Friday Follies...

We get a very brief respite today as far as any precipitation goes...but we are looking at making that deficit up tomorrow.
We'refacing some significant snowfall Saturday, and that means be prepared to hunker down and stay out of the craziness you know will result whenever we get such conditions.
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us mostly cloudy skies, temps reaching  to around 37 degrees, and increasing winds later on.
Keep the shovel handy, as well as layers of proper clothing should you feel the need to venture out (it will be getting REAL cold over the weekend - MINUS numbers, in fact...brrrrr).

Now, what say we chase the chill away with a nice large cup, glass or mug of some Friday Fortitude, as we take a look at what else has been going one, hmm?
*** First off of the ice pack is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JANUARY 18 -
---It's National Michigan Day

(bet the caliphate in Detroit is liking that)
---It's National Peking Duck Day

(very tasty)
---It's National Thesaurus Day

(every home should have one)
---It's National Winnie the Pooh Day

(still doing well after all these years, too
*** Next, and since the end of another week has arrived, let's see what we can observe over the following 48 hours...
JANUARY 19 -
---Saturday is National Popcorn Day

(put on a movie and make some. It beats watching the snow come down)
JANUARY 20 -
---Sunday is National Buttercrunch Day

(sounds like a keeper)
---It's National Cheese Lovers Day

(this ought to make staying on worth it)
---It's National Disc Jockey Day

(it's rare to find them spinning LPs or even 45s these days)
There you have it...plenty to do instead of facing bad weather on the roads.
Just make sure to always observe responsibly.
*** Next up,  here's the good, bad, and the ugly on this impending snow event:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20190118/snowstorm-to-hit-saturday

At least we should be happy we're not on the EAST coast, where freezing rain will be mixing with the show (thanks to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean). Parts of Maine are expected to get perhaps TWO FEET of snow.

I would not expect a blizzard here in the Midwest, but it will be more than the last event we had this week, so be aware of that.
*** Next, police training CAN be hazardous to your health. Here's the "4-1-1":
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20190118/2-officers-injured-in-training

Two FWPD officers were seriously injured when using a particular restraint method.
It's called the lateral vascular neck restraint, or LVNR, and is basically applying "pressure is put on the carotid artery to cut off blood to the brain in an effort to render a person unconscious".
(( A close relative of Capt. Tom Bandor, 58, one of the injured officers, said Bandor is still in the hospital. “He gets dizzy and nauseated, even if he opens his eyes,” said the relative, who asked not to be identified. “It's like vertigo. He can't get up and do anything.”))
I personally know Tom Bandor (I remember when he was a Sgt and stopped over our house), and I hope he recovers from this injury. My prayers to him and his family.
Goes to show you don't even have to be on the street to have your life placed in harm's way.
*** Next up, time to stop by "Kitten Corner"...
The kids took a day off from all of the "wrestling", and instead chose to store up their overabundance of energy for Lord knows what.

Peek-a-boo!

Wouldn't mind them passing some of that energy over to me some days.
Violet has a new "routine" of sorts...she loves to follow me around in the MORNINGS...she sits in the computer chair WITH me while I check the emails and do the blog.

These slippers are not getting away.

Gallifrey prefers to hang back and wait for breakfast, and then go a bit manic as I prepare it for the two of them (that's his gig). After that...plenty of nap time (and a trip or two to the litter pans. A hard life indeed.
*** Next, let's do our check-in with "Midnight and Whiskers"...

It's paw-licking good.

Our furry twosome were doing their usual stuff - He was off on patrol and missed lunch (again), while she stayed in the shelter, coming out for food. At dinnertime, I actually had to "knock" on the shelter to wake her up...lol.

And the food keeps coming...

He did eventually come by later and got his wet food mix. I'm trying this in order to give them more incentive to stay close by our house. It's more enticing than foraging, that's for sure.
*** Last back to the snow pile...remember when it snowed when you were little and all you could do was wanting to go out and play in it?

March 1958

I will say when I was that young, we had to have a REAL snowstorm to shut down our schools, but then again, those were the "neighborhood schools" we don't seem to have that many of today.
I mean, it had to snow enough to close down public transportation.
Back in the late 1950s, we had one storm that dumped so much snow, it did just that - shut down buses and most all traffic.
Our main avenue was a pedestrian "walkway", and any vehicle out in it had CHAINS on the rear tires.
I remember Dad loading me onto the sled and together we went to the grocery a couple blocks away.

March 1960

It's not that easy holding a large grocery bag and holding on so you don;t fall off the sled, while Dad pulled me along an avenue that you wouldn't even think of walking down or standing in. But, we did what we had to do.
Our street (in the Frankford section of Philly) was one of those old narrow one-way ones, and when everyone was done shoveling, it looked like two slit trenches in WW1 France. The snow was that deep, and we had no where else to put it.
The one thing I have always enjoyed about ANY good snowfall...was the quiet.

We had trenches like THIS

Total...complete...quiet.
As a kid, you don't think about that...or being cold, or having to wear so many layers of clothing, that movement was restricted.
As an adult, you think about pulling muscles while shoveling, heart attacks, slipping, falling, and breaking bones.
Oh, and you think about being young again...heh.
Be careful out there over the next 72 hours.
Do have yourselves a good weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.