010 at 11:47pm | IP Logged	Tweet

Yeah boy-eeeeeeeee, I'm lookin' forward to several more days of the COLD and snowy weather. GrrrrrRRRRR, I'm well past being over this deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're (region, East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina) just not used to such an extended COLD period like we've been in since the middle of last week. Daytime highs in 20s (since last Wednesday), and nighttime lows in lower teens and single digits.

And guess what? Snow forecast for today (Thursday) and on Friday, and this on top of what snow we received on Tuesday.

I'm glad I've had work projects that I can work on here at home, instead of having to get out in the COLD conditions. I've been outside my home once a day, one trip to get both the mail and newspaper and put garbage in the container on my carport.

I'm like "WOO-WOO" and have cabin fever.

I've got scheduled a remodeling project here inside my home that is to begin next week. I see it's supposed to warm up some next week. But still, I'm not positive I'm going to let contractor begin the job.

I guarantee you Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina is in single digits right now, because the Weather Channel shows it's 11 degrees here in the Tri-Cities at Tri-Cities Regional Airport.

Posted: January-07-2010 at 2:35pm | IP Logged	Tweet

Well, to this point there's not been any accumulating snowfall here in Johnson City. It's flurried and spit snow off-and-on today, and with the COLD temperatures what snow has been flying around has laid on the ground. I guess we'll have to wait and see what, if any, accumulation the region receives.

I've got the local TV news on now and I don't like hearing how COLD it's going to be over the next two or three days and nights.

I've eaten soooooOOOOO much soup and chilli here at home ... along with sandwiches, I can't wait to go out and eat again. HA HA HA